Ft Francisco Museum

Ft. Francisco Museum

History:

Located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Colorado, the Ft. Francisco Museum, also known as the Francisco Plaza, was never actually a military fort, but was under siege 3 times by the Ute Indians, hence they refer to it as a fort. It was a center of commerce and trade in the 1800’s. The museum grounds consist of several buildings of the 1880’s that were moved in to be a part of the museum grounds. The buildings include the Ritter School House, the old La Veta town hall, an old trading post, and an old Saloon. Many artifacts such as military gear and weapons, furniture, clothing, photos and other artifacts from its history are on display throughout the complex.

Reported Activity:
A few years ago, a tourist visiting the museum grounds took a picture of the outside of the old Ritter Schoolhouse, and captured the image of a young child peering back at him through the window. The school was locked and empty at the time. Many old stories revolve around the “Floating Lady Ghost”, who has been seen walking inside and outside of the Fort’s West Wing. The lady is reportedly wearing Victorian clothing (A long flowing dress) and carrying a candle. Footsteps are often heard in the East and West wings of the fort.

Investigation:
We knew this would be our most ambitious and sweeping investigation to date, so Tyrus and Roger were joined by new investigator Tammy, and 2 members of a local paranormal research group. Infrared cameras were set up covering the museums east wing, along with wired audio. 4 more infrared cameras were set up in the west wing, with 2 wired audio devices. An infrared camera with an audio device was placed in the Saloon. All camera's and audio began recording approx. 10:35 pm and were shut off by 3:35 am. The investigators split into 2 groups. Each group spent time with various hand-held recording devices, temperature gauges and EMF meters in each of the buildings throughout the night, and the entire group of five also spent time in the schoolhouse.

Findings:

HAUNTED We left the Fort with an abundance of video and audio evidence. The distinct sounds of footsteps and rustling were captured in two of the buildings at a time when the investigators were taking a break and the buildings were closed and locked. Double tapping sounds were heard when questions were asked. An EVP was captured in response to the question, “Did you just touch me on the head?” One investigator felt a piano move as he rested his hand on it. Even in the Saloon, something sounding very much like two loud gunshots was recorded. Other things were captured but discarded due to uncertainty, or were debunked thanks to the cross-pollination of the recording devices. Some investigators had personal experiences as well. While we do not count personal experiences as evidence, we do give them weight with the physical evidence in determining whether a place is haunted or not. The footsteps, taps, and EVP captured in the 50-plus hours of evidence, factored in with the personal experiences, left us to conclude that there is indeed, paranormal activity here. Is it a ghost or something else? No one can say for sure.

Pictures