By JENNIFER L. MANFRIN ? Correspondent
ZANESVILLE - The next time you are at Secrest Auditorium, you might notice more activity than just what is on stage.
Secrest has been investigated by The Ohio Paranormal Seekers, or TOPS, a group based in Columbus that investigates paranormal activities in homes, commercial buildings, famous haunted locations and any place thought to be haunted.
"I think it's great that TOPS is the first team to do this. It's a privilege to be the first," said Brent St. John, founder of TOPS who started the group of ghost hunters in 2007.
"Personally, I have seen images twice, and felt the presence many times," said John Kunkel III, Secrest Auditorium manager. He said he gathered details about TOPS before agreeing to the investigation, and said he found them to be very professional. "They were very upfront, no hidden agendas. I think they are proud of what they do."
The group spent the night at Secrest on May 17 to try to find ghostly activity. After reviewing their findings, they presented them to Kunkel on May 30.
Kunkel said that TOPS contacted him around the end of March to see if they could investigate possible paranormal activity at Secrest, and to hopefully make contact.
"Some believe in this, some don't," he said, adding that what TOPS was doing was not a seance or anything scary. "It's treated like a business. It's very technical."
Kunkel explained that one reason TOPS was interested in Secrest is that theaters are notorious for being haunted, and because of the age of the building.
TOPS consists of 15 members who are adults in professional career fields. They focus on being discrete and professional, and conduct their investigations with respect for the locations and the spirits.
St. John said that TOPS encountered a lot of activity throughout the evening of the 17th, including voices, moving objects, apparitions and sensations of being touched.
"I think it definitely has paranormal activity in it. There is definitely something there," he said, adding that he didn't feel uncomfortable during the investigation, and the spirits seem to be friendly.
Tom Boyd, Tech Manager for TOPS, said the team had advanced equipment used for detecting this kind of phenomenon. They used a four-camera DVR system with night vision, hand-held mini cameras, digital cameras, as well as a digital audio recorder. A K2 meter was used to sense spirit activity, and an EMF meter (electro magnetic fields) was used to check changes in such fields, which is often an indicator of the presence of spirits.
"Definitely got something going on there. It turned out to be a cool night," Boyd said. He demonstrated how the voices showed up on the digital audio recorder. Male and female voices could be heard. One voice said 'yes,' while others were singing and calling out TOPS members' names.
Boyd explained that is called Electron Voice Phenomenon, or EVP.
During the investigation, which lasted until around 5 a.m., several TOPS members felt the sensation of being touched. Others witnessed a chair being tugged and a flashlight moving on a table.
Jason Creeks, Maintenance Staff Member of the City of Zanesville, joined tops for the night as an independent witness. "At first I was skeptical. After working with TOPS, I saw they are very professional, and were experiencing paranormal activity. Creeks also witnessed the movement of the flashlight.
The team got readings on the other equipment too, including temperature changes, and a very interesting photograph, perhaps of an apparition. "We'd like to come back to try to recreate some of the scenes. We do this to see if we can debunk our findings," said Jennifer Boyd, TOPS Case Manager. Plans to return for another night, possibly in August, are in the works.
Chad Houghs, TOPS Lead Investigator, feels that finding possible proof of paranormal activity is in a way confirmation of an afterlife. "It has changed my whole view of life after death." He added that he too felt a great deal of activity at Secrest.
"I never had such an experience as I did here, especially upstairs."
In spite of TOPS findings, Kunkel doesn't want anyone planning to attend an event at Secrest to have any concerns about visiting the facility. "It's nothing to be fearful of. Who knows why these spirits or phenomena are here. I think they are very nice spirits."
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