Ghost Hunting at Thalatta Estate

A stone’s throw from haunted Deering Estate, Palmetto Bay’s Thalatta Estate seems to have a ghostly attraction as well. The history of the land goes way back, having been inhabited since the Paleoindians about 20-thousand years ago. In 1925, the Connett family built the Mediterranean-Revival home that stands today, making it one of the oldest buildings in South Florida.

As Vanessa Binns, who is the park reservations specialist at Thalatta will tell you, “I know there are paranormal activities here. Usually late at night or when there are only a few people are around, some of us hear and feel unexplainable things. One night I shut everything down and locked up only to turn around and see the lights had been turned back on. Maybe Alan and Virginia Cornett who lived where my office is now are looking over the property. I think that everyone has that curiosity of the great unknown, but only you can decide what that means to you.”

So, on Friday, October 7th, as part of a Village-sponsored event, about two dozen intrepid souls teamed up with David Pierce Rodriguez’s PRISM (Paranormal Research & Investigative Studies Miami) to hunt for some ghosts.

“We usually do ghost tours at Deering,” explained PRISM’s Rodriguez. “But were invited here to run a tour. To make sure it was worthwhile, we came here about two weeks early and recorded some remarkable Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). At one point we asked if there was a god and the EVP answer was ‘no’.

Using infrared and full-spectrum cameras, audio records and devices that measure static, electricity, magnetic pulses and temperature, PRISM took the participants to nearly every spot in the house to find the paranormal. The key ingredient was using a voice record that somehow captures EVPs (voices from beyond) that you can’t hear until you play the recording back.

While there were some minute anomalies on some of the recordings, the evening didn’t uncover any ghosts. David Pierce Rodriguez explained, “Maybe there were too many people around. Sometimes I’ve seen spirits either like or dislike the people and they react accordingly.”

Whatever your thoughts are on the subject, I felt this was a very enjoyable and entertaining evening. It’s nice to get out and do something different.