Rose Red enthusiasts will remember Joyce Reardon periodically referencing a mid-60s investigation of Rose Red by a group of scientists. Four accomplished Washington area scientists teamed up and wandered the mansion in the last days of 1964, trying to debunk some of the claims of paranormal activity in the house. While there they heard the house scream on multiple occasions. They were able to catch the screaming on tape (although they concluded it wasn’t screaming that they heard…), and I’m very excited to reveal to you the audio clips of Rose Red screaming, sent to me by the last remaining scientist from the 1964 group!

I’ve included his e-mail in full here, and it’s worth a read. The audio files are contained therein. First, here’s a photo of the four scientists. The one who sent me the clips (and photo) is Jeffrey Wright.

Jeffrey Wrights e-mail:

Dear Ms. O’Sullivan,

My name is Jeffrey Wright. I hope it’s not too strange that I’m writing you out of the blue. My nephew is an avid fan of your web site, and when he told me your story I thought it would be appropriate to get in touch.

Before I explain who I am and why I’m writing, I should point out I’m dictating this letter to my nephew, who is typing it out for me. I am 85 and have severe macular degeneration. I can’t see well enough to use a computer. I would also like to stipulate at this point that you have my blessing to reprint this message in its entirety on your site. It seems your readers enjoy letters from people “in the know”, and I can stake some legitimate claim on knowledge of Rose Red.

I was one member of a team of four scientists who studied Rose Red in late 1964. I was a geologist at the time. Also included in the group were two psychologists and a physicist. I am the last remaining member of our team, which is why I have no reserves about sending you the enclosed sound clips. My nephew transfered them from tapes we recorded in the house in 1964 to his computer. As a scientist it saddens me to say I have no idea how he did it, but I’m glad he was able to. This evidence should live on and reach a wide audience.

What I have for you are three clips of Rose Red “screaming”. Our official conclusion was that the sound was underground water, which was made louder and distorted by the nature of the drains running beneath downtown Seattle. This conclusion was not made lightly and there was some dissent among the four of us. Rose Red was too large for us to effectively try to debunk what we had heard. As scientists none of us felt the house itself was screaming, although we were aware of the stories that others purportedly heard the house screaming, laughing, talking, and otherwise verbally expressing itself.

I believe it is not beyond the realm of possibility that what you will hear in these clips is screaming. I do not believe, however, that it is within the realm of probability that it is the house screaming. Remember, Rose Red is in the heart of downtown. It’s possible that pranksters outside were screaming and making strange noises as they passed. A house with such a wild urban legend mystique can inspire inane behavior in people.

I must confess I wish that we did come away with undeniable evidence of the paranormal. I grew up in Seattle and always knew the stories of Rose Red. I was 22 when Deanna Petrie disappeared. She was my ideal woman. I briefly fought in the Army Air Corps in the European front in World War II. I kept a “pin-up” photo of Deanna Petrie on the inside of my foot locker. I even met her once when she was in Seattle filming my favorite movie, Raining Cats and Dogs. I remember I had freshly returned from England. I’d been injured badly in the thigh by shrapnel during a bombing mission and was sent home in 1941, just in time to bump into her downtown. I think I would have proposed marriage had I been able to talk, but my tongue seemed dead in my head!

My neighbors were also regular attendees of the Rimbauers’ January parties. I had a lot of ties to Rose Red and wanted some of the legend to live on. Some of what we encountered in the house was puzzling and disconcerting, but not necessarily paranormal. In fact, at the time we skeptical scientific types felt it definitely was not paranormal. As I’ve aged, I’ve reverted to my youthful fascination with the place. Despite the fact that our investigation turned up no smoking gun, I believe now more than ever that something supernatural existed in the old Rimbauer estate. I read Ellen Rimbauer’s diary and saw the televised miniseries, and followed all the newspaper and media reports chronicling the Reardon event at the time. My nephew tells me from reading your web site that odd events continue to happen there.

The enclosed clips were recorded in the Great Hall, Kitchen, and Perspective Hallway.

1) The Great Hall clip was the clip that ultimately helped us decide the theory of underground water. The strange echo and pattern to the noise was only noticeable on the recording and not something we heard at the time. It’s not atypical of running water echoing in the enclosed pipes of a sewer. I’ll admit there is a sound like a woman screaming underneath the echo, but a rapid passage of air through the tunnels could cause a sound with a very high pitched frequency. We did hear the high pitched noise plainly at the time.

Great Hall Clip:

Ally’s Note: Please adjust your computer speakers until you find an audio level
that will be comfortable; these files can be very loud.

2) The Kitchen clip picked up none of the watery echo characteristics in the Great Hall clip, and we found the ambient noise level in the room was very low. Therefore, when we heard the strange sound captured in this clip, we were somewhat taken aback. It was very sudden and loud. But because it too was of a high pitch, we felt it was the result of wind in the tunnels. It was a particularly gusty day and if somewhere down the line someone was lifting the manhole covers for any reason, it’s not impossible that wind would have traveled through the drainage system. Strangely, despite the fact that it was loud when we heard it, the sound was barely audible in our clip. My nephew had to enhance the audio substantially, so a great deal of extraneous white noise was inadvertently added to the mix.

Kitchen Clip:

Ally’s Note: Please adjust your computer speakers until you find an audio level
that will be comfortable; these files can be very loud.

3) The Perspective Hallway clip captures the loudest “scream” we heard in the course of our investigation, which by the way ran from December 29th to December 31st. Because there were no tours in winter and the house was uninhabited, it was unheated and water turned off during the winter. We knew we would have our best chance for unpolluted results at that time. So we can be reasonably sure that whatever we encountered in the Perspective Hallway was not the sound of water in the house’s internal pipes. This clip called into question the underground water theory and was the bone of contention within the team at the time. The anomalous sounds begin with a chorus of noises in varying pitches, which could have been wind blowing around outside the house or people in the street making noise. Towards the end of the clip there is a prolonged growl. We heard both the chorus of “screams” and the growl as they happened, and neither would be characteristic of underground water. At the middle of the clip you’ll hear feedback; startled by the noise, the man carrying the recorder fumbled the machine. Again, because these sounds were much softer on the recording than when we heard them live, my nephew enhanced the clip, producing a lot of static.

Perspective Hallway Clip:

Ally’s Note: Please adjust your computer speakers until you find an audio level
that will be comfortable; these files can be very loud.

I hope that your readers enjoy these clips. I hope that they too are not given the impression that all of us conducting the 1964 investigation were skeptic to the point of pigheaded disbelief. We had our moments of doubt, and as I already said I went into the house a believer, allowed my scientific mind to take over for some years, then came full circle and will die a believer.

I am glad that I can leave the legacy of this evidence for you and your readers to consider. Whether you determine it to be genuine sounds of paranormal activity or simply the mundane is up to you. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Meanwhile, I will ensure my nephew keeps me updated about your situation in the TechStar complex on Spring Street. If you should happen to see Deanna, say hello from me!

Best wishes to you, Ms. O’Sullivan, and my deepest sympathy for the loss of your fiancé.

Warm regards,

Jeffrey Wright

Posted in: Research, Resources | |
Post tags: ellen, joyce

5 Comments »

1. Hi,

   I was wondering if it would be possible to obtain a copy of the audio clips before the enhancements were added?

   Comment by Tom Watkins Knight Paranormal — March 24, 2009 @ 9:49 am

2. Hi Tom. I don’t think that will be possible. They’re on old reel tapes and I don’t think that Jeffrey would want to part with them, as they contain data from the rest of the investigation. The only digital version existing are the versions you hear above. I don’t think that you’d find anything much more compelling on the originals anyway - it’s the same thing, only muted.

   Comment by Ally — March 24, 2009 @ 10:28 am

3. Hi, that’s ok I can work with those. I just want to run them thru the same processes I use on our audio. Thanks

   Comment by Tom Watkins Knight Paranormal — March 26, 2009 @ 10:53 am

4. Those clips are very interesting, thanks to Mr Wright for sharing them and you for posting them!

   Comment by vein — April 1, 2009 @ 11:20 am

5. Thank you, and I agree. Very generous of him to share his experiences and resources with us!

   Comment by Ally — April 2, 2009 @ 7:49 am

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