HGB Ep. 449 - Hogestown Church Investigation

Moment in Oddity - Angel Glow

Back in April of 1862, one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War took place in Tennessee. Approximately 25,000 Union and Confederate soldiers lost their lives. Those who were injured soon encountered a strange experience. They weren't hallucinating. The injured began to see their wounds glowing at night. A blueish greenish glow, not super bright but visible none the less. A number of those injured soldiers who glowed tended to recover more rapidly than those who did not have glowing wounds. This is why the phenomenon was dubbed Angel's Glow. This legend was passed down through the times between friends and families alike and it literally was just that, a legend, until the early 2000's. There was a teen who was an avid civil war enthusiast traveling to reenactments and the like. It is said that this boy learned about the Angel's Glow from a reenactor in Virginia. This teen had parents who were scientists so he was able to delve into the world of investigating bacteria and glowing wounds. It was quickly determined that a bacteria was indeed the cause of the glow. There were particular environmental necessities for this glow to occur. There was a need for cold temperatures, moist ground and the nematodes that carried the bacteria liked plants but specifically peach trees, which is where this battle happened. This bacteria was called photorhabdus luminescence. It is believed that this bacteria could also produce an antibiotic affect. While seeing wounds glow with bio-luminescence is strange enough, having the glow actually increase healing and survival chances, certainly is odd!

This Month in History - Chappie Chapman Becomes Only MLB Player to Die From Being Hit By Pitch

In the month of August, on the 16th, in 1920, the Cleveland Indians shortstop, Ray "Chappie" Chapman, becomes the only baseball player to die as the direct result of being hit by a pitch. Baseball players wearing batting helmets has been around for so many decades, it might surprise some people to find out that they were only required starting in 1971. Baseball was much more dangerous in 1920. Helmets weren't worn and pitchers could pretty much do whatever they wanted to with balls from rubbing dirt and spit all over them, cutting into the ball and pretty much anything to affect the pitch's path. Chappie was a good batter and specialized in bunting and stealing bases. New York Yankee Carl Mays was pitching and he was known for beaning batters. His pitch hit Chappie so hard in the head that people thought the ball had hit the bat. Chappie collapsed as he ran to first base and he was helped from the field. He collapsed again in the dugout and was taken to the hospital with blood running from his ear. Chappie told people, "Tell Mays not to worry," before he lost consciousness, never to regain it. He died the following morning, on the 16th. Some fans called for Mays to be banned, but he was not and he was never prosecuted either. He took 10 days off after the incident and said later that this was “the most regrettable incident of my baseball career. I would give anything if I could undo what has happened. Chapman was a game, splendid fellow.” Spitballs were banned starting the following season, but helmets would take decades to become common place in major league parks.

Hogestown Church

Hogestown was a town settled in 1730 by a man named John Hogue and that is where it gets its name. Its first name was Sporting Green and today is part of Mechanicsburg in Pennsylvania. We ventured to this small historic settlement to investigate the Hogestown Church with an old friend of Diane's, Robert Brandt aka Sarge, who is Vice President of the Cumberland County Historical Society. There definitely seems to be some unexplained activity going on at the church. Join us as we explore the history and investigate the haunting of the Hogestown Church!

This location intrigued us because we had been told that the family that had transformed this church into their residence had left abruptly, leaving all their belongings behind. Something had scared them out of the place. We interviewed Sarge for a Paranormal Conversation a couple months ago and during that he shared some of the experiences his team, Ghost Ops Paranormal, has had on several of their investigations of this historic church. (Sarge Experiences) (Sarge Spirit Box)

So we arrived on the evening of August 5th after having dinner in Harrisburg and meeting our first Pittsburgh Salad. Sarge and his team were setting up the equipment and cameras and we went inside the church and met Mary, who is the President of the Cumberland County Historical Society. She shared with us the history of Hogestown. (Mary Int) Yeah, so the church was built to give the people of Hogestown a closer place to worship. It became a school for farmers while still being a church and then in 1997 the church was sold and converted into a private home. The owner of the house in 2013 abandoned the property, including the shed in back. In 2014, a group of Hogestown residents organized as the Hogestown Redevelopment Committee, became a 501c3 nonprofit and changed their name to Hogestown Heritage Committee. 

Sarge gets the investigation underway. (Sarge Intro) While Sarge was doing the initial walkthrough, we asked Ghost Bait about the entity in the basement. The basement has a dirt floor and we wonder about these places built down under the earth, with the earth still there and do they possibly harbor more energy than other places. (Ghost Bait Basement) So the audio went out in a few places and I have no idea why because we didn't move, but Ghost Bait was talking about how when Maude is around they get this distinct old lady perfume and a cool breeze, usually in the hallway where the rooms are located. They believe she is a source for good and protection in the building. And listening to him, one really has to be careful about opening themselves up to entities. The two times he has done it, has led to him being mean to people - his personality changed as though he had an attachment.

Kelly and I went inside and did a session with the dowsing rods and an ESTES Method Spirit Box session. (Kelly Dowsing) Is this an EVP under Kelly talking, we're not sure. (EVP Church) (Diane ESTES) Pretty cool that you asked if it was Zack and I said Zack. Sounds like he was telling us he was six years old. And pretty chilling towards the end that I said "Good riddance" and "He came up" like the bad entity came up from basement, but then left. Kelly started to not feel well and mentions fumes, which I didn't really register what she was saying. She told Jared and I back at the hotel that the fumes had gotten to her. Jared and I had no idea what she was talking about. We said it smelled like wood, but no fumes. 

Throughout the evening the REM Pods went off and the paralights went off. Many times on command. Sarge and Jared did a long session in the church after Kelly and I. (Sarge Church) The best evidence this evening came during this part of Sarge and Jared's session with the REM Pod and EMF detector. (Sarge REM) Sarge and Ghost Bait do an ESTES Session in different rooms. Sarge got the name Maude and told Ghost Bait "I'm behind you." Ghost bait said he could feel it because his arms felt cold. The box asked (Who Are They) "Who are they?" Was this in reference to us? They got Student during this and Sarge told us later that they got it 3 times and all with the same male voice. (ESTES Church) Then we all came in for a session and the voices you hear coming over the speaker are from the GhostTube Vox app.This gets some weird voices coming across.

By this time it was a little after midnight and we needed to be up and on the road by 7am, so we called it a night. Hogestown is an interesting area and we hope that it can someday be protected as a historic district. We're sure the ghosts at the church feel the same way. If there are ghosts. Is the Hogestown Church haunted? That is for you to decide!