Late in 2008, Vernon resident Michael Krause presented an unusual request to the Board of Directors of the Manchester Historical Society. He asked for the opportunity to do a paranormal investigation at the historic Cheney Homestead.

The board was receptive to the idea, and after heavily researching the Cheney family and two investigative visits to the home, Krause and his partner , Cindy Kabel of Stafford, believe they have found evidence of spirits in the home.

Having grown up in Manchester, Krause said he has long been interested in the Cheney family, who founded the town’s silk mills and who made vast contributions to Manchester’s economic , civic and cultural history. During their physical investigation of the home, Krause and Kabel, with the help of their technical manager and fellow investigator, Marlee Rubenstein, set up video recording equipment in the parlor where the Cheney family was known to wake their loved ones. In this room, Krause and Kabel say they captured on video a very vibrant ball of light. They said the light started on one side of the day bed and moved to the other side and all around it. While the light is visible on camera, Krause and Kabel say they did not see anything with their own eyes. Krause said this is because the camera eye is 400 times quicker than the human eye and is, therefore, an invaluable piece of equipment for the paranormal investigator.

In the former bedroom of Electa Woodbridge Cheney, wife of George Cheney, whose sons later established Manchester’s silk mills, Krause said they continually lost battery power and experienced drastic temperature drops, enough so that they could see their breath, after they prompted Electa’s spirit to let them know if she was present with them. Krause said spirits are known to use the existing energy around them when they are trying to manifest themselves.

“Ninety percent of the time, unusual experiences will have a scientific explanation . It is that other 10 percent that I’m really interested in,” said Krause, whose interest in the paranormal dates back to his teen years when he experienced some strange occurrences in his family’s home. After his family moved from the home, the occurrences stopped. Later, he investigated the history of the home and learned a mother had lost her young son in a tragic accident in the home. He sought out a medium , who told him the spirit of the mother was acting out to protect him from the incident happening again.

That experience led Krause to begin seeking out explanations for the unexplainable . He began conducting paranormal investigations about 15 years ago, formally establishing Eastern Connecticut Paranormal seven years ago.

Krause and Kabel used an electronic voice phenomena recorder in their Cheney investigation and recorded what they believe is a disembodied male voice saying either “I am the older one” or “I am the other one.” While the voice is muffled, Krause said he hopes to be able to remove the background static to more clearly determine what was being said to them.

Recently the two provided what they call a “reveal” to the historical society with the results of their investigation, and they plan to put together a DVD of their findings with period music from the 1600s and 1700s.

Anyone interested in a paranormal investigation by Eastern Connecticut Paranormal may contact Michael Krause at (860) 967-2588 or Cindy Kabel at (860) 604-1509 .