Odd And Obscure Look At Old Mansion
by Zoe Fraley
Owner’s of the Eldridge Mansion in Bellingham, Washington say they don’t care if the house has a few ghosts.
Image: The Eldridge Mansion in Bellingham
Down a long, grass-lined driveway off Eldridge Avenue is a house that looks like it was built for Halloween. Ivy creeps up its graying stucco exterior, and a dramatic circular turret stabs into the ruddy sunset.
But it’s what’s inside the house that interests Sherry Mulholland, the founder of BOOO, Bellingham Observers of the Odd and Obscure.
On Saturday, Oct. 25, she and two other group members met at the house, owned by Mike and Cis Kennard, to search for evidence of the spiritual world.
“This is like a ghost hunter’s dream to get in here,” Mulholland says. “It looks like it’s haunted, even if it’s not.”
The place breathes history, and it’s been a landmark in the community since it was the home of one of Bellingham’s founders, the Eldridge family.
“It’s referred to in the community as ‘that house,’” says Mike Kennard, who has lived in the home for almost 15 years. “You cannot live here and not have a sense of history. Edward Eldridge is one of the forefathers of Bellingham.”
Because of the home’s natural ability to pique people’s curiosity, the Kennards are usually more than happy to let people take a peek, whether it’s ghost hunters or the casual passerby. But Kennard knows that when the ghost hunters come by, they’re going to look at the house with a different eye than the average person.
“People can find things that I’m not necessarily looking for myself,” he says, describing himself not as a skeptic but someone who is “neutral as water.”
“We have noticed an increase in unexplainable activity since we started having people come in here,” he says.
Since the Kennards moved into the home in 1994, there have been some unusual occurrences. Doors they know they locked will be found open, or vice versa.
Image: Members of BOOO climb a stairway as they look for ghosts
A friend who was adjusting a valance upstairs thought her husband had come in the room behind her, and she felt a steadying hand on her shoulder when the stool she was on wobbled. She turned around a few seconds later and no one was there; her husband was downstairs and had been for sometime.
“We had thought when we first moved in here that there were a number of strange things,” he says. “Nothing scary, nothing unnerving, there are just little things that are moved around that are inconsequential.”
When the BOOO group inspected the house on Saturday night, they were looking for something a little more scientific. They had infrared cameras, digital recorders and electromagnetic field readers. They wanted something measureable. They wanted proof.
It’s not like the ghost hunts you see on TV, all dark halls, shadowy figures and terrifying bumps in the night.
Along with Mulholland are group members Elena Stecca and John Sterrett. They’ll go through each room in the house, trying to speak with whatever’s out there, trying to get electronic voice phenomena on their recorders and trying to make the EMF readers light up.
“Ghost hunters have to have a passion for this or else they’ll get bored to death,” Mulholland says. “You have to be very patient.”
Though the night is relatively quiet - with group members hearing a few faint, far-off voices and some strange EMF spikes - all agree that the house has energy, buoyed by the tremendous history of the property. Even Kennard is convinced that the house has a buzz all its own.
“Everybody seems to come to the conclusion that there are lots of good vibes and a good mood and good atmosphere and lots of laughs,” he says. “There’s always been a mansion here, and it’s always been a landmark in the community. They had an expectation that it was going to be a festive or celebratory occasion when they came here.”
And as long as the feelings are good, the Kennards don’t mind a few ghosts.
“I said all I’m concerned with is if there’s somebody in the house with an ax waiting to get me,” he jokes.
Visit the Bellingham Observers of the Odd and Obscure: http://www.bellinghambooo.com/
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http://www.bellinghamherald.com/
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