Meet the ‘My Haunted Mansion USA’ team hosting paranormal events at Columbia’s Samuel Miller Mansion

Roots in Fort Delaware The Bader brothers grew up in a historic townhouse in Wilmington, Delaware, where they experienced their first paranormal hauntings. Jeff Bader, the elder of the two, saw his first apparition of a man in the stairs and window of the basement of their house.

"Ever since, I've wanted to prove to myself that I saw that," Jeff Bader says. "I'm just dying to be like, OK, I wasn't crazy."

Marston and Grothaus both had their first paranormal experiences in Fort Delaware State Park — specifically, the site used as a Union prison camp during the Civil War — as children, inspiring their interest in the spiritual realm.

Marston met organizers of "My Haunted Project" while promoting his book "The Horrors of the House of Wills: A True Story of a Paranormal Investigator's Most Terrifying Case" in Chester, United Kingdom. When the group showed interest in expanding to the states, Marston kept the idea in mind.

The Bader brothers and Marston met during a paranormal investigation event at Fort Delaware, where Marston grew impressed by the brothers' ability to investigate and capture their findings on camera. The brothers were working with Delaware-based Diamond State Investigators, whom they've been with for the past five years.

The "My Haunted Manor USA" seed started to bloom into a foreseeable reality.

"It was a no-brainer," Marston says. "I saw those guys work, and a little light bulb went off. Like, this could work."

Marston previously toured the Samuel Miller Mansion in October 2023, where the Raudabaughs previously hosted local paranormal investigation events on the property. Drawn to other properties in Gettysburg and upstate New York, Marston always came back to the property for its aesthetics and proximity to the team's home state of Delaware.

The Raudabaughs did not respond to requests to comment by press time.

A night at the manor

A night of investigation lasts from around 8 p.m. until 1 a.m., with VIP guests given the opportunity to stay the night. Event fees vary depending on the weekend, with group rates available. Guests are first greeted in the parlor, the manor's largest room, filled with Victorian furniture and deep red drapes. Here, they meet the team and go over expectations for the night.

Participants are asked to sign a waiver detailing the risk of their investigations; the team is mindful of safety precautions, taping off sections of the manor they deem unsafe for public exploration.

"You know what you're getting into when you do a paranormal investigation," says Trey Bader.

Marston and Trey and Jeff Bader begin by splitting the group up into teams, sending them to different parts of the manor to perform different tests and experiments. The three then spend most of their time in the control room, observing the teams and looking for activity caught on the manor's eight room cameras.

Halfway through the night, guests assemble in the parlor for a debrief to recap their findings or experiences. The crew additionally interviews guests with intermittent Q&As.

"I think the debrief is very important because it gives us the knowledge of how the night went, what the vibe is like, and gives everyone the chance to say something," Grothaus says.

Since their grand opening in March, the Bader brothers, Marston and Grothaus have had their fair share of paranormal experiences: both themselves, and vicariously through their guests. Trey says the site sees the most activity when trains pass behind the property.

The most common of the crew's day-to-day paranormal observations are footsteps, typically heard on the landings of the mansion's two large staircases. The crew has also observed apparitions, light and shadow anomalies, vocal mimicking and EVPs. (Learn more ghost-hunting jargon in the sidebar accompanying this .)

"The Ghoulfriend Hour" podcast host Morgan Fezza wanted to explore the manor on its grand opening event March 22.

"I just think that there are so many spirits there that it's just a very spiritual experience," says Fezza, of Milford, Delaware.

While investigating further into the night, Fezza met mother-daughter podcasting duo Emily Coates and Karen Pinder. The new team that included Fezza, Coates and Pinder moved into the coinciding print shop, where they had hoped to get more activity using frequency sensors and contact-activated cat toys.

"Nothing was happening whatsoever," Pinder says. "We tried talking with them, different instruments, but there was no activity. Our time was running out."

Coates says music is thought to bolster EMF activity. With this in mind, the group began to ask more questions: "Are you a musician?" "Did you play the guitar?"

When the group got signals in response to words "piano" and "organ," another team member suggested they sing church hymns. Despite not being familiar with Christian music, Pinder began to sing "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" as Fezza simultaneously played the song from her phone. The coincidence left the team astonished as they all began to sing along.

"It was totally unexpected for all of us," Pinder says. "People were just amazed that we hit on something with such activity."

As the group sang together, the EMF meters tracked more activities as the cat toys began to light up without being touched.

"It was so wild to see the activity bump up and see the (cat toys) start lighting up," Coates says. "Nobody was near them. It was really cool."

Pinder, a skeptic of the paranormal, was astonished by her personal experience.

"I could feel some increase in the energy surrounding me," Pinder says. "Whether it be entities, or if it was excitement in the room, you could feel the change in atmosphere."

While some spiritual encounters at the manor have been joyful, others have been emotionally heavier.

While the crew and most guests don't describe interactions with the spirits as particularly positive or negative, the crew connects the manifestations to the surrounding area's heavy ties to the Civil War, the Underground Railroad and a cholera outbreak for manifestations.

"It's a sadness, more than anything," Jeff Bader says.

York Haven resident Joshua Gadsden has gone to the manor for every single main event thus far with his partner Landon Deamer. The two, although not firm believers in the paranormal, have a curiosity for the unknown and an interest in local history.

Gadsden was once investigating the manor when what he called a "child-like presence" that he named "Danny," greeted him. He believes the name connects to a past childhood best friend.

When Gadsden left the manor, he couldn't help but feel the presence stick with him as he went back to his York Haven residence.

"I began to realize it wasn't my feelings, that it was a spirit feeling that it just didn't want to be there," Gadsden says. "I felt like it wanted to stick around away from the manor, but I wasn't sure if that was a good idea."

A month of living with this strange feeling, Gadsden went to Marston for counsel. Marston told him that having a spirit follow him isn't necessarily negative.

"Once he told me it didn't seem like it would harm me in any way, I just felt this really intense happiness and joy," Gadsden says. "It was a personal experience for me that I can't explain."

Since his conversation with Marston, Gadsden says he hasn't had any interaction with this spiritual feeling.

A culture of camaraderie Coates, Fezza, Pinder and the rest of the hymn-singing investigator group now claim to be great friends — an experience many have had after visiting the manor.

"My favorite thing to see is all of the friendships made in the building here," Trey Bader says.

The "My Haunted Manor USA" team aims to foster a friendly, personable atmosphere — even when dealing with spirits.

"It's a good atmosphere," Marston says. "I've done hundreds of these events all around the countries and overseas — and not all of them are good. It's very upbeat here, and people love it."

Events are open to all ages, with those under 18 required to attend with a legal adult.

Marston says he and his team have felt welcome in Columbia. "My Haunted Manor USA" joined the Columbia Chamber of Commerce and the Merchant's Association of Columbia.

The production team has no plans of stopping, with two more scheduled main events in July and August, alongside a tentative Halloween special and Friendsgiving feast in the fall. The team is even considering expanding to other locations.

"People come here and fall in love with it," Trey Bader says. "As soon as they come in, it's addictive. They come back."