Most New Jersey residents have heard the legend of the Atco Ghost. The street where the ghost can be seen draws the curious, the thrill seekers and occasionally, the serious paranormal investigator. Supposedly, if you park your car by a particular street light, honk your horn 3 times, flash your lights 3 times and then shut your car off, the ghost of a little boy will appear. As the story goes (and it has changed many times over the years) a young child of about 5 years old was killed by a truck while riding his tricycle. It is his ghost that is supposed to appear...some say he still rides his bike, some have seen him bouncing a ball.
We were approached by a college student from New York who is filming a documentary of the Atco Ghost. He is quite familiar with the legend, as he grew up in Atco. His Mother and Grandmother still live on the very road famous for the ghostly sightings. His Grandmother has spent her entire 90 years on this road and does not remember a little boy ever being killed nearby so we're not sure how the story transformed over the years.
We obliged our college student and accompanied him on a quest of the Atco Ghost. No, we did not honk our horns or flash our car lights...we know better than to ask spirits to perform for us. We did, however, document some interesting spirit activity. While on the paved part of the road, one of our more sensitive investigators sensed a young woman named Margaret. Amazingly enough, we recorded an evp of the name Margaret and also what we believe to be the voice of Margaret. You can hear the evp below.
Also, as the paved road turns to dirt, the atmosphere grew very oppressive. A very foul stench was thick in the air. Funny we didn't smell it on the paved portion of the road. Trees line either side of the dirt road, reaching over to each other as though they purposefully created an entrance. Several of us ventured into the tunnel of trees, but only about 30 feet or so. It was very uncomfortable and felt very uninviting, even though some of the investigators felt as though we were being asked to come in by an unseen host.
What we also found strange were the numerous deer carcasses we found in the area where the road turns to dirt. We lost count as to how many there were in various stages of decay. Some were reduced to skeletons, some half hanging from green garbage bags. How strange...a deer dumping ground at the end of what is a residential street. Is this where the Borough dumps road kill or is it a place only the locals know to go? Weird in any event. Below is some of the evidence we collected this night.
-Click on a photo for a larger image-
 |
Investigator Bove' took this picture when she felt someone was walking in the woods along with the team. | 
|
A dark picture taken by Investigator M. Pennock, but you can still see a couple of orbs near our cars. |
 |
This is one of the pictures Investigator Brown took when she sensed a young woman named Margaret. |  |
This is a strange one taken by Investigator Bove' while in the "tree tunnel". Although it is a dark picture, you can see that the tree branches in the upper right of the picture are in focus, but the investigators have a strange "hue" around them. We didn't stay in the tree tunnel long after this picture was taken.
|
| EVP
EVIDENCE
As mentioned, Investigator Brown sensed the presence of a young woman named Margaret. Listen to this evp recorded by Investigator Bove'....you will hear a man say the name 'Margaret' followed by a woman whispering the name 'Margaret'. You will then hear a third voice, a woman and presumably Margaret say, 'Walk with me'. Listen Ah, Pleasant Mills Cemetery...we truly love this peaceful burial ground. On this night, we brought out some of our trainees and a college student who was filming a documentary about our group and the Atco Ghost. This was actually the second leg of our outing this night. A special thanks to the fisherman we encountered on our visit who took the time to speak with us about all of the local folklore surrounding Batsto. Below are just a few pictures we took this trip.
|
|||
 |
Even though we picked a dark night to come out, some of the orbs shined very brightly as shown in this picture by Trainee J. Hewitt. |
 |
This strange red mist was captured by Investigator M. Pennock in a couple of pictures. We would be interested in any opinions from anyone who may have seen this phenomena before.
|
.jpg) |
Our college student prepares his equipment...Hi, Ki! |
 |
Orbs surround Investigators Ponce de Leon and Thornton near the little white church.
|
|
||||||