Local ghosthunters join forces to seek out elusive apparitions
Posted: 12/1/2009
By James Mulcahy
Justin and Abigail are inseparable. Justin, 6, says Abigail has pretty brown eyes and brown hair. But you and I can't see Abigail. She's dead.
"She follows me wherever I go," Justin said matter-of-factly as he hit a tennis ball against his Shelby County home. "She's right behind me now."
Abigail doesn't frighten Justin; they are friends.
Sarah, however, is not Justin's friend. She's an angry spirit that also appears to Justin. His expression and demeanor are different with he speaks of Sarah, and he quickly changes the subject.
Justin's ghosts were subjects of a recent collaborative investigation by two Shelby County teams: Shelbyville Ghost Hunters and S.P.I.R.I.T. (Shelbyville Paranormal Independent Research Investigative Team). Ghost hunters from both groups visited the Shelby County home, where they set up equipment meant to capture sights, sounds and other evidence associated with the paranormal. They videotaped and monitored -- and even tried to coax Abigail out.
At first they thought the visit was a bust -- inconclusive, at best. Then, on closer examination of their recordings, they found some unexplainable evidence of, well, something. At least two videos, both shot in almost total darkness, show definite streaks of rapidly moving light. One clip caught a clear voice saying, "Yeah!"
Still, S.P.I.R.I.T. President Darrell Willard isn't quite ready to pronounce a haunting.
"There's something there," he said.
The groups plan a follow-up investigation at the home.
Ghost hunters
For Willard and SGH President Brian Robertaccio, tracking the unseen is both exciting and frustrating. Both are God-fearing Christians, but they believe there's "something" else out there, and they'd love to find absolute evidence of paranormal activity.
"We're in it to help people," Willard said. "We're trying to prove it wrong; we're trying to find out what could be. Maybe it's a floor joist, maybe the doors are opening and closing because they don't have enough return air space. We look at it in a scientific way. Whatever they're experiencing, I believe in trying to find an answer."
Robertaccio agrees that almost all the reports can be debunked.
"Ninety-nine percent of it can be explained away, but you've got that 1 percent that you have no idea why it's happening," he said.
And both hope to capture that 1 percent on video someday.
"We look for any kind of video evidence, like objects moving or any apparitions -- that's the main thing we try to catch because they're so few and far between. It's like your holy grail of evidence."
Willard might have caught a glimpse of that holy grail during a local investigation. His camera was trained on a doorway where the residents had experienced strange things, and though he saw nothing during the taping, a transparent orb is clearly visible when watching the video -- especially in slow motion.
Skeptics believe the often-photographed orbs are simply out-of-focus specs of dust that reflect light -- electronic flashes, in most cases. This one is different, though. It emerges from the wooden door, then quickly flies toward the camera, changes direction and speeds out of the lens' view to the left -- all in a split second. The viewer can slow the video and clearly see the moving object.
Willard just grinned and shrugged. "I don't know ..." he said after showing it.
But he's actually seen what he firmly believes are actual ghosts. On an investigation at a farm, Willard and others in the group saw the image of a farmer walking through a field and into a barn where there was no door. They chased after the image into the barn, but found nothing unusual inside.
So far, Robertaccio is ghost-free.
"I've never experienced anything personally," he said. "Even as a kid, I never had any experiences." The closest he's come was during an investigation in Bardstown, when he heard a loud knock.
Even so, he thinks they exist.
"I believe there's something out there," he said. "It has always interested me. There's stuff out there that goes on that you can't explain."
A Shelby County haunting
Justin's family -- and Willard and Robertaccio -- believe the boy is telling the truth.
"You can almost tell when kids are making things up, but every time I asked him a question about her, he just ripped it off like he's been doing this for a long time," Willard said. "With him, it started with imaginary friends," Robertaccio said. "As time progressed, it became a little bit more. He started talking about it more often. His attitude started to change; he became a little more aggressive.
"He says that there are two others that are there," Willard said. "One is an older lady in the basement (Sarah). Abigail doesn't like her and wants her to go away; she's mean to her. There's also a little boy named Charlie."
The ghost trackers said Justin isn't the only one in the family to see Abigail. Justin's mom spotted her in a rocking chair in the living room one night. Her description matched Justin's -- and she hadn't yet been told Justin's description.
"They want us to put some truth to what he's telling his parents," Willard said.
The verdict? Inconclusive. Robertaccio said they would present the evidence and let the family decide.
"We are going to show them everything we found, and I think that based on what we've found for right now, there isn't anything there that is going to hurt them," he said. "It seems to be more of a residual haunt than anything else. But I think we might try to do another investigation there just to be 100 percent sure that it is what it is."
Stepping forward
People are hesitant to tell others they've witnessed paranormal activity for fear of being ridiculed.
"Everyone is afraid to come out because of what people are going to say," Robertaccio said.
Willard agreed.
"Most of the people we run into say, 'I would have said something but people will think I'm crazy.' "
The men want everyone to know that they are not there to judge, but to answer questions, prove or disprove the ghosts, and, if there is a troublesome spirit, to remove it.
"If it's bothering the family, then we'll go the next step and try to remove it from the house," Willard said, adding that his group works with members of the clergy to cleanse houses. In fact, before each investigation, small ingots are handed out bearing the image of St. Christopher, the patron saint for protection.
"It's very interesting," Willard said of the hobby. "We're out there trying to figure out what's really happening. Brian and myself, we try to look at it with scientific reasoning -- we try to explain this stuff. We're going to have to see something real big before we can look at somebody and say, 'Your house is haunted.' "
"We're in it for research," he said. "I remember lying in bed when I was a kid and seeing a lady standing at the bottom of the bed. Ever since, I've always wanted to know what's really going on."
"We want to let people know that they can contact somebody locally who is not going to think they're losing their mind," Robertaccio said. Both groups work for free, but donations are accepted.
"This paranormal stuff has been going on for years and years," Willard said. "The whole thing for me, in a nutshell, is to help people out. Don't be scared. You have somebody you can call, and we believe in you."
Note: Visit www.shelbyvilleghosthunters.com or www.shelbyvilleghosthunters.webs.com for information.
"She follows me wherever I go," Justin said matter-of-factly as he hit a tennis ball against his Shelby County home. "She's right behind me now."
Abigail doesn't frighten Justin; they are friends.
Sarah, however, is not Justin's friend. She's an angry spirit that also appears to Justin. His expression and demeanor are different with he speaks of Sarah, and he quickly changes the subject.
Justin's ghosts were subjects of a recent collaborative investigation by two Shelby County teams: Shelbyville Ghost Hunters and S.P.I.R.I.T. (Shelbyville Paranormal Independent Research Investigative Team). Ghost hunters from both groups visited the Shelby County home, where they set up equipment meant to capture sights, sounds and other evidence associated with the paranormal. They videotaped and monitored -- and even tried to coax Abigail out.
At first they thought the visit was a bust -- inconclusive, at best. Then, on closer examination of their recordings, they found some unexplainable evidence of, well, something. At least two videos, both shot in almost total darkness, show definite streaks of rapidly moving light. One clip caught a clear voice saying, "Yeah!"
Still, S.P.I.R.I.T. President Darrell Willard isn't quite ready to pronounce a haunting.
"There's something there," he said.
The groups plan a follow-up investigation at the home.
Ghost hunters
For Willard and SGH President Brian Robertaccio, tracking the unseen is both exciting and frustrating. Both are God-fearing Christians, but they believe there's "something" else out there, and they'd love to find absolute evidence of paranormal activity.
"We're in it to help people," Willard said. "We're trying to prove it wrong; we're trying to find out what could be. Maybe it's a floor joist, maybe the doors are opening and closing because they don't have enough return air space. We look at it in a scientific way. Whatever they're experiencing, I believe in trying to find an answer."
Robertaccio agrees that almost all the reports can be debunked.
"Ninety-nine percent of it can be explained away, but you've got that 1 percent that you have no idea why it's happening," he said.
And both hope to capture that 1 percent on video someday.
"We look for any kind of video evidence, like objects moving or any apparitions -- that's the main thing we try to catch because they're so few and far between. It's like your holy grail of evidence."
Willard might have caught a glimpse of that holy grail during a local investigation. His camera was trained on a doorway where the residents had experienced strange things, and though he saw nothing during the taping, a transparent orb is clearly visible when watching the video -- especially in slow motion.
Skeptics believe the often-photographed orbs are simply out-of-focus specs of dust that reflect light -- electronic flashes, in most cases. This one is different, though. It emerges from the wooden door, then quickly flies toward the camera, changes direction and speeds out of the lens' view to the left -- all in a split second. The viewer can slow the video and clearly see the moving object.
Willard just grinned and shrugged. "I don't know ..." he said after showing it.
But he's actually seen what he firmly believes are actual ghosts. On an investigation at a farm, Willard and others in the group saw the image of a farmer walking through a field and into a barn where there was no door. They chased after the image into the barn, but found nothing unusual inside.
So far, Robertaccio is ghost-free.
"I've never experienced anything personally," he said. "Even as a kid, I never had any experiences." The closest he's come was during an investigation in Bardstown, when he heard a loud knock.
Even so, he thinks they exist.
"I believe there's something out there," he said. "It has always interested me. There's stuff out there that goes on that you can't explain."
A Shelby County haunting
Justin's family -- and Willard and Robertaccio -- believe the boy is telling the truth.
"You can almost tell when kids are making things up, but every time I asked him a question about her, he just ripped it off like he's been doing this for a long time," Willard said. "With him, it started with imaginary friends," Robertaccio said. "As time progressed, it became a little bit more. He started talking about it more often. His attitude started to change; he became a little more aggressive.
"He says that there are two others that are there," Willard said. "One is an older lady in the basement (Sarah). Abigail doesn't like her and wants her to go away; she's mean to her. There's also a little boy named Charlie."
The ghost trackers said Justin isn't the only one in the family to see Abigail. Justin's mom spotted her in a rocking chair in the living room one night. Her description matched Justin's -- and she hadn't yet been told Justin's description.
"They want us to put some truth to what he's telling his parents," Willard said.
The verdict? Inconclusive. Robertaccio said they would present the evidence and let the family decide.
"We are going to show them everything we found, and I think that based on what we've found for right now, there isn't anything there that is going to hurt them," he said. "It seems to be more of a residual haunt than anything else. But I think we might try to do another investigation there just to be 100 percent sure that it is what it is."
Stepping forward
People are hesitant to tell others they've witnessed paranormal activity for fear of being ridiculed.
"Everyone is afraid to come out because of what people are going to say," Robertaccio said.
Willard agreed.
"Most of the people we run into say, 'I would have said something but people will think I'm crazy.' "
The men want everyone to know that they are not there to judge, but to answer questions, prove or disprove the ghosts, and, if there is a troublesome spirit, to remove it.
"If it's bothering the family, then we'll go the next step and try to remove it from the house," Willard said, adding that his group works with members of the clergy to cleanse houses. In fact, before each investigation, small ingots are handed out bearing the image of St. Christopher, the patron saint for protection.
"It's very interesting," Willard said of the hobby. "We're out there trying to figure out what's really happening. Brian and myself, we try to look at it with scientific reasoning -- we try to explain this stuff. We're going to have to see something real big before we can look at somebody and say, 'Your house is haunted.' "
"We're in it for research," he said. "I remember lying in bed when I was a kid and seeing a lady standing at the bottom of the bed. Ever since, I've always wanted to know what's really going on."
"We want to let people know that they can contact somebody locally who is not going to think they're losing their mind," Robertaccio said. Both groups work for free, but donations are accepted.
"This paranormal stuff has been going on for years and years," Willard said. "The whole thing for me, in a nutshell, is to help people out. Don't be scared. You have somebody you can call, and we believe in you."
Note: Visit www.shelbyvilleghosthunters.com or www.shelbyvilleghosthunters.webs.com for information.
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