By DAVID M. GRIMES
Hambleton Mill along Sprucevale Road in the Gretchen’s Lock area of Beaver Creek State Park.
About two minutes after meeting Shawn Lonkert, a member of "The Midnight Highway" ghost hunting team, he asked the question I initially hoped I wouldn't have to answer.
"So, do you believe in this stuff?," Lonkert asked as we stood outside Hambleton Mill in Beaver Creek State Park.
Hesitating a bit, I decided to divulge the answer.
I'm a science-type guy and for me to believe in ghosts, something would have to personally happen to me to make me a true believer. I need proof, personal evidence that would push my beliefs toward believing, for example, that a girl named Gretchen still lurks near the lock at the abandoned town of Sprucevale.
But that truth didn't faze Lonkert and his team, consisting of Danny Duke and Kristina Bombard. And after tagging along through one of their investigations, I found out Lonkert didn't carry too much of a different viewpoint than me.
Equipped with a video camera, voice recorder, digital camera and a disposable film camera, we headed to the start of the Vondergreen Trail which would lead up past Gretchen's Lock and the remnants of the old, thriving canal town.
But the start of Lonkert's tale begins back when he was child, living in what he described as an old haunted home just off of St. Clair Avenue.
While living in the house, Lonkert said he experienced his share of paranormal activity by seeing and hearing unexplainable events. Those experiences began to intrigue him and as the ghost hunter reality shows began to peak in the mid-90s, he decided to turn his fascination into a hobby.
Just like on this warm March afternoon, Lonkert, Bombard and Duke have investigated similar haunted sites in the area. This investigation at Hambleton Mill and Gretchen's Lock was one of their firsts for their documentary about Gretchen and other Beaver Creek ghosts that will debut this fall.
The walk first led us to Beaver Creek State Park Naturalist Todd Metz who came down that day to discuss the documentary with the ghost hunters.
Lonkert and his crew were ironing out the details of setting up a campsite on Aug. 11-12. The latter date is when a young Gretchen supposedly passed away due to acquiring malaria and cried that she wanted to join her mother who had perished during the voyage to America several years beforehand.
The naturalist and crew also traded ghost stories.
Metz, somewhat a skeptic himself, did tell tales that he's gathered while working at the state park. He noted one ranger pulled over a speeding motorist just across the Sprucevale Road bridge near Hambleton Mill. That ranger, according to Metz, had strange troubles with his vehicle.
"One ranger had his car shut off on him," Metz said. "He stopped out by the mill, pulled someone over, and got back in his car and it shut off one light at a time. "
The ranger had to ask the speeding motorist for a ride since the vehicle wouldn't start, Metz continued to say. Then the next morning, the ranger came back and the car worked fine.
Metz also was caught in an unexplainable photograph two years ago during a night hike several days before the Aug. 12 anniversary. The nature expert led a group of hikers into Gretchen's Lock by tiki torch and decided to let the people experience the actual nightfall by extinguishing the flame.
"It was just as black as can be and someone snapped a few pictures and there was an orb, right over top," Metz said. "I didn't see anything, feel anything, but I saw the pictures afterwards. That was kind of different."
Mister environmental science was right there, indicating unexplainable activities near the lock area so my personal intrigue began to grow as we began to march into the woods.
Lonkert had his audio recorder out, hoping to capture any electronic voice phenomenon (EVP) while Bombard was capturing video of the walk. I had my trustee DSLR as well and couldn't help but snap photographs of the creek and lock area as we approached.
I did try to be a worthy addition to the group. I kept my eyes peeled for anything weird and tried to listen for any non-nature sounds. After the trip, I hooked my camera's memory card to my computer and sorted through the photos. But I found myself disappointed as nothing unusual popped out.
After the hike through the Lock and to the nearby abandoned equipment site, we parted ways back at the parking lot. Bombard later said they didn't gather hardly anything worthwhile except for one possible EVP reading as we walked toward the lock.
Trips like that are normal as Lonkert explained sometimes they go out and get nothing while other times they get great footage from video and sound.
The documentary and the trips out to the Lock since early March are to investigate any truth behind the myths and legends out there.
"Our goal is to prove or disprove any paranormal activity of the lock," Lonkert said. "We've got some great EVP."
Since the walk, The Midnight Highway crew has interviewed Joanne Witt, local historian, at the East Liverpool Carnegie Library who offered "a wealth of knowledge" to help with the documentary. Lonkert said, Witt told them she believes the stories are legends, but at the same time, there has to be some truth to a legend.
They've also had participants offer their own personal stories of strange happenings near the Sprucevale area.
And of course, they've ventured back into the park about a half dozen more times. Bombard said they will keep going back throughout the spring and summer until they do their final campout on Aug. 12.
Lonkert said he has high hopes to, perhaps, get some significant footage when they set up camp and patrol the lock during nightfall.
"It's like a hockey team, the big goal is to win the Stanley Cup and our big goal is to get that full body apparition on film. I doubt that will happen, but that would be the ultimate."
But he also indicated his team has some incredible footage already that supports the theory that Gretchen, and others, are out there still.
"I can say Gretchen has spoke, I can say there's other spirits out there as well that have addressed her by her name," Lonkert said, with a slightly more exciting tone. "If I were to end this investigation on this very night, I would say Gretchen is real 100 percent."
Whatever footage makes it into the documentary, Lonkert said he is just as excited to be helping Beaver Creek with some of the proceeds from the final DVD movie. The Midnight Highway told Metz that they will donate partial profits to the Friends of Beaver Creek State Park for park improvements. They hope to perhaps secure Hambleton Mill from trespassers, who broke the lock, and for any cleanup efforts, since they've run into their share of litter during the investigations.
But Lonkert said he is happy to leave it up to the park to see what improvements are needed first. After all, he has visited the park hundreds of times throughout his life.
Through it all, so far, am I a firm believer after the experience? No.
Do I believe eyewitness accounts by some of the professional witnesses? Yes.
Do I believe Lonkert, Bombard and Duke believe they captured some interesting footage? Yes.
And after hearing their enthusiasm, recordings, and others explain unexplainable activity, my mind is defiantly more open to the possibility that something may be out there in the Sprucevale area.
That's what Lonkert says he wishes everyone, especially the doubters, would have regarding the ghost of Gretchen.
"I would say, keep an open mind for the possibilities, because you never know and at least go out there and have a firsthand account where you can know 100 percent," Lonkert said. "EVP is not fake, personal photos are not fake. So keep an open mind."
His crew member also echoes the same thoughts.
"There's always that 'what if?,'" Bombard said.
The human mind has a tendency to automatically recognize figures in unknown objects. Maybe the smoky entity isn't fog, mist or someone's breath. And maybe the shiny orbs aren't just reflections of sunlight that's captured by the camera. Maybe that is an actual voice from the recorder.
They're going out and obtaining data firsthand and are speaking with other professionals and residents who are offering their own accounts with the lock. That sounds scientific to me.
I guess there's always that unknown in the equation. And that unknown is what The Midnight Highway crew is trying to figure out. For that, I hope they find something.
I'd love to be the first to hear it from them.
For more information about the documentary and current findings, visit the www.themidnighthighway.com Web site.
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