Okay we're back for the second installment of our blog. This time I'm going to tell you all a little bit about Colonial Parkway and our adventures upon it.
Colonial Parkway is a scenic drive along the York River that runs between Yorktown and Williamsburg. It was built sometime in the 1950's as a part of the new state park movement of the time. Although it is a beautifully, completely-concrete highway, that's not what this road is most famous for. Between 1986 and 1989, three couples were found slain in their cars along the highway. Another couple was never found but pressumed dead, and there are numerous other muders around the same time and area that were not attributed but could have been related. These murders were chalked up to a serial killer that was aptly named 'The Colonial Parkway Killer'. The legend of the CP killer has been a prominent one in folklore and campfire stories for residents of the Hampton Roads area since as long as I can remember. Because of these urban legends surrounding the murders it is sometimes hard to tell what actually happened in 1986. The concencus of the FBI and local police departments was that an individual used a police car, or something similiar, and dressed up as a member of law enforcment in order to pull the victims over or approach their parked vehicle. This conjecture stems from the fact that in all the murder cases there was very little signs of struggle and that the third couples car was found with the glove box open as if the victim was searching for their registration. Because of this it is also assumed that the killer was possibly a retired law enforcement officer, a rogue CIA agent from nearby Camp Peary, or something similar.
One urban legend that is prominent is that a couple was driving down Colonial Parkway at night when they were pulled over by a car with flashing lights, however when the officer (who it is said was wearing sunglasses at night) got to their window he began to act strange, and then without saying a word he went back to his car and departed at a fast pace. Only after their encounter did the young couple learn of the murders and put two and two together. Admittedly this story is a bit far-fetched but it's fun to hear and tell anyways.
One more bit of background information that is pretinent to our investigation. The very first couple that was slain was a lesbian couple and theirs is perhaps the most depressing stories of all the murders. On October 12, 1986, the bodies of Cathleen Thomas (27) and Rebecca Ann Dowski (21) were found inside Thomas' Civic which had been pushed down an embankment in an area of the highway that was a popular parking spot for gay couples. They were found with signs of rope burns, stangulation, and their throats were slit. I think one of the craziest things about this killer is that both victim's purses and money were found in the car still, and neither victim possessed any signs of sexual assault and were fully clothed. To me this says that the killer did it only for the enjoyment of killing, something that belongs in the plotline of any horror movie. Now what was particularly depressing about this story was the fact that Cathleen Thomas was actually a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Class of 1981. What is most notable about this is that the Class of '81 possessed only 100 females and was only the second coeducational class to graduate from the federal service academies. Even more saddening was the dedication that Thomas' family showed to finding her killer. SInce her death, her family worked non-stop with the FBI and detectives working the case. As late a 2009, her family was still pleading with the FBI to find her killer. On the 23rd anniversary of his sister's murder, Bill Thomas made a plea to the FBI to raise the reward for any information that led to the capture of her killer. Bill even went so far as to suggest that if the FBI was not willing to cover the costs to raise the reward from $10 thousand to $25 thousand then his family would take out loans to provide the rest. Also of note was that her girlfriend Rebecca Dowski was a senior Business Managment Major at the College of William and Mary.
This last Tuesday we finally ventured out on the highway. To be honest, the highway is a bit creepy in itself at night. After much debate and searching, we finally stopped he car at one of the little scenic pull-offs that litter the highway. Here we took some pictures, an unsuccessful EVP, and (don't laugh) used a ghost hunter app on one of our phones. While not much happened in the way of evidence we did experience some strange happenings around the time we used the ghost app. Right before we started it, one of our members heard what she described as a female scream that seemed to come from someone between the ages of 20 and 30. Something of note is that she was the only member of our team who heard this scream eventhough we were all standing in the same approximate area. The member of our group who heard the scream is the female of our group who is the closest in age to Cathleen Thomas and she has also had experience with relationships with women, it seems that perhaps Cathleen was communicating with the member of our group who was most similar to her in her life. Immediatly after she heard the scream, she pulled out her phone and started the ghost hunting app. What is interesting about this is that at the time we didn't know anything about the story of Cathleen Thomas or how her brother was still carrying on her memory. A few minutes after we started the app the word 'Bill' came up. When we got back and typed in the name Bill in relation to Colonial Parkway and all the information I previously mentioned came up. Needless to say we were quite shocked that the app was able to come up with something so accurate. After some research we also realized that at the time we were only about three miles from where the bodies of Cathleen Thomas and Rebecca Ann Dowski were found.
Sometime soon we plan to go back and in hopes of making contact with the second confirmed couple found in September of 1987, David Knobling (20) and Robin Edwards (14). We hope that if we attempt to recreate their situation by having a younger member of the group and an older member of the opposite sex alone in a car along the parkway then the spirits of David and Robin will communicate with us.
While it wasn't a whole lot of evidence, Colonial Parkway is still a very creepy place that hides its many secrets, even three decades later. In 2010, the cases were reopened and it was discovered that none of the evidence had been DNA tested yet. As of 2011 the results were still inconclusive. To do this day, there had been no concrete leads or anything other than speculation as to who the Colonial Parkway Killer was. Its possible that he still drives up and down the highway at night looking for his next victims.
Anyone with any information to call the Norfolk FBI office at (757) 455-0100 or Special Agent Crosby Brackett at (757) 435-4708.
So until next, this is Jacob, scribe and videographer/technician, representing Bobbi, Dylan, Sam, Miranda, and all other aspects of S+S Paranormal Research Group. Like us on Facebook and maybe even pitch us some ideas for our next adventure.
http://historicmysteries.com/colonial-parkway-killer
http://www.wtkr.com/news/wtkr-colonial-plea,0,6915619.story
Predators on the Parkway by Steven Spangola
Real Stories of the Highway Patrol
-Colonial Parkway Killer: Episode #4.52
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Rosewell Plantation, August 4, 2011
Our first major investigation was Rosewell Plantation, located in Gloucester, Virginia. This place quickly became our groups first white whale in that it took us three trips there to actually proceed beyond the gate even. However early morning on the 7th we finally made it in and were able to collect some evidence.
Before I get into the specifics of our various trips I'll go into a bit of history about the plantation. Mann Page I started construction on the mansion in 1725 in the hopes that it would emulate the grandeur of the London townhouses of the time. Mann was a man of grandeur and he built the mansion with aspirations that it would dwarf the opulence of the recently constructed Governors Mansion in Williamsburg. However, his visions were not to be achieved as he died only five years after construction started. The mansion would later be completed by Mann's wife, Judith, and his son, Mann II. The mansion would later be inherited by John Page. John was the grandson of Mann and most notably the first Governor of Virgina. John was also famously friends with Thomas Jefferson while they both attended William and Mary College together in the early 1760's. It is also said that Jefferson wrote an early rough draft of the Declaration of Independence in the mansion. Many architects praise the style and over the top grandeur for the time. At the time, Rosewell mansion was the largest and most advanced brick building ever built. All this however came to an end in 1916 when the mansion was completely gutted by a fire leaving only the superstructure today as a testament to the engineering of the time.
There have been numerous hauntings and paranormal sitings at Rosewell, so many in fact that Rosewell is on many peoples lists of the most haunted place in Virginia, it is also mentioned in many books on the paranormal. The very first story from Rosewell comes from 1930 concerning the death of Mann Page I. When he died suddenly in the front parlor, the local bishop claimed that he was struck down by God as punishment for his lush attitudes and want of excess. Many people also claim to see apparitions of slaves walking throughout the ruins at night. There have also been some random, unconfirmed, sitings of what is supposedly Thomas Jefferson's ghost walking about. Some people claim to hear old-timey music and some have even been touched to the point of leaving bruises.
Unfortunately our paranormal encounters were much less subdued than these extreme cases. It should be noted though that it did take us three separate tries to actually advance beyond that gates at the front of the property. The first time we tried we went without any guidance from anyone that had previously visited. We made it out of our car and about half way toward the gate before feelings of impending doom overcame a few of our members and we were forced to retreat for the night. The next night we tried once more and encountered a foreign car that signified that there were unknown people out there and we didn't want to interfere or be caught in an uncomfortable situation. Also of note, another of our group felt these feelings of uncertainty and terror that the other two felt the night before. The very next night we went back, this time with guidance from a previous attendee. The fact that none of us experienced the terror that we had felt before leads me to hypothesis that it is a requirement for new paranormal seekers to be accompanied by someone who has been there before as a sort of right of passage.
We made it through the corn fields lining the passage with ease and progressed onto the ruins of the mansion. Once at the mansion we stood on the steps and were able to take some pictures and videos without too many problems. As we moved through the area surrounding the ruins we heard random unexplained noises intermittently. We took some time to take an EVP and realized that without a daytime run to scope out the woods or some sort of markings to mark the path we stood a very good chance of getting lost. As we were leaving a number of our members heard footsteps following us that stopped when we stopped. Also I myself heard what sounded like a woman's voice off in the direction of the ruins. Needless to say that as we left was when the worst of the feelings occurred, almost as if whatever entities were there did not want us to leave.
Upon returning home and reviewing our evidence we discovered many, many orbs throughout many of our pictures. This is consistent with some of the few pictures we were able to snap in the little time we spent at the entrance on our previous tries. While we didn't capture anything definitive that we are aware of at this time, as we still have to upload the videos and take some closer looks at the pictures, we could not ignore the feelings that we all felt at some point, not to mention the numerous stories and downright reluctance of many to ever visit again we firmly believe that Rosewell is a certifiably haunted location. We plan to visit sometime during that day soon to scope out the areas back in the woods and hopefully make a return trip preferably in the winter as a lot of our access to certain areas, most notably the interior of the mansion ruins, was blocked by plants and tall grass.
So until next, this is Jacob, scribe and videographer/technician, representing Bobbi, Dylan, Sam, and Miranda and all other aspects of S+S Paranormal Research Group. Like us on Facebook and maybe even pitch us some ideas for our next adventure.
Rosewell Plantation: Rosewell.org
Before I get into the specifics of our various trips I'll go into a bit of history about the plantation. Mann Page I started construction on the mansion in 1725 in the hopes that it would emulate the grandeur of the London townhouses of the time. Mann was a man of grandeur and he built the mansion with aspirations that it would dwarf the opulence of the recently constructed Governors Mansion in Williamsburg. However, his visions were not to be achieved as he died only five years after construction started. The mansion would later be completed by Mann's wife, Judith, and his son, Mann II. The mansion would later be inherited by John Page. John was the grandson of Mann and most notably the first Governor of Virgina. John was also famously friends with Thomas Jefferson while they both attended William and Mary College together in the early 1760's. It is also said that Jefferson wrote an early rough draft of the Declaration of Independence in the mansion. Many architects praise the style and over the top grandeur for the time. At the time, Rosewell mansion was the largest and most advanced brick building ever built. All this however came to an end in 1916 when the mansion was completely gutted by a fire leaving only the superstructure today as a testament to the engineering of the time.
There have been numerous hauntings and paranormal sitings at Rosewell, so many in fact that Rosewell is on many peoples lists of the most haunted place in Virginia, it is also mentioned in many books on the paranormal. The very first story from Rosewell comes from 1930 concerning the death of Mann Page I. When he died suddenly in the front parlor, the local bishop claimed that he was struck down by God as punishment for his lush attitudes and want of excess. Many people also claim to see apparitions of slaves walking throughout the ruins at night. There have also been some random, unconfirmed, sitings of what is supposedly Thomas Jefferson's ghost walking about. Some people claim to hear old-timey music and some have even been touched to the point of leaving bruises.
Unfortunately our paranormal encounters were much less subdued than these extreme cases. It should be noted though that it did take us three separate tries to actually advance beyond that gates at the front of the property. The first time we tried we went without any guidance from anyone that had previously visited. We made it out of our car and about half way toward the gate before feelings of impending doom overcame a few of our members and we were forced to retreat for the night. The next night we tried once more and encountered a foreign car that signified that there were unknown people out there and we didn't want to interfere or be caught in an uncomfortable situation. Also of note, another of our group felt these feelings of uncertainty and terror that the other two felt the night before. The very next night we went back, this time with guidance from a previous attendee. The fact that none of us experienced the terror that we had felt before leads me to hypothesis that it is a requirement for new paranormal seekers to be accompanied by someone who has been there before as a sort of right of passage.
We made it through the corn fields lining the passage with ease and progressed onto the ruins of the mansion. Once at the mansion we stood on the steps and were able to take some pictures and videos without too many problems. As we moved through the area surrounding the ruins we heard random unexplained noises intermittently. We took some time to take an EVP and realized that without a daytime run to scope out the woods or some sort of markings to mark the path we stood a very good chance of getting lost. As we were leaving a number of our members heard footsteps following us that stopped when we stopped. Also I myself heard what sounded like a woman's voice off in the direction of the ruins. Needless to say that as we left was when the worst of the feelings occurred, almost as if whatever entities were there did not want us to leave.
Upon returning home and reviewing our evidence we discovered many, many orbs throughout many of our pictures. This is consistent with some of the few pictures we were able to snap in the little time we spent at the entrance on our previous tries. While we didn't capture anything definitive that we are aware of at this time, as we still have to upload the videos and take some closer looks at the pictures, we could not ignore the feelings that we all felt at some point, not to mention the numerous stories and downright reluctance of many to ever visit again we firmly believe that Rosewell is a certifiably haunted location. We plan to visit sometime during that day soon to scope out the areas back in the woods and hopefully make a return trip preferably in the winter as a lot of our access to certain areas, most notably the interior of the mansion ruins, was blocked by plants and tall grass.
So until next, this is Jacob, scribe and videographer/technician, representing Bobbi, Dylan, Sam, and Miranda and all other aspects of S+S Paranormal Research Group. Like us on Facebook and maybe even pitch us some ideas for our next adventure.
Rosewell Plantation: Rosewell.org
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