November 16, 2009; Fort Waterson, Louisiana
'Fort Waterson: Population 1,257' The green sign greeted the Ghost Adventures crew as they pulled into the small Louisiana town.
"Where's the house we're investigating?" Nick asked from the driver's seat.
"Left onto Main Street, right onto 3rd Street, and then right again onto Labelle street," Aaron instructed. "From there, you'll be able to tell."
Nick followed the directions and they soon pulled up in front of a large, antebellum mansion with a white sign reading "Labelle Aurore Mansion." A young girl, about 28, stood on the front steps.
"She must be the employee we're interviewing," Zak said.
The three men got out of the car and walked towards the girl. She was only about 5'5" tall, so all three towered over her. Aaron and Nick both got out their cameras as Zak walked up to the woman.
"Hi, I'm Zak Bagans. This is Nick Groff and Aaron Goodwin. We're the Ghost Adventures crew," Zak introduced.
"I'm Noelle Hayden. I work at the 'Labelle' house," she replied.
"Before we start rolling, we have a few questions," Nick said. "Do you believe in ghosts and the paranormal?"
"Yes, though I'm not sure how one can work here, or even live in this town, and not believe," Noelle informed.
Nick and Aaron started rolling their cameras.
"Have you ever had an encounter with any ghosts?" Aaron asked.
"Quite a few," she replied.
"Can you show us the places?" Zak questioned.
Noelle nodded. "Follow me."
She lead the crew into the mansion and stopped in front of a large staircase in the foyer and started talking.
"A few months ago, I was babysitting my four-year-old niece, April, and I had to come get the house ready for some tours. I was dusting in the living room and left April out here by the stairs. When I walked back in to get her, she was sitting on the floor opposite of this landing," she pointed. "With her hands by the base of her throat, making weird faces. I asked her what she was doing and she pointed at the landing and told me 'she was copying the lady with the braids.' When I asked her what she meant, she told me there was a woman in a white nightgown floating above the floor with her braid around her neck."
The crew all exchanged a look. "Was there any stories of hangings here?" Zak inquired.
Noelle nodded. "In 1812. Marie Labelle, the daughter of Henry Labelle, the man who built this mansion, hung herself in the house. Her boyfriend was killed while fighting in New Orleans and her father tried to marry her off to a wealthy business man, so, out of desperation, she took her own life."
"Did you see her ghost when your niece did?" Nick asked from behind the camera.
"No," she admitted. "But I didn't even know of the suicide until after that experience, and April was only four, so there was no way she could have known. If you'll follow me, I can show you one of the other rooms where I encountered an apparition."
The sound of Noelle's heels echoed through the house as she lead the team up the stairs.
"I was making one of the beds in the master bedroom when I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. The house was closed at the time, so I went to go see who was here," she paused and took a deep breath. "I-I was standing at the top of the stairs, a-about where we are now, and I felt two hands on my back, pushing me forward, and then I was at the bottom of the stairs."
"Someone pushed you down the stairs?" Aaron confirmed.
"Any idea of who's ghost it was?" Zak inquired.
"I believe that it was Henry Labelle," Noelle informed. Noticing the weird looks the crew was giving, Noelle began to explain the dark history behind the family. "After Marie died, Anne Labelle, Henry's wife, had a bit of mental lapse. She claimed that the spirit of her daughter had come back to torment her and Henry for trying to force her into a marriage. Anne became unstable and one night she stabbed her husband twenty-six times while he was sleeping."
"What happened to Anne?" Nick asked the tour guide.
"She was admitted to the mental hospital in New Orleans in June 1813, and stayed their until she died of yellow fever in 1853. After Anne was placed in the hospital, the house was passed down to the oldest son, James," she explained.
"Did you have any more experiences?" Zak asked.
Noelle started playing with the silver bracelet on her wrist. The bracelet consisted of a silver chain with a silver cross. The group noticed that she also had a silver cross around her neck, but decided to make no comment.
"James was 18 when he acquired the house in 1813. When he was 23 he met Sarah Kingston, and they were married a year later in 1819. In 1821, they had their first son, Peter, than in 1824, their daughter Elizabeth was born. In 1829, Victoria, their second daughter was born. Unfortunately, in 1832, Sarah died while giving birth to their youngest son, Henry, who died six weeks later. .James died at 65 in 1860 and the house was passed down to Peter. That's when the demons came."
"Demons?" Aaron repeated.
"Peter, like his grandmother, was plagued by the spirit of Marie, then coupled with his grandfather, Henry, and his mother. He became a recluse, then obsessed with satanic rituals, before ultimately dying of alcohol poisoning in 1873," the crew remained quiet, so Noelle kept speaking. "Victoria died in 1853 of yellow fever, like her grandmother, Anne. She died in that room right there. Elizabeth had married in 1845 and had three children, Arthur, Anthony, and Annaleise. After Peter died, Elizabeth and her family refused to live here due to the bad name Peter had given the family."
"Do you believe Peter is still here?" Nick inquired.
Noelle nodded. "All of them are here," she said. "Marie, Henry, Sarah, Victoria, and Peter. Peter is the darker entitee."
"Have you ever encountered Peter?"
"Yes. I was in the study at the end of the hall when I heard one of the other doors slam shut. When I got up to go look, I could see the shadow of a man in the study. I called out to ask who was there and my necklace," Noelle put her hand on the small silver cross, "was ripped off my neck and thrown across the room. When I went to pick it up, I felt this burning sensation in my back. I got home and there were three scratches down my back."
Nick, Aaron, and Zak exchanged a look. "Noelle, do you think you could come back and help us with our lockdown?"
Said girl blinked in surprise. "Sure," she responded.
The Ghost Adventures crew left Noelle with strict instructions to be back by 8:00, so they could be locked in by 8:30. Noelle arrived at 7:55, about ten minutes after the crew. Her white polka-dotted dress had been traded out for ripped, black skinny jeans and a blue Peter Pan collared sleeveless shirt with a black leather jacket and blue converse. Of course, her silver cross bracelet was on her wrist along with her necklace.
"Noelle!" Nick called out. "Are you ready for the lockdown?"
"More or less," the blonde girl shrugged.
"Scared?" He asked, adjusting his camera on his shoulder.
"More like nervous," Noelle admitted. "The spirit of Peter just creeps me out."
Nick nodded sympathetically. "It happens. In one of our first lockdowns, I panicked and started running because I saw a ghost in the bathroom."
"Well, I doubt that will happen here," she said. "The only aggressive ghost here are Peter and Henry, but Henry's really only aggressive towards women."
Nick and Noelle rejoined Zak and Aaron before Lindsay, Noelle's boss, locked the four inside the house. Zak immediately pulled out a small recorder and explained to Noelle how to use it.
Aaron and Zak went upstairs to investigate the bedrooms and study while Nick and Noelle stayed on the first level.
"Do you want to do an EVP session?" Nick asked.
"Sure," she replied hesitantly.
The investigator started the digital recorder and Noelle started to call out questions. "Marie? Are you here?" The pair was silent for a while as they were waiting for a response. "What about you, Sarah?"
A few seconds passed before a whispery voice came over the recorder. "...Baby…"
"Baby!" Noelle cried. "It said baby!"
"Keep talking," Nick instructed.
"Are you looking for your baby, Sarah?" Noelle asked.
"...Left…"
"Did you leave, Sarah?" Nick called out.
"...Henry…"
The blonde girl gasped. "That was what her baby was named!"
Nick and Noelle asked a few more questions, but failed to get any responses. The duo then walked into the kitchen to try another EVP session.
"Is anyone here?" Nick questioned. "Do you want to talk to us?"
Noelle gasped in shock as they heard a male voice growl through the recorder. "Get…. Out…."
"Do you want us out of the house, Peter? Do you Henry?" Noelle called. "You want us to leave?"
No response came, but both could hear what sounded suspiciously like footsteps before a loud BANG echoed from upstairs.
"Nick, Noelle!" Aaron called. "Did you hear that?"
"Yeah," Nick yelled. "What was it?"
"I don't know, dude!"
The rest of the lockdown went without much activity. At about 3:30, Nick and Noelle joined Zak and Aaron upstairs. The four then went into the study where Noelle had been scratched by the ghost of Peter to conduct a spirit box session.
"Do you remember her, Peter?" Zak yelled. "You scratched her and took her necklace. What's her name, Peter? Do you remember her?"
The four waited in silence before a man's voice came through saying, "Ellie." The three men turned to look at Noelle, who had gone very pale.
"Do you use Ellie as a nickname?" Aaron asked softly.
Noelle nodded. "My dad used to call me that when I was little, but nobody else really called me that. He died of a heart attack when I was ten. I haven't been called that in eighteen years."
"Do you know her, Peter?" Zak asked again.
"...Four…years…"
"Can we leave?" The small, blonde girl asked quietly.
Nick took one look at her pale face before motioning to Zak to end the session and leading her out of the room.
"Are you okay, Noelle?" Aaron inquired.
"Yeah," she replied. "I'm just a little dizzy."
For the rest of the lockdown nothing else happened and Lindsay arrived promptly at 5:30 to let the group out. She took one look at Noelle's pale form and immediately gave her the day off. After said girl had gone back to her apartment, the crew went out for breakfast at one of the small restaurants, Cafe Riviere.
"I'm surprised she managed to stay as calm as she did," Aaron admitted. "Most of the people we interview don't even want to go near where they were attacked, much less confront the ghost."
"You guys don't even know the half of it," Nick said. "She was conducting the EVP session when we were downstairs and managed to contact Sarah's ghost."
"Seriously?" Zak asked.
Nick nodded. "It didn't even seem to phase her to talk the ghosts until we made contact with Peter upstairs."
"Well, if some ghost called you by a nickname you hadn't heard in 18 years, wouldn't you freak out, too?" Aaron asked rhetorically.
"She handled it pretty well, even for that," Nick said. "We've freaked out over less stuff than that."
"What do you think, Zak?" Aaron asked his friend.
"I think we should offer her a job," Zak replied honestly.
"That's not a bad idea," Nick responded. "She's cool, and we know she can handle the lockdowns."
"Plus, we could use the extra help if we have bigger places to investigate," Aaron pointed out. "Do you think she'll want to?"
"We'll never know if we don't ask her," the lead investigator pointed out.
15 minutes later Noelle entered the small cafe. Her blonde hair was curled and she was wearing a pale purple dress with matching shoes. As always, she was wearing her bracelet and necklace. A pair of silver earrings hung from her earlobes. She smiled at the group and sat down at the small table.
"Why did you guys call me?" She asked curiously, her voice making it known that she wasn't annoyed for being called after being up all night.
"We have a proposition for you," Nick said.
"Oh, really?" Noelle laughed. "What is it?"
"We'd like you to join the team," Zak explained.
"Are you serious?" Noelle asked, her blue eyes wide.
"Do you not want to?" Aaron asked.
"Of course I want to," Noelle said. "But I have no experience with investigating ghosts other than last night. Are you sure you want me on the team?"
"We wouldn't ask you if we didn't," Nick pointed out. "Are you in?"
"Of course!" The girl cried.
"Then welcome to the team, Noelle Hayden. We leave for Ohio to investigate in four days. See you at the airport."
