Researchers investigate ghost stories 
Paranormal investigators research the old Austin store
By CHRIS CLINE
Daily Journal Staff Writer
Daily Journal Staff Writer
Daily Journal Information Technology Manager Brad Giessing looks around the room where an alleged suicide took place. - Chris Cline | Daily Journal
Editor’s Note: On Sept. 8 a paranormal group investigated alleged supernatural phenomena at various locations in Potosi. In addition to the Missouri Paranormal Research (MPR), a Daily Journal reporter along with the newspaper’s information technology manager participated in the investigation. The following is the second of a three-part series that deals with the investigation.
POTOSI — The Austin-Milam-Lucas Store is believed to date back as far as 1798. Historians believe it was built by Potosi’s founding father Moses Austin. A rich history and tales of a suicide spark stories that this one-time store, now museum, is haunted.
“If it was indeed built in that year it would have been present in 1802 when the Osage Indians attacked Austin’s home which was a few hundred feet away,” said Esther Carroll, a town historian and member of MPR. “In 1838-1839 when the Trail of Tears came through Washington County, Indians purchased supplies from the store. It was also a witness to Civil War events when General Sterling Price’s Confederate Army invaded Potosi in 1864.”
Carroll researched the alleged suicide that occurred inside the store and found an article that was published On Jan. 21, 1932 in the Potosi Weekly Independent that she believes was the suicide. The headline read “F.J. Flynn dies in Potosi January 17.”
According to the article, Frank J. Flynn died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in an upstairs room of the store. At the time of the suicide, the store was a private residence. Flynn was a cashier at the Washington County Bank. The article said Flynn’s friends had been apprehensive about him for days leading up to the shooting, but they had no idea he was in such a nervous state of mind.
“I’ve heard old ghost stories,” said Jerry Sansegraw, president of the Mine Au Breton Historical Society. “Some of the old-timers used to say when they would walk by the store they would see somebody looking through the upstairs window where Mr. Flynn shot himself. Others would say they saw a light flicker in the room.”
Judy Myers, a sensitive investigator with MPR, said she picked up on several spirits inside the store.
“There is a child in here running from me,” Myers said. “I think she was battered by a woman. I feel that the child is afraid of me. It’s a very overbearing feeling. I also sense that a man hung himself in here and that another shot himself. I am also picking up that there is the spirit of an African American woman in here.”
During an Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) session in the upstairs room where Flynn allegedly shot himself, MPR investigators got what they believe to be startling evidence that paranormal activity does exist inside the historic building.
A voice on an EVP track produced by MPR said what sounded like “get out.”
“The Old Austin Store produced what I believe to be the disembodied voices of spirits as well as other potential evidence still undergoing analysis and evaluation which includes an odd "black" orb about door knob size traveling in a room of the old store,” said MPR President Greg Myers. “Our sensitive investigators, Matt Hendrix and Judy Myers also had several experiences in both the Long-Banta Home and the Old Store as well. They also sensed a suicide at the Old Store which was later validated through research.”
During an investigation of the exterior of the property, an old cabin that is being constructed next to the store seemed to be a hot bed for electromagnetic activity.
“The EMF (Electronic Magnetic Field) meter never went off once inside the store,” said Steve Rusbarsky, an MPR investigator. “It went nuts in the cabin. EMF meters an be set off around circuit breakers and breaker boxes, but there is no electricity out here.”
Paranormal investigators believe that supernatural entities can cause fluctuations in electromagnetic activity.
“When an entity manifests it can cause an increase in electromagnetic activity,” Greg Myers said. “When there is a strong base in electromagnetic activity, the entity can also draw from it and cause a decrease.”
To watch video of EVP discussion log on to our Web site at www.dailyjournalonline.com
Chris Cline is a reporter for the Daily Journal. Contact him at 573-431-2010, ext. 114 or at ccline@dailyjournalonline.com.
POTOSI — The Austin-Milam-Lucas Store is believed to date back as far as 1798. Historians believe it was built by Potosi’s founding father Moses Austin. A rich history and tales of a suicide spark stories that this one-time store, now museum, is haunted.
“If it was indeed built in that year it would have been present in 1802 when the Osage Indians attacked Austin’s home which was a few hundred feet away,” said Esther Carroll, a town historian and member of MPR. “In 1838-1839 when the Trail of Tears came through Washington County, Indians purchased supplies from the store. It was also a witness to Civil War events when General Sterling Price’s Confederate Army invaded Potosi in 1864.”
Carroll researched the alleged suicide that occurred inside the store and found an article that was published On Jan. 21, 1932 in the Potosi Weekly Independent that she believes was the suicide. The headline read “F.J. Flynn dies in Potosi January 17.”
According to the article, Frank J. Flynn died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in an upstairs room of the store. At the time of the suicide, the store was a private residence. Flynn was a cashier at the Washington County Bank. The article said Flynn’s friends had been apprehensive about him for days leading up to the shooting, but they had no idea he was in such a nervous state of mind.
“I’ve heard old ghost stories,” said Jerry Sansegraw, president of the Mine Au Breton Historical Society. “Some of the old-timers used to say when they would walk by the store they would see somebody looking through the upstairs window where Mr. Flynn shot himself. Others would say they saw a light flicker in the room.”
Judy Myers, a sensitive investigator with MPR, said she picked up on several spirits inside the store.
“There is a child in here running from me,” Myers said. “I think she was battered by a woman. I feel that the child is afraid of me. It’s a very overbearing feeling. I also sense that a man hung himself in here and that another shot himself. I am also picking up that there is the spirit of an African American woman in here.”
During an Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) session in the upstairs room where Flynn allegedly shot himself, MPR investigators got what they believe to be startling evidence that paranormal activity does exist inside the historic building.
A voice on an EVP track produced by MPR said what sounded like “get out.”
“The Old Austin Store produced what I believe to be the disembodied voices of spirits as well as other potential evidence still undergoing analysis and evaluation which includes an odd "black" orb about door knob size traveling in a room of the old store,” said MPR President Greg Myers. “Our sensitive investigators, Matt Hendrix and Judy Myers also had several experiences in both the Long-Banta Home and the Old Store as well. They also sensed a suicide at the Old Store which was later validated through research.”
During an investigation of the exterior of the property, an old cabin that is being constructed next to the store seemed to be a hot bed for electromagnetic activity.
“The EMF (Electronic Magnetic Field) meter never went off once inside the store,” said Steve Rusbarsky, an MPR investigator. “It went nuts in the cabin. EMF meters an be set off around circuit breakers and breaker boxes, but there is no electricity out here.”
Paranormal investigators believe that supernatural entities can cause fluctuations in electromagnetic activity.
“When an entity manifests it can cause an increase in electromagnetic activity,” Greg Myers said. “When there is a strong base in electromagnetic activity, the entity can also draw from it and cause a decrease.”
To watch video of EVP discussion log on to our Web site at www.dailyjournalonline.com
Chris Cline is a reporter for the Daily Journal. Contact him at 573-431-2010, ext. 114 or at ccline@dailyjournalonline.com.
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