Investigation Date: 09-19-2008
Site: The Soap Factory
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Number of Investigations: 1
Evidence: EVP’s

Reason for Investigation Request

TCPS approached the owner of the Soap Factory to see if we could investigate the property. A few months before the investigation, two of our members had been part of an art show at the Soap Factory. During their time spent in preparation on location for the show, our members heard some of the stories of activity that had happened on the site and their interest was piqued even further to see if TCPS could find evidence or debunk these claims of paranormal activity.

Research and Background on the Property

The building for this location was built in 1882 and is one of the oldest unconverted warehouse spaces left in Minneapolis. The historic 48,000 square foot building sits along the St. Anthony Main Riverfront area. In the 1930’s, National Purity Soap and Chemical Co. bought the warehouse and turned the building into a soap factory. Among its other uses, the space produced sausage casings from cow intestines. Tons of rendered animal fat from horses and other farm animals were used in the soap making process. The remnants from the animal fat can still be seen today within the Soap Factory’s walls, ceilings, and floors.

In 1988, No Name Exhibitions, which later renamed “Soap Factory”, bought the building. The Soap Factory was one of the first venues in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul devoted to emerging visual art. The building was later donated to the organization by Pillsbury in 1995. Since this time, hundreds of artists have exhibited their art and thousands of visitors have come to the various art exhibit tours. The Soap Factory also houses an annual haunted house in the basement of the building, aptly named the “Haunted Basement”.

Investigation Details

Weather Conditions
Temperature: 62°F
Barometer: 30.03
Humidity: 81%
Wind: 11-13 mph
Moon: 77% Full

TCPS had nine investigators present for this night’s investigation due to the massive size of the site. We began the investigation around 11 PM and split up into groups of two to three members. Our goal for the night was to put a “buffer floor” between each group as the building is extremely old and therefore creaky. Each floor itself was big enough to have two groups per round so we could therefore tell if any walking noises were heard on floors above or below where the teams were, as the walking noises have repeatedly been heard throughout the building when no one was there.

The first team to investigate the basement heard movement coming from the first floor. Each team was radioed and everyone was present and accounted for at that time. One member from this group was touched on her leg while at the same time had the feeling of being rushed, which is what we liken to someone “blindsiding” or coming at you out of nowhere. One member from the other team in the basement at the time was also touched during this investigation round. Around the same time as this incident, the group heard what sounded like a piece of wood being thrown in the hallway adjacent to where they were investigating in the boiler room. The group did go to see what could have caused the noise. The other team in the basement with them at the time was no where near the hallway. The group did go investigate the hallway to see if they could find the cause of the noise but could only find an aluminum can that was knocked on its side. The last team to investigate the basement heard whistling. This sound could have been someone outside, but was never verified if anyone outside could be seen. The group also experienced battery drainage when their EMF meter suddenly would not work after twenty minutes into the investigation round.

Not much activity was noted from the Main Floor of the Soap Factory. One of the investigators noted she smelled what she described as a “cheerios with milk” smell. She could not find the source for the smell. This same member also heard her name being called out by a male voice, but no one either on her team or in the building had said her name at the time she heard it. During their investigation round, this team also heard a muffled scream coming from one of the floors above them. No other teams in the building at this time heard this noise or recalled making such a sound.
The only activity from the Second Floor was experienced by one group. The walkie talkie the group was using seemed to go off by itself at different times throughout their investigation round. This team also heard walking sounds coming from the third floor above them even though no one from our group was on that floor at the time. Movement was also heard coming from an adjacent room to where the team was investigating that was not caused by the other group on the second floor with them. This incident happened several times and the team could not find any source for the movement.

The Third Floor of the Soap Factory did not seem to hold much activity for TCPS on this night as well. The only noted activity seemed to come from a K2 meter that was being used by one team. While asking a spirit to respond to their questions by making the K2 light up, the team did seem to get a few responses. No other experiences or odd equipment readings were noticed during this time.