Copyright © 2001 - 2008 South Jersey Paranormal Research and its investigators. All content may not be used or reproduced without the express written consent of South Jersey Paranormal Research. SJPR is organized exclusively for scientific research and educational purposes, as specified in Section 501(c)(3).
Site maintained by Sochtek
Is there a ghost in the house? Research group will investigate
Have you ever thought someone was behind you, only to turn and find no one there? Have you ever heard footsteps but found no one on the stairs? Do you often hear things that go bump in the night?
Some would say you have an overactive imagination. Others, like South Jersey Paranormal Research Inc., would say you may have ghosts in your house.
A nonprofit ghost research group, SJPR goes to people's homes and offices, historic sites and cemeteries to validate claims of hauntings and strange phenomena. The group says it does about two investigations a month and recently gave a lecture at the Camden County Library in Voorhees, which more than 35 people attended.
TERESA ANICOLA/Courier-Post
Susan Bove of South Jersey Paranormal Research Inc. plays electronic voice phenomena of what she believes to be the voices of spirits which the group recorded while conducting their research.
"Some people are sensitive to what's around them. Animals and children are very sensitive," said Susan Bove, 40, of Glendora, co-chairwoman of the group. "I think spirits are around because that's where they want to be."
The 20-member research group has been together for the past year. They previously were members of another paranormal research group before branching off to form their own. Its members include residents of Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties and the group meets regularly at libraries in Bellmawr and Blackwood
Investigations are free and conducted at night, as the hours of increased spiritual activity occur between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., Bove said. Some of the equipment the researchers use to detect spiritual energy include digital cameras, video cameras that use infrared light to film in the dark, omnidirectional recorders, motion detectors, electromagnetic field detectors that detect energy, and push-button thermometers to detect cold spots. While on investigations they also take field notes. Any evidence gathered that the group feels is credible goes into a final report given to the client.
"We're our own worst critics. We try to discredit anything that can't be used before putting it in our notes," said Bove. "We're very careful during investigations. No one smokes or lights candles and, in cold weather, we hold our breath while taking pictures. If a photo has too many reflections, we discredit it."
During the lecture, Bove played electronic recordings of ghostly voices taken during the group's investigations. Bove said if recordings are too diluted with noise, they are discredited from the final report. She said she uses a computer program to isolate voices in the recordings.
She also showed videos and photographs of orbs caught on film. She said orbs are circles of light and are one way in which spirits manifest themselves. Because reflected dust particles can create circles on film, the group specifically shot photos of dust to see the differences. The main difference, Bove said, is that orbs created from dust particles overlap one another.
The researchers conduct investigations about every other weekend, allowing for time to work on final, detailed reports.
One recent investigation took place in the Collings-Knight House in Collingswood where the group said it found evidence of several spiritual presences. They will be doing a seminar at the house in October to raise money to refurbish the house, which is historic and in need of repair.
The group also conducts many investigations at Mount Peace Cemetery in Lawnside, which they believe to be active with spirits. The group's Web site, www.sjpr.org, shows a photograph of what the group said is the figure of a man near a headstone in the cemetery.
Daryl Toombs, 16, of Lawnside, who lives near the cemetery, said he has never seen the presence of any ghosts there.
"I've lived down the street for 10 years. I've never seen or heard anything unusual," said Toombs.
A Gallup Poll last year found belief in ghosts has increased from 25 to 38 percent over the past decade. For those who do not believe, there is good cause, said Joe Nickell, a senior researcher for the Skeptical Inquirer, a publication that researches paranormal occurrences for scientific explanations.
Nickell has been investigating hauntings for the past 30 years. Although he has visited some of the most notorious haunted houses, he said he has never found ghosts.
"Ghost clubs around the country are very similar in that they are not scientists and none of the equipment they are using is made to detect ghosts," said Nickell. "At night, using flash cameras, any kind of particulate matter in front of a camera that can bounce the flash back and reflect it back into the camera can cause ghostly effects ( like an orb)."
Nickell has written 18 books, the last three are Entities, Looking For a Miracle and Real-Life-X files. He has a background as a stage magician and is a trained professional investigator.
But some people who say they experience strange phenomenon make up their own minds based on their own experiences.
Linda Hunter, a job counselor and developer for the Resource Center of the YWCA of Camden County is one such person. She attended the SJPR library lecture.
Hunter's boyfriend died more than three years ago. She said he disappeared and was found dead in an abandoned building in Camden. She believes he has been trying to communicate with her.
"I thought the lecture was very interesting because of my experience. I find what they are talking about to be valid. There are things you can't see and scientific people pooh-pooh it," said Hunter. "I don't think these people come out for free and make up stories. I think they have an inside track that's unique and different."