Weather:
Temp. 49 degrees F
Wind N at 8mph
Humidity 54%
Pressure 29.93 inches and steady
Dew Point 32 degrees F
Visibility 10 miles

Background:
The Gilson Road Cemetery is located in hilly and wooded terrain directly across the street from the Tanglewood Drive in Nashua, New Hampshire. Surrounded by a roughly constructed field stone wall, the site is approximately five hundred feet wide by one hundred-fifty feet deep and is. The dates on the gravestones range from the late 1700s to the early 1900s, however, several broken granite markers without readable dates appear to be quite a bit older. There are relatively few grave markers given the size of the site. This suggests the possibility that some of the plots may be either unmarked or missing their headstones.

A history of the Gilson Road area is not readily available. The history of the greater Nashua area, however, is well known. Like most of early New England, its past is violent.

Nashua was originally chartered in 1673 as the township of Dunstable, Massachusetts. The first permanent settlement in southern New Hampshire, it encompassed present day Dunstable (MA), Tyngsboro (MA), Groton (MA), Pepperell (MA), Townsend (MA), Nashua (NH), Hudson (NH), Hollis (NH), Milford (NH), and Brookline (NH).

The area was the scene of savage conflicts between the indigenous Indian tribes prior to the arrival of the first European settlers. These inter-tribal wars devastated the local Indian populations and left them in a poor position to resist the arrival of the white man.

After the Europeans arrived it didn't take long for relations with the Indians to sour. In 1675 King Phillip's War, America's costliest war in per capita terms, consumed the entire New England area. As Dunstable was considered part of the "front-line" most of the original settlers fled the area.

They returned after hostilities ended, but peace did not last for long. 1691 brought the start of King William's War. In September of that year, Indians massacred the Hassell family at what is now the site of the Fairgrounds Middle School in Nashua. Several weeks later another raid struck families living near theNashua River. Many innocents were killed.

In August 1703 Queen Anne's War got underway. The French armed the Abnaki Indians and set them loose on the English settlers. Early on, a raiding party massacred ten Dunstable women and children asleep in their homes. Within weeks more than two hundred settlers living in the area were killed in Indian attacks. Many fled. Those that remained lived in a perpetual state of fear. A large battle on the banks of the Nashua River in 1726 brought the local situation under control just in time for the start of the French and Indian War of 1756.

The French and Indian War had a marked effect on Dunstable as Indian raiding parties, led by French officers, made their way down from Canada and into New England and New York to attack English settlements. The Indians received a generous bounty for each scalp they collected. Dunstable was a frequent target.

The area around the Gilson Road Cemetery was likely the scene of some of this violence. Somewhat removed from the better defended center of the settlement, it would have been vulnerable and a dangerous place to live.

First Impressions:
Jim and Kurt performed an initial walk-thru of the site. Jim reported sensing a great deal of activity. He described a steady flow of spirits moving through the area. They seemed to be emerging from what he described as a "portal" in the northwest corner of the cemetery. The area surrounding the cemetery also seemed to be very active, with many entities moving through the woods and towards the road along the outside of the southern wall. Jim also reported feeling a strong Indian presence.

Jim sensed a decidedly negative, hateful, and demonic energy emanating from the woods beyond the eastern wall. It was distinct from the other spiritual traffic in the area and Jim concluded that it was luring entities into the area thru the "portal" and then not allowing them to leave. The negative presence amplified and fed off its captives' feelings of anger and frustration. Jim felt our presence at the site was not welcome and advised that we proceed with caution, particularly when investigating the woods beyond the graveyard.

Kurt reported a noticeable heaviness in the air and increased sinus pressure. He photographed areas that drew Jim's interest, including the "portal" (see photos).

Investigation:
Teams of two were deployed to perform temperature, EMF, radiological, and magnetic surveys of the site.

The baseline temperature range was established at between forty-five and forty-eight degrees Fahrenheit. No temperature anomalies were reported.

Strong EMF spikes were reported in the center of the cemetery and in the southeast corner. Several transient spikes were also obtained on the west side of the site. One visible source of possible electro-magnetic interference is a power line that runs along Gilson Road parallel to the west wall of the cemetery. A pole-mounted transformer was identified near the southwest corner of the site. While the power lines themselves did not produce any anomalies, pointing an EMF detector directly at the transformer did generate a strong and persistent spike within a range of ten to twelve feet.

Gilson is well-known for its magnetic anomalies and our magnetic survey did obtain compass swings. Needle swings of one hundred-eighty degrees were observed throughout the site. In two instances these swings were obtained in conjunction with strong EMF spikes, both in the center of the graveyard and in the southeast corner. The mineralogy of the site cannot be discounted as a possible cause for compass variations.

Radiological anomalies were recorded with the Geiger counter in the northeast and southeast corners. Again, the mineral composition of the site cannot be discounted as a possible explanation for these anomalies.

Photographic Evidence:

EVP Evidence:

Subjective Evidence:
Near the center of the cemetery Heidi reported experiencing a transient increased heart rate and also detected a gas-like odor.

Diane also detected a gas-like odor near the center of the cemetery.

Regina reported a feeling of heaviness.

After dark Kurt reported briefly seeing a circular red light half-way up a tree just beyond the northeast corner of the cemetery. A few seconds after it disappeared, he saw three circular but smaller orange/brown lights flicker just below where the red light had been. Given the width of the tree he estimated the red light to be approximately a foot in diameter, while the orange/brown lights were roughly half that size. Street lights could be seen in the distance, but these were always on and they consistently displayed a pale yellow glare. Kurt also looked around for low flying aircraft that could explain the lights. None were detected at the time of his observation.

Conclusions:
The Gilson Road Cemetery is an active location that provides an excellent laboratory for refining investigative techniques. Despite being an outdoor location it may be a good place to experiment with our video surveillance equipment. Jim's assessment of the site suggests that extreme care be exercised when working there, particularly in the woods behind the cemetery. Future investigation may benefit from a smaller group of investigators.

Paranormal Activity Rating (scale of 1 to 4):