As a grand gesture of feminine comradery, I invited two of my friends from Southeastern Wisconsin to join me for some spooky Halloween fun in Oshkosh. We first did the new tour at the Oshkosh Grand – the Spirits of the Grand Tour. It was creative and shared interesting stories of the Grand. I’d previously been there before on a Ghost Hunt Tour of the Oshkosh Grand and I was excited to return to experience more from the building. Our second stop was at the Morgan House – home to the Winnebago County Historical Society and hosted by the Windigo Paranormal group. Then, to wrap the night up, was my hope for an investigation of our rented apartment in the Algoma Building. Let’s see what stories and experiences came to fruition.
Revisiting The Grand
The Spirits of the Grand Tour was very theatrical. Actors played our guides through the building and their storytelling was accented by Video Portals that showed additional actors playing spirits from the other side. I was not prepared for there to be no actual attempt at paranormal investigation– very different from my last time visiting this establishment– but it was interesting and we all took away our own fun from it.
After an introduction in the open area– the original entrance– we went to the balcony for our first look at the theater and a tragic story. I only had this one fleeting psychic connection early in the tour– a lady in a flowing dress brushed past me on the balcony. A young lady and it was but the merest hint of interaction. It happened so quickly, I almost lost my balance and between the story being told and the young woman appearing, it was not lost that this could have been an intentional trick to throw me off-kilter.
As the tour went on, myself and my compatriots picked up different intuitive things in certain locations, such as the dressing room. The dressing room is in the basement and is a small room lined with mirrors. It’s not so small that our group of 15-20 couldn’t make it in with an additional portal mirror. We learned about a man who tried to get rid of the Native spirits in the room by putting tobacco leaves in front of the mirrors and the spirits in the mirrors all laughed at him. All three of us had the immediate, very serious thought that the reason the spirits were laughing at the man who put tobacco leaves in front of the mirrors was because he didn’t do it right. The tobacco leaves weren’t going to do anything. He was forgetting the other natural elements that needed to accompany it. The three of us also felt that there wasn’t one spirit for each mirror, but spirits using the mirror to amplify their presence. Maybe 3-4 spirits were part of that particular interaction.
At the last stop, which was a return to our first stop in the old entryway, my older friend was drawn to the balcony over the entrance. She saw a spirit on the far left side and I, sadly, don’t remember who she saw. I did not see it myself and I tried to feel it, but my back was screaming in agony, which made it harder to connect to spirit. But if you’d like to learn more about my experiences at the Oshkosh Grand and my history with ghosts there, I wrote about them here.
The Morgan House
I grappled with how to approach this investigation. My husband gently reminded me that my original intention was to focus on telling the stories of the spirits through the information they shared with me—not to document every procedural detail of the evening. This was, after all, a hosted event rather than a solo investigation. With that in mind, I’ll speak in broader strokes about some aspects and go deeper where it feels meaningful.
I am, unequivocally, a medium, and I don’t believe in setting my abilities aside in the name of appearing more “scientific.” For me, mediumship is part of the science of ghosthunting. It offers a way to gather leads, notice patterns, put spirits at ease, and understand the larger dynamics at play. One of the most challenging parts of any investigation is knowing what questions to ask—questions that invite response rather than fill silence. When used thoughtfully, mediumship can support credible, documentable evidence from equipment and enrich the investigative process for everyone involved.
Engaging with the spirits during this event proved difficult, largely because the overall energy of the house felt unsettled and unfocused. In the attic, the spirits seemed to be avoiding the living altogether. In the basement, there was a sense of disorientation—as though the spirits themselves were unsure of who they were or where they belonged. A member from Windigo Paranormal even engaged in the act of bone throwing, which can sometimes offer clarity, but in this case felt muddled and indirect. Instead of calm inquiry throughout the evening, the atmosphere felt closer to navigating a frenetic gathering. It was not particularly conducive to connecting with spirits. Still, I’ll share what I was able to discern in the two main areas where communication was attempted. A third area, the use of a scrying mirror, felt more inward and personal, and I think that experience deserves reflection at another time.
The Attic
This was our first stop of the night. While I have many impressions from this space, I want to stay centered on what the spirits themselves conveyed. Notably, there were no Morgan family spirits present in the attic during our time there.
Here, we were introduced to SLS cameras and K2 meters. I had my audio recorder running initially but turned it off after being somewhat rudely informed I was not using it correctly. I also had my own thermal camera, which prompted another “well-meaning” check-in to ensure it was being used properly—even after I’d mentioned that I’ve been investigating for over twenty years. To keep things simple, we put most of our personal equipment away, aside from a K2, and used what was being circulated by the hosts.
The SLS camera itself was fascinating, and I was genuinely excited to finally work with one. It repeatedly displayed stick figures clustered near the ceiling, with none appearing on the floor. One figure briefly appeared seated or standing on the ladder behind us, though it didn’t seem to interact further with the other equipment. My older friend and I felt the energy rush of the spirit playing on the ladder, but the scene was too hectic to forge any solid connection.
At one point, a teenage participant became understandably excited when a K2 meter began reacting near people in the room. However, there wasn’t time taken to pause and explore whether environmental factors might be influencing the readings versus whether a spirit was truly interacting above someone’s head. With the room already full of sound and movement, it became difficult to parse what the attic activity truly represented.
There was an impressive amount of equipment in use—laser grids, multiple K2s, SLS cameras, proximity sensors, and more. While having options can be beneficial, the sheer volume made it challenging to establish a focused investigative rhythm. I found myself wishing for a moment where the group could slow down, center the space, and approach the attic with intentional questions and gentle encouragement—especially if the spirits seemed drawn upward, toward the ceiling. Helping them feel comfortable enough to engage meaningfully might have changed the tenor of the experience.
Ultimately, the attic carried a strong sense of presence, but connection felt just out of reach.
The Basement
Before heading into the basement, we gathered in the dining room for a scrying exercise. This involved gazing into a mirror illuminated by candlelight and entering a meditative state, allowing insights or images to surface. I found the exercise intriguing and personally resonant. To me, scrying often feels like a bridge between the subconscious and conscious—an invitation to acknowledge what’s ready to be seen, but as I said, I hope to write more about this and other experiences with scrying in the future.
When we arrived in the basement, we congregated in the larger main room on the level. Chairs were put in a semi-circle and equipment was already laid out, ready to be used. There were two investigators down there and they did their best to inform us and help us jump right in to investigating. At this time, a tablet-based device was introduced and given to the teen members of Windigo Paranormal. This device allowed typed questions to be entered with written responses appearing in return. While questions were typed by the teens and responses apparently came through, they were shared mostly among the teens themselves, leaving us guest investigators somewhat in the dark as to what was occurring.
Using the rest of the equipment that was out, our guide started asking a few questions and specifically calling out for someone named Sid. We received minimal response. Then a Historical Society board member joined us and began calling out names, hoping for recognition or response. A tracer-wire device lit up several times, though its responses weren’t addressed or explored at that time.
There was discussion of a spirit named Sarah—or possibly Sally—along with references to a sister connected to someone who worked at the Morgan House. Sarah/Sally, it was said, worked at the M.E. Rounds House behind the Morgan House. Several tools for these interactions were active at once: an energy sensor puck, an EMF-based “dead bell”, and a yes/no device. With so much happening simultaneously, it became difficult to track or validate communication clearly. While offering spirits multiple avenues of interaction can be helpful, presenting too many options at once can sometimes overwhelm both participants and spirits alike, adding to confusion rather than clarity.
No clear conclusions were reached during this portion of the investigation. Attention frequently returned to the idea of a tunnel connecting the Morgan House to the M.E. Rounds House—information reportedly carried over from previous investigations. Despite the interest we showed in this topic, the spirits themselves did not seem inclined to engage on that subject.
Upon leaving the basement, we had one brief final stop at Mr. Morgan’s office, where we were introduced to bone throwing. This, too, circled back to the fascination with tunnels and building plans, but ultimately led nowhere conclusive. With that final exercise complete, we all gathered to discuss the night’s events and wrap up for the evening.
Reflection of the Morgan House Paranormal Investigation
Overall, the evening felt like stepping into an investigation already in motion – one where my role was more observational than participatory. As a veteran investigator, the structure and pacing didn’t align with my experience level. Likewise, my friends, who are newer to investigation work, weren’t given much opportunity to learn. With so much equipment in play, it would have taken a significant amount of time just to explain how each tool functioned, let alone discuss debunking methods or potential equipment anomalies. Aside from brief guidance about my personal tools, those conversations never really happened.
I offer the following as professional, constructive feedback to all involved regarding the evening and the Junior Investigator Group that was connected to our hosts. In the future, I believe it would be beneficial to keep teen investigators in a separate, clearly guided group rather than integrating them with paying adult participants. What may feel casual or harmless to your group internally can read very differently to guests. At times, the teens appeared more focused on social interaction than collaborative investigation, including using devices without sharing findings openly.
Having worked with tweens and teens for over two decades, as well as raising my own, I understand the dynamics that can emerge in public settings. With clearer structure, expectations, and supervision, young investigators can be wonderful assets. Without that guidance, however, the lack of accountability can affect the tone of an entire investigation. In retrospect, this dynamic may have contributed to the unsettled feeling in the attic and the confusion in the basement.
As for the Morgan House – it is an amazing home. It gave me Mark Twain Hartford Home vibes. I hope to return someday to appreciate its beauty, grandeur, and the spirits who dwell within. I could feel stories wanting to be shared.
The Algoma Building
After the tours wrapped, we went back to our rental apartment. We were staying at 110 W Algoma Blvd in the Algoma Building in room #7. This building is one designed by William Waters (1843–1917). Waters was an iconic architect in Oshkosh, designing notable buildings like the Oshkosh Grand Opera House, the Oshkosh Public Library, The Waters, and many of the stone facade buildings along Main Street. The Algoma Building’s style is Romanesque Revival. The Algoma building was built in 1887 and was historically used as an office building. It now houses rentable rooms, some offices, and some businesses in the basement, like the Yetti Yums sweet shop.
Our room was on the top floor, looking across the street at the lights of The Grand and Manila Resto (a Filipino restaurant).
Before we had left for the evening to go to dinner and our two events, I wanted to get a read on the room and see if we could connect with anything. I put out the Ovilus 5 and set it to its geophone mode, which registers vibration. I put it on the marble counter, as it was solid and didn’t seem affected by our walking or even the door slamming. My husband has also postulated that by putting it on natural elements (ex: stone from a quarry or natural wood) the spirits have an easier time connecting to it, because they are working with natural elements to encourage their connection. I understood it as using crystals to amplify our own connection to spirit. But we have certainly gotten better results from placing the device on these types of surfaces compared to artificial ones like plastic tables or chairs.
As we sat and tried to speak with the spirits, we started receiving some taps. I felt a man come through the door into the room. He wanted to talk, but we weren’t able to connect. What I sensed before we had to run out the door to get dinner, was that the man once worked here. He wasn’t being menacing or trying to push us out, but was instead curious about us being in the room. He was puzzling us out. I believe he was a caretaker or someone who managed the building to make sure things were running smoothly.
When we returned home from the Morgan House, I stayed up late with my younger friend talking and connecting and being heard. I went to bed way later than I ever do at home and I will say, the bed in this rental was the comfiest thing ever. I also put up equipment in my room, as I do in most places I stay and visit. I always want to know if someone is there with me. And while I was lying in bed, somewhere around 4AM, I was projecting out into the room that someone should really make my lantern go off. And then I heard a medium deep man’s voice come from somewhere near the door where I was looking. I stayed calm and tried to open myself to communicate and then I felt the ghost fuzzies on my arm and back (I was lying on my side). I said, “Hello?” and I asked for him to speak to me again, but I only received the information that it was the building manager/caretaker I met earlier. He was telling me good night, making sure that I went to bed and wasn’t causing problems in the building. I know that last part sounds cliche, but it felt like a tip of the hat and a “ma’am” to me. He exuded the sensation of brown – brown jacket, brown pants, brown hat.
This is the best I could find for the vibe of the suit and even a little of the look. He had on a cocoa brown teardrop fedora to top off the outfit.
The Algoma Building definitely has someone to watch over it and that’s the story the building wanted me to know.
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