'Ghost Adventures' Recap: Black Swan Inn

Zak, Aaron and Nick traveled to San Antonio, Texas to investigate the reported haunting of the Black Swan Inn. This plantation was built in 1867 and run as a dairy and creamery at first. It was also the site of a bloody battle during the Mexican invasion of Texas, called the Battle of Salado in 1842. A woman named Joanne is the current owner and she and her children have had numerous encounters with unseen entities.

In the opening we were enticed by bits of interviews with various witnesses to the activity at the plantation. People have been attacked by dark, unseen forces. In the opening a door squeaked and actually made Zak jump! That set the tone for the night’s investigation. Joanne said her mom had also died in the house last October and she wondered if she were still present. Most people who did die in the house died from natural causes. Joanne also showed the team a “psychomanteum chamber” which is a room that one used to contact spirits. The team must consider that this could be the cause of the major haunting in the house. Joanne explains that many women are touched in a sexual manner and then we were exposed to a sensual re-inaction. Also, she said that in the law library a dark entity has been seen who seems very aggressive. She also actually felt as if she had been shot with a gun to the head. The team thought this could be residual from the Battle of Salado.

The next place to check out was the milk barn that had been made over into a living space, but the stanchions were still visible. A woman said that she had heard something and called out, “Heinrich” and had heard footsteps approaching and a man’s voice say, “Get out!”. A witness said that in the library he had a crushing feeling and felt his legs pulled. Later that night he heard the voice say, “I’ll hurt you – I’ll kill you”. Later that same night this person had to have emergency gall bladder surgery and his gall bladder had been twisted and smashed. Then in January the same man had a stroke and said it didn’t feel as if it had been a natural stroke, but rather had been induced. Yet, the same man said he feels compelled to return again and again to the property. His wife was interviewed and she said they have an EVP, but told the crew to ask her husband what it said. The team asked him and the reply was, “I hate you”. This was said as the man left the house and was walking down the front stairs.

Zak interviewed the children that live in the house to see what had been happening to them. The little girl called Madison said she has seen a dark figure and glowing red eyes. Also, she has had her legs pinched and bruised. The boy said he had seen a figure in what looked like a skirt. Zak reminded the children that it was their house and that they are strong.

There was a little “horse-play” outside as Aaron threw some “horse apples” at Zak and they goofed off for a few minutes. They then looked for some trigger objects with a metal detector but only found a nickel, so they borrowed some from a man with a box full of relics from the timeframe. During this time Zak noticed a man watching them and when he talked with the man he found that the land used to belong to Native Americans and is considered sacred ground. There is a spring on the land that they claim is where they were created, “Spirit Waters” to them and it used to have a 20 foot geyser. He also informed Zak that some of the Mexican soldiers were Indians who died during the battle.

The team set up a “nerve center” in a shed behind the house. At first Joanne joined them in the lock down to see if they could reach her departed mother. Almost immediately after Zak started asking questions everyone hears a loud noise from directly above, as if someone was walking. You could actually hear the boards creaking! Right away Zak headed upstairs only to find a completely empty room. Joanne said her husband has heard those steps several times. They had set up two computers, in sync, to track any voices they heard and during a spirit box session something or someone spoke over the frequencies using just one box! They began to ask questions and then asked the names of the children in the house and heard, “Madison”. Zak asked more questions and again received intelligent responses from a female voice. Joanne wondered if that could be her mother.

Meanwhile, Aaron had been sent to the barn to explore the possibility of a haunting. He started provoking and did hear a noise, but wasn’t sure what caused it. During the play back a figure was seen at the window, but Aaron wasn’t to know that at the time.

Back in the house, Joanne said she and her mom had a “code word” known only to them. The team also played some battle noises in an attempt to get some reaction from any present spirits. They did see one orb, but also saw a shadow that turned out to be either a large mouse or a rat in the children’s room . That could explain the things that happened there. After listening to the audio played back, to Joanne’s delight, her mother’s code word, “Bossier” was heard. She started to get very emotional and that affected the crew as well. To my mind, this episode should’ve been used as the season opener! It was full of really good captures of the unknown. It just goes to show you – they’ve still got it!