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For this episode of Haunted Towns, we pay another visit to Vicksburg and the McRaven house. Again, it’s noted to be the most haunted town in America with people hearing phantom gunshots, period music out of nowhere, disembodied footsteps and full bodied apparitions.

At the MacRaven house they meet with Kendra who gives a little more detail about John Bobb, one of the previous owners. He supposedly found soldiers digging up his flowers. This prompted him to throw a brick at them, which lead to multiple threats. John Bobb sought protection from General Slocum, who said he would take care of the matter. This went nowhere and John Bobb was trapped by soldiers who shot him in the abdomen and face. Or so the story goes.

We also have another interview with Jai, who says she saw Mr. Bobb in his changing room and saw his apparition clear enough to make eye contact. She also says there is the strong odor of perfume and cigar smoke in the rooms, clearly the presence of Mr and Mrs Cobb. Or it could be the odor trapped in a porous material like wood that comes out from time to time. Take your pick.

The investigation begins with Chris and Brandon on the first floor while Doogie and Porter taking the  second floor bedroom. Nothing happens on the first floor, but Porter believes he captures the outline of a figure on his thermal camera. This blob could easily be a reflection and they spend quite a bit of time making sure you see the outline of it, so you can get adjusted to the matrixing. Next is a blip on the meter up to 4.8, which is still negligible, but it’s better than a “high” reading of 1 that we’ve seen before.

They also have the half unscrewed flashlight trick, which goes off as they talk about different subjects. But since it won’t commit to an answer and obey their commands, the entity isn’t willing to share it’s identity. When they capture “evidence” it’s the entity. When they don’t, it’s the entity being difficult. It’s an entity either way.

On the second day, they head to the Cobb House, where the stories very much start with, “According to local legend.” And that’s something to keep in mind as the team starts to piece together their evidence to fit this alleged story.

It’s said John Cobb was a gambler, got himself into debt, committed suicide and that he “likely” died in the house.

After Cobb was gone, nuns took over the house, but were afflicted with yellow fever. Morgan Gates says he’s sure five nuns died from the outbreak. Again, as they get on with their investigation, they say, “a nun may have died in this room.” Then again, maybe nothing of the kind took place.

On the first floor, Doogie and Porter believe they capture a gunshot when talking about John Cobb. They believe they get two gunshots when talking about John Bobb. When Doogie and Porter sit down in the side room, they hear what they think is music. They believe they trace it to the piano. There is some sort of noise like wind through a small opening, but nothing that sounds like music.

Up on the second floor, Chris and Brandon get the words, Liberty, Porch, Demand and Soldier. All of these get conveniently woven into the story of John Bobb smoking a cigar on his porch, demanding the soldiers stop their activities and him ultimately losing his liberty.

For the last part they head to Stout’s Bayou where John Bobb was shot. Doogie claims his meter jumps to over 100 and shows multiple spikes over 70. And while we never actually see any of these readings, it leads them to a tree where they believe John Bobb died. From there, the spikes lead them back to the main house. This creates the story that John Bobb is stuck in a loop, repeating his last day by having a cigar on the porch, heading to the Cobb house, then being shot at the tree and making it back to the house.

There are a lot of events that, “allegedly”, took place in and around the area. And the evidence they capture is molded to fit these “local legend” stories.

The next investigation takes place in Savannah, which reputes itself as one of the most haunted towns in America. Everyone has a paranormal tale to tell, but these are the same as in every other town that claims itself to be haunted. When you listen, all the stories start with, “the story goes”, “people believe”, “what we’re told”. This means they’re unsupported myths.

In Wright Square, Chris and the team are investigating the stories of Alice Riley and Richard White who were hanged in connection with the murder of William Wise. However, no one agrees on what that story is. At first, Alice and Richard killed William by drowning him in a barrel, but then it changes to Alice slit his throat. James, the local historian confirms the dubious nature of these stories when even he uses, “people believe” when referring to Wright Square. And that’s the preface when discussing how the bodies were removed to make way for new buildings. “People believe some of the bodies were left behind.”

They start off the investigation in Wright Square and the aptly named, Wright Square Cafe, where the manager revealed his own experiences, one involving a knife moving entity.

Doogie and Brandon take on the square, where they feel they get responses when discussing Alice. To them, this is confirmed by the word, “lust” on the Ovilus.

As Chris and Porter investigate the cafe, Chris says he sees a shadow, which is followed by a whisper and then a pop. Thinking back to what the manager said, they lay a knife on the table. As we expect, the knife has moved. It just didn’t move on camera.

For day 2, they investigate the Liquid Sands shop, where bags of packing peanuts fly off the shelves, rather than just falling, and a glass sculpture supposedly moved on it’s own, also called falling and rolling.

Chris and Porter get permission to investigate the Oglethorpe House, which stands on the site of the old gallows. As they interview Mike, the battery on the camera dies, which is surely a sign of the paranormal and not incompetence or cheap equipment.

Like the other “stories”, there is one for Doctor Cox, who committed suicide by starving himself to death after giving his family Yellow Fever. A dubious story at best, but Chris feels it’s the real deal as his temperature reading goes to the paranormal cliche of 66.6.

Notice though, the reading was 66.8 as they started going down the stairs. It dropped to 66.6 then went right back up. But, when Chris asks for the entity to do it again, he shows a 66.6 again; after we come back from some blurry camera work.

As they investigate the Liquid Sands, they get a voice saying, “Get out” which is utterly indistinguishable. This is followed by, “Get a knife” which refers to the cafe a few doors down and Alice. Again, I don’t hear those words, but I do see Doogie pointing out the spot where the voice comes, marking when they need to give a reaction.

But to obscure the story of Alice even more, they get the word, “barrel” and “angry”. On the one hand they get voices from beyond talking about a knife. Next it’s the barrel. Even the sprits don’t know which story they’re supposed to play into. But it’s funny that Porter says, “the pieces of the puzzle are coming together.” Considering they can’t agree on a story, that’s an interesting comment.

Finally, as they work their way through the Oglethorpe House, Chris claims to hear his name mentioned by a child. And we have another dead battery. They don’t get anything from Doctor Cox, who is supposed to be just as active from all the “stories” but they will weave these items together as the story of Alice.

While Savannah revels in it’s haunted history, these accounts start with “the story goes”. And just like the story of Alice, people can’t even agree on the story. It makes you think they might be fabricated.

Moving past that, what evidence do they capture? The usual garbled blips of audio. Shadows not captured on camera. A knife placed in a different orientation, which again, wasn’t captured. And a dead battery.

So which of these is actions that can’t possibly be explained through normal means?

Other Articles of Interest:

• Haunted Towns – McDonough GA – S01E08
• Haunted Towns – Bisbee Arizona – S01E05
• Haunted Towns – Salem – S01E02
• Haunted Towns – Fall River MA – Lizzie Borden House – S01E07
• Haunted Towns – Cape May New Jersey – S01E06
• Ghost Asylum – Old Crow Distillery
• Ghost Asylum – Castillo de San Marcos – S03E05
• Ghost Asylum – Preston Castle – S03E07
• Haunted Collector – Slaughterhouse Ghosts & Supernatural Sword – S01E06
• Stranded – West Virginia State Penitentiary – S01E03