Ghost hunters in search of the paranormal

[The Undead]

Ghost hunters in search of the paranormal

Victoria Schlesinger
Columbia News Service
Mar. 10, 2005 12:00 AM

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NEW YORK -- A year ago Peter Franz and a friend stayed at an what was billed as a haunted bed and breakfast in Gettysburg, Pa., and hunted for ghosts. And they found one, or at least something Franz can't quite explain.

When Franz, 33, a postal worker from suburban New York, and his friend returned to their room one night, they discovered that the key wouldn't turn in the lock. It being after hours, no employees were around to help. It was also cold and late, and Franz assumed that the damp mountain air was causing the key to stick. Then they heard a noise.
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"We hear this laugh like 'Ha-ha, ha-ha,' almost like this little boy laugh," Franz recounted. "My friend's like, 'You hear that?' and I'm like, 'Yeah.' So we're like, 'Forget this, we're out of here.' "

They checked into another hotel for the night but returned the next morning to the bed and breakfast to talk to the owner and test the faulty key. It turned easily in the lock, and the hotelkeeper chuckled when she heard their tale.

"Oh, that was probably Jeremy," she said. "We have a little boy ghost here who's like 7 years old who loves playing tricks on people."

[The Undead]

Armed with this information, Franz returned to the scene of the ethereal laugh to videotape the location and see what else he could discover. While he didn't see or hear anything unusual at the time, when he watched the videotape later Franz heard a disembodied voice captured on the tape quietly say, "Come with me."

Across the nation, people like Franz are using modern technology to answer an age-old question: Do ghosts exist? These paranormal enthusiasts are harnessing Web sites to share their hair-raising stories, just like kids swap spooky tales around a crackling campfire.

"There's been a boom in ghost hunting ever since the Internet took off," said John Zaffis, a ghost buster of 30 years who is deemed an authority among the supernatural set.

A measure of the trend's popularity is the success of the recently released movie "White Noise," and a cable television show on the SciFi channel called "Ghost Hunters." The reality show stars everyday men and women creeping through dark houses with flashlights in search of the unknown.

[The Undead]

Hundreds of Internet message boards and groups across the nation, with names like Lone Star Spirits and Ghost-Aholics, are dedicated to this eerie pastime. Most ghostly groups have their own Web sites, which are often festooned with cartoon ghosts, spooky grim reapers and creepy music.

The postings range from the paranormal to the very normal. With usernames like stixdeath, Dr. Supernatural and funny farm, message board users announce nuptials, complain about the weather and organize group hunts. One site included a spirited debate over whether phantoms appear in color or just black and white.

Most of the associations share a mission "to investigate the paranormal using scientific methods," says Cody Polston, president of the Southwest Ghost Hunters Association. Many of the sites declare themselves free of Ouija boards, which are frowned upon as unscientific among poltergeist circles.

Along with tracking tips, the sites recommend everything from high-tech equipment like infrared thermometers and electromagnetic field monitors to sturdy shoes and flashlights.

Ghost busters equipped with such gear scour reportedly haunted venues, trying to uncover visual and audio evidence of hauntings and documenting everything they can about their search, including the time of day, weather and temperature.

[The Undead]

Hundreds of Internet message boards and groups across the nation, with names like Lone Star Spirits and Ghost-Aholics, are dedicated to this eerie pastime. Most ghostly groups have their own Web sites, which are often festooned with cartoon ghosts, spooky grim reapers and creepy music.

The postings range from the paranormal to the very normal. With usernames like stixdeath, Dr. Supernatural and funny farm, message board users announce nuptials, complain about the weather and organize group hunts. One site included a spirited debate over whether phantoms appear in color or just black and white.

Most of the associations share a mission "to investigate the paranormal using scientific methods," says Cody Polston, president of the Southwest Ghost Hunters Association. Many of the sites declare themselves free of Ouija boards, which are frowned upon as unscientific among poltergeist circles.

Along with tracking tips, the sites recommend everything from high-tech equipment like infrared thermometers and electromagnetic field monitors to sturdy shoes and flashlights.

Ghost busters equipped with such gear scour reportedly haunted venues, trying to uncover visual and audio evidence of hauntings and documenting everything they can about their search, including the time of day, weather and temperature.

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/pop/articles/0310ghosthunter10.html