Fear Files

Library and Museum

Let me start off by saying I've had plenty of paranormal experiences when I was younger. Nothing too major has happened since I was around 17. This happened not too long ago, last week March 19th.

I started volunteering at a Local Civil War Museum & Library [The Grand Army of the Republic Civil War Museum & Library]. It was a regular day there. Only myself and another Senior Volunteer "A" were there. It was the afternoon maybe 2-3 PM. "A" was responding to some emails and I was reading a book from the library when I had heard a large crash. I knew for sure it came from inside the house. We're not in the best neighborhood, The Frankford Section of Philadelphia. I had the security monitors turned on and looked at the parking lot. Our vehicles were fine. I told "A" I was looking outside. Nothing in the parking lot, the front was fine. I looked over the fence into the vacant house next door. It has no back door so I thought maybe a vagrant or someone was in there stealing some metal. I went back into the GAR. I told "A" I didn't see anything outside.

I checked the library area, that was fine. I went up to a storage where we have old newspapers. Those shelves were fine, nothing on the floor. I shut off all the lights there. Then I recalled someone was looking at the piano to see if he would be interested in taking it. I went up to our meeting room and that room and piano were fine. I shut off all the lights there and used the bathroom. I thought, since "A" and myself were the only ones there, I'd leave the toilet seat up (we have a unisex bathroom).

No more sounds were heard. A little while later I had to use the bathroom again. As I was going through the library area, I noticed the light on the staircase that leads to the newspaper room was on. I have a good memory and always pay attention to detail. I knew for sure I turned this off. I flicked the switch at the bottom a few times and it wouldn't go off. I climbed the steps and shut it off at the top. I came back down and flipped the bottom on and off again. This time the bottom worked perfectly.

I went up to the bathroom and, to my surprise, the toilet seat was down! I used the facilities and went back to the office. Then I noticed on the monitor, a drape appeared to be broken on the 3rd floor. The two of us went up and the 3rd floor light was on. The drape was also up. I stood directly under the camera and it looked different.

We did some detective work and after digging around for a while, we found about five or six pictures knocked over. "A" said this was probably what we heard. We were on the 1st floor office nowhere near these pictures. This would have been nowhere near as loud falling. The glass on the pictures, even one that fell on an exposed radiator pipe, were fine. We put the pictures back and left for the day.

Later at home I was wondering if there was any reason that happened. I checked on the internet and didn't see anything significant, no major battles fought on this day or anything like that. We do have some "weird" items including, but not limited to, a stuffed horse head and stuffed donkey head, blood-stained sheets from President Lincoln's death bed and some stuff from Andersonville Prison.

Then it dawned on me. Earlier that day, when reading I had hummed a few notes of Dixie.

This was my only experience there so far. I've only been volunteering there for about a month. If happenings like this continue it will be another reason for me to continue volunteering there. For those not familiar with the GAR, it's also know as the Raun House. It's on the National Register of Historic Places, Pennsylvania Register of Historic places, and the Philadelphia Register of Historic places. It was built in the 1790s and spent over 100 years as a doctor's home and office. It was also a Grand Army of the Republic post for a while before becoming a Museum.

A South NJ ghost hunting group was there a while ago and claimed they found three ghosts there: an angry ghost in the basement, a child who roams, and John Raun's first wife, Elizabeth, in the 3rd floor area. The Ghost Hunters had claimed John's wife Elizabeth had become angry during an EVP session when they asked if she was aware if her son and husband had served as Confederate doctors.

I'll be up in there 3rd floor area tomorrow maintaining some firearms. I'll check those pictures again and post if there's anything significant on them. I'll also try to stay in camera view just in case.