Date: April 2010

Investigators: John, Renee, Tammy, Sandy, Dee and Ray

 

 

This investigation was a treat and a great opportunity to investigate a truly historic building in downtown St Augustine. Meehan’s is located on the bay front just one block south of the Castillo de San Marcos and the site was once used as a storage area during the forts construction.

 

The structure was built in 1917 and once the home of William Diskmuits, the first president of the Florida National Bank. Through the years the building had been a private residence but in more recent time operated as different businesses including another pub called Tavern on the Bay.

 

NEFLPI was offered the opportunity to investigate the location and we were excited based on the stories we have heard from both patrons and employees concerning paranormal activity. Since becoming Meehan’s, the location had not been investigated and we were eager to see what we could find.

 

In talking with the owner, John Meehan, and his employees, there were numerous stories of possible spirit activity. One employee had been in the attic retrieving liquor and noticed a strange ghostly mist develop. People had experienced the ladies room door on the second floor fly open and the chandelier at the top of the stairs would swing on it’s own.

 

We began the investigation later in the evening, during the middle of the week after hours. This was the best time for the team to gain access to the building given the schedule of the business. We hit the site hard planning on staying until the wee hours of the morning.

 

We set up our command center down stairs utilizing the DVR system with cameras set up in hot spots. Occurrences started right off the bat with the sounds of footsteps being heard on both the second floor and attic. Dee heard the steps in the attic while she was setting up equipment on the second floor and Ray and John heard steps on the second floor. At each of these times, no team members were on the levels above us. In addition, the steps were not one or two but multiple in nature. It seemed the ghosts knew we were there to meet them and they were already out.

 

The building is quite large and given the majority of the reports seemed to focus around the top floors, we spent the majority of our time there. We broke into teams and on one trip, Dee, Sandy and John were conducting an EVP session on the third floor. During the session they asked whoever was there to make their presence known and there seemed to be a response by taping some liquor bottles together. When asked to do it again, they responded in the same fashion. This was caught on video and is posted on our site. John tried to debunk by walking and jumping around both on the third and second floor without making anything happen with the bottles.

 

Another interesting bit of evidence was captured on the handheld video camera in the kitchen area. John was doing a walkthrough downstairs and caught a response to his questioning. When asked who was there, the response was a voice saying “mouse.” This could have been a ghostly spirit responding in a joking manner.

 

Our investigation lasted until 5 AM at which time we needed to pack up to allow the cleaning crew to come in. We had several interesting experiences and documented some great evidence. We have been offered the opportunity to come back at a later date and look forward to delving further into our findings.

 

The atmosphere at Meehan’s is fantastic and could only be matched by the great food they offer. The owner and staff are great people and make you feel right at home. They have live music on most weekend nights and it’s a great place to spend an evening. Stop by and have a pint and try the Reuben sandwich. Tell them NEFLPI sent you.