Members of the Intermountain Paranormal Society (IMPS) have been invited to investigate many places over the years, but on August 18, 2016, were for the first time invited to investigate a reportedly haunted private residence in the town of Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. Sauk Rapids is a suburb of sorts of St. Cloud, Minnesota, an area with well over 100,000 people. The residence is a typical family home, but due to privacy laws, and our general desire to protect the privacy of the individuals within the home, we have carefully worded this review of the evidence.

The home is reported to be haunted by at least two spirits, a woman who is often seen in the basement as a dark mass in a particular corner, and another spirit who likes to walk up and down the stairs at night when only a few people are still awake. In fact we aren't certain from the information we received from the individuals in the house whether or not the two are one in the same. We do know that one of the spirits that supposedly haunts the facility is known as a "witch" and has often talked to the homes inhabitants. In fact your main investigator - Justin - was spoken to by the woman spirit earlier in the day of this investigation.

Justin says earlier in the day, the spirit laughed at him twice (like ha ha) and then said his name. This is the first time, he says, that he has experienced hearing the spirit. Often times the inhabitants of the home will see the spirit of the woman in the basement out of the corner of their eyes. At least four individuals have seen the same entity which will be referred to herein as "Witch". The other spirit has been spotted pacing back and forth between a basement door. Recently, Justin says the sightings have been increasingly become a common thing upstairs, whereas before they were mostly confined to the basement. Again these sightings are mostly out of the corner of the eye. The Witch has been seen upstairs near the front door, and in the hallway. At least two of the residents have seen and/or communicated with the witch. The other entity may also be responsible for knocking on one of the occupant's doors during the middle of the night however we have no evidence to back these claims up.

The age of the house is unknown, but it is estimated to have been built in the late 1970s or early 1980s. We also do not know any history of this house prior to the early 2000s. We have not been told whether there have been any deaths in the house, nor can we explain the entities that supposedly haunt the location.

This short investigation on 8-18-16 was done in the most active room in the house, the basement's main room, and at the bottom of the stairs. Prior to the start of the investigation, another paranormal enthusiast (who's name has been redacted for privacy reasons) was allowed to bless the house with holy water and chalk around all windows of the house. This is the first time any investigator from IMPS has witnessed this type of cleansing event. We're told that spirits can't cross the chalk line. Essentially the holy water removes the evil spirits and keeps the good ones in should they stay. Investigator Justin and the aforementioned enthusiast began to record audio in the basement using a Samsung Galaxy S6 with the voice recorder app. The following is evidence from the investigation. Again due to privacy reasons, we are likely not allowed to post photos of the home. No photos have been taken as of this investigation, but a follow up investigation has been scheduled in which photos will be taken. We probably will not be able to post these, even if we do come up with evidence due to privacy laws.

Talking Under - One of the investigators with us (Investigator S) asked if there were spirits present. We received no answer. Right after you hear her finish is where the talking starts. We can't tell if it is male or female, and at this point in the tape may be another individual still in the house who was talking in their room. It could also be their television. We were in the basement however, so we're not sure why it's so loud. The original plays once, followed by the amplified version once, and finally a noise reduction filter.

Whistle - This is the clearest of the whole session, as both of us (Investigator S and myself - Justin) heard this with our own ears. Some context to this clip, we had just felt a presence was in the corner of the basement. It subsequently moved (and made the hair on my legs stand up) and then we lost track of it. Investigator S went over to the bottom of the stairs and stood next to a fake plant. This is where the noise was recorded. It is heard once as it was recorded, once amplified, then noise reduction has been applied. The very last part of the clip has the whistle reversed. We also slow down the clip for you to hear the tonal difference. This is one of the clearest EVP's we have captured.

A subsequent investigation at this location has been planned. If we receive any more evidence, this page will be updated.

Go back to IMPS main site to see more evidence.