It takes a lot of equipment to hunt for ghosts. In this case, two cars full of cameras, audio recorders, infrared thermometers, electromagnetic field detectors and a couple of stopwatches.The members of Eastern Shore Paranormal are unloading it all on to a dining room table in Snow Hill, flipping open metal cases to demonstrate how each device works.
"The main goal, as I see it, is to collect whatever evidence we can," said ESP member Chris Power. "We capture these hauntings that people think they are experiencing in order to try and prove or disprove ghosts."
Chris, a statistician with a master's degree in engineering, founded the ghost-hunting group along with husband Jimmy Power in 2004. Each had an early interest in the paranormal. "I think with any field, the more you find out, the more questions you have, and that's where we are right now," said Power.
They have captured strange lights, strange sounds and strange energy from some of the Shore's legendary haunts and from private homes. Some "ghosts" turn out to have a simple explanation: condensation blowing off a roof that forms a specter-like object, a power line that creates an energy spike. Other experiences, such as the distinct sound of a young voice recorded at a local cemetery, are a bit harder to explain. A video showing a bedside clock that appears to move across a hotel nightstand -- seemingly on its own -- is positively creepy. "We can't always explain what the causes are, but when we share that data with others in the paranormal community who are also collecting data, hopefully all that information together will point to causes."
Jimmy is the only one in the group who whole-heartedly believes in ghosts, but fellow member Steve Frey, a history major at Salisbury University, admits he's willing to do just about anything to get more information. A long night in a reportedly haunted cemetery paid off when he caught a glimpse of a little girl in a blue dress skirt behind a tree. He chalked it up to exhaustion and an active imagination, until he reviewed the night's data. "We got home and listened to the audio tape, and we got a little girl's voice," said Frey. "I've seen things, I've heard things, we've recorded things. I'm not ready to say (the data) has anything to do with ghosts or an afterlife, but I don't know what it is."
The five members of ESP are eager to collect more information, offering their services for free to anyone who suspects a haunting. "I think if we're different in any way, we try to be very thorough in recording everything we can," said Chris. They spend three to six hours per visit taking notes, recording sounds, running cameras and asking questions. "It's also absolutely anonymous. We publish only as much as the client will allow."
Jimmy points out that there are many kinds of paranormal experiences: Spirits, poltergeists, ghosts, each with defining characteristics. The holy grail of ghost hunting for this group would be an interaction. "Communication, honestly, would be the best way to convince the skeptic. If there's something out there trying to talk ... trying to talk back," said Chris.
Yes, they've been scared. Frey still laments the time he watched the temperature drop -- rapidly -- on an infrared thermometer. It bothered him enough to walk away from the site instead of getting out the camera. And while they always hope to come across the unknown, discovering a non-spooky cause can be rewarding, too. "Sometimes we can make people feel better if we can just explain what's happening," said Chris.
http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... /607270319
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