Ghost hunters certify paranormal presence in historic Freeport building
Paranormal investigators, from left, Claudette Tardif, Tasha Michaud and Renee Clairmont descend on the historic E.B. Mallett building on Mill Street in Freeport on Oct. 19. The three are part of a ghost hunting team that spent a night in the building last month, working to confirm or debunk a supernatural presence on behalf of Kathy and Jim Welle, who own the candy shop What the Actual Fudge on the second floor. (Nicole Carter/Staff Writer)
When Kathy and Jim Welle opened their candy store What the Actual Fudge in the historic E.B. Mallett building at 7 Mill St. in Freeport, almost immediately they experienced strange occurrences they could not explain.
They would hear shuffling noises and footsteps coming from the third-story attic space.
They would hear the sound of a door opening and closing in areas where there was not one.
On two different occasions, pieces of parchment paper in a stack on the counter started flying around, one at a time, as if being flicked by a finger.
One entry door would be unlocked in the morning, even though everyone in the building the night before swore it was locked when they left.
And there were occasional voices that belonged to no one, including what sounded like a child sobbing.
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So they made a call. No, not to the “Ghost Busters,” but to a Maine team of ghost hunters led by paranormal enthusiast Mike Greenleaf, of Litchfield.
Greenleaf founded G.H.O.S.T. (an acronym for Ghost Hunting & Occult Study Team) about a year ago. He said his team never charges for their time, but he does have a set of parameters they go by before agreeing to investigate a site.
“We are different from other ghost hunters,” he explained during an interview Oct. 19, a few hours before presenting the Welles with G.H.O.S.T.’s investigation results. “Some teams will go and try to prove that there is a paranormal presence.
“But we try to disprove it first,” Greenleaf said. “Are lights flickering? We look for wiring issues. Odd voices? Maybe there are people outside the building. We start by trying to debunk. When we can’t, that’s when we start reaching out to confirm the spirit.”
G.H.O.S.T. conducted its investigation of the Mallett building Sept. 18 from 6:30 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. the following morning. The equipment and investigators were staged on all three floors of the building.
It was not just spirits responding to the team. A Freeport police officer engaged with Greenleaf while patrolling around the building and after being invited inside see the work summoned officers to witness late-night ghost hunting.
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Afterward, the investigators agreed they sensed odd sensations throughout the night. One example: while three people were in the attic they felt a physically close presence, or pressure, from one side of the room.
Throughout the night the team utilized their equipment to attempt communication with the presence.
Greenleaf presented video and audio clips to the Welles on Oct. 19. A few, he explained, contained flashes or glows that could not otherwise be explained by reflections coming through windows or lights in the building.
Jim Welle, left, owner of What the Actual Fudge candy store on Mill Street in Freeport, listens to recordings made with paranormal surveillance equipment Oct. 19 as employee Trinity Kangas, center, and Jim’s wife and partner, Kathy Welle, watch video on a laptop. The recordings were made at the store by Ghost Hunting & Occult Study Team during an all-night investigation a month earlier. (Nicole Carter/Staff Writer)
“They’re not, they’re not spectacular,” he said. “You’re not about to see it (a ghost). But they are things that we can’t explain. There was an orb-like light that moved around the bottom of a space and then across, which the team distinguished from dust because it did not move in a straight line.”
Listening with headphones, some recordings picked up sounds. Jim Welle heard what he said was a regular heartbeat in one segment, which Kathy and store employee Trinity Kangas concurred.
One voice captured was male, emphatically stating, “get out!” Another was childlike sobbing.
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Investigator Tasha Michaud, G.H.O.S.T.’s lead interviewer, discerned from a piece of equipment called a cat ball that the spirit seemed to refer to a fire. “It’s possible that (E.B. Mallett’s) office may have served as a refuge during a fire,” she told the Welles.
There have been at least two notable fires in the past in Freeport, both at the same location a few blocks from Mill Street. In 1946, Clark’s Hotel at the corner of Main and Bow streets burned. The building was severely damaged in a fire four decades later that displaced a dozen people residing in second floor apartments.
In 1914, the Casco Castle hotel, a trolley car ride away in South Freeport, was destroyed in a massive blaze, although it was not open for business at the time.
With Mallett’s office the hub of Freeport manufacturing and mill trades, it would not be out of the question for an employee or neighbor to be taken to the building in the event of an accident.
Through the cat ball, a different presence spoke about being in prison and possibly being abused by officers or other authorities.
G.H.O.S.T.’s conclusion of the evidence was that a paranormal presence in the building is likely. Greenleaf characterized it as nonthreatening, though one entity in the attic appeared to just want to be left alone.
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The Welles and Kangas confirmed that they had also felt the same sensation of a physical presence at their side while in the attic.
Greenleaf said the team was in agreement that it would certify the Mallett building as having paranormal activity.
From home Sept. 18, Kathy Welle had followed G.H.O.S.T.’s investigation using her webcam, picking up at least one image the same as the team’s video, and a couple other instances Greenleaf said they were able to debunk. She also saw the police officers trekking about with the team.
Even before the investigation she had placed security cameras inside the building, especially focused on the entry door that would unlock.
“Every time I wanted to go back to look for an oddity, I would get an error message that the SD card had to be reformatted,” she said. “It happened with two different cameras, and with brand new cards. I finally gave up and bought a service for 24-hour recording.”
She also said the unlocked door issue seemed to resolve itself, but only after she added another lock with a deadbolt and the owner of the first-floor business had a security gate installed so even if the door was opened from the outside no human would be able to enter.
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Did the investigation make her a believer?
“I believe there are spirits, but I don’t know that they really talk,” she said.
What about the recorded man’s voice saying to get out?
“Are they trying to get us to leave? No, I don’t believe that.”
The evidence made her husband a believer.
Kangas believed there to be spirits from the start — it was she who made the call to G.H.O.S.T. to come investigate the Mallett building.
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“People say there are several haunted buildings around town,” Kathy said. “I am having a good time with it. It’s been a fun experience.”
THE TEAM
Members of the Ghost Hunting & Occult Study Team outside the historic E.B. Mallett building Oct. 19 in Freeport. The group was about to present audio/visual evidence of a paranormal presence to Jim and Kathy Welle, who operate What the Actual Fudge candy store in the former industrialist office, which was built in 1888. From left are Jason Coombs, of Augusta, co-lead investigator; Tasha Michaud, of Gardiner, interviewer and site investigator; Mike Greenleaf, of Litchfield, founder and co-lead investigator; Renee Clairmont, of Sabattus, occult specialist; Claudette Tardif, of Auburn, assistant, equipment operator and mentor; and Shaun Miller, of Biddeford, head of audio-visual equipment and operations. Historical researcher Curt Manchester, of South Paris, was not available for the photo. (Nicole Carter/Staff Writer)
Founder Mike Greenleaf, of Litchfield, is one of two lead investigators, along with Jason Coombs, a paranormal believer who grew up in nearby Brunswick and lives in Augusta.
Others on the team are craft specialists. Tasha Michaud, of Gardiner, interviews property owners, residents and staff of investigation sites.
Biddeford resident Shaun Miller is in charge of audio/visual equipment and operations. He has sensed otherworldly happenings since he was little.
Renee Clairmont, of Sabattus, is the team’s occult specialist focused on the metaphysical aspects of paranormal investigations. She counts herself as a believer in the supernatural, but also in the need to balance belief with evidence.
Claudette Tardif, who is from Auburn, assists with investigations, operates equipment and mentors new team members. She became a believer as a child experiencing the unexplainable and has sought answers ever since.
South Paris resident Curt Manchester is G.H.O.S.T.’s historical researcher, digging into relevant community information for each hunt, the focus property, and its previous inhabitants.
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Tagged: ghosts, halloween 2026, oxford hills
Nicole joined Sun Journal’s Western Maine Weeklies group in 2019 as a staff writer for the Franklin Journal and Livermore Falls Advertiser. Later she moved over to the Advertiser Democrat where she covers. More by Nicole Carter
