Capital Area Paranormal Society

Driving down a country road you suddenly spy an obviously abandoned home.  Curiosity sets in as you wonder what it would be like on the inside…what secrets lie behind that weathered door?  But commonsense prevails and you continue onwards to your destination.  Black Moon Manor located just east of Indianapolis, Indiana is such a place and on November 25th, 2011 that was our destination.  It was 8pm when the CAPS team pulled into the drive.  The sun had set hours before and without electricity or plumbing, we knew that was going to make this investigation a significant challenge.  Immediately we all came to the consensus that this place had a different feel.  The “creepy” factor was high!  All the windows were boarded up, bar one near the front door entrance, making this already dark house even darker.
Matt Speck was waiting to give our tour.  The coldness inside the building seemed deeper than the chill outside.  Matt pointed out the abandon wheelchair where they had placed a list of people that were known to have died in the house.  He pointed out the basement entrance, and then quickly moved on to the Well room.  He mentioned that he really didn’t like to be there after nightfall, so he ended the tour and left us to our own devices.  
We decided to set up our command center in a room next to the front door.  This would give us easy access to the rest of the building, (or if necessary rapidly exit the building).  We spent the next half hour checking meters and recorders, but mostly fighting with cameras.  Differentiating between paranormal and technical issues are always difficult, so I always joke to the entities that at least they’ll have a good laugh watching me struggle. 
It wasn’t soon after we started that we had our first personal experience.  As Trish and I were doing a preliminary walkthrough in the kitchen area on the first floor it felt as if something was playing with the back of my hair.  Trish said she thought my hair looked as if it was moving.  At the same time, Trish also had problems with her flashlight.  It seemed to grow dim and sometimes flicker as we made our way around the house.
We brought some toys to place in the upstairs nursery where there is a toy riding horse.  We brought a musical Santa that plays notes when you pull the string.  We also brought a doll, a car, a Christmas book, and a plush horse just to name a few.  We placed all the items on and around the riding horse to see if that might entice anyone.
At that point, Dave and Zach went outside to check the grounds while Trish and I returned to the first floor.  We ended up in the wheelchair room to check out that list of people who had died in the home.  Being more than three pages, it was quite an extensive list!  While Trish decided to grab another flashlight from our command center, I proceeded to read out a few of the names on the list.  During that time I did garner an EVP of a male.  I believe it says, “Russ right here”.  It wasn’t long before Trish’s replacement flashlight started having problems too!  As I said before, difficulties with our equipment, battery issues, paranormal or just CAPS technical luck!
When Dave and Zach came inside they told us that they had experienced the sound of footsteps in the leaves and had heard what sounded like a little girl laughing.  Throughout the night, we all heard numerous thumps, possible footsteps and disembodied voices.  I also kept feeling a sensation on my leg like a cat was rubbing against me. 
Trish and I returned to the nursery around 11pm.  I picked up the Christmas book and sat down in the chair across from the horse, but right when I opened the book, the pull-string Santa played several notes.  Rather than immediately trying to debunk the experience, I thanked them and read the book as promised.  Later we took a closer look at the Santa and could not get it to play without shaking the horse or pulling on the string.
As the early morning hours wore on, the activity seemed to wane so two CAPS members decided they would take a break back at the hotel to warm-up.  That left Dave and I stranded behind, and wouldn’t you know, that’s when things really picked up!
At one point, Dave’s K2 meter was pinned when he started to set it a rocking chair in our first floor Command Central.  This lasted only for a few seconds and then he said he felt ice cold.  It seemed as if someone was sitting in that chair and we had inadvertently chased them off.
We then set a motion detector in the upstairs nursery and less than two minutes later the alarm went off.  Unfortunately all the camera batteries were drained at that point so we had to go up and investigate personally.  Shortly after we returned to command central, we both heard a VERY loud male voice!  We couldn’t make out what was said, but we both agreed…he didn’t sound happy!  We decided this was a good time to go outside and give the house spirits some time to “recuperate and cool down”.  It was also this point that we wondered when our ride would return!  Despite the cold, we didn’t stay outside for too long.  We were feeling pretty enthused about the events and were anxious for more experiences.  
We went back in and sat in our Command Center again, listening and sometimes chatting.  While Dave was playing back his recorder I heard a “meow”.  I thought he had captured my “ghost cat” on his recording, but as I looked past Dave I saw a real cat standing at the top of the basement stairs.  It meowed again as it looked at us, perhaps beckoning us to follow.  We watched as it went down into the basement but elected not to follow …I really didn’t like that basement!  Dave laughed that maybe it was his so-called “demon” cat like the one he had encountered just a few weeks prior at Cemetery X.
Over the next hour we heard voices and footsteps and I continued to feel that familiar brushing up against my legs.  Then we distinctly heard the cat calling us from the basement again.  We went to the top of the basement stairs, apprehensively pondering if we should go down or not.  At this point, we suddenly heard the loudest thumping sound coming from above us…not just once, but twice!  We took that as a sign not to descend into the basement!
As daybreak arrived, the activity seemed to subside. I suggested to Dave that they needed sleep as much as the remaining CAPS members did.  It was a long eventful night and I’ll just say, this was the happiest I have ever seen Dave on an investigation!  As for me, this investigation certainly rivals with the Virgil Hickox home…girls night out! (Virgil Hickox Sept 24, 2011)

Addendum
In the Fall of 2012, Black Moon Manor was featured on an episode of "Ghost Adventures".  After the show's airing, the owner of this property decided he would no longer maintain this historic old home.  In November of 2012, the home was regrettably torn down.