NEPA Paranormal

Times Leader October 22nd 2010

2010-10-24T01:03:00.003-04:00

In Search Of The Supernatural? Walk Fearlessly This Way

Eccentric but agile, the sexton of the “Old Ship Zion” church climbs its steeple, balances himself on a metal lightning ball and waves to the people of Wilkes-Barre, 125 feet below. • A harsh, disembodied voice hollers inside a Gettysburg bed-and-breakfast. Does someone want a band of ghost-hunters to leave?

Finally, rural retirees share their memories of childhood illness: Their parents took them to a woman who knew how to “powwow,” she murmured some sort of chant, and they got better.
Do these mysterious stories make you want to hear more?
Thanks to various researchers, some who pore over history books and others who carry high-tech recorders into allegedly haunted buildings, you’ll have several chances to do just that.
First up is “Paranormal Investigating 101,” tonight’s presentation by NEPA Paranormal.
Gathering at the former American Legion in West Pittston, members of the Wilkes-Barre-based group will explain how they use equipment that measures electromagnetic fields (thought to be manipulated by spirits) and temperature (believed to drop in the presence of the supernatural.)
They also have cameras that can record images with ultraviolet and infrared light – mechanic Bob Christopher, 48, assembled one for the group – and they have electronic recorders sensitive to “voice phenomena.”
One example of voice phenomena, Bob’s daughter Katie Christopher said, is the emotion-charged message she and her friend Mark Hromisin heard in Gettysburg’s historic Tillie Pierce House.
“I was yelled at in a foreign language,” she said, admitting she felt shaken by the experience. “It was very loud.”
The words were in Pennsylvania Dutch, 25-year-old Katie said, and a dialect expert from Kutztown University told her the message, though slurred, sounded as if it contained the words for “no” and “goodbye.”
Despite such occasionally unsettling experiences, the group doesn’t hesitate to visit sites people believe are haunted.
“I’m a firefighter,” member Bill Ulichney said. “I don’t get scared.”
Sometimes NEPA Paranormal detects nothing supernatural, Katie’s mom, Kathy Christopher, said. Homeowners’ tension visibly eases when they hear that
Other times, the group senses a presence – and might ask it to depart.
“Sometimes it can be done with simple coaxing,” Katie Christopher said. “We’ve had a lot of success with that.”
On Wednesday and Thursday, the group will return to the American Legion for a “mock investigation,” to show the audience how the equipment works.
During a similar event last year, Katie Christopher said, the demo quickly became a genuine investigation when the group detected paranormal activity in the West Pittston Library basement.
“I did get kind of freaked out,” library director Anne Bramblett Barr admitted.
Though the spirit seemed benign rather than angry, youth services librarian Summer Bellas said, “It was a little unnerving to go into the basement right after it happened.”
Admission to the mock investigations is $10, and proceeds benefit the West Pittston Library.

Pocono Record October 8,2008 NEPA Paranormal

2010-02-24T20:16:00.005-05:00

Ghost-hunting groups explore the area's paranormal activity | PoconoRecord.com

Ghost-hunting groups explore the area's paranormal activity

By Melanie Vanderveer

Pocono Record Writer

October 05, 2008

Halloween is quickly approaching. This means candy, costumes and, of

course, ghosts.

Many believe that ghosts or the paranormal is a year-round activity, but at this time of year, it seems to excite more people to get involved and explore the possibilities.

Monroe County hauntings

Bartonsville — International Eatery/Dale's coffee bar. In the early '90s, there was a female apparition walking into the establishment. She would open and close drawers.

Bushkill — Pocono Indian Museum

A ghost named Eli has been known to close doors and move objects.

East Stroudsburg — The Dansbury Depot

A spirit has been seen and heard around this converted station.

Henryville — Henryville House, Route 191 North

A few spirits are residing in this old hotel that is no longer in business. Reports of a small child, three grown males and five grown females who do not cause problems unless provoked.

Barrett Township — Buck Hill Inn

Reports of many paranormal activity over the years. Many different areas of the closed-down resort has been known to have some type of paranormal experiences.

Effort — Effort Junk Yard

Reports of a young male spirit wandering the premises.

Mount Pocono — Kmart and Memory Town

Kmart employees have stated that a ghostly image is in the store. On one occasion, feminine products were knocked off the shelves when no one was around and signs had fallen from the ceiling. In Memory Town, many people have reported seeing what they call "the lady in gray." Many people have reported hearing voices coming from the hallways near their rooms.

Swiftwater — Indian Falls, Mount Airy Lodge and Swiftwater Inn

Indian Falls has history of large lights above the falls and sounds of Indians being thrown off the falls.

Mount Airy Lodge — Room 7664 at the now-closed hotel was rumored to be haunted by the ghost of a woman who was killed by her husband on their honeymoon. Also, many abnormal occurrences have happened. The hotel has since been rebuilt.

Swiftwater Inn — featured on "Unsolved Mysteries" and the spirits blew the doors off the camera crew.

Tannersville — Tannersville Inn

It is said that a man in his late 30s was hit by a car and left to die. He now haunts a bedroom on the top floor.

Tobyhanna — Route 611 overpass

Back in the '70s, a man was walking home from a bar on a foggy night and was hit by a car. Now on late foggy nights, people claim they see him walking around the overpass.

Source: www.strangehappenings.org/Pennsylvania-Hauntings.htm

Do strange, unexplainable things happen in your home? Do you hear footsteps in the night or see objects moving all by themselves? If you answered yes, you may need, and want, the services of a local paranormal group.The group of 13 investigators is able to answer questions that may have been at one time thought to be unanswerable.Their purpose is to determine if the activity being reported is of paranormal origin or has a natural explanation. This is a year-round job for them but around Halloween, more people are suddenly interested in what the group has to offer. They are dedicated to the study of understanding the supernatural and paranormal and want to help area folks who feel they are being "haunted."

The NEPA Paranormal group has been doing this type of thing for about a year now. "We go out and investigate claims of paranormal activity," case manager Katie Christopher said of the group. "We have done 13 total cases now. We just spent the night at the Jim Thorpe Inn which has many claims of hauntings. That was an interesting night."

There will be a presentation of their findings on Oct. 16 at the Jim Thorpe Inn. WVIA taped their adventures and findings. A question-and-answer part of the evening should prove to be interesting for all who attend.

According to www.innjt.com, there are a few rooms that have been known to have extra surprise guests staying in them. Room 315 has had incidences of chairs being turned upside down while down the hall at Room 303, there are unexplainable shadows and orbs. There is a comedic spirit in Room 203. A guest claims that a ghost put his cell phone in the refrigerator.

Many ghost-loving folks flock to the Jim Thorpe Prison around Halloween to take the tour and see the jail that closed in January 1995. The handprint of Alec Campbell, an accused Molly Maguire, is still visible in cell 17 despite attempts to remove it. Campbell claimed that his handprint would remain visible forever to prove his innocence and it has survived cleaning, concrete, paint and having a new wall put in.

Monroe County has had quite a few "hauntings" investigated in the past. It is said that the Shawnee Inn, Stroudsmoor, parts of East Stroudsburg University and the Pocono Indian Museum have all had, or have, some type of paranormal activity. The Buck Hill Inn in Barrett Township has been a source of ghostly Hollywood entertainment in the past. The MTV show, "Fear," was filmed in the old deserted resort a few years back. Area paranormal groups would love a night in the hotel to see the spirits in action that most of the country has heard about.

Trespassing has been a huge issue at the Buck Hill Inn in recent years. Between 50 and 100 trespassers have been caught on the property each year since 2001. Halloween brings out the ghost-hunting spirit in many so it is this time of year that everyone wants to get a good look at the inn with tons of history.

So what do these group do if they find a spirit or paranormal activity? No, there isn't a little box that will just suck the ghost up and take them out of the house as seen on the popular '80s movie "Ghostbusters." Christopher laughed and said, "I wish it was that easy. We let them know that they are free to leave, that they don't have to stay here."

If a spirit has no desire to leave the property, then the negotiations come out. "We will then tell them that this isn't their home anymore, that it is so-and-so's home now and they would like you to leave," Christopher said. "It is pretty effective."

On the Web:

NEPA Paranormal: www.nepaparanormal.com

The Weekender NEPA Paranormal June 6,2009

2010-02-24T20:11:00.001-05:00

by John Stish
Weekender Correspondent

When someone speaks of ghosts or “paranormal investigations,” the natural reaction is most often a sigh, a laugh, or if you’re an ’80s child, you picture the Ghostbusters running through New York. According to Bob Christopher, daughter Katie and the rest of the NEPA Paranormal staff, this is no joke.

Inspired by the frequent paranormal encounters in the house they grew up in, the father and daughter, the founders of the paranormal investigation group NEPA Paranormal, aren’t using proton packs and PKE meters.

Kind of like the make-believe Ghostbusters, NEPA Paranormal takes calls from frightened customers who are experiencing unidentified voices and noises in the night that they believe to be paranormal disturbances.

NEPA Paranormal offers investigations and also a cleansing for the haunted homes, if the home owner thinks it’s necessary and grants permission.

“We only do the cleansing if the people want us to,” says Katie, NEPA Paranormal’s case manager. “We’ve had a lot of success with them as well. If the family is religious, we do a house blessing.”

Skeptics can argue that the ghost hunter’s claims of communicating with the mediums are bogus, but they can’t accuse them of scamming anyone, because NEPA Paranormal does not charge their spooked customers for a visit. It’s more of a hobby or passion interest to the group.

“Our main goal is to help these people who are scared and experiencing something they can’t understand,” Katie says. “Just to put somebody’s mind at ease is what it’s all about.”

Gaining much popularity in the area — NEPA Paranormal’s Jim Thorpe Inn investigation was featured on WVIA’s “State of Pennsylvania,” and the group also been interviewed on 97.9 X and Rock 107 — the group hosts some public investigations due to demand. Observers of the public investigations have to reserve their spot with a $25 fee.

Some past public investigations include The Cliff Park in Milford and The Jim Thorpe Inn. The most memorable for the group was the Avondale Mine Disaster investigation.

“We had a brick a thrown at us (at Avondale) and a TV turn on (at Jim Thorpe) by request of the cameraman, who then left the room on account of being totally freaked out,” says Katie.

Interestingly enough, most of the equipment used for the investigations isn’t that out of the ordinary. Digital cameras, flashlights, notebooks and thermometers are just some of the tools used in a routine investigation.

The Ovilus is the newest addition to aid the crew in paranormal research.

“It detects sounds that can’t be heard by the human ear,” says Katie.

The controversial instrument is currently one of the most popular tools in paranormal research. Other instruments include the electromagnetic field (EMF) detectors, which measure the energy and the air, and infrared video cameras.

Some national exposure for NEPA Paranormal came into play when co-founder Bob was asked to do an episode of the Travel Channel’s “Ghost Adventures.” The producers of the show and ghost hunters were interested in a second opinion from Bob.

The investigation took place in Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, Fla., and will air on the Travel Channel on Friday, June 12 at 9 p.m. The site is an all-stone Spanish-built fort initially constructed in 1672 that was in action for most of the late 17th century into the early 19th century. The fort is currently known for its unexplained happenings that are thought to be the spirits of Mari Marti and Manual Abela. The two were chained to the wall and left to die by Marti’s husband, the colonel, who caught the two having an affair.

“The fort is still defended by the spirits of soldiers and haunted by the prisoners once locked inside,” according to a description of the episode on the Travel Channel Web site.

“It’s definitely worth seeing,” says Katie.

NEPA Paranormal. Info: www.nepaparanormal.com. “Ghost Adventures” episode airs Friday, June 12, 9 p.m.

Tha Abington Journal Febuary 24,2010

2010-02-24T20:00:00.003-05:00

The Abington Journal

TimesLeader.com

Looking for their next haunt

By Gerard Hetman ghetman@theabingtonjournal.com

If an apparition in the form of a stately gentleman or elegantly- dressed woman ghost casts a gaze at your houseguests, the staff at NEPA Paranormal may be interested in having your property as the subject of their next investigation.

click image to enlarge

Members of NEPA Paranormal during a recent investigation.

Consisting of approximately 14 close-knit members, NEPA Paranormal is a volunteer-based organization that investigates paranormal happenings, sightings and events occurring in and around Northeastern Pennsylvania. While most members reside in Wilkes-Barre and the Wyoming Valley, the group has traveled around the eastern half of Pennsylvania to investigate paranormal occurrences.

An investigation the group conducted at the Black Horse Inn in Easton was featured on the Nov. 29 episode of the Animal Planet TV series, “The Haunted.” The group has also conducted investigations in numerous other businesses, homes, cemeteries and other locations, and is always seeking cases to look into, according to co-founder and investigator Katie Christopher.

“We pretty much go wherever we are needed, or where people ask us to come and look into whatever spirits they believe may be there,” Christopher said of her group’s method of operation. “We want to help people by debunking whatever may be troubling them in their homes and places of business. If we can help people to feel safe and secure, that’s our goal. We get calls ranging from very extreme sightings, down to very simple incidents. It’s pretty much anything you can imagine.”

A quick visit to the agency’s Web site reveals a list of previous investigations that span a range of locations and establishments. From the Jim Thorpe Inn to the West Mountain Sanitarium in Scranton, there is no shortage of diversity in the group’s past caseload.

Among the most recent clients of NEPA Paranormal is The Inn at Montrose, where the investigators are currently finishing their analysis of a recent investigation. Built in 1925, the hotel and restaurant in Montrose was purchased one year ago by Gretchen Backer and her husband, Dan. According to Backer, the previous owners of the establishment had told her stories about several hauntings in the building, and the staff at NEPA Paranormal soon contacted her after hearing similar stories.

“We have a little boy who knocks on doors in our upstairs, a man who walks in our back dining room, and a gentleman in a plaid shirt that many guests see on our main level,” Backer said of the haunting at her business. “My husband doesn’t believe in them, so I am hoping that man in the plaid shirt gives him a punch in the arm one day!”

According to Christopher, The Inn at Montrose is yet another example of the geographical range that her agency sees in their investigations. While the group has traveled to do investigations in many places within a two-hour driving radius, they have yet to investigate any hauntings or sightings in the Abington area. Always enthusiastic for a new case, Christopher hopes that will change in the near future.

“All sorts of places can be the site of a paranormal occurrence,” Christopher said of her passion. “Even an event or occurrence that took place long before an existing structure was built can carry over to the same property, so you never know what is lurking around any property or building. We know there are many great historic buildings up in that area, along with a lot of new development, so the possibilities for us are very exciting”

To learn more about the work done by NEPA Paranormal, or to contact the group about doing an investigation at your home or business, visit their Web site at www.nepaparanormal.com.

Citizens Voice June 6,2009

2010-02-24T02:36:00.001-05:00

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NEPA Paranormal at the Sayre Library

2010-02-22T09:38:00.000-05:00

Group shares "Paranormal 101" experiences at Sayre Library

Have you ever entered a room and experienced the uncanny feeling that you are being watched by an unseen presence?
Have you seen shadows on the wall when there is nothing nearby to physically cast those shadows? Have you been touched by someone, or heard a voice, when no one is physically present?
Many local people apparently have, because it was standing room only Saturday at the Sayre Library to attend a presentation on paranormal phenomena given by NEPA Paranormal. Director Susan DePumpo-Robinson said that 58 people attended the presentation, and they could have had 150 people if the library had the room to hold them.
The presentation included recordings of paranormal phenomena made by members of NEPA Paranormal. The group was founded two years ago by Katie Christopher of Wilkes-Barre, who, along with her father Bob Christopher, and cousin Chantel Mangat, investigate sightings of ghosts and other supernatural things in various locations throughout northeast Pennsylvania.
Katie Christopher explained that the lecture is basically a "Paranormal 101," lecture, where the group goes over what they do in the field, what equipment they use, and what they experience. After the lecture, the group took questions from the audience.
"We feature some of our best evidence," Katie Christopher explained.
During the presentation, Katie Christopher pointed out many of the strange voices and weird sounds they recorded with a variety of devices at various sites that are reputed to be haunted. Among the devices they use, Katie Christopher said, include the "ovilus," what was developed by a paranormal investigator to record such things as electric disturbances and changes in the atmosphere. Katie Christopher said the idea behind the ovilus is that spirits manipulate such things, in an attempt to communicate with them, and the devices allows them to record those manipulations. Other items used by NEPA Paranormal during its investigations include video cameras, digital voice recorders, digital thermometers, and a device to measure electromagnetic field detection.
During the presentation, Katie, Bob and Chantel pointed out times when they recorded such things as people speaking that could not be attributed to anyone in the room; doors closing unexpectedly; dramatic changes in temperature that could not be explained, and times when they were touched by something that was not physically present.
"We're trying to get the word out about what we're doing," Katie Christopher explained after the presentation. "It's great to be able to do so."
Katie Christopher said that the group maintains a Web site at www.nepaparanormal.com, and they've had 23,000 people visit it since it went up and running.
"We are a group of paranormal investigators from Wilkes-Barre area that covers northeast Pennsylvania and surrounding area," according to the Web site. "We take a scientific approach to the paranormal. We come into a home or business and investigate with professional equipment. We carry the mindset that the place is not haunted, and will not deem a place haunted without concrete evidence. We will also try to recreate all claims of paranormal activity to find logical and human explanations, also known as 'debunking.' We guarantee that any and all evidence found in an investigation, is authentic, and was not altered in any way. We also guarantee complete confidentiality to all of our clients. We will not share any of your information without your written consent."
DePumpo-Robinson said afterward that she was very pleased with the turnout, and hopes the group can come back again in a few months.
C.J. Marshall can be reached at (570) 265-1630; e-mail: cjmarshall@thedailyreview.com.

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