Certified Haunting At Old Winery
by Erin C. Perkins
Investigators say early findings have determined evidence of paranormal activity.
Image: Carmine Orientale, Ben Webb and Kris Orientale go over evidence of paranormal activities at Old North State Winery and Brewery
The Old North State Winery and Brewery might get a little spooky at night, but that doesn’t bother one of its the owners, Ben Webb.
He doesn’t mind the spirit known as Restless Soul, who has been said to roam the winery at night and make its presence known with loud footsteps, banging or closing doors. Nope, he doesn’t mind at all.
In fact, he’s rather relieved it was certified haunted by the Eastern Carolina Paranormal Investigators who visited the winery Friday and Saturday to investigate reports of paranormal activity.
It provides reason for the bumps in the night, but it doesn’t change the feelings about the Restless Soul’s presence there.
The Restless Soul not only had a brand of the winery’s red wine named after it, it also seems to be familiar companion of those who have encountered it.
“Just because we receive a certificate doesn’t change anything,” he said. “We made it clear that the spirit is welcome here, and we don’t feel it’s necessary for it to be removed. It doesn’t harm us.”
The Evidence
Armed with several cameras, DVRs, digital recorders, electromagnetic field detectors and dozens of batteries, the team of four paranormal investigators that included husband and wife Carmine and Kris Oriental, Neil Rouse and Pam Buljat, toured the winery in search of the Restless Soul for two days.
The team travels throughout the state investigating paranormal activities that occur almost anywhere, from private homes to businesses.
Kris Orientale said paranormal activity is typically the result of an entity manifesting itself in the form of energy, such as a stroke of lightning or an orb in a photo or recorded voices on tape that weren’t heard at the time of recording.
The team said its goal is to use a scientific approach to determine if what appears to be paranormal activity is possibly scientific or in fact paranormal.
The investigators said the early findings on Friday determined evidence of paranormal activity, but it was the events on Saturday that led them to certify the location as haunted. Carmine Oriental said the team, along with some of the employees who chose to stay after hours and observe the investigation, experienced strange events.
“It didn’t respond much Friday,” he said.
“It was a good night, it was kind of quiet and nothing exciting happen for a while,” he said. “When we finished up Saturday night, right before Ben and the others went home, it sounded like something had a temper tantrum, like something was kicking the wall. Ben said it was a typical sound.”
The Orientals said entities feed off of electromagnetic energy, and its presence will cause the temperature to drop. The team reported that on both nights the temperature dropped into the twenties, decreasing nearly 40 to 50 degrees in minutes near the brick wall where they believed the Restless Soul dwelled.
Legend has it that the brick wall was where the skeleton arm of a Civil War veteran, who is believed to be the Restless Soul, was found. It’s believed that the veteran kept it in a hiding place inside his saloon, which is now the Old North State Winery.
Orientale said during the investigation the team heard voices from above the cellar, and also what sounded like old western music that would have been played in a saloon. “Underneath us in the attic we could hear men and women voices and music, it didn’t sound like today’s music,” he said. “It was more twangy like old western music, you can hear people above us, like a whole room of people, it was like they were laughing and walking upstairs.”
The team also reported recordings of voices and noises that weren’t heard at the time of recording. “There were noises that were not connected to anything that would have made that noise while we were in the cellar,” Orientale said.
In photographs, there were images of orbs, large black mists and smoky faces embedded in walls.
But, the presence of a shadow in the form of a body in the video is what grabbed the attention of Orientale and his team. There was no one visible on the film to make the shadow.
“I was just going to say the place has a lot of paranormal activity,” he said. “But the shadows gave it the authenticity of being haunted.”
Earlier this week, the team said they are planning on packaging the final results and giving them to Webb, who said he’s looking forward to the documented images and recordings. He said he plans to use the documented images and recordings during the winery’s third annual “Boo Bash,” which is a Halloween party that includes live entertainment, a costume contest and a special menu for the evening. The event is Oct. 31 from 6:30 p.m to 9:30 p.m.
“I hope we get everything in place in time for our Boo Bash,” he said. “The party is going to revolve around their findings.”
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