Pioneer Spirits: Investigating the Haunted Lewis County Historical Museum

By Karen Frazier

The Lewis County Historical Museum sits in the heart of Chehalis, Washington. The former railroad depot houses artifacts from the area's pioneers, but eyewitnesses believe the museum is home to more than just historical items. Many visitors, volunteers, employees, and paranormal investigators have had unexplainable experiences in the museum when they've encountered its resident ghosts.

South Sound Paranormal Research (SSPR) has been investigating the museum since 2008. In the past six years, they've collected countless hours of data, including many pieces of evidence that seem to indicate the museum is haunted. In Pioneer Spirits, SSPR not only shares their evidence of ghosts, but they also tell the stories of those who have encountered the unknown.

If you love ghost stories, then Pioneer Spirits won't disappoint. Join SSPR for a front row seat at one of Washington's most haunted hot spots.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Karen Frazier
• Release date: Nov 21, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311347299

Book preview

Pioneer Spirits

Investigating the Haunted Lewis County Historical Museum

By Karen Frazier

with Patty Valdez and South Sound Paranormal Research

Foreword by William Becker

Smashwords Edition

Pioneer Spirits: Investigating the Haunted Lewis County Historical Museum

By Karen Frazier with Patty Valdez and South Sound Paranormal Research

Foreword by William Becker

Smashwords Edition

Cover photographs courtesy of Lewis County Historical Museum

Interior photgraphy courtesy of South Sound Paranormal Research and Lewis County Historical Museum

Copyright © 2014 Karen Frazier and Afterlife Publishing

All rights reserved. All content within this book may not be copied, quoted, distributed, modified, or reprinted without the express written consent of Karen Frazier and Afterlife Publishing.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold

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please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did

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work of this author.

ISBN-13: 978-0692332788 (Afterlife Publishing)

ISBN-10: 0692332782

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To Tom, Abigail, Michael, and all of the other spirits that inhabit the Lewis County Historical Museum

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Afterword

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Also by Karen

Foreword

I was thrilled when Karen approached me to write the forward for Pioneer Spirits: Investigating the Haunted Lewis County Historical Museum. The Lewis County Historical Museum is one of my favorite, feel-at-home places. I’ve had the privilege of investigating, holding classes, and just hanging out with the ghosts, volunteers and staff of the beautiful old building, as well as with South Sound Paranormal Research. I have firsthand knowledge of many of the paranormal events that happen there.

Pioneer Spirits brings the ghosts and their stories to life. Karen has the unique ability to present historical people to us as real people with personal histories and interesting tales to tell. Reading about the museum and its inhabitants makes you feel as if you have become friends with the people whose tales Karen tells. You become part of the Lewis County Historical Museum family as the stories draw you in and make you feel welcome.

The book covers the physical history of the museum as well as telling the tales of the spirits. It brings to light the ups and downs of the organization, while showing how those fluctuations affected the spirits there. Karen shows how drama among the former staff and board members seemed to make the ghosts at the museum more aggressive. She also shows how the current staff and management calmed the actions of those same beings.

Pioneer Spirits brings the people and history of Lewis County to life in a new way; a way that makes us feel like we’re visiting with old friends. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

William Becker

Paranormal Insights

November 11, 2011

Introduction

The first time I ever heard the Lewis County Historical Museum in Chehalis, Washington was haunted was in the spring of 2010. By then, South Sound Paranormal Research had already been investigating it for two years.

I was in a local bookstore making arrangements for the shop to sell my first book, Avalanche of Spirits: The Ghosts of Wellington. As the store’s proprietor and I talked about the subject matter of my book, his face lit up.

Do you know where you need to go? he asked me.

Where?

You need to go to the museum. It’s haunted. As he spoke he gestured vaguely down the road.

Before I’d talked to him, I knew of the museum. Even for a relative newcomer to Lewis County like me, it was hard to miss. It’s an attractive mission revival-style brick building—a former railroad depot—that sits along the train tracks on the main drag as you drive into Chehalis. Since the speed limit is only 20 MPH as you drive past, you have lots of time to look at it.

While I had yet to visit the museum, I was instantly intrigued. As a monthly columnist for a paranormal magazine, I continuously sought haunted locations about which I could write. A quick Google search brought up a number of articles about the ghosts at the museum, including a piece in the local newspaper, The Chronicle. I filed the information away in the back of my mind for a future article.

Then, caught up in the whirlwind of publicity for my book, placed going to the museum for an interview on the back burner.

A few months later I was attending a paranormal conference in Yakima, Washington. I was one of the speakers there, promoting my book. At a meet and greet on the first evening, I met members of South Sound Paranormal Research. I was surprised to discover they had team members from Chehalis, as well as throughout Southwestern Washington. I was also intrigued to learn they were involved in an ongoing investigation of the Lewis County Historical Museum.

Suddenly, the project was once again at the forefront of my mind. One of the members of SSPR, Lori Nelsen-Allen, helped me arrange an interview with a museum employee and a volunteer. The minute I walked into the building, I knew I would love it there. That afternoon, I sat and listened raptly as the two women shared stories with me about all of the things they had experienced at the museum, as well as reports from witnesses over the years. I left with a great article about a haunted location and a burning desire to get in there and poke around. Soon, I would have that opportunity.

At the time, I was investigating with a team based in Gold Bar, Washington, Northwest Paranormal Investigation Agency (NWPIA). While I loved the team, they were pretty far away from my home in Chehalis, so every investigation was a haul for me. At the same time, I found I hit it off with the members of SSPR, and Lori invited my husband Jim and me to come to the museum for her son’s birthday party with an investigation to follow.

I went to the party, but I didn’t plan to stay long. Jim and I had been up very late the night before doing an investigation in Skykomish, Washington with NWPIA, an activity that got us home at about 4 AM. We have four dogs. None of them cared we had been out most of the night when they woke us up the next morning. By the time the museum party and investigation rolled around, I was running on fumes.

Still, I’m not one to turn down hanging out in a haunted place. And so, off to the party we went.

The members of SSPR were welcoming. As they led me through the museum and told me stories of their experiences, I grew even more intrigued. I was definitely curious about this place and its spirits. Naturally, my plan to only stay for a few minutes quickly disappeared. Three hours later, I was still there. I found myself in the attic with a group of SSPR investigators.

While we were upstairs, a spirit that SSPR referred to only as the perfume lady made an aromatic appearance. Actually, she didn’t appear so much as her scent wafted about, following a distinct pattern around the attic. As we stood still and tried to communicate with the perfume lady, something happened to me that has never happened before or since. I fell asleep standing up. I knew no matter how fascinated I was, I needed to go home and get some sleep.

I said my good-byes and headed out the door. Of course, the moment I left is when the paranormal