The Warden’s House Museum in Stillwater is believed to be one of the most haunted sites in Minnesota. That was a powerful lure for two paranormal investigators from Woodbury who were part of a team that was invited by the Washington County Historical Society to see and hear for themselves.
Would they find that Gertrude Wolfer – the daughter of Warden Henry Wolfer – haunts the home? Henry was the last warden to live in the home. Gertrude lived there as well until she married and moved away with her husband. Sadly, after the birth of her son, she died from appendicitis. The boy was sent to live with his grandfather at the Warden’s House. And some believe the spirit of Gertrude, or Trudy, came along as well. Would the investigators find any paranormal activity?
Investigators
Woodbury residents Dawn McClain and Thomas Troupe joined four other members of the Twin Cities Paranormal Society to investigate. The Society is a non-profit organization that investigates and documents paranormal phenomena and educates the public about its work. The team offers its services for free, including investigations of private homes thought to be haunted. McClain is a Twin Cities radio personality who has been a paranormal investigator for 19 years, while Troupe is a children’s author who started with the Society in 2013.
The team arrived at the Warden’s House on a snowy night last November and placed their video cameras in the best spots, ready to record for six hours. Built in 1853, the 14-room home includes a basement, as well as first and second floors, providing space enough for the warden’s family as well as servants.
In addition to the video cameras, the paranormal investigators carry an audio recorder with them as they move from room to room. They will usually end up with 30-40 hours of video and hours of audio to review. “It takes a very long time to go through all of that,” McClain said.
Troupe said the house that night was noisy. “We heard a lot of traffic coming through at night,” he said. “I didn’t think we had a lot. It’s hard for us to tell until after the fact when we review the video and audio.”
The Evidence
But that first impression changed when they found what they captured. “We had 50 things we couldn’t explain, which is a pretty good haul,” McClain said. “We were really excited by the opportunity and more excited by the fact that we got a bunch of stuff.”
The team heard some inexplicable snippets of conversation while placing their cameras. “That’s when we get most of our evidence, when we’re setting up,” McClain said. “We’re always recording while setting up.”
McClain and Troupe actually heard extraneous voices before that. They arrived before the rest of the team for a tour of the home to prepare for the investigation.
Troupe said when they arrived at a room notorious for activity, they were not disappointed. Voices in a whisper were heard contributing to the tour, finishing the guide’s sentences at times.
“They’ve heard the tour before,” McClain said.
Troupe added; “They’re helping out.”
During the investigation, as they moved from room to room, they heard more sounds. “Spirits like to talk to us,” McClain added.
That included short snippets like “where is she?” and “where did she go? And “here she comes.”
The most activity happened in a children’s room upstairs. The team captured no images of Gertrude or a child or any spirits, which McClain said isn’t unusual. But there was plenty to hear and see.
“We had a variety of voices. Some sounded like kids, like little kid voices,” Troupe said. “One that was really creepy, really faint, sounded like a toy saying a high-pitched ‘hi.’ ”
A doll in that room seemed the likely culprit for some of the activity. The team set up an REM-pod, a piece of equipment used to detect a spirit from changes in temperature and electromagnetic fields. It can also be activated by touch. McClain said when team members asked the doll or spirit to let the team know it was there, the REM-pod lit up.
Another sign? “There was a growl,” McClain said of an apparent ghost dog. “We hate that.”
Most of the whispers upstairs seemed to come from men, McClain said, while a woman’s voice in the basement seemed to be saying, “help.”
Return Visit?
The team presented its evidence at a public event at the house in April. Warden’s House Site Manager Heidi Heinze said the paranormal investigators did “a great job of learning the history of our location and treating it with respect.” She added: “We appreciate their scientific approach to gathering evidence and their willingness to share their findings with us and the public.”
McClain and Troupe said the activity they detected caused them to plan a return trip, something that could happen in the next few weeks.
“We feel like we basically scratched the surface,” Troupe said. “Even another season might generate different results.”
What they find this summer will be presented at events at the house on Oct. 24 and Oct, 25, just in time for Halloween.