MILLERSBURG — Though it looked creepy and unkempt from the outside, when Bronson Allison first walked into the old children’s home on the night of Oct. 14, he said it just felt like a “dirty old building.”

By the time he left, Allison, of Millersburg, said he did so with video evidence of unexplained activity. More than three hours of footage were condensed into a 15-minute YouTube video.

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“I didn’t know anything (about the children’s home history), but everyone kept telling me not to go in there,” said Allison, who also used images of and excerpts from a 1988 newspaper article in which a former child resident recounted physical and sexual abuse in the old orphanage around the turn of the century.

Allison stumbled into the more recent paranormal investigation thanks to a Facebook request he floated out to friends, expressing an interest in creating a new paranormal video for Halloween. He was contacted by Jeremiah Haun, a senior at West Holmes High School, who recently formed the Holmes County Paranormal Society.

It was with Haun and other members of the fledgling group that Allison toured the old children’s home, now owned by the county commissioners, who approved of and provided staff supervision for the investigation.

He said he contacted Allison because “I just wanted him to document everything, and he did an excellent job with that and with the video.”

The building, since used as a daycare center, has been abandoned for many years.

Haun was one of the many area children who attended daycare there. He said walking in brought back his own memories, which quickly were replaced when, shortly after they arrived, a motion detector went off in the toddler wing, where three toys remained from the last permanent occupants.

“Halfway through the night, stuff started happening and you just got an uneasy feeling,” said Allison, noting waves of activity continued to cycle through the night. At one point, a spirit box produced the word “five” when asked how many people were in the room.

In fact, there were five people in the room, according to Allison, who said the response and cursing that followed it were “pretty cool.”

“It was weird. It was the same voice every time,” he said.

Allison said he was never a believer and questioned the concept of goose bumps, “and then it happens to you. I went into it not expecting anything. I thought it would be a dud.”

Video evidence, especially from the basement, revealed activity — a baby crying and “weird screeching noise” — that investigators did not detect while in the building, said Haun, who hopes to continue using Allison for investigations “as long as he’s willing to come along.”

That’s because video helps to tell the story.

“You can tell people all the stories you want, but it’s hard for them to believe without evidence,” said Haun, noting those who have watched the video are somewhat divided — those who are overcome by goosebumps and those who remain skeptical and suggest the evidence was staged.

Since being uploaded, the video has been viewed nearly 4,000 times.

The children’s home video is similar to a video of a paranormal investigation at the Victorian House Museum, which he produced and uploaded to YouTube a year ago. That video has since been viewed more than 4,000 times.

Highlights from the Victorian House investigation, Allison said, were voices captured in the children’s room, which, along with the second-floor hallway and third-floor maid’s room, leaves him feeling unsettled.

It was the shadowy image of an unexplained figure passing through the third-floor hallway that members of the Holmes County Historical Society’s paranormal committee find the most intriguing.

“I think he did a very good job picking up on the mood of the house. I thought the evidence, especially that shadow, was great,” said member Debbie Kline, noting those areas of the house are typically high in energy.

Not unusual, Allison said he went through three fully charged batteries while filming in the Victorian House.

“I’m glad we have someone who is so energetic and talented to film,” she said.

Similarly, Historical Society Executive Director Mark Boley said, “I like the editing of it. That’s the whole thing because sometimes a paranormal investigation can be long and boring.”

A good video, Boley said, “is important, especially if you want to promote your paranormal activity. You need a good, edited video with good content.”

Allison, a 2011 West Holmes graduate, said he’s been shooting video since he was in eighth grade. He dreams of the day his YouTube channel will make him enough money, through sponsorships, linked sales commission and advertising, to call it a career.

In addition to the paranormal videos, Allison said he likes to shoot travel videos and a year ago incorporated the use of a drone into his projects.

The paranormal ones, he said, “are a little edgy and freak people out. They get people talking.”

With them, he said, “I try to tell a little bit of a story. The house is the character. You build it up, put in all the important stuff and then come to a better mood in the end.

“I wouldn’t mind doing more of the ghost videos. Everyone in town is connected to them and they relate to them, and I like that participation,” he said.

Reporter Christine Pratt can be reached at 330-674-5676 or cpratt@the-daily-record.com.