Editor's note: The following information is supplied by Nora Roughen,
Marketing Manager, Marysville Public Library.
---
Professional paranormal investigator, published author and founder of
Columbus-based "The Ghosts of Ohio," James A. Willis of Columbus will
appear in Marysville at the Veterans' Memorial Auditorium, 233 W. 6th
St., on Oct. 27 at 6:30 p.m.
Willis has been chasing after ghosts and visiting crybaby bridges for
more than 20 years. In 1999, he moved to Ohio and founded a nationally
recognized paranormal research organization, "The Ghosts of Ohio"
(www.ghostsofohio.org). He has given presentations throughout the state
on how one may hope to find evidence of the existence of ghosts.
In addition to co-authoring "Weird Ohio," Willis was also a contributing
author to "Weird US" (2004) and "Weird Hauntings" (2006). In 2006, he
was inducted into the Grand Order of Weird Writers. He has been featured
in numerous publications, television and radio programs, and live webcasts.
Willis said "The Ghosts of Ohio" is headquartered in Columbus with
fully-operational Ghost Outposts in Cincinnati and Cleveland.
Currently, there are more than 20 members located throughout the state.
"As far as current investigations go, we are involved with a private
investigation in northeast Ohio as well as one in central Ohio and two
in southern Ohio," Willis said.
Willis said Ohio has an unusually large amount of paranormal activity
and legends of paranormal activity.
"Personally, I think a lot of that has to do with Ohio being a unique
state - it's land-locked on the east and western sides and yet it has
large bodies of water and waterways to the north and south. Plus, throw
in an unusually high number of Bigfoot sightings (third highest in the
whole US) and dozens of Indian burial mound and you've got an area ripe
for growing some good, old-fashioned ghost stories and legends."
Willis said he can not remember the last time he was scared on an
investigation or by anything related to ghosts.
"I tend to get freaked out more by what I see while driving on Ohio's
highways. I never cease to be amazed (and frightened) by the things we
human beings do to each other. It's like I say, 'Ghosts I get. It's
humans that scare me.'"
Willis believes humans can communicate with spirits.
"I think sometimes people get so caught up in all the high-tech
equipment they forget that an integral part of communicating is to just listen."
The most satisfying part of his work is interacting with people,
especially individuals who contact him about activity going on in their homes.
"Most people don't contact us to find a ghost, but to provide them with
answers. Modern culture has given people a pretty distorted view about
ghosts and what they can do. Being able to provide people with a safe,
confidential place to go and get answers while having their fears calmed
is incredibly rewarding," Willis said.
The most grueling part of his job is the paperwork.
"You would be amazed at how much paperwork in
involved with a single investigation."
His favorite city/town in Ohio for paranormal research is Athens and
pretty much all of Summit county. He would like to do more research in
the Kirtland/Mentor area.
He said writing and researching "Weird Ohio" was a pretty amazing experience.
"Having a background in ghosts and urban legends, it was a blast to get
out into the land of the living and explore such roadside oddities like
the world's largest cuckoo clock, add my "piece" to the wall of gum, and
gaze upon a jar containing pickled human fingers!" he said.
He said a "Ghosts of Ohio" book is in the planning stages now and he has
signed a contract to co-author "Weird Indiana."
He said the best thing about his job that it fulfills his childhood dream.
"Ever since I was a child, I was fascinated with ghosts and ghost
stories. I couldn't get enough of them. Now, I am in a position where I
not only get to go and explore places where ghosts are said to linger,
but people from all walks of life seek me out to share their ghosts
stories with me. It doesn't get much better than that!"
This is a free program, tickets are required. Tickets are available at
the Marysville Public Library, Raymond Branch and at the Plain City
Public Library. This program is appropriate for ages individuals ages 12
years and older. For more information, log on to www.marysvillelib.org
or call 642-1876, extension 36
http://marysvillejt.com/localnews.htm
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
