The Indigo Room      

Downtown Ft Myers, Florida

Scientific Investigation: 7 May 04  -  7:30 p.m.

FPRF Members:  Julie Gleason & Melissa Condenzio

Reports by:  By Melissa Condenzio  

Background and history

The building that now houses the  'The Indigo Room' a popular club in the downtown Ft Myers area, was built in 1914.  At one time it was a Moose Lodge, a Hotel and possibly even a brothel.  The name of the building is Evans James Homestead.  The building next door, I believe was connected at one time, being that they are both listed under the same address on the tax records (although it was added in 1917) and the same owner, owns them both. It is located in a historic area of town known for it's old beautiful buildings and this on is no different.

Today the downstairs is a popular bar in Downtown Fort Myers and the upstairs is utilized as storage. 

Preliminary Investigation

Place: Indigo Room/Downtown Fort Myers

Time: 7:30 pm - 8:30pm

Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous 73%

Solar Flare: Active

Geomagnetic: Unsettled

Temperature inside establishment: approx 82 degrees

Temperature Outside establishment: approx 78, humidity 35-42%, Pressure 30.15 settled

Equipment: Cell Sensor Electro-Magnetic Field Detector, Craftsman Non-Contact infrared thermometer, Panasonic Palmcorder with motion sensor, Sony NiteShot Video Camera,  and a Vivitar Vivicam 3715 Digital Camera.

Upon entering the building, Julie and I noticed a lot of construction and unfinished renovation going on. The building needs a lot of repairs.  A lot of pain peeling, broken walls, ect. The area was also used as a haunted house one Halloween and there were a lot of props from this event.  First a man by the name of  Doug escorted us up stairs and said the owner would be there in 30 minutes. He told us what they do up on the second floor and how the owner collects antiques, and he does work in a little wood shop area in one part of the upstairs.  The owner also had a really old projector, it was really cool.  Doug introduced us to the resident cat, Bat Girl, appropriate enough, she is all black and VERY friendly. As he walked us around he told us a little of the history of the building as he remembered it.  He also said to wait for the owner, he would tell us all about the place. He also mentioned that today, out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw someone walk by the doorway but no one was there.  The building is laid out like a hotel. There is a staircase; to the left is a big hall with lots of doors left and right, like a hotel. To the left are some more rooms, pretty much laid out the same way. I took some pictures, which I am about to analyze closer.  I took approx 32 pictures in all and I saw 2 with orbs right away.  I also took video of all the rooms, which I have to take a look at closer also.  I noticed my EMF detector spiked and stayed spiked in a lot of places, but there is also a lot of exposed/old wiring which could have been the cause of this.  No noticeable temperature changes were recorded, there is no central heat or air. The owner did finally arrive and told us they had some phenomena occur in the bar downstairs.  At one time he had on tape (surveillance video), an object that as he described it,  fluttered.  He said at first he though it was like a butterfly but as it approached the camera it got bigger then backed off and flew under a table and was gone.  The building was built around 1917, at one time was a Moose lodge, a motel, and also believed to be a brothel during one of the World Wars.  He also offered for us to investigate more in depth, not just again in this building, but the building next door that he also owns.  We took a few more surveillance pictures and decided to pack up, the owner did seem like he wanted us to stick around and we know let him know we could  back with more a larger team.

Personally, the only thing odd that happened was when, I got my video recorder to start taping.  I pressed record, suddenly it paused, I pressed record again (making sure my hand did slip and hit the button) and it paused again. I went to press record again and the camera went off.  I thought at first the battery died, but upon inspection, the power switch was in the off position (?)  I turned it on again and  pressed record and this time had no more problems.  I also felt a strong dizzy sensation come over me right before this incident happened, but not at the same time.  This sensation was only in certain spots and was not constant.

The owner is very receptive to us coming back, and I informed him next time it will be with more team members.  He also would like us to check out his other building next door and I will be in contact with him as soon as I'm presented with the chance to investigate.

I am going to get to the video tonight or tomorrow. Because of the noise of downstairs and Doug turning on a radio and working,  I'm not sure if the EVP will turn up anything.  I know we will be back.  Next time we will plan on a longer stay.   I am also positive we will be documenting a lot more activity.

Melissa Condenzio

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