Is there a so-called 'ghost ship' in Portsmouth? The builder of a museum-quality replica of the Titanic says yes.
We brought you his story last month on NewsChannel 3, and it was one of the `most clicked` stories on wtkr.com. A local group of ghost hunters saw the story and took action.
Something that defies logic and explanation appeared in photographs of a model replica of the ill-fated Titanic.
Related:
Portsmouth man says ‘Titanic’ replica could be haunted
Chuck Moore built the museum-quality model years ago, but the images appeared in photographs he took of the boat this year—the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.
Chuck says he's got ghostly company.
Chuck believes passengers who went down with the ship have found a new home on the model vessel where he painstakingly duplicated the most minute details.
Shortly after the story aired, we heard from Ray Savino and his group of paranormal investigators.
They use elaborate monitoring tools and listening devices to pick up energy, sounds and images.
Linzie Mechling’s tool is her sensitivity, and when she walked into the room housing the ship, she says she picked up on someone or something.
"It's definitely a woman, an older woman,” says Linzie.
Ray Savino and his team have conducted more than 100 investigations of paranormal activity since 2009.
The non-profit team volunteered to see if they could identify what was happening in Chuck’s Portsmouth home.
Is the replica haunted by Titanic ghosts or other spirits?
"Certain metals, certain stones are capable of absorbing energy and of course, like I said earlier, ghosts absorb that energy so in order for them to do that, there would have to be actual pieces from the ship itself,” says Ray Savino.
There are no original pieces of the Titanic in or on the replica, but Chuck believes the lost souls have found their way on the replica. He points to the mysterious images that appear on photographs of the port holes.
"It looks like a bald-headed man with a handle bar mustache looking out,” says Chuck.
Ray and his team appear to be picking up on something else. Chuck’s mother Elizabeth recently passed away in the home.
Without that knowledge, we sent Linzie into the room, preventing her and Chuck from sharing information.
We asked Chuck to describe his mom and asked Linzie to describe what she sensed in the room.
"She was standing on my right side, so she liked to stand over on this side,” says Linzie.
"Her hands, they just shake, like mine will shake sometimes,” says Chuck.
"I get the shaky hands feeling,” says Linzie.
The RTL team later sent the results from their monitoring equipment saying they picked up on some faint female voices.
Chuck says since his mother enjoyed watching him build the replica, the theory that she might be there in spirit gives him comfort.
"She was just as sweet as she could be,” says Chuck. "It is who I think it is and that's my mother, which I believe honestly and that she is feeling fine.”
Which theory is more convincing— a ghost ship of lost souls or the spirit of a proud mom admiring her son's work?
"She came in then she left, and I don't feel her anymore, but she likes to come and look at the model,” says Linzie.
The RTL group, which stands for “reliving their lives,” offered a preliminary finding for NewsChannel 3.
They believe there is 'someone' in spirit form in the house, not the boat.
Linzie and the monitoring equipment seem to indicate it is Chuck’s mother. And she enjoys looking at the ship and watching her son build things.
So I guess you could say, if you believe these things, Chuck and RTL were both right, in theory.
Of course, we should allow for a third option, none of the above.
