Investigation Report for the Victoria's Black Swan Inn, San Antonio, Texas, 03-24-05

Time of Investigation:

Overnight

Solar Conditions:

Solar X-rays are Normal. Geomagnetic fields indicate Quiet.

Moon Phase:

2 days prior to Full Moon

Weather Conditions:

Clear; temperature in the mid-70s.

Description of Location:

A beautiful Victorian style historical mansion with gardens on 35 acres and a creek flowing through and build on Indian burial grounds and the historical battle grounds post fall of the Alamo.

Equipment readings:

Our dowsing rods indicated activity in the room that used to serve as Park's office, the formal dining room, the room where the men's restroom is, and the ballroom. Equipment readings indicated activity in these areas as well.

Investigators:

Starr Chaney, Jessi Chaney, Gloria Young, Jackie Meador, Doreen Disparti.

Spectators:

Tracy Idell Hamilton of the San Antonio Express, along with her photograper. You can read the article she wrote about our investigation on our Media page.

Investigation Setup:

I set up a camcorder in the ballroom. Gloria set up a camcorder and geiger counter in the formal dining room; we set recorders in the other rooms. We all took photos that throughout the evening.

History of the Home/Area:

From before 5000 B.C. to around 1000 A.D. this area was the site of Native American encampments. Artifacts from this time can still be found here. When The Mexican Army invaded Texas a second time in 1842, reinforcements from Gonzales drew General Adrian Woll and his men to a place on Salado Creek where a short battle took place. This occurred in and around the area where the house presently stands.

Henry Mahler and his wife, Marie built the first house on the property in 1887. After purchasing more land a second house was built in 1901.

The Holbrook and Woods Families purchased the house and did extensive remodeling, adding two wings and calling the house "White Gables".

After the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Holbrook and Mr. Woods, Mrs. Woods lived in the house with Park and Joline Street along with their children. During this time a second story was added to the main house. This was a time when Earle Stanley Gardner visited the house and wrote some of his Perry Mason series scripts here. Park Street supposedly committed suicide by hanging himself in the house, though this has been a highly controversial subject. Some feel he was murdered and then staged to look like a suicide.

Mrs. Ingeborg Mehren bought the house and added on the large kitchen area.

It has been in the possession of the current owner since the early 1990s. Since Jo Ann Rivera has owned the house, there has continued to be a lot of paranormal activity on the grounds and in the house. It has been the subject matter of books and television shows dealing with hauntings.

Activity Witnessed:

We experienced several areas which had cold spots, particularly in the room where the men's restroom is and Park's office. We also experienced feelings of being watched.

The most amazing event of the evening happened around 3 a.m. We had retired for the evening, all of us sleeping on air mattresses in the ballroom. Doreen's air mattress was one of the double-thickness ones, so it stood quite a bit higher than the others. Doreen's mattress was laying perpendicular to mine and sat about 5 feet away from the head of my mattress. I was sleeping with my head toward Doreen, with my arm tucked under my pillow and hanging off the top end of the mattress. I was awakened in the middle of the night by Doreen landing on my head! She had been asleep, and then awoke to find herself flying through the air. If she had rolled out of the bed, she would have landed on my arm, so this was quickly ruled out. We were all perplexed by this, but we left it to ponder the next morning. That is when we were told that (and this was before we had mentioned anything about our incident) there was someone in the house who liked to jump on mattresses... well, I guess we got our explanation!

Investigation Findings:

We have concluded that Victoria's Black Swan Inn has at least three spirits in the downstairs area. We captured a woman's voice, and two male voices on tape. We also suspect a fourth spirit, perhaps a child, since it likes to jump on the bed.