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HISTORY
Located on 640 acres of working farm land, Loyd's Hall Plantation (circa 1820) is
truly a unique plantation in many ways. The home was built by William Loyd,
originating from the famous Lloyds of London. However, being a "black sheep" of
the family, he moved to America and was forced to drop one of the "L's" from his
last name.
Mr. Loyd was quite the eccentric character, being disliked by many people. Proof
of this can be found in the original front door, which is now the door to the dining
room. On it, you can still see gashes left by Indian arrowheads, shot by the
displeased locals! Mr. Loyd then began working with both the Union and the
Confederacy during the war. When word of the double agent's actions got out,
William finally met his demise and was hanged in his own front yard.
The home's tragedies did not end here, as Mr. Loyd's later relative, Inez Loyd,
jumped to her death from the third story attic. The suicide was said to have taken
place to due Inez being stood up by her fiancé. The third floor was also said to
have been home to a small school house on one side and the room of the teacher
on the other.
It was this teacher that was said to have been in a relationship with a Union
soldier who chose to stay behind after the troops left. He was often seen on the
front porch, serenading the teacher with a violin. It is at this point, that history in
unclear. Some sources say that the soldier was then shot by the teacher's sister,
while others say it was an angry neighbor that committed the murder. Needless to
say, the soldier was, in fact, shot on the third floor and was actually buried under
the house. Years later, his remains were exhumed and moved to an undisclosed
location. What was left, was a large stain on the third floor, said to have been the
blood stain left over from the murder.
EXPERIENCES
For years, guests and staff of Loyd's Hall have claimed to have experienced
numerous paranormal occurrences. Reports of voices/music being heard, food
odors, and objects being moved around seem to be the most common reports.
A former employee reported hearing her name being called and smelling food
being cooked in the adjacent cottage, which once served as the outdoor kitchen.
Current owners have reported a small stuffed animal being found throughout
various portions of the house while no one was there.
INVESTIGATION
After several years of attempting to gain access into the Plantation, we were
elated to finally get the opportunity to investigate. We cannot thank Rebecca, Mr.
Mike, and the rest of the staff for allowing us into such a wonderful home.
The first matter at hand was to attempt to put to rest a long lasting rumor: Was
the stain on the third floor actually blood? To test this rumor, we decided to take a
page out of an episode of "C.S.I." and turn to a tool often used by crime scene
investigators; Luminol.
Luminol is a versatile chemical that exhibits chemiluminescence, with a striking
blue glow, when mixed with an appropriate oxidizing agent. It is a white to slightly
yellow crystalline solid that is soluble in water and most polar organic solvents.
Luminol is used by forensic investigators to detect trace amounts of blood left at
crime scenes. It is also used by biologists in cellular assays for the detection of
copper, iron, and cyanides. The question was: Could luminol detect traces of
blood that was approximately 180 years old? After interviewing a Criminal Justice
professor, it was learned that we would be able to pick up blood that could be that
old.
Now, the moment of truth! As soon as the sun went down, we all made our way to
the third floor with our bottle of luminol. We all huddled around the stain, which
actually looked more like a grease stain than blood. We then began to spray an
even layer of the solution onto the stain as we held our breath. Slowly, to our
amazement, we began to see the reaction take affect, as glowing splatter marks
became visible! The glowing areas even seemed to collected more heavily in the
joints between each strip of wood. We were all shocked, yet pleased, to be the
first individuals to thoroughly validate years of reported claims.
Our next task at hand was the investigation. We set up two DVR's and eight
cameras throughout the home in the regular fashion. We then conducted our
standard set of EMF sweeps and audio recordings, with no first hand experiences
through the night. Evidence analysis produced an interest photograph we
humorously titled the "two-nut peanut", due to its strange shape . We then
captured an interesting audio clip of an audible, yet incoherent, third voice while
Brandon is speaking.
In closing, we would again like to thank the staff of Loyd's Hall for their hospitality.
We look very forward to making a follow-up visit in the future.
Located on 640 acres of working farm land, Loyd's Hall Plantation (circa 1820) is
truly a unique plantation in many ways. The home was built by William Loyd,
originating from the famous Lloyds of London. However, being a "black sheep" of
the family, he moved to America and was forced to drop one of the "L's" from his
last name.
Mr. Loyd was quite the eccentric character, being disliked by many people. Proof
of this can be found in the original front door, which is now the door to the dining
room. On it, you can still see gashes left by Indian arrowheads, shot by the
displeased locals! Mr. Loyd then began working with both the Union and the
Confederacy during the war. When word of the double agent's actions got out,
William finally met his demise and was hanged in his own front yard.
The home's tragedies did not end here, as Mr. Loyd's later relative, Inez Loyd,
jumped to her death from the third story attic. The suicide was said to have taken
place to due Inez being stood up by her fiancé. The third floor was also said to
have been home to a small school house on one side and the room of the teacher
on the other.
It was this teacher that was said to have been in a relationship with a Union
soldier who chose to stay behind after the troops left. He was often seen on the
front porch, serenading the teacher with a violin. It is at this point, that history in
unclear. Some sources say that the soldier was then shot by the teacher's sister,
while others say it was an angry neighbor that committed the murder. Needless to
say, the soldier was, in fact, shot on the third floor and was actually buried under
the house. Years later, his remains were exhumed and moved to an undisclosed
location. What was left, was a large stain on the third floor, said to have been the
blood stain left over from the murder.
EXPERIENCES
For years, guests and staff of Loyd's Hall have claimed to have experienced
numerous paranormal occurrences. Reports of voices/music being heard, food
odors, and objects being moved around seem to be the most common reports.
A former employee reported hearing her name being called and smelling food
being cooked in the adjacent cottage, which once served as the outdoor kitchen.
Current owners have reported a small stuffed animal being found throughout
various portions of the house while no one was there.
INVESTIGATION
After several years of attempting to gain access into the Plantation, we were
elated to finally get the opportunity to investigate. We cannot thank Rebecca, Mr.
Mike, and the rest of the staff for allowing us into such a wonderful home.
The first matter at hand was to attempt to put to rest a long lasting rumor: Was
the stain on the third floor actually blood? To test this rumor, we decided to take a
page out of an episode of "C.S.I." and turn to a tool often used by crime scene
investigators; Luminol.
Luminol is a versatile chemical that exhibits chemiluminescence, with a striking
blue glow, when mixed with an appropriate oxidizing agent. It is a white to slightly
yellow crystalline solid that is soluble in water and most polar organic solvents.
Luminol is used by forensic investigators to detect trace amounts of blood left at
crime scenes. It is also used by biologists in cellular assays for the detection of
copper, iron, and cyanides. The question was: Could luminol detect traces of
blood that was approximately 180 years old? After interviewing a Criminal Justice
professor, it was learned that we would be able to pick up blood that could be that
old.
Now, the moment of truth! As soon as the sun went down, we all made our way to
the third floor with our bottle of luminol. We all huddled around the stain, which
actually looked more like a grease stain than blood. We then began to spray an
even layer of the solution onto the stain as we held our breath. Slowly, to our
amazement, we began to see the reaction take affect, as glowing splatter marks
became visible! The glowing areas even seemed to collected more heavily in the
joints between each strip of wood. We were all shocked, yet pleased, to be the
first individuals to thoroughly validate years of reported claims.
Our next task at hand was the investigation. We set up two DVR's and eight
cameras throughout the home in the regular fashion. We then conducted our
standard set of EMF sweeps and audio recordings, with no first hand experiences
through the night. Evidence analysis produced an interest photograph we
humorously titled the "two-nut peanut", due to its strange shape . We then
captured an interesting audio clip of an audible, yet incoherent, third voice while
Brandon is speaking.
In closing, we would again like to thank the staff of Loyd's Hall for their hospitality.
We look very forward to making a follow-up visit in the future.
1. Luminol Test (27.8mb) - Not as visible as real time, you
will still see the glowing spots caused by the luminol's
reaction with the iron from the remaining blood residue.
will still see the glowing spots caused by the luminol's
reaction with the iron from the remaining blood residue.
1. Loyd's Hall Voice - Indecipherable third voice captured.
