Old Kilmore Gaol is active, very active! Many of my experiences from the Gaol are noteworthy and exciting, but they are usually similar to those that I have already experienced and hence I am rather familiar with them and do not tend to recount them as often as I would like. But last night was different. The energy was different, the feel was different and subsequently some of the activity was different.
Let's start with the Ouija activity. Ouija, yes that contentious topic of Ouija. For me, I have engaged in many a thousand sessions, and fortunately I can only recall one seriously negative experience. Most sessions are interesting, inspiring and emotionally, but relatively uneventful. But last night's session requires some serious research and investigation. Let me share with you some background information, which is totally related to the events of this recount and may in fact be a key piece of evidence moving forward. You see, Old Kilmore Gaol has a significant number of Pentridge artifacts, including prison doors, cell doors, shanks, razors, documentation of prison records and duty rolls. This particular night, last night, I had spent a considerable amount of time touching, reading the information and flicking through the documentation related to Pentridge, more so than I normally do. Why? No idea! I just did. But on review, was there actually a reason? A force that wanted to connect with me? Who knows?
So let's recount one of last night's Ouija Board Sessions. I will try to be as detailed as possible.
Ouija with Gavin Edwards
Three of us, and two onlookers began a Ouija Session just after 2 am in St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, which is at the back of the Gaol. It wasn't long before our spirit made himself known as Gavin. Gavin went onto share that his father worked in Kilmore and that he (Gavin) had actually been in Gaol. Not the Kilmore Gaol, but Pentridge Gaol! You can see why the information above may in fact be relevant. He went on to say a few things, including that he was 29 years of age when he passed.
Now this is where the story gets interesting.
Gavin went on to say that his name was Gavin Edwards and that he had a friend at Pentridge named Eddie. Eddie was 24 years old when he died and that Eddie died at the Gaol, Pentridge Gaol. We asked who Eddie was and he replied "killer". Yes, KILLER!
We asked did Gavin kill Eddie "No".
Did Eddie kill Gavin "No".
Did Eddie kill other people "Yes". So now we were on to something!
How many people did Eddie kill "3 or 4".
At this point we still had no idea where this was heading, until one of our onlookers, not on the Ouija, said that he believed he knew who the Eddie was that Gavin was referring to. This was exciting ..... had we actually made contact with a real inmate, one in which we could validate responses. At this point, another guest, a guest on the Ouija, recalled the stories told by tour guides on an investigation of Pentridge.
Realising that we may be talking with a spirit to whom we can validate responses, I quickly asked a guest to record the Ouija Session as we continued the questioning and our investigation.
Did Eddie kill women "Yes".
Can you spell out how he killed them. Do you know how he killed the women? "AIR". Air?? We were confused, what an odd response! But was it? The person we believed we were communicating with was a mate of Eddie's and did he know that Eddie killed his victims by strangling them to death and sucking from them their last breath of .... you guessed it AIR!
So we asked Gavin, is it Eddie Leonski, was his surname Leonski, do you know? "Yes".
Was it related to singing or voices "Yes".
We asked Gavin if he knew how old Eddie Leonski was when he passed away and after a bit of a think on the board, Gavin told us 2 and then moved to the 8 and then back to the 4 "24". We quickly googled, and Eddie was in fact 24 years of age! We went on to confirm the age of Eddie was 24.
We asked Gavin to spell out the name of the Gaol that Eddie was in .... he went on the spell out P E N .... we confirmed it was Pentridge. We asked Gavin if he was in Pentridge Gaol with Eddie "Yes".
It was at this time I made a question blunder and asked Eddie for his second name (I thought I had asked for Gavin's second name), the board went on to spell DEVIL IS HE. I thought I had asked Gavin's surname, but on listening to the video, I had asked for Eddie's name!!
The guest then asked "Does Eddie go by any other name, or did Eddie have a nickname?
Our spirit began to spell out "Brown ....", it then was clear, he was referring to Eddie Leonski, the Brownout Strangler who was convicted and sentenced to death on July 17, 1942. He went on to be incarcerated at Pentridge Gaol and executed by hanging for murdering the three woman on November 9, the same year.
Then my phone died ..... we continued the investigation without recording and asked Gavin if he and Eddie shared a cell "No".
Were you friends "Yes".
But then Gavin would call Eddie the "Devil" and "Dog".
I went on to to ask Gavin why he was friends with Eddie if he was the devil and such a dog and he replied "Life".
I asked Gavin did he fear for his life if he was not friends with Eddie "Yes".
Our spirit was polite and cooperative and he expressed interest in talking with us again at a later date. Here's hoping we can pick this conversation up in a month when we are next in Kilmore.
As an investigator you are always questioning and for me, I am asking ...... have we made contact with Gavin, a gaol inmate and friend of the serial killer, Eddie Leonski, or, and I believe this is a very strong and very valid or ..... did we make contact with the actual Eddie, who has masqueraded as Gavin EDWARDS? Coincidental - maybe, maybe not?
We will never know, but maybe, just maybe, our gaol inmate will pay us a visit again and elaborate more on the stories he shared with us last night. You can watch the small snippet we were able to capture before my phone died.
Malevolent Storeroom Ghost
We also had a memorable experience in the Old Kitchen where, when trying to communicate with what we believe is a malevolent spirit, one of our investigators, Alle, had her necklace yanked from around her neck which broke the chain and sent the charms to the floor.
To set the scene, the room is about 4 metres square. Left top wall has a door to the laundry / wash room. The laundry then leads to outside. Alle was standing about a metre in from this doorway. Then opposite mid way on the right wall is a door to the store room. Previous investigations have seen this door open when closed and considerable noises and movements can be heard and seen from within the room. The room has many guests feeling uneasy and threatened. So with that knowledge, we have a heavy slide bolt and we bolt the room locked and only allow guests to investigate in there on our long tours. The store room had been bolted twice already due to being unlocked twice.
Seven of us came into the space to see the storeroom door unlocked and open once again. Alle went up to the door and bolted it, once again. She pushed, banged and tested the door. We all watched her do this. She then retreated across the room to her space near the door on the opposite side of the room.
About five minutes after Alle had bolted the door closed is when she had her necklace pulled from her neck. It was forceful and aggressive. We all heard her gasp and saw her neck and face pull forward. Everyone was asking if she was ok and Alle responded with "someone just grabbed my necklace and pulled it, like they yanked it down hard. It's broken". She was visibly in shock with the 'what the hell just happened face". This was shortly followed by a cold breeze, a gust of air that moved across in front of her and others from the left hand side to the right hand side of the room. This coincided with a distinct urine, sulphur and rotten egg odour which filled the room and then a demonic loud growl could be heard emanating near the store room door. We all turned to the door on the right side of the room, which was bolted shut to the store, to see it unbolt and open half way. This happened before seven witnesses, all of which, smelt the stench, heard the growl and saw the door open! Amazing! We all just sat there speechless. What had we just witnessed? It was obvious he was not happy with Alle bolting the door shut once again!
Interestingly, this is the room that has the Pentridge artefacts and cell doors and also includes an original, authentic executioner's jacket and pants (which are placed on a mannequin in the bottom left corner). Could this jacket actually be the jacket worn by the warden responsible for hanging Eddie Leonski?
Now that just blew my mind!
