popular thinking

THE ART OF GHOST HUNTING: I had the opportunity to attend a class and hang out with two people who have appeared on Sci-Fi's "Ghost Hunters" and investigate paranormal complaints around New England. So you know, I experienced a haunting back in January in Flagstaff, Ariz., so I am a believer. What makes these spirits appear, though? And what implications does this have for an afterlife? That's what I still want to know. Anyhow. Here is that story.

When three North Shore men got caught trespassing earlier this year at Danvers State Hospital, they claimed they were hunting ghosts on the grounds of the former mental facility.
“They said they were filming for us,” said Kristyn Gartland, case coordinator for The Atlantic Paranormal Society.
TAPS, a Rhode Island-based volunteer group that stars in the Sci-Fi Channel show “Ghost Hunters” (Wednesdays at 9 p.m.; a Halloween special airs tomorrow at 10 p.m.) signs legal documents before investigating any paranormal complaint.
But it’s no surprise to Gartland that more people have become amateur ghost hunters. She and Mike Dion, assistant director and case manager for New England Paranormal, another volunteer group that often works with TAPS and “Ghost Hunters,” see packed rooms at their ghost-hunting classes at the Boston Center for Adult Education.
Dion said he has received more than 50 applications from local residents wanting to join, including eight new members-in-training.
They teach these classes to ensure that other amateur ghost hunters aren’t hurting their credibility.
Among their tips for would-be paranormal investigators:
Obey all local laws. Ergo, no trespassing - even in a cemetery.
Act professional. That means no wearing “Ghostbusters” outfits. Or even mentioning the movie. Or saying, “I ain’t afraid of no ghosts.”
Stay in pairs, to make sure that any experiences during an investigation are shared.
Don’t look for fame or money. “You’re not going there for monetary gain, so there’s no reason for you to falsify records,” Dion said. He also suggested rejecting donations, although the Western Massachusetts resident said he has accepted gas money.
Don’t begin an investigation expecting to find ghosts, either. “If you go looking for a haunting, you’re going to find a haunting,” Dion said. Gartland added: “Eighty-five percent of cases we go to aren’t haunted.”
Don’t fall for hoaxes. That’s especially true now for the “Ghost Hunters” crew because they spend about $75,000 per episode. One guy wired his entire house with speakers, hoping to convince them that his house was haunted. Others reported strange banging sounds that turned out to be the radiator. Gartland said she’s gotten 400-500 e-mails each week requesting investigations or help since the show began airing last year.
“You have to balance what’s what when you get an e-mail,” she said.
Do a background check of the person making the request. Does the person hearing sounds and seeing things have a history with medications, drugs, alcohol or mental illness?
Make sure you have proper equipment to record air and surface temperatures, video, audio and electromagnetic fields. Also make sure your cameras work properly. That mystical orb you think you see in the photograph might just be dust or moisture.
Remember to tell the client that you might not see and hear what they do. An actual apparition or ghost might not appear on your timetable.
“Explain to them that you being there for a couple of hours on one day doesn’t mean you missed it,” Dion said.
Dion and Gartland’s groups maintain they’re merely investigators. They’re not like the TV characters you see on “Medium” or “Ghost Whisperer.”
“We don’t have the answers to why they’re here,” Gartland said.
Their Web sites, and others like them, offer tips to debunk myths and fakes, debatable evidence and photos, ghost stories submitted by investigators and articles and links to help those who believe their homes and properties are haunted.
Gartland’s experiences in a former home in Reading prompted her to get involved. She said her home had been built over an old cemetery, with only the headstones moved across the street (just as in the movie “Poltergeist”). She reported an inhuman haunt that pushed her up the stairs and created negative energy throughout the house.
Some people believed her.
“The others think I’m nuts,” she said. “Now I look for dead people. Who do you tell that to?”

Ghost Hunting 101
Nov. 18 at the Boston Center for Adult Education, 5 Commonwealth Ave., led by New England Paranormal founder Stephen Gonsalves, Dion and Gartland. Cost: $38-$48

To find a local ghost hunter:
The Atlantic Paranormal Society: www.the-atlantic-paranormal-society.com
New England Paranormal: www.newenglandparanormal.com
O.R.I.O.N. Paranormal: www.orionparanormal.com