By MICHELE PAGE
World Staff Writer
They are armed with audio and video equipment, electromagnetic field detectors, and flashlights. You can see the gleam in their eyes, as they speak about haunted houses, and spectators roaming the dark quiet night. Helena-West Helena has a few actual ghost hunters and investigators of spiritual phenomena and most would not rather think about the subject of their study.
Sometimes, as many as eight individuals will strap on their gear and visit the alleged haunts of places such as the old Confederate Cemetery, or an old relic of a house that has been rumored to contain the spirit of someone long passed into the sprit world.
Black Cat Supernatural Investigators has been meeting for almost a year and often research their targeted area when hunting spectral evidence. Kristen Honeycutt, Brad Hartsfield, Brad Thomas, April Thomas and Marlene Kalb are members of the group, and have lots to say on the subject of ghosts. Before a recent trip to the St. Mary's graveyard, the group sat down together and shared ideas for a local excursion into a realm seldom visited by many.
They have been asked to visit some old stables in Memphis because the owner thinks it's haunted. They also plan to visit the old Ponderosa farm off of Military Road, where once stood another stable that burned and took the lives of many of the horses housed.
Kalb said that people have heard "the horses screaming," and on some nights, still smell the smoke from the fire. She talked about researching the event and securing the needed information to visit the alleged site of the haunting during the exact time of year when the fire destroyed the stables.
Hartsfield said the group should research some of the urban legends in the area, and investigates those matters too. Thomas took the time to explain some of the terminology used by the group. "Orbs are the energy that spritstravel in. There are orbs, mists, vortex and ectoplasm, which is more like the mist," he stated.
April Thomas explained that the movie Ghostbusters, "made up a lot of the terminology, but they are many books on the subject."
As the group gears up, they show off some of the equipment used to track and witness the spectral activity. The EMF will pick up cell phones, and any other magnetic disturbance, so Kalb and her associates are very careful when going to investigate some of the ghostly activity.
"We have to be sure not to take pictures of camera straps, or flashes from other cameras," Kalb explained.
A field trip to the cemetery proved to be interesting, as the site of the excursion alone, seemed to set the mood. Beams of flashlights and flashes from the digital cameras filled the dark night, catching the headstones in the glare.
"We have to show you this one grave," they told the reporter.
A short jaunt up the hill, and then around the bend, brought the group to a small hidden gravesite.
"This is the grave of a doctor and his dog," April Thomas explained.
The legend says that the dog witnessed the murder of his master, and after the interment of his body, refused to leave his owner's side. The dog perished from the longing of his master. The dog was buried beside his best friend and a large statue marks the sight.
"Some say you can hear the dog pant if you listen very closely," they attest.
The group takes many digital photos looking for orbs and exclaim over every photo taken. The group plans to save up enough funds to secure some more high tech equipment such as an infrared camera or a thermal imager.
Kalb and the group is very dedicated to the study of ghosts and she says that if you think your home is the site of a haunting, her group will come over and look into the matter for free. Any interested individuals are welcome to join the group on their excursions and can call Kalb at 816-6593.
Source: http://www.helena-arkansas.com/articles ... /news2.txt
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