By Pat Dunn

What: "Celebrity Paranormal Project"
Where: VH1 cable channel
When viewed: November 26 and 27, 2006
Episode #6: "Wooden Lucy"
Official site link:
http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/celebrity_paranormal/110145/episode.jhtml

The sixth episode of VH1's "Celebrity Paranormal Project" chose as its location an abandoned textile mill, the Hawthorne Mill, located on Wobi Island in Penoboscot County, Maine, and accessible only by boat. The back story tells us that the island was considered cursed by the local Indians, who said that an old crone named Wooden Lucy lived there alone and could kill intruders with a single glance. From the mid-seventeenth century through to the end of the nineteenth century, Wobi Island remained uninhabited, until Samuel Hawthorne decided to build his textile mill there in 1909. Samuel moved there with his young daughter, Margaret, who became obsessed with the legend of Wooden Lucy. Margaret often performed "rituals" to summon the spirit of the old woman, usually in a clearing in the woods. One evening, Samuel was startled by a shape in the twilight, swung his shovel at it and was horrified to discover he had killed his own daughter. He was said to have concealed his crime by putting Margaret's body into the Penoboscot River. Legend said Margaret's ghost rose from the river and walked the island, looking for revenge. When Samuel was found dead in the Records Room of his mill, it was believed Margaret's ghost was responsible.

The team for this episode consisted of:

Ernie Hudson, actor, played "Winston Zeddemore" in the two "Ghostbusters" films; said he is not a "disbeliever", but would be careful what he accepted.
Willie Garson, actor, appeared in television show "Sex and the City" and many movies; said he is not a believer and will to find explanations for things.
Nicole Eggert, actor, appeared on "Baywatch"; said she is a believer, due to a paranormal experience she had as a child.
Eric Nies, was on "The Real World"; said he doesn't believe or not believe things like this, but accepts them as "just another experience."
Courtney Friel, host of "The World Poker Tour"; said she is a "fence-sitter" on the paranormal question.

As the team entered the Hawthorne Mill, Ernie warned them he would not do anything alone, particularly if it involved being in the dark. Courtney asked if they could pause and say a prayer before getting started, which all did; they went up to the office which was to be their Base Camp.

The first assignment sent Ernie and Nicole to The Records Room, where Samuel Hawthorne had died. The duo follwed a trail of marked barrels across the huge main floor of the mill and entered the Picker Room, then climbed a narrow staircase to the Records Room. Willie, via radio, relayed the computer's information on Samuel Hawthorne's death in this room: while ruled accidental at the time, gossip suggested that the ghost of Margaret Hawthorne had frightened him to death. The team is told to set up a "ghost catcher", a set of chimes included in the sack they brought with them, on a stand waiting in the room. The chimes are supposed to ring when a ghost is nearby, "much as wind chimes do". Willie instructs Nicole to go downstairs and wait in the room below. Ernie is told to sit at the desk, which he does. Willie then told Nicole to go back to the Base Camp, leaving Ernie alone in the dark in the Records Room. Ernie refused to stay alone in the room, and told Nicole he would not leave her on her own, so they should cancel the task. Nicole and Ernie discussed the problem, and she offered to take Ernie's place and stay, since, as she put it, "we're going to survive this thing, right?" With that decided, Ernie started back to the Base Camp, while Nicole sat at the desk. Ernie returned to the others, saying he heard some sounds on his way back, but that was all. Nicole, alone in the dark, became scared. When the "ghost catcher" suddenly went off, Nicole hightailed it back to the Base Camp, and told the others she definitely "felt a presence" there with her. To the question, "Was it a ghost?", she replied, "Ding-ding-ding!" (Later, Nicole was very surprised to find out each person had to go on at least two assignments, and she wasn't done yet.)

The second assignment sent Willie and Courtney outside the mill to The Forest Clearing, where Margaret Hawthorne did rituals derived from Native American folklore and her own imagination, in a effort to "summon up" the spirit of Wooden Lucy. The team left Base Camp in good spirits, joking they were bringing flowers for the "ghostettes" and that they were opposed to that "nasty Samuel ghost." They exited the mill, then followed a trail of barrels down the Old Road, then follwed stone cairns (small piles of stones) until they reached a mound of earth and stone in a clearing in the woods. (Part of their progress outside was in long shots, presumably from the "hidden cameras" said to have been left behind, but I wondered where these had been placed.) Observers have reported seeing shadows in the trees, we were told.
Willie and Courtney are now told to re-create Margaret's ritual to summon Wooden Lucy. Back at Base Camp, Eric seemed highly amused by this instruction, and even the participants themselves were laughing a little bit. The "ritual" invloved lighting a candle, then walking clockwise around the earth mound, repeating "Wooden Lucy, come to us." The team obeyed for a few turns, then Willie reported "spirit shapes" were "materlializing" around them. (We could indeed see faint misty shapes, but I thought they were either made by a searchlight beam, or were added in post-production.) Willie said Wooden Lucy was materializing in front of them, so the team was called back insiide. For a little while radio communication with the team was replaced by noise and static, then the others heard Willie saying they were indoors. Courtney paused to say she smelled cinnamon, and Willie became a bit irritated with her for delaying their return to the others.

The third assignment sent Ernie (this time specifically mentioned on the computer instructions) and Courtney deep below the mill to The Catacombs, where Margaret had reported hearing wind and moaning sounds, as well as seeing shadows, while calling for Wooden Lucy.. Nicole wanted to do the radio this tiime, and Willie advised her to "be serious" about her task. Ernie and Courtney stepped out of Base Camp and headed to the Shredder Room. (We heard a rather cackling laugh, but I'm not sure the team actually heard it or not.) Along the way, "something dripped on" Courtney. They found mannequins scattered all around the big room, and we saw a shadow apparently skitter for cover. Ernie had the digital voice recorder, and was instructed to call out for Wooden Lucy while trying to record an EVP of her voice. Courtney was instructed to leave the Shredder Room and close the doors, to avoid interfering with the recorder. Courtney and Ernie discussed this, and she chose to back away and stay in the room, near the open doors. Ernie began to call for the Indian woman's ghost, while Courtney confided she was scared. Out in the main area, a mannequin fell over, but no one was near it. The team reported the incident and decided to return to Base Camp to listen to the digital voice recorder. When they did listen to it with the others, a sort of wind-like or "heavy breathing" noise was heard, which Ernie said he had not heard while down there.

The fourth assignment sent Eric and Nicole to the shore of the The Penoboscot River, where observers have reported seeing a white shape rising from the river that is purported to be the ghost of Margaret Hawthorne. Eric had a long pole and a white rag. He was instructed to dip the cloth into the water. Nicole and Eric both saw a white shape floating in the river, a short distance from them. Neither went closer to investigate exactly what it was, but I believe it was a dummy of some sort. The team's biggest evidence seemed to come from the laser thermometer readings, which Eric said dropped from 60 degrees Farenheit to 19 degrees in one area by the river. They were soon called back inside.

The team was requested to pick "the Heart of the Haunting" and quickly decided it was The Records Room, where the chimes were still set up, having been left behind by Nicole's rapid exit. As for "the team member with the strongest connection" to the spirits, Willie immediately picked Nicole, who was not overjoyed. She advised them that if the next assignment involved staying alone in the dark with the ghost, she wouldn't do it. Willie tried to promise they wouldn't let that happen, and the others reminded him that the computer was in charge. Nicole finally let them select her name so they could find out the rest of the instructions. The whole team was instructed to take the "channeling scroll," the book of instructions, and a "token from the mill's past", a wooden barrel stopper that had been found on the mill's grounds.
All left Base Camp and crowded into The Records Room, where the scroll was placed on the desk. Nicole placed her hand on the object, while Ernie and Courtney touched the handprints on the scroll. Willie and Eric appeared to be observers and videographers. Courtney said another prayer, then they began the ritual. Eric soon objected to the words Nicole was saying "Enter me now, through this token from your past," and told her that was the worst possible thing she could be saying. Willie tried to shush everyone. Nicole said she was reluctant to let a spirit in, and the team debated the issue for a few moments. When the instruction book is found to include a "banishing ritual," Nicole agreed to try to contact a spirit. Willie whispered for someone to ask her a question, and Nicole kept shushing him. Soon everyone said they felt as if "someone is here", and Willie said his hair would have stood up, if he'd had any. The team departed without reading the banishing ritual, but all recited The Lord's Prayer as they left the room.

It was a very relieved group that opened the mill's doors to find daylight, and a boat waiting for them. Ernie said the place "could have been haunted." Willie said he was a "skeptical believer" and he felt that some people believe they see ghosts, and what they see is real to them. Nicole said "all places except new ones have spirits in them." Eric said one should always "treat ghosts with respect."

This episode was unusual on many levels, including having outdoor locations, and for the prayers which began and ended this "celebrity paranormal project." VH-1 said it would air a "lost pilot" for the series; if I see it, I will report on it as well.