MOBILE, Alabama – Marbles are placed on paper as Jason Lawton asks for the children to move them.

If they do, they get to keep the toys, he says.

It's not the most hardened system of bartering, but for Lawton and representatives with the Delta Paranormal Project Alabama chapter, any proof of the supernatural is a major coup.

The marbles moved.

Later in the night, there were recordings of a woman screaming. One member of the chapter said it's the sounds of a woman in childbirth.

Elsewhere, the group got pictures of an apparition. Another chapter member was thrust into a coughing fit in one of the bedrooms.

It was an interesting night on May 11 at the city-owned Richards DAR House, an Italianate style home built more than 150 years ago at 256 N. Joachim St. So interesting, in fact, the Delta Paranormal Project Alabama chapter is hosting a ghost hunt fundraiser 8 p.m. to midnight Saturday at the house to commemorate their findings and discuss the hauntings.

And, perhaps, give people an opportunity to encounter the unknown.

"Every time we end up going into that location, we end up with evidence of some sort, which is unique," said Lawton, an engineer by trade who moved to Mobile from Ohio about four years ago. "The nice thing about the Richards DAR House is that we have evidence to support it other than at other places (in Mobile) which claim to be haunted."

Investigating the house

While the Richards DAR House has long been a historic designation in downtown Mobile and a unique place for weddings, it's never been considered as a haunted attraction. That might soon change.

Evidence that Richards DAR house is haunted occurred before Lawton's group arrived for the May 11 investigation. A group of previous ghost hunters were able to get a photograph of a black apparition standing near a window in the master bedroom.

It's believed to be an image of a man named "Uncle Willie," who was one of the dozen children of Capt. Charles Richards and Caroline Steele – the original owners of the house.

"I hate to put names on it," Lawton said. "You really don't know. You don't get facial features where you can compare this picture with another picture."

The image, Lawton said, is positive energy and that's a good thing, he added, since its evidence that the historical downtown Mobile house is not filled with the hauntings of negativity.

"There is nothing evil in the house at all," Lawton said. "In fact, evil ghosts are kind of rare. For the most part, ghosts are not evil. Nothing in this house will cause you any harm."

But whatever is inside the house requires a great deal of work to find. Lawton's group – consisting of about a dozen people – arrived to the house around dusk on May 11 with digital cameras, five-to-six digital recorders, and a "ghost box," or a radio that is modified to allow continuous scanning of every station at a rapid speed.

The box allows for tidbits of sound-waves from each station to just barely be heard as it scans through the radio stations. During this scanning, it's believed that ghosts, or spirits, are able to manipulate the radio frequencies and have their voices heard.

The goal of utilizing these devices is to get an "EVP" or electronic voice phenomena.

"It's not cheap stuff," said Cheryl Carner, public relations and case manager with the chapter, said. "We go into (a ghost hunt) with a scientific aspect of hoping to debunk. We'll tell (homeowners) that they have bad wiring in their attic. But in all actually, all the cases we've been on, we get good leads and find evidence of hauntings."

The group met in the house's living room area before disbursing to find rooms to investigate. Susan Tomlinson, the president of the house's executive board, also met with the group to talk about the house's history and previous paranormal findings.

"The house has been investigated several different times by various groups," Tomlinson said. "There have been three-to-four groups here in Mobile, one from North Carolina and another from central Alabama, and one from Atlanta that came over last year. It's beginning to be an exciting thing for me."

The history

Tomlinson provided Lawton's group with some history about the house, as well as background into previous investigations and unusual experiences that guests have felt.

Most of the ghost hunt investigations surround the background of Richards' family. Charles Richards, the patriarch, came to Mobile when he was 17 years old to work on steam ships. Sometime in the 1850s, he met Caroline Steele, they married, and moved into a house on Joachim Street. By 1860, the Richards DAR House was completed.

The couple had a large family that was raised in the house. In all, they had 12 children. Not all survived child hood, and Tomlinson said there were two who died before they were reached their first birthday. Another child died at age 5, and another at 10.

Tomlinson said Caroline only lived in the house for seven years before she died shortly after her last childbirth. Charles would never remarry.

"It indicated there was a lot of love in that family," Tomlinson said.

The house was kept in the family for about three generations until the Ideal Cement Co. purchased it in 1947. The company modernized it in 1948, and the house was utilized as a corporate headquarters until 1973, when it was given to the city to use as a museum. The Daughters of the American Revolution have since leased the home and is responsible for furnishing and administering it.

Tours are frequently given, and the house will host tea and coffee socials. There is a gift shop, and weddings are not uncommon. There are no overnight stays inside the house, but Tomlinson said it has been considered as a way to boost tourism.

The newfound hauntings might be attractive.

"We haven't done that yet, but it has been brought up," Tomlinson said. "A 'sleep in the haunted house' night."

Discoveries

After learning about the house's background and history, the chapter went to work. Digital recorders were placed in bedrooms. Video cameras were set up to catch a photograph of potential evidence. Other rooms were wired as well.

The children's bedroom was also a focus. On the two beds, Lawton placed an array of toys to see if they would move during the night. Antique marbles, placed on one of the beds, inexplicably moved after Lawton promised to leave the toys behind for the children to play with.

"That was the most interesting thing," Lawton said.

The discovery process, though, is tedious work and is unlike anything people might see on SyFy's "Ghost Hunters." Hours of video and audio recordings are scoured for potential evidence. The group analyzes the work to ensure that what they saw is something that might be considered a paranormal discovery, instead of something spotted through natural causes.

"We have a very large turnover in the group because people see all the fun stuff on TV," Lawton said. "But the actual investigation, what people don't see is the behind the scenes work, the research and the evidence review. Its hours of evidence you have to review and once you find evidence, you need to cut out the little clips and package it all up."

Lawton said it took his team three weeks to complete the Richards DAR House work before a "reveal" occurred in June.

He credits Carner, a longtime ghost hunter, for pre-screening candidates like the Richards DAR House to ensure that the time spent analyzing evidence isn't futile.

"She's been doing it long enough and well enough to make sure (home owners) don't have drug issues or post-traumatic stress issues," Lawton said.

Carner said what she likes about the Alabama chapter of the Delta Paranormal Project is that evidence collected during an investigation is forwarded to the organization's parent group in Mississippi, where it's then verified. Often, that evidence is then forwarded to the Atlantic Paranormal Society for further verification. That group is the one featured on the "Ghost Hunters" TV show.

"We are not just guessing, we are certifying," Carner said. "We don't enhance video or photography."

The Alabama chapter has been assembled since November 2012, and has been active by conducting investigations a couple times each month throughout Alabama. Cases have taken place in Montgomery, Birmingham, Jackson and Talladega.

It's a diverse group, Carner said, that consists of a range of professional disciplines. Lawton is an engineer and the other members include teachers, a property manager, and an information technology specialist.

Future investigations

The event on Saturday is an early Halloween attraction that Lawton and Carner hopes generate attention for their group, while helping raise money so they can add to their investigations.

The group is also headed to a convention in Mississippi next month. The same convention, which will consist of ghost hunters throughout the Southeast, will be held in Mobile next year.

"Mobile is just as haunted as New Orleans or Charleston," Lawton said. "For some reason, we don't have the recognition we need."

Participants on Saturday will accompany members of group on a two-hour ghost hunt through the historical location. Local author Stephanie Lawton will be the special guest. Also attending is Elizabeth Parker, who has written books about Alabama ghosts.

Tickets, available at the DAR House, are $25 in advance and $30 at the door and include a heavy hors d'oeuvres buffet. A cash beverage bar will also be available, along with items for sale.

Proceeds benefit the DAR House, Kidney Cancer Association and Delta Paranormal Project.

Tomlinson said she also hopes the evening brings awareness about an extra attraction at the Richards DAR House. She also hopes families are encouraged to attend.

"I tell people we have entities in our house and have taken pictures of them, but we don't have any kind of bad experiences," she said. "Nothing like the Exorcist with blood dripping down the walls. I tell our children that our ghosts are friendly, like Casper. I don't think it's a scary thing."

The public might want to check it out for themselves on Saturday, she said.

"The group will show the guests the different instruments used and how they conduct a ghost hunt and they will tour the house as if they were on a ghost hunt," Tomlinson said. "Who knows, you might hear something or see something. You never know."