Hale to unveil ghostly study Sunday

The Nathan Hale Homestead will be helping area residents get in the Halloween mood Sunday when the findings from a paranormal study conducted over the summer are unveiled.

The Connecticut Paranormal Re-search and Investigations team, which visited the site in June, will display any paranormal activity it found during an event starting a 1 p.m., alongside the final outdoor Coventry Farmer’s Market of the year.

CTPRI is a nonprofit organization that investigates sites to de-termine if paranormal activity is occurring.

Rochelle Simon, spokesman for Connecticut Landmarks, which owns and operates the homestead, said she had not seen the results for the study at the homestead, but similar studies have other historical sites have found “very interesting things.”

She said CTPRI presented video, audio and still photos of activity at the Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden in Bethlehem and the But-ler McCook House & Garden in Hartford.

Members of the research team also talked about paranormal energy they sensed in those facilities.

“Naturally, we’re all extremely curious to find out what they’ve found,” said Bev York, site administrator for the homestead.

She also said the timing is perfect for the event, because even people who are “skeptical” of paranormal activity show an interest this time of year.
“Everybody is into this in October,” she said.

Also Sunday, the Coventry Farmer’s Market will conduct its final outdoor market of the year with the Great Pumpkin Festival.

The market will then shut down for a month before it opens its in-door market Nov. 22 at Coventry High School.

Winter Caplanson, a spokesman for the market, said children can paint pumpkins and display their costumes at the market, where vendors will have candy for trick-or-treaters.

She said vendors will also have items available for children to purchase for only 10 cents, because Dime Bank is sponsoring the event.

Due to last weekend’s cold, rainy, snowy weather, some activities and features, including vendors making applesauce and dumplings, will be at the market this weekend.

The market is held at the Nathan Hale Homestead, located on South Street from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and admission is free.

Admission to the Nathan Hale’s “Is this place haunted?” event is $10 for tickets purchased in ad-vance, $15 at the door.

For more information, contact the Nathan Hale Homestead at 742-6917, or Connecticut Landmarks at (860) 247-8996, ext. 23.

Tickets can also be purchased by visiting the Connecticut Landmarks web site at www.ctlandmarks.org.