"The National Enquirer," has called Kenmore one of "America's 5 Most Haunted Houses." And, according to Gary Norman, chief archeologist at the mansion, a number of the suspected ghosts are of Civil War vintage. "There has been a surge in reported incidents of unexplained and unexplainable things happening here," Norman told Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star staff reported Mike Zitz, in an interview.

According to Zitz, Norman says a series of recent events could be interpreted as paranormal activity.

A gift shop clerk, described as "very reliable" by Norman, reported seeing a dark, shadowy, caped figure.

One person who has had a number of psychic encounters at Kenmore over the past couple of years is a young lady named Evelyn Kealeyl a volunteer who works on the archeological digs that take place on the mansion's grounds. "I definitely think I have more psychic powers than the average person," she says. "That may explain why I was the only one who saw some of the things I did."

Several of the "occurrences" take place around Labor Day and in the fall and winter, when Evelyn and her associates spend a lot of time in the basement sifting through, cleaning and cataloguing the artifacts found in the diggings. These have included animal bones and teeth, apothecary weights, Civil War buttons, shards of 18th century ceramic and glass, nails and other items. "I've said the more they dig, the more it will stir up the restless spirits," she laughs. She may be right.

Evelyn says some of the more common manifestations have included "someone fooling with the light. You have to flip the lights on and off or trip the circuit box," she points out. "The lights have gone out for no reason on more than one occasion, and no one working in the basement was anywhere near the switch.

"Sometimes 'it,' locks the door to the basement. Again, you would have to latch it, or lock it with a key, and sometimes when we try to get through the door, it's like someone is holding it, and then all of a sudden it releases." On another occasion, Evelyn set a pail of silty water down to open the door. She was taking it outside to dump the water which had been used to wash off the artifacts. She opened the door and turned back to get the pail only to find that it had been "knocked over" by unseen hands or feet, and the water spilled down the stairs.

Evelyn also has seen two apparitions in the basement, although she doesn't know if it was the same entity or two different ones. "Once, I saw a big willowy outline of a person move from one room to another. It had a cloudy, billowy shape. I had the feeling that day that something was going to happen. I don't know why but I did. There was not a whole lot of shape to what I saw, but it definitely was moving. Shortly after that, the lights went out."

The second sighting proved to be more frightening. "It was about four in the afternoon in the fall, and I was taking a bucket of water out to empty it. I felt very strange. I was getting spooked out. As I got to the area I call 'mortuary wall,' I stopped. Against the wall I saw a dark outline. This is the darkest part of the basement, but I saw a tall figure that I estimated to be about six feet tall, draped with a cape around its shoulders.

"It was just standing there looking at me. I assumed it was a man, possibly a military officer in some kind of uniform. I could see the outline of his head, neck and shoulders, but when I looked down, I couldn't see any boots or footwear.

I just stood there. I froze. I was stunned. I could feel goose bumps. I know there was no way what I was looking at was mortal! Nor could it have been my shadow. The sun doesn't get to this part of the basement. When I couldn't see his feet or legs, a thought struck me that maybe they had been amputated. Kenmore has been used as a hospital during the Civil War and I had a theory that when any soldiers died, they stacked them up against this particular wall, because it is the coolest place in the entire house in the summer.

"Anyway, I stood there for what seemed like an eternity. I guess it was only a few seconds. Then I went outside and dumped the water and when I came in again, the figure was gone. It was very eerie. No one else has seen anything like it, but as I said, I believe I am more psychically sensitive than most. I can tell you this, though. There are people who work here who won't come into the basement.

"They are afraid."