Paranormal investigators coming to Thornhaven Manor: The Courier-Times

As part of a paranormal tour of Ohio and Indiana, the group soon to be known as the Society of the Supernatural, will stay at Thornhaven Manor in New Castle Monday night.

Mike Ricksecker, Dave Spinks and David Weatherly will visit New Castle on their second stop in Indiana. Tonight they will stay at the old infirmary in Hartford City, then Tuesday night they will travel to Carmel and stay at Fox Hollow Farm.

Thornhaven Manor, now owned by Steve Miller, was built in 1845 by Simon T. Powell. Numerous deaths have been linked to the residence over the years, thus making it an ideal place for a paranormal investigation.

Weatherly said that the group has felt a pull toward Indiana particularly within the last year. They had heard of Thornhaven and were excited to add it to their tour.

“We’ve all wanted to do Thornhaven for a long time,” he said.

Ricksecker, a proclaimed “ghostorian,” said it’s important to understand the background of the places they visit. His usual first step is to visit local libraries and interview those close to the site to get a better idea of what happened there.

“I’m always very interested in the history of the areas we visit, even though there isn’t always a lot of time to research it before we go,” he said.

The typical first step when entering a new place is to scan for electromagnetic fields with an EMF meter to see if there is activity anywhere in particular. Then, the team does a video sweep so they can compare the things they see during their investigation to the original footage.

Each member of the trio has worked independently as a paranormal investigator, but they have also worked on projects together before. Ricksecker was happy to form an official group with Spinks and Weatherly because of their credibility in the supernatural community.

“I’ve worked with them before and their integrity is top notch,” he said. “They are both extremely professional.”

Spinks had heard of Thornhaven Manor, and various other paranormal sites in Indiana, many times during his research and wanted to gather a team to check these places out. After working with Weatherly and Ricksecker before, he thought they would make a good team.

“We all mesh so well together,” Spinks said. “We just decided to run with it.”

What makes this group unique is that they are all experienced in supernatural experiences and they try not to base their investigation methods on what other paranormal groups have already done. Weatherly said that while they all share similar experience levels, they also bring different perspectives to their investigations.

“We’re all pretty equal, and we all have extensive experience,” he said. “It’s not a typical paranormal group. We don’t adhere to titles.”

Ricksecker and Weatherly have authored several books and Spinks is releasing a book based on his own experiences in a few months. The team also launched a YouTube channel called Real Supernatural for their group, Society of the Supernatural. This channel features live feeds from the locations they visit, as long as they can get cell reception.

Spinks said that if they can get a signal at Thornhaven, they will broadcast it live to the channel.

But it’s always difficult for the investigators to know what to expect when they visit a place.

“Sometimes things happen that are really unnerving and scary, but other times there’s nothing,” Spinks said.

While at Thornhaven, Ricksecker hopes to confirm some theories about the deaths that took place there and Weatherly said he thinks it will be a very active location.

One of the most notable deaths was Ruben Bailey, a former caretaker who was poisoned in 1906. It was never determined if he died on the property, but Ricksecker thinks that he could possibly be haunting the house. Lizzie Powell, the youngest daughter of Simon Powell, also died there mysteriously in 1853 when she was two years old.

Spinks had his first encounter with the supernatural when he was about 15 or 16 years old. One night at his father’s house, he had a dream and saw his sickly maternal grandfather at the foot of his bed, where he smiled and then disappeared. The next morning he found out that his grandfather had died during the night. He kept the story to himself for a few months, until one night he was having dinner with his family and they all described similar experiences from that night.

Over the years he saw more things that were unexplainable to him, particularly during his years with the Air Force and working for the government. These experiences led him to wonder what happens to people after they die.

“Searching, that’s why I do it,” Spinks said. “I’m always looking for answers.”

Ricksecker also got started when he was young and remembers an interactive episode with a shadow person when he was a child. When he was older, he began writing mystery novels that included paranormal elements. This eventually led him to write non-fiction stories about his experiences.

Weatherly didn’t really experience a supernatural event until he got into investigating. He began seeking out more information when he was a teenager and eventually began studying Shamanic traditions and cultures in Europe, Tibet, Native America and Africa.

“Once you’re in this field for awhile you begin to have those experiences,” he said. “I’ve seen a whole lot of unexplained things since I started doing this.”

A meet and greet for the Society of the Supernatural will take place from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday at Montgomery’s Steakhouse, 5800 Ind. 3, Spiceland.

*This was a difficult story to write because I couldn't actually meet with any of the members of the Society of the Supernatural because they weren't in Indiana yet. I interviewed them each individually by phone, and used their individual websites for research.