Many people enjoy being scared and some choose to pay to walk through a haunted house, but have you ever been to a real haunted house?
For those with an interest in the paranormal, Blue Ridge is home to the Chastain House.
Current owner Judge Robert Sneed said the prominent Chastain family got the property in 1840 after the Cherokee Indian removal and they were the first family to settle in the area.
Police Chief Andy Strait spends his weekends running the Southern Appalachian Ghost Hunters and said each time he purchases new equipment he investigates the Chastain home, the family cemetery, and outbuildings.
During his first time at the two-story home he said he provoked the spirits just before leaving.
“…and said, ‘I don’t really think there’s anything here. If there is something here, you need to show us now because other than that this place is lame’, right? And the most horrific scream reverberated through the whole house," Strait said. "It sounded like a woman being murdered. It was just a, it echoed through the whole house. The whole house just literally screamed. And I believe we shouted some words. And we no more got those out and I said ‘I think it’s time to go’. It did it a second time. It screamed again and everybody but me ran out the door while I was trying to pack my gear up. So that was probably the worst thing I’ve ever witnessed here.”
He says he’s been back to the home 5 more times. So, are there differences between his work investigating crimes and investigating spirits?
"It's totally different but I guess what you do is kind of like you'd do in a bad scene, you would maintain calm," he explained. "You just try to use your senses and your investigative skills and get to the bottom of the situation and see what's going on. And when there's no viable answer then it kinda startles you a little bit, but you maintain your cool. I like to look at it as they can't hurt me."
Municipal Judge Robert Sneed bought the property in 2008 not knowing it was haunted and planned to turn it into a bed and breakfast.
It didn’t take long for workers renovating the home to report strange happenings.
“The workers would report that they would hear footsteps during the day coming up the steps when no one was here but the workers," Sneed said. "So, they could not explain that kind of phenomenon. Things would be moved around the house that they could not explain. They would leave something, a tool, one place and it would be moved to another place. That kind of thing."
Sneed says he does not believe the ghosts on the property are evil and hopes to find contractors brave enough to continue working at the home to one day open the bed and breakfast there. Although, he’s not sure if he would advertise the destination as being haunted.
Strait offered advice to anyone who wants to do their own paranormal investigation and said, "Make sure you get permission from the land owner so you don't end up in jail. If you're going to do this have some safeguards before you leave, either say a blessing or say a prayer to protect you and your family." He also said that if you don't have a lot of money to spend on equipment, you can use your cell phone to capture photos and download apps to read EVPs, or electronic voice phenomenon. Take someone with you that is familiar with the area you are searching and be respectful of any neighbors.
