ositeam.com/atlasmine1.html

July 18th - 19th, 2010
Moon Phase:
Barometer:
Temperature: 15 degrees celcius
Humidity: 60 - 80% (thunderstorm in area)
Time: Approx. 9:00PM - 3:00AM

Location History:

The Atlas Coal Mine is steeped in history related to southern Alberta's mining boom. Follow this link to read in detail about the history of the site, http://www.atlascoalmine.ab.ca/history.html.

Experiences:

The location has had numerous reports of paranormal activity ranging from full body apparitions to voices and the sounds of miners at work even though the mine has been out of commission since 1979, when the Atlas mine #4 shipped it's last load out of the valley. It seems that almost every building from the smallest bunkhouse to the imposing tipple has had some kind of occurrence.

One of the particular stories that peeked our interest was the report of a brown lady urgently seeking help being seen running into the clapboard office (now the supply house) or waving to a small boy no one else can see who is in an upstairs window as she tries to get help for the men trapped in a neighboring mine.

Another place of interest was the managers office. A psychic allegedly picked up on the presence of the old manager and a close friend of his who still linger and continue their discussions. Apparently the manager does not like his old pipe being touched which is on display in the office. One staff member recounted an incident where he lost his footing and felt two hands gently guiding him away from the small stand where the pipe rests.

The Wash House is one of the creepiest buildings on the site and home to some intriguing stories. It is in this building where a woman by the name of "Pretty Alice" set up shop and "serviced" the working men of the mines. Her bed was set up initially in the attic of the building beside the wash house where the miners kept their equipment, but is now stored in the back of the wash house where it was discovered in the attic. The sounds of footsteps to full body apparitions and visible orbs of light have been reported here.

The mechanics shed is reported to be a hotspot for EVP's and orb activity as well. Another investigation team has a collection of EVP's from this site and you can link to them here, http://wolfparanormal.com/evphome.html.

Walkthrough:

All of the buildings are very old. Although some of the buildings are structurally sound (brick structures), the older wooden buildings are understandably deteriorated. They are by no means in a state of disrepair but it had to be noted that because of this they would provide a bounty of creaks, groans, and other spooky noises. No temperature or EMF fluctuations were found during the walkthrough.

At one point in the managers office while discussing the location with our guide, the managers office door closed slightly and then opened back up again. Although we can't say for certain this was paranormal or if a slight unfelt breeze found it's way in, it was an interesting experience nonetheless given the history and reports from the building.

The Investigation:

During the investigation itself the first thing that happened occurred in the Wash House. Just as we were starting to set up our gear the main door to the building abruptly slammed itself shut twice. It stayed closed for a moment or two and then slowly opened to it's original position. We did note that it was windy outside but this only happened the one time and the wind only got worse as a thunderstorm rolled in. We can't say for certain this is paranormal or normal as investigation of the door itself yielded no obvious answer.

The only other personal experiences happened in the Mechanics Shed. At one point Melissa actually heard a voice which was picked up on our audio recorder (see below) even though Doug heard nothing. We also seemed to be getting responses in the form of taps at certain points.

The Evidence:

We discovered three photos with anomalies we can't explain. Below the photos are several EVP's and audio recordings from the investigation as well.

The first is from an old dynamite shack up near the mine entrance. Our guide was showing us this little room before we began investigating and in the picture 4 orbs can be seen in the doorway with a larger one in the center (see images below). They appear to be in a cross formation even though the fifth orb would be obscured by the wall if it is there. When enhanced and cropped it looks as though the larger orb is actually behind the door frame. The shadow on the back wall from the flash is obstructed by the orb but the door frame is not. This is definitely not a reflection, moisture, or a bug.

The third strange photo was again taken right at the beginning of our investigation. We were by ourselves and making our way down the Tipple through the cramped and "claustraphobia-inducing" coal chute when this black shadow showed up on the left side of the picture. This shadow is partially obstructing the view of the support beam at the top and is in front of and behind the beam towards the bottom. We can't explain this but we can certainly assure you it isn't a finger, camera strap, or clothing. Perhaps it's one of the long forgotten kids employed in the tunnel leaning on the beam taking a breather. What makes this photo even more intriguing to us was the EVP we discovered later on from the same general area.
                                          After Melissa eludes to the bird outside that we both heard, this very loud, high pitched voice was picked up on our voice recorder. Neither one of us heard
                                          this at the time which makes it even more interesting as this is loud and right with us. This chute we were walking down was no more than 2 feet wide
                                          along the walking path and well under six feet high as I had to keep my head down so as not to be knocked out. And it was Pitch black. The actual coal
                                          chute the coal traveled down was also only about three feet wide and was just to our right. We believe it is saying something along the lines of "on three
                                          following me ?" This was immediately at the start of our recording. Please visit our contact page and let us know what you hear.

The next EVP's were recorded in the Mechanic Shed where another group also allegedly captured disembodied voices. As well as the voices we appeared to be getting responsive knocks at certain points during our EVP session. The first two clips are taps and knocks that we were hearing seemingly in response to our questions and statements
Clip 1 -
Clip 2 -

This next clip is of a voice that Melissa heard at the time and she plainly eludes to it afterwards. I did not hear anything but upon hearing the clip it is quite obvious. The first clip is of the original recording and the second is cleaned up and the volume increased. We can't exactly make out what is being said but it appears to be responding to the comment made.
Clip 1 (original) -
Clip 2 (cleaned) -

After Doug asks what the bosses name was out here it sounds like we get an answer we didn't hear at the time. This has been cleaned up and the voices volume has been increased as well. We thought initially that we heard Harry for the first name. We did some research and found out the name "Harry Crowder" was the mine manager who actually risked his own life and died trying to save three trapped men in a neighboring mine. He is the manager who the ghost of the brown lady is trying to speak with about this very same accident happening. Again please feel free to contact us if you know any information or have any ideas.
Clip -

The final location where we appeared to be getting activity was the Wash House. In the first clip we hear what sounds like a man's voice saying the word "hotter". This voice was recorded on our audio recorder that we left situated on a bench across from the showers in the building for the entire evening. Nobody was in the building at the time. The volume has been increased but this is still the original clip.
Clip "hotter" -

Again on the same recorder left on the bench, we picked up what sounds like multiple voices having a small conversation. First a faint voice followed by a much louder voice then a quieter voice again. Once again the building was void of any life we knew about. This clip has been cleaned up slightly and the volume amplified.
Clip -

This time we picked up what sounds like a voice saying "here we come" after Melissa finishes our introductions and well wishes before we begin our main EVP session of the location. Neither one of us heard anything at the time.
Clip -

In this very last clip we found three voices in a 35 second span. The first is a female asking what sounds like "what time is it?". Surprisingly this is right before I state the time as we had just turned this voice recorder on and I was preparing to sit it on the bench. Second you can plainly hear a female voice again saying "who's this?" after I say "anybody, anything listening...". And finally at the very end of the clip a voice seems to overlap mine and finishes off the sentence with something about a hard hat, which can be found in the next room for our safety. The last words I say are "even if I can't.". We can assure you the rest is neither one of us and we did not hear any of these voices at the time. The audio has been cleaned up slightly and the first voice has the volume increased slightly.
Clip -

Conclusion and Hypothesis:

We have to say we believe that based on the evidence collected there is perhaps some genuine paranormal activity going on at the historic Atlas Coal Mine. We also noted that there was a lot of electrical activity in the air thanks to the thunderstorm that rolled in over the course of our investigation. We definitely would like to investigate this abandoned coal mine again and see what results we can obtain on an evening when the weather is calm and inactive. Although we did not see anything or record any visual evidence that doesn't take away from numerous claims both patrons and staff have had over the years. In an environment like this where the working conditions were often deplorable it isn't a far stretch to imagine an emotional imprint being left by the workers who were often just teenagers and left to work long and extremely tortuous hours. Thirteen fatalities did happen on this site and the hillsides themselves are rich with minerals and stones that could also lend a hand in the onset of something paranormal