Octagon Hall offers celebrity ghost hunts

The Amplifier.com: Octagon Hall offers celebrity ghost hunts

Quietly nestled in a well manicured landscape just inside Simpson County lies an historic site widely regarded as one of the most haunted places in the South. Octagon Hall is one of only four brick Octagonal shaped buildings surviving in the country and its long history includes service as a Civil War hospital. In the world of ghost hunting it is a must see location and Executive Director Billy D. Byrd has been able to sustain the museum by hosting events for those seeking to commune with things that go bump in the night, the largest yet to take place on September 10, 2011.

The hall had served as rental property for many years before it was purchased by Byrd in 2001. As he began restoration, he and other workers experienced some strange occurrences, so his curiosity made him happy to oblige when a Nashville group contacted him asking to spend the night and investigate a potential haunting.

Preferring to avoid the strings attached to State and Federal money and grants, Byrd seized the opportunity to fund the museum through weekend excursions by ghost hunters and eventually began allowing a select number from the general public to accompany the investigators on certain weekends.

After being featured on A&E, the Travel Channel and the History Channel, he more recently introduced celebrity events with the help of ghost hunter and promoter Keith Fournier.

In July such an event was held featuring Jim O’Rear, a multitalented celebrity who will return on September 10.

Jim O’Rear has been well known in a variety of fields through the years. He first drew attention at the age of 12, billing himself as The Youngest Professional Magician and working with talents such as David Copperfield, Harry Blackstone, Jr., and The Great Tomsoni as well as opening for acts like Cheap Trick and John Anderson.

He then trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and began a successful run on stage before transitioning to acting, stunt work and special effects on the silver screen. His many films include the original Day of the Dead, the remake of Little Shop of Horrors, Lethal Weapon 3, Star Trek IV, Mortal Kombat: Conquest, Evita and Psycho Beach Party.

In recent years he turned his attention to writing and has produced films starring true horror royalty from a number of his screenplays as well as writing several books on ghosts including Tennessee Ghosts. An early screenplay for example was made into the film House of Pain starring Robert “Freddy” Englund, Gunnar “Leatherface” Hansen, Tom “From Dusk Until Dawn” Savini, Bill “Chop Top” Moseley and scream queen Debbie Rochon.

He became involved in ghost hunting as a member of Hollywood Ghost Hunters which features “Horror film professionals stalking the supernatural”. Cohorts included R.A. Mihailoff (Leatherface), Kane Hodder (Jason Voorhees and Adam Green (Hatchet). After leaving the Hollywood Ghost Hunters, Jim started his own team dubbing them the Celebrity Ghost Hunters. They have recently completed a TV pilot featuring Robert Englund and Mandy Barnett.

At the July meet and greet, Jim relayed some of the history which brought him to the world of ghost hunting. His first interest in the unknown came about as a child. He described an old woman in his small hometown that all the children feared and referred to as a witch. Word was, he said, that if you made eye contact with her you would die. Being a daredevil from the start Jim’s curiosity lead him to hide and observe the woman and one day he wasn’t quick enough and she caught his gaze. “I didn’t die!” He said. He had had some strange experiences in his own home so he began to question other stories and beliefs about the supernatural world. He became fast friends with the old woman and they kept in touch until the day she died.

When he visited Disney World the first time, Jim was fascinated with the Haunted Mansion and by the age of 15 he had created his own haunted event, which he still does from time to time in Nashville.

When it comes to real ghosts, Jim says he seems to be one of those with a special sensitivity. When he is present, things tend to happen. And according to Innovative Paranormal Research’s founder Dudley Pitts, Octagon Hall is one of the most active sites you can visit. IPR was the team sponsoring the July 22 ghost hunt and have done many investigations at the hall. Pitts claims that though the Waverly Sanitarium and the Bardstown Jail are believed to have more ghosts, Octagon Hall has the most consistent activity with nearly a 95% chance of some kind of occurrence during investigations.

The most active ghost, Mary Elizabeth was a young girl who burned to death in the house’s kitchen after a spark from the fire ignited her dress. Mary Elizabeth has taken many forms according to the hunters, from a misty presence to appearing as solid. Witnesses have claimed to see and hear her both during the day and at night. Further she has interacted with a variety of people they say, answering questions and even singing along with them. Pitt’s described one of his visits during a Civil War encampment where she approached a family with a young child asking if the child could play. After the mother told her it was too late and the child was asleep, they realized no other children were on the site that night besides their own.

Other visitors who gathered July 22 included a couple from Gallatin Tennessee who had experienced a little girl calling to them in their home and become intrigued with the idea of ghost hunting from watching TV and a teenage boy from Arkansas who had played with an “imaginary friend” in his childhood and grown to find the entity could play tricks with nails in his wall and items around the house.

While only 12 - 15 people are invited to join professional ghost hunters on a typical investigation, the September 10 event hosted by Ghost Hunt Weekends will be a more sizeable endeavor with 100 tickets being sold. Keith Fournier is bringing in 7 or 8 team leaders including himself and Jim O’Rear so that participants can be split into small groups and rotate through the various areas to investigate and interact with celebrity guests one on one. Guests include John Zaffis, The Godfather of the Paranormal from Syfy’s Haunted Collector and Bruce Tango from Syfy’s Ghost Hunters.

The Day’s schedule which begins at 11am, will include historic tours, lectures and classes, Q&As, Dinner with the stars, a live Civil War encampment and a live ghost hunt. Tickets are $195 per person and can be purchased at ghosthuntweekends.com or by calling 866-559-4741. For more information about Octagon Hall visit www.octagonhall.com or friend it on facebook.

And, be sure to check out Jim O’Rear’s upcoming projects including Disciples with Billy Moseley and Linnea Quigley, The Jersey Devil and his own Underground Entertaiment: The Movie, a Spinal Tapesque mockumentary featuring a who’s who of horror stars.