Butler County’s haunted elementary attracts new TV ghost hunters

Reports of paranormal activity at a former Butler County school have captured the interest of another television program.

“There’s so much evidence of paranormal activity here,” said Madison Twp. resident Darrell Whisman, who purchased the former Poasttown Elementary School in 2004 and now calls it home.

These reports have drawn many paranormal investigators and film crews to the former school building, including the latest — a crew for “Paradium,” a new television show that will film Wednesday, Aug. 23, at the school and a nearby train wreck site.

According to Executive Producer and Cast Member Justin Richards, the crew decided to go to Poasttown Elementary because other paranormal investigators suggested it and because Whisman told promising stories about ghostly experiences he has experienced while living in the building.

There are several theories about why the school, which was constructed in 1935, has become a hot spot for ghostly activity.

The site is believed to have been close to several tragic train accidents, one where two locomotives collided head on in 1910, killing 30 people.

With no hospital close by, the field where the school now exists was set up as a triage center. The thought is that the spirits of those who died from the accident still remain on the land.

The history of the schoolhouse itself is relatively peaceful, with one exception. It’s been told that a young girl fell three floors down a stairwell and sustained a serious head injury. However, the child, known as Sarah, didn’t die at the school, but succumbed to her injuries later that day at a local hospital.

Richards said that the crew’s visit to Ohio will mark the beginning of full-time filming for the series, which will air in 2018.

Due to nondisclosure agreements, he could not say what channel it will air on but expects its first season to have nine to 15 episodes.

Other series and movies, such as TLC’s “Ghost Brothers” and “Children of the Grave II,” have been filmed at the school, but Richards believes several aspects of “Paradium” set it apart from similar shows.

It’s name, a combination of “paranormal” and “medium,” hints at one of its unique features: it’s the first paranormal crew to include a medium or seer, someone who can predict the future and communicate with spirits.

“I can communicate with a spirit or demon, say if they’re present or not, and see what’s coming up,” said Crystal Kenney, the team’s seer. “I’ll get flashes in my mind that let me protect the team from anything dangerous that could happen.”

The show’s creators also boast its fabrication shop, which develops devices the team uses to detect paranormal activity.

So far, the shop has created a six-foot-by-three-foot “cloud chamber,” which producers say uses dry ice and chemicals to make spirits passing through it visible.

While filming a recent episode in Briceville, Tenn., for example, a foot print appeared in the chamber when it was sitting in a church that was supposedly haunted.

“(Paradium) is really groundbreaking,” Kenney said. “I want to educate people and let them know that this stuff is real and if you do it right it’s safe and can bring love and closure.”

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