Ghost hunters say spirits present in Volstead house By Tom Cherveny West Central Tribune - 03/15/2008 GRANITE FALLS — Andrew Volstead is remembered for banning the spirits kept in bottles. These were not the spirits that Kathy Machowski and Linda Blaylock said they encountered in the author of prohibition’s house in Granite Falls. Machowski, of Jordan, is part of Minnesota Beyond the Veil, a paranormal research association “seeking the spirited side of Minnesota.’’ Blaylock, of Shakopee, is a psychic and often works with the group. “I feel a strong presence,’’ said Blaylock, as she and Machowski stood quietly where there was once a door to a kitchen in the Volstead House. “Do you remember me?’’ asked Machowski of the presence her partner reported. It was early Sunday afternoon. Sunlight glowed in the drawn curtains. They were inside the home that serves as both a museum and as the office for the Economic Development Agency in Granite Falls. Originally built in 1878, a few of the house’s rooms still retain the furnishings that Andrew Volst ead, his wife, Nellie, and their daughter Laura knew. Volstead lived here until his death at age 87 in 1947. His wake was held in the house. Machowski and Blaylock carried small, digital recorders and cameras to capture evidence of the extraordinary. Both also explained that finding spirits is very much a matter of being receptive to their presence. Blaylock felt a female presence in the kitchen area, but said the spirit was quick to move. She felt it again when they ventured upstairs to Laura Volstead’s bedroom, she said. At the foot of the stairway, Blaylock said she also felt the presence of a male. She described him as gray-mustached and stout, unlike the lean and tall images of Andrew Volstead found on pictures within the house. This was Machowski’s third visit. On her first trip made over two years ago, Machowski said she and others in her group quickly became convinced that the stairway in the entry way is “important” to the spirit s they seek. One of the group reported feeling a slight “push’’ while on the stairs, she said. They heard a rustling sound. They returned upstairs to the bedroom and found the pillowcase on the bed rumpled. When they returned home they played the recorders they had carried and heard what they call electronic voice phenomena, or EVPs. Amidst the crackling and static of their recordings could be heard voices that they did not hear while touring the home. In one, a male voice says “get it.’’ In another, he says “our church is abbey,’’ or perhaps “gabby.’’ Spirits have to “really struggle’’ to become audible, according to Machowski. The group’s return for a second visit produced yet other signs of spirits, including new EVPs with different messages, a photograph they cannot explain, and experiences that they consider very telling. One of the group members said she could smell muffins cooking at one spot in the bedroom. The group had placed a black l ight on a lectern in the entry way of the stairwell and snapped two photographs. One shows the light glowing as would be expected; on the other, the light radiates upward in an “S” curve. Their most recent visit produced no unusual photographs, but Machowski said their recorders again held EVPs. A woman’s voice can be heard saying “yes,’’ and a man’s saying “no’’ after Machowski asks: “Do you remember me?’’ After leaving the house, Blaylock said she felt the spirits tolerated their visit. “It’s OK to be here, but you are going to leave,’’ she said. The two women met shortly afterward with the directors of the Granite Falls Historical Society, who had invited them to speak at their annual meeting that afternoon. One board member told how the upstairs of the Volstead House was once used to house medical interns. One of the interns asked if he could move. “He said he couldn’t get any rest, there was too much ‘activity’ at night.’’ Another said she has worked alone in the house at night and heard footsteps and sounds, and once the bathroom toilet flushed on its own. Yet Dennis VanHoof, the EDA director whose office is located in the house, said he has never heard, seen or felt anything that he would describe as remotely odd or suspicious, even when he works alone into the night hours. Machowski said she grew up in a haunted house in New York. She has been active as a paranormal investigator in Minnesota for about 12 years. Her group has investigated houses such as the Strait House in Shakopee in which they are convinced spirits are present. They have been called to other homes where they leave equally convinced that there are no spirits. Photographs that show orbs, strange lights or mists are the kinds of things they like to collect in their quests. Most of all, they like to discover spirits by making contact, Machowski said. Occasionally, they’ve “rescued’’ spirits by telling them how to make the crossover. She believes that spirits are those who are either reluctant to make the crossover, fearful of the consequences awaiting them, or simply confused or unsure of where they should go. Her trips to the Volstead House have not answered her questions about who the spirits in it might be. The visits have made her very fond of Andrew Volstead and all that he did. She and others in Minnesota Beyond the Veil hope to come back to offer a program as a fundraiser for the local historical society. They’d like to time the return for the anniversary of Andrew Volstead’s birthday. That would be Oct. 31. Minnesota Beyond the Veil does not charge for its investigations but accepts donations for travel expenses. To learn more about the group, visit the Web site www.freewebs.com/oldsoul Visitors to the West Central Tribune Web site at www.wctrib.com can listen to the EVPs recorded by the group in the Volstead House.