We tried several kinds of dowsing rods to see what they indicated. The “hot spots” were somewhat predictable. (See our [...]]]> Late yesterday (12 June 2008), we returned to Gilson Road Cemetery in Nashua, NH. Our ghost hunting results were surprising. We’ll publish photos and more details, later, but here’s a summary of what we found:

We tried several kinds of dowsing rods to see what they indicated. The “hot spots” were somewhat predictable. (See our Map of Gilson Road Cemetery for previous ghostly anomalies.)

The Fisk graves — the oldest headstones in the cemetery — produced strong pulls on the dowsing rods. They’re the tall stones immediately after the gate, and directly in front of you. We’ve seen EMF spikes there in the past, though I can’t say that they “feel” especially haunted, most of the time.

(Note that the small Fisk gravestone is the only one in the cemetery with a death’s head on it.)

Joseph Gilson’s headstone, a low, white stone near the front center of the cemetery, is where we’ve noted many anomalies including paranormal cold spots. It was active last night.

Slightly northwest of the Searles’ graves (near the pink orb note on the map linked above), we found some of the most intense and unexplained activity. That’s the same area where we first confirmed that hiking compasses can work as EMF detectors.

By contrast, we noted little energy at Walter Gilson’s stone and the back left corner of the cemetery, where so many have had spectral encounters.

With two researchers using dowsing rods independently, we were able to confirm activity in several other spots around the cemetery. Most of those locations were not marked graves.

If you’re ghost hunting at Gilson, check in front of the largest tree at the back of the cemetery. (That tree is inside the walls.) Also do readings at the boulder at the back right (SE) corner of the cemetery.

The woods behind the cemetery appear to be as active as ever. If you’re looking for a full, ghostly apparition, Gilson cemetery may be one of your best chances of seeing one. The figures generally look solid and real, until they vanish into thin air.

In fact, Gilson cemetery raises so many questions about hauntings, and it is such a reliable site, we recommend it for beginners who need research experience… if you have nerves of steel, that is.

Many psychics describe Gilson as one of the most haunted places they’ve ever visited. In addition to very obvious manifestations, the more chilling aspects of Gilson are what you sense and can’t easily explain.

But, even if you aren’t especially psychic, you may be in for a scare at Gilson.

In the past month, people have reported hearing voices so loud at Gilson cemetery, they sounded as if the person was right next to them… except that no one appeared to be there.

Several people have seen the ghostly, hooded figure that chases people out of the cemetery.

And, as usual, electrical circuitry can fail… but usually just inside the walls of the cemetery. This includes cameras that seem to jam, digital voice recorders that stop working or record unearthly sounds, and cell phones that lose signal.

Over the past few years, we’ve also received hundreds of reports about new and freshly charged batteries losing their power completely. (We’ve seen that several times, ourselves.)

Even talking about Gilson can be… interesting. Our software usually works smoothly, but it took six tries to publishing this article. The server simply stopped. And, even when the article finally appeared, it was missing an earlier note about the uploading difficulty. It took two more tries to add this note to our post.

Gilson Road Cemetery is still one of our favorite haunted locations.

In the summer, if you visit Gilson cemetery shortly before dusk, wear bug spray. In the warm weather, the mosquitoes are aggressive as night approaches.

This photo is one of seven taken after dark at Gilson Road Cemetery on Oct 13th, 2001, at about 7:30 p.m. It is one of four with this color streak across them.

What makes this a credible anomaly is [...]]]>

^ Original photo

Same photo, color enhanced

This photo is one of seven taken after dark at Gilson Road Cemetery on Oct 13th, 2001, at about 7:30 p.m. It is one of four with this color streak across them.

What makes this a credible anomaly is examining the film.  The sweep of color does not extend beyond the frame on the negative. There is no evidence of tampering with the film, and nothing splashed across it.

 

Details:
Olympus AF-Twin camera, taken with flash
Shaw’s 35 mm film, ISO 200
Developed at Target’s one-hour service

(click on photo to see larger) Wildflowers in front of Walter Gilson’s headstone

More wildflowers, nearby

We [...]]]> Dusk is a perfect time to visit Gilson Road Cemetery in Nashua, New Hampshire when the wildflowers are in bloom. These photos were taken 21 May 2002:

(click on photo to see larger) Wildflowers in front of Walter Gilson’s headstone

More wildflowers, nearby

To capture the best orbs in photographs, point your camera towards the back left corner of the cemetery (if you’re standing at the gate, looking in), or in the vicinity of Helen & Rufus Lawrence’s headstones.

 If you’re new to ghost photography, be sure to read our ghost photography articles (the most complete list is at our Hollow Hill Sitemap), and our tips in Ghost Photography 101

We visited, and he’s right about the flowers.

Why would someone do this? There are several possibilities. One is for sentimental reasons; there are many [...]]]>

	A photographer contacted us on 20 Apr 2002 to report three daffodils tied to a sagging tree branch towards the back of Gilson Road Cemetery, Nashua, NH. We visited, and he’s right about the flowers. Why would someone do this? There are several possibilities. One is for sentimental reasons; there are many unmarked graves at the back of Gilson Road Cemetery. Perhaps this was done for respect.
Perhaps someone found some flowers and just wanted to do something quirky. Maybe they used them in a photograph. We took some nice photos capturing this image, too. Or, perhaps some prankster thought this would be something eerie to do, and tied the flowers to the tree to startle people, or to get mentioned at this website.

Three of us visited the cemetery at dusk. The Gilson Road Cemetery sign had been cut off with a saw. A [...]]]> We visited Gilson Road Cemetery in June 2002, to update our team about activity there. This was during the time when Tanglewood Estates was moving in across the street from Gilson Road Cemetery.

Three of us visited the cemetery at dusk. The Gilson Road Cemetery sign had been cut off with a saw. A new iron gate was on the uprights at the entrance.

Cold spot observed slightly above Joseph Gilson stone, with compass anomalies moving from the headstone towards the NW (to the next headstone).

More slightly visible anomalies.

The “movie” was playing again, with some changes, if you’re psychic. (See our pages about Gilson Road Cemetery – November 1999 for more about the battle, or “the movie” as we later called it.)

Woodland animals were in the surrounding area. We didn’t hear them before the subdivision moved in. See the October 2000 (Halloween week) article in the Nashua Telegraph for this phenomenon, as  reported by a skeptic.

Now, Gilson’s energy is different, and we’re getting orbs again:

As usual, we took two photos in a row, without moving.  If there’s an identical orb in both photos, we assume that it’s a reflection.  If orbs are in just one, and there was no explanation at the time, we consider them likely anomalies.

Using a digital camera, she took just two “regular” photos after dusk. One has a clear anomaly:

Fiona’s comments: This real “ghost photo” was taken at Nashua’s Gilson Road Cemetery when we were researching ghosts and hauntings. It’s one of our favorite “What is this?” pictures.

I took this ghost photo with a $6 disposable Fuji camera. On [...]]]>

Ghost photo from
haunted Gilson Road Cemetery, Nashua, NH

Fiona’s comments: This real “ghost photo” was taken at Nashua’s Gilson Road Cemetery when we were researching ghosts and hauntings. It’s one of our favorite “What is this?” pictures.

I took this ghost photo with a $6 disposable Fuji camera. On that night, a group of us were testing inexpensive cameras to see what an amateur could expect when taking photographs at random in a haunted location.

By the time I took this photo, the fog was just starting to roll in. We could see clearly without a flashlight, and many of our cemetery pictures were normal, but the mist became a factor later in the night.

We took two identical shots at every spot, and the photo immediately before this was almost entirely black and crisp.

The photo after this one was also sharp, with no evidence of humidity or fog. No one was smoking. There were no houses nearby when this picture was taken, so there was no risk of woodsmoke from a fireplace, either.

(Since then, a subdivision has been built immediately across the street from this cemetery.)

What is this weird, swirly mist…? Is that a gravestone to the right?

It should be, because that’s what the camera was pointing at.

We’ve had dozens of letters from readers, suggesting everything from a ghostly finger to the Virgin Mary. This is our most popular real “ghost photo.”

Whatever it is, it’s weird. And cool. And yes, this is real. It’s not altered from the original film print in any way at all.

I don’t think that it’s scary, but some people do. In fact, it reminds me of an old InfiniteFish background, in a way.

Camera: Fuju disposable Quicksnap, 800 ASA
Developed at: One-hour processing, Shaw’s Royal Ridge, Nashua
Location: Gilson Road Cemetery, Nashua, NH
When: 26 Nov 1999, about 5 p.m.

Read more about Haunted Gilson Road Cemetery.

If you’re looking for a real, scary ghost photo, this may be it. When you’re studying ghosts and hauntings, and have taken thousands of cemetery pictures, orbs become routine.

So, when we see something like the eerie mist in this photograph, we get very excited about it.

Fiona says: Forget [...]]]>

So, when we see something like the eerie mist in this photograph, we get very excited about it.

Fiona says: Forget about the bell-shaped orbs; they’re just the fog when we took this photo.

That’s one reason we like this Canon camera. Its internal lenses refract light bouncing off moist air in a bell-shape that can be used to distinguish “fake anomalies” from the real ones.

However, the mist coming up from this grave fascinates me. It reminds me of vampire movies.

I like the contrast between the rising mist–whatever it is–and the larger water droplets in the air, which photographed as “bells.”

I’m not claiming that this mist is an anomaly. I don’t know what it is, but it’s definitely rising up from a haunted grave where we get our strangest “ghost photos.”

This was taken at Gilson Road Cemetery, Nashua, NH, on 26 Nov 1999, at about 6 p.m. The grave belongs to Rufus Lawrence.

When we charted the non-orb anomalies we’ve captured on film at this cemetery, his grave is Ground Zero for many of them. For example, the purple-streaked photo featured elsewhere at this site, was take just to the right of Mr. Lawrence’s headstone.

Camera: Canon Snappy LXII, point-and-shoot
Film: Kodak Max 800 ASA

(Yes, this is a color photo. No, we didn’t edit it with PhotoShop or any other program.)

Fiona’s notes: These are two photos taken 26 Nov 1999 at Gilson Road Cemetery, Nashua, NH. We took them with a Fuji disposable Quicksnap camera, with 800 ASA film in it. I took these photographs about five seconds apart.

Ignore the apparent “orbs.” It was already becoming a foggy night [...]]]>

Ignore the apparent “orbs.” It was already becoming a foggy night when these pictures were taken. If they were “ghost orbs,” we have no way of knowing.

As the evening progressed, the orbs in the photos became thicker and more numerous. I think they’re just reflections off the saturated air. Except for slight color differences which pique my interest, the orbs in these photos look almost like the actual orbs taken on very dry evenings.

However, the thick mist swirling around the stones in the second photo… that’s something else. Lovely image, and nicely eerie.

Does mist really come up this quickly on a still night? I mean, in five seconds or less? I have no idea. Is this an anomaly? Again, I can’t say.

Nothing surprises me during my visits to this very haunted cemetery.

Okay, let me rephrase that: The ghostly images I perceive of an Indian massacre in the woods behind this  cemetery distress me, but don’t surprise me.