‘Ghost Storm’ Crawls Into The Valley’s Creepy Crevices

While exploring Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti’s office for paranormal activity, the Ghost Storm team said this bag fell from a table. This is a still shot from a YouTube video.

ANSONIA — Could the Valley be one of the most haunted places in Connecticut?

Well, if you ask head Ghost Hunter Nick Grossman, founder of the Norwalk-based paranormal investigation team Ghost Storm, it certainly is a hot bed for the unexplained and things that go bump in the night.

Grossman and his crew have investigated many supposed haunted places along the East Coast. Grossman created Ghost Storm in 2004 in order to authentic reports of paranormal activity, and has a blog and website featuring photos and videos showing ghostly images and more at this website.

In addition to their investigations of some of Connecticut’s more well-known haunts, like the renowned Dudleytown, where Grossman claimed a hand grabbed the back of his neck, Ghost Storm began its adventures tracking spirits in the Valley last year. 

Customers of the Twisted Vine Restaurant in neighboring Derby have reported weird happenings there for years, which naturally piqued Grossman’s interest. After several overnight explorations inside the former home of the Old Birmingham National Bank in February 2019, Grossman reported a plethora of paranormal activity inside the 127-year old city landmark.

The spirit of Sam” communicated with the restaurant’s bartender by flicking the lights on and off, shadowy images of a small child, mysterious plumes of smoke and an appearance from the bank’s first president Edward N. Shelton were documented, Grossman claimed. The ghostly adventures ultimately led to haunted tours — a new way to market the business.

Ghost Storm’s latest quest has brought them to Ansonia, and for good reason. 

Paranormal activity in the Valley has been reported by locals dating back to the ragtime era,” Grossman said. The Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers were once sacred, supernatural places for the local Native American tribes. Water is a conductor and when two rivers clash it creates agitation and electromagnetic fields.”

Ghost Storm’s Nick Grossman checks out the Ansonia City Hall attic.

Grossman said his agent Charles Rosenay, owner of Liverpool Productions LLC, who operates the state’s largest indoor haunted attraction, Fright Haven, recently hooked him up with Ansonia’s own Richard DiCarlo, founder of the Valley Arts Council and downtown art gallery, and a fellow paranormal buff. Rosenay helped the city launch the pop-up drive-in movie theater screenings at Warsaw Park earlier this year.

Grossman said meeting with Ansonia officials couldn’t be timelier since his team is in the process of making a documentary of haunted happenings, dubbed Ghost Expedition Valley.”

A recent tour of Ansonia City Hall, led by DiCarlo, had Grossman convinced the place could be haunted.

I personally never heard of it being haunted but the employees of City Hall report it all the time,” said Grossman. The building is old and after our adventure there, I will declare it haunted.”

Armed with infrared cameras and equipment to detect Electronic Voice Phenomenon, Grossman ventured onto all three floors of City Hall earlier this month, including a visit to the attic, which was brimming with orbs, he said.

While exploring City Hall’s Aldermanic Chambers, Grossman said he felt hot spots” all around him, and saw the spirits of past Ansonia residents from beyond sitting in the chairs.”
Sheila O’Malley, the city’s economic development director and grants writer can attest to some strange stuff happening in the building.

Every morning at 3 a.m. when the Mayor reports to work he says he hears noises in the building,” O’Malley said. It’s kind of creepy. I also hear things on the weekend when no one else is in the building. It may be the spirits of mayors past. We are hoping they will clean the Mayor’s desk off.” 

DiCarlo, too, has experienced some of the unexplained, and appeared on the TV show Ghost Hunters regarding paranormal activity at the historic Sterling Opera House in Derby.

I find the stuff fascinating,” DiCarlo said. What once scared me, I now embrace. City Hall is not necessarily haunted….let’s just say there is activity that cannot be explained. Folks have reported voices after hours and creepy sensations in several spaces.”

Ghost Storm has plans to investigate the Ansonia Armory and the former Ansonia Opera House. The team is also renting space in the old 18th century church across from the 
Armory on State Street, with future plans to open it at as a paranormal museum. Ghost Storm’s recent tour of City Hall can be viewed on YouTube. 

Drop Ghost Storm an email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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