TAPS Travels to Star Island

Grant, Steve, Tango and the girls headed to New Hampshire several months ago for a new episode. First stop, Star Island in Portsmouth. The island is home to a hotel and several cottages and dates back to the 1600's. Rich in history and purported activity, the team's enthusiasm leaped through the screen.

Jason and Grant interviewed the curator, Susan O'Conner before setting up. Susan stated that many supernatural events have occurred within the old walls of the hotel and surrounding buildings. She recounted a tale of a little boy who lived on the island. The boy disappeared for several days as his family searched frantically. The boy was later found, dead, having fallen off the cliff onto the ragged rocks below.

One of the buildings surrounding the hotel is Cottage E, and was the home of a doctor and his wife for many years. The elderly couple made a suicide pact. The suicide pact went awry when the wife had not consumed enough medicine to cause death, only to wake up the next morning and find her husband's cold dead body. It is said that the doctor haunts the cottage searching for his beloved.

In Cottage E, activity included footsteps, bangs and feeling "pushed" when on the staircase. In addition; visitors reported seeing a "White Lady" on the staircase of the hotel. In the same location, Susan, the curator says she saw an old man with white hair and a white beard float down the hotel stairs. He looked at her and smiled, before disappearing into thin air. Also, visitors reported that doors in the hotel open and close on their own, supposedly occurring often.

When the interview was complete, the team set up their equipment. Jason and Grant did an EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) session in the hotel. Nothing supernatural was noted in the session. Grant and Jason asked the spirits to open and close the doors in the hall, but even after provoking, no activity was noted. Meanwhile, the girls headed to cottage E for their own EVP session. Minutes after arriving, the girls heard a loud bang. The battery in the recording device was drained and went dead, leaving the girls unnerved. Batteries often are drained when a spirit is attempting to gather energy to show themselves. The girls decided to check the stairs. Unlevel stairs can account for strange feelings. After checking, the girls determined each stair was indeed unlevel and so this account of activity was disproved.

Jason headed into one of the rooms of the hotel. On his way through, he noticed a strange painting on the room door and commented on the picture, saying; "That's the creepiest baby I've ever seen" Grant laughed in agreement. After several minutes, bangs and noises were heard, but there originination was confusing. The crew hoped to have gotten them on the recorders or on video.

Jason and Grant then headed for the attic. Jason heard a noise, what sounded like footsteps coming from the vault. The vault holds antiques and historical pieces and is locked. As they listened, scratching sounds and footsteps emitted from the vault and moments later, Jason heard the attic door close by itself. Slightly startled, Grant retrieved the vault key and both entered to see what might account for the sounds. They determined the vault to be secure and could find nothing to account for the noises they heard in the small organized space.

The TAPS crew finished the investigation and later reviewed and analyzed the video, audio and infared footage. The analysis revealed a creepy EVP of what sounded like a human, or a child. During the investigation of the hotel room, after Jason commented on the creepy baby painted on the door, a small child's voice was heard on the recorder saying; "It's not that creepy." Oh yes, I think it is! Other evidence was gathered including the footsteps and noise from the vault and above in the attic. Steve and Tango concluded that the attic sounds may be attributed to the presence of animals. Animal droppings and a dead carcass were found as well as claw marks. This might account for some of the happenings, but does not completely disprove accounts of ghostly activity.

Overall, this was a creepy location, complete with old buildings and a tragic past. Lonely spirits not at rest and the sight of countless supernatural events. Jason and Grant conclude Star Island to be haunted. After playing the EVP of the child, Susan appeared to be shocked and dismayed, but relieved that TAPS had validated her claims. During the reveal, Jason and Grant told Susan O'Connor not to be scared. The entities have never hurt anyone so she should continue doing her job and not worry about the presence.