Whether a person believes in the paranormal or not, there is no doubt that weird things happen in old buildings.
The recent investigations of Custer House and Triangle House by Steve Stults, Scott Stults, Kevin Sauer and Neal Dreher of Old School Paranormal were in response to some of those occurrences.
For more than a century, there have been claims of strange happenings at both locations. From horses not wanting to pass in front of Triangle House, to the teddy bear that moves to different locations in the upper level of Custer House.
Maggy Gray, Historical and Archaeological Society of Fort Riley president, said when she contacted Old School Paranormal, she was thrilled when they said they would visit Fort Riley.
"I had hoped that it would happen, but honestly it seemed too good to be true," she said. "This was something that I had only seen on TV, so having it come to our neck of the woods was kind of surreal."
Steve Stults, lead investigator for the case, said Fort Riley was a place that he had always wanted to visit.
"I just didn't know who to ask," he said. "So, to be asked by the folks here in Fort Riley to come and check out 150 years of paranormal claims was -- we felt we hit the motherlode. Now we're just like little kids in a candy shop. 'Yes. Yes. Can we go?' So, when we finally got out here to do the investigation, we were excited about Custer House because we've read all the books Maggy and her team sent us. They sent us everything we could possibly need to know about the claims of Custer House."
He said though they had a lot of information on Custer House, Triangle House was a mystery.
"We didn't really have anything to work with on Triangle," he said. "We didn't know what we were walking into. The only thing we knew about was the claim that horses would not ride in front of it. Oh, and the magazines in the attic."
The presentation March 9 at Riley's Conference Center included playing snippets from a video and explaining the situation between each piece. The team also showed off the devices seen in the video to explain what each unit did.
Some of the devices used included a 360-degree periscope, a K2 meter and Rem-Pod, all units that use the atmosphere around it in different ways to potentially read changes in static electricity or energy. Also used was a SB11 Spirit Box which cycles through FM and AM frequencies very fast creating a white noise thought to enable spirits to communicate.
After viewing the video, the team took questions from the audience.
Tracy Wasmund, wife of Gen. Todd Wasmund, 1st Infantry Division deputy commanding general of support, asked Sauer about the feeling he had when he felt as though something had passed through his body.
"It's like something almost, not overtakes your body, but your feelings," he said. "It's like an over-energized feeling. It's so intense."
Near the end of the presentation Steve announced the next investigation the team would be doing on Fort Riley was of Building 500 and the First Territorial Capitol building -- that night.
"I had hoped for Building 500 from the get-go because it was hospital, and (had) wonderful ghost stories, but thought I would get told no," Gray said. "Garrison leadership completely surprised us when they said yes. I think it helped they had seen our other investigation and knew this was not an opportunity to impugn Fort Riley, but rather a chance to highlight its history and show what a cool place it really is in a respectful way.
"The First Territorial Capital seemed logical because it's one of the oldest buildings on Post," she said. "And although only the state capital for five days, it was a passionate and emotional five days and an important story relating to the Civil War. The folks from the Kansas Historical Society at first declined, but then after reviewing their stance, welcomed us."
To view the entire video release from the investigation, the link can be found on the Historical and Archaeological Society of Fort Riley's Facebook page. A clip of the visit to Building 500 is also on the page.
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