Old VanBuren Inn	More Investigation Pictures Closet Ghost Closet Ghost Close-ups Orb Captures Hallway Anomaly Conditions
	The old Crawford County Bank was the scene of an investigation in Van Buren, Arkansas. The bank, finished in 1899, has survived many phases of the last century's history. The Frisco, the St. Louis, and the San Francisco railways going to Van Buren, had only been completed a year before construction on the Crawford County Bank began. It took seven years to complete construction and another one hundred and five years to complete its transformation into the haunted bed and breakfast that it is today. Crawford County Bank has assumed quite a few different roles over time. From its beginning as a bank for a railroad town, the bank morphed into a "Speakeasy", which was the phrase used for an illegal bar during 1920’s and 1930’s Prohibition, as well as a Masonic lodge, before finally becoming a inn offering bed and breakfast to travelers. One can only guess how many thousands of people passed through the bank's doorways conducting business, seeking entertainment, or enlightenment. The original owner, Frank Turner, and his second wife, Violet, had living quarters above the bank. The Turner’s had three children. Sadly, only two of them made it to adulthood. One died as a very young child. In October of 1931, Merrill McKnight, an enraged husband, stood atop the second floor staircase with a pile of cigarette butts at his feet and a 16-gauge shotgun in his hand awaiting the arrival of James J. Davidson who was purported to have been having an affair with his wife. When the ill-fated Davidson arrived he was shot, but he did not die immediately, and managed to crawl out to the front of the building before expiring. A month later, Merrill McKnight, tried by a jury of his peers after a long thirty minutes of deliberation would be exonerated of the murder. Our experiences with the Crawford County Bank started when two of our team members arrived at the bed and breakfast about 5:30 p.m. They were given a little history by the current owner and then taken on a tour of the building. The rest of the team arrived at 6:00 p.m. and, after settling in, the investigation began in earnest. Our team was joined by the owner's daughter, who had done quite a job of acquiring copies of newspaper articles and court documents relating to the 1931 murder. The daughter mentioned that the storage room next to the second floor staircase, formerly a bathroom, was an area known for making many visitors feel uncomfortable. The owner and her daughter believed there was a ghostly presence there. According to owners' and guest's testimonials, most of the paranormal activity seemed to occur on the second and third floors. Camcorders with nightshot capabilities were set up in different areas on these two floors and the video footage yielded numerous orbs. The camcorders' findings were validated when members with digital cameras took photos of these areas showing orbs. Gauss Meter readings were taken in several areas. The only unusual reading was taken by a second floor window with one meter showing around 2mg and a Tri-field pulsing much higher. We were unable to identify any source of energy which would cause the meter readings to spike. Between 12:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m., several instances of EVP were captured on the third floor. Two of the EVP recordings seem to be of a little girl. In one recording she asks someone to play with her and in the other she mimics, in a sing-song voice, a statement made by one of the investigators. Another EVP recording sounded a gun blast and another like a gong. Psychics arrived at the investigation with no prior knowledge regarding the history of the property. Two psychics saw entities on both the second and third floors. One psychic felt that a man and a woman had a secret meeting in the upstairs room which was the owner's bedroom. The psychic also felt that someone with a gun waited in front of the closet at the top of the staircase, stepped around the corner, and fired down the staircase. Another team member had a psychic impression of someone hiding in the storage room closet at the top of the staircase. One of the psychics described a woman wearing heavy eye make-up with long hair that was worn up somewhat. Later in the evening, after things quieted down, Chuck took a second digital photo of the interior of the closet. In the photo section you will see a composite photo using various methods to bring out the details. The photo shows the outline of a woman with her hair partially up crouching in the closet. Note: some viewers have stated that the picture loses some quality when viewed with LCD or Plasma monitors. If there is difficultly is seeing the image, move back from the monitor a little bit. Other photos, EVPs, and copies of documents are in the process of being posted to the website.