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 yearswhen 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 youngson 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 yearsago , formally establishing Eastern Connecticut Paranormal seven yearsago .

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 1600 s and 1700 s .

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 .