Introduction:

Teresa Allen of Texas Spirit Seekers approached Norma Wilkinson, owner of The Oaklea Mansion and Manor House Bed and Breakfast in Winnsboro Texas, about the possibility of conducting a scientific investigation of the paranormal activity that has been reported at the house for many years. Norma agreed to let the TSS investigation team come in and conduct a thorough investigation of the house. Texas Spirit Seekers is scientific in its approach to dealing with the paranormal and does not except the information gathered from Psychics, Séances or Ouija boards as this evidence can be tampered with by the individual giving the information, they have preconceived ideas about the paranormal before the start an investigation, they believe the place to be haunted before the go in the home.

We at Texas Spirit Seekers use the Null Hypothesis for every investigation we conduct. We state that the property in question has no paranormal activity before the investigation starts and try to debunk any of the reports of the paranormal, collect evidence using instrumentation such as audio recorders, video cameras, DVR systems, EMF meters, thermometers, etc. and review all data collected. We do report personal experiences but it is not accepted as paranormal activity unless it can be backed up by our instrumentation. The final report will have an introduction, history of the property if available, list of investigation team members, all experiences, data of interest, instrumentation used, comments, and a final record/conclusion. We at TSS do not charge for any of our services and will not accept payment or contributions to the group; we do this as a service to the community.

History of the Oaklea Mansion and Manor House Bed and Breakfast:

The Carlock Home, 1903

This colonial mansion was built by Marcus DeWitt Carlock Sr., Mr. Carlock was a prominent early-day attorney, confederate courier, political leader, friend of Governor Jim Hogg and a member of the electoral college that named Woodrow Wilson as President.
Mr. Carlock entertained many high officials in his home. The house contains a stairway of rare, curly pine, 17 rooms, 53 windows, 4 porches, 6 columns, double floors, 5-ply walls and a foundation that has enough brick to build a 5-room house.
The Carlock Home was recorded a Texas Historical Landmark in 1966.

Reported Paranormal Experiences:

There have been a number of reports of the unexplained at the Oaklea Mansion and Manor House. A couple staying in one of the other buildings on the property was looking out of the window towards the main house and noticed a man walking out of the back door. The man walked down to the Koi pond, stood there for a moment and then disappeared into a mist. The next day they asked the owner, Norma Wilkinson, if the place was haunted and she told them she had not seen anything.

There have also been a number of reports of guest smelling a sweet pipe smoke in the downstairs living room and on the stairs. Some guest have reported that a phantom cat seem's to jump onto the bed in the Angel suite and snuggle up next to them while they are trying to sleep.
There was also a guest staying in the Angel suite that had locked the bedroom door, went to the bathroom and when he came back into the bedroom the door was wide open.

A bathroom light has also been known to turn off and on in the angel Suite.

Texas Spirit Seekers Investigators:
Lance Brooks, John Penny, Chris Travis and James Leslie.

Date: 04/05/2008

Time: 1900 hrs – 0200 hrs

Location: The Oaklea Mansion and Manor House Bed and Breakfast,
407 South Main Street, Winnsboro, Texas 75494
903-342-6051, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Weather: Clear, 70F

Instrumentation:

Cameras: Digital: Panasonic DMC-TZ3
35mm: Canon EOS Rebel T2 and K2

Video: Sony HDR-SR1, Sony DCR-HC40 MiniDV, Sony DCR-HC26 MiniDV, Sony DCR-TRV33, Sony DCR-TRV 350 Digital 8.

DVR: Hitachi DVR, 1 Sony 24IR, 2 54IR and 1 104IR cameras.

Thermometer: Fisher Scientific IR Thermometer with external air probe.

Audio: 3, Olympus VN-4100PC

EMF Meters: TriField Meter – Alpha Lab, Extech EMF Meter

Personal Experiences:

Team 1: Chris Travis and James Leslie

Room : Angle Suite
Chris and James were exiting the Angle room bath, as they entered the bedroom area something whispered in Chris’s ear.

Room : Miss Ima Hogg Suite
There were multiple personal experiences in this suite. First during the start of the investigation there was a complete battery drain of the camera battery. Upon returning to the room there was a strong smell of pipe smoke. Later in the investigation the team was coming down the stairs from the third floor and Chris saw a torso walking past the room.

Room: Living Room
No experiences.

3rd Floor Hallway:
Chris and James were walking up the stair case to the third floor, as they entered the room on the left James was shoved from behind and fell into Chris. An unknown force pushed James from behind and the ended that part of the investigation to report.

Team 2: Lance Brooks and John Penny

Room : Angle Suite
No experiences.

Room : Miss Ima Hogg Suite
Noticed a strong EMF reading emanating from the floor. Following a thorough investigation, it was determined that there is an electrical wire running under the floorboards next to the floor studs. Extremely high EMF upon entering the room and lowered as you approach the window side of the room. There was also a high EMF reading on the wicker loveseat next to the balcony door. It lasted for about 2 or 3 minutes and then just went away, no explanation. The stud finder and wire locator read a wire present on the seat but there was no wire or power located.

Room: Living Room
No experiences.

Evidence of Interest:

Photographs:

1. Orb in Living Room, in the same spot as one captured in October of last year.

2. Orb at the top of the Mansion out side during daylight hours.

3. Photos of EMF meter taken within 2 seconds of each other, on the wicker couch.

EVP’s (Electronic Voice Phenomena): Listed are all EVP’s captured and are available on the attached CD. (Will be added back Soon!)

1. Third Floor – Noise?

2. Ima Hogg Suite – Noise?

3. Angel Suite – Yes!

4. Angel Suite – exiting the bathroom, whisper.

5. Angel Suite – Yes! 2

6. James getting shoved.

7. Box Session – Gil and No!

8. Box Session – Carlock

Comments:

As always Texas, Spirit Seekers go into an investigation with the idea that the property is not haunted, just a good number of stories being told. Part of the group at TSS has investigated this residence in the past and have collected some very good evidence, not enough to lead me to believe that the Oaklea Mansion was haunted but very interesting and worthy of further investigation. The TSS team had a number of personal experiences, some sounds, voices, and one of our investigators was pushed on the third floor staircase. I really take little value in personal experiences as they are not quantifiable and sometimes can be caused by the investigators own imagination but still attach them to the report as good information applied to evidence that can be quantified . We collected 4hrs of DVR video; 12hrs of audio, 200 photographs both digital and 35mm, and 3hrs of HDD video. We also had a 30 minute Mini-Box session in the HIS and collected some interesting evidence. After reviewing the evidence you may want to rethink wither this beautiful old home is haunted or not, we have.

Conclusion:

After a thorough review of all evidence collected at The Oaklea Mansion and Manor House Bed & Breakfast we have concluded that the home has paranormal activity. Is it haunted? We captured a lot of evidence that is helping us lean in that direction. We didn’t see an apparition floating by nor did we see a door close or open, or any thing that would be considered as absolute proof, but there is a lot of activity. I feel that if subsequent investigations are performed , there is an opportunity to capture more conclusive evidence.

Lance Brooks (Co-Founder and Lead Investigator)