PARANORMAL: Reporter learns what a ghost hunter does
Story By: Rikki CasonPhotos By:
The Journal-Register
The stair creeks below you, something dark catches the corner of your eye, a shiver comes down your back. These were sensations I thought of when I ventured into the Iron Island Museum in Buffalo. I had watched that episode of Ghost Hunters on SciFi, with Jason and Grant hearing footsteps coming towards them, loud noises, shadows and the very distinct EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) saying to leave it alone. That made me a little apprehensive going to the former funeral home to interview staffs of the Center for Paranormal Investigation Association and catch them in action. When I pulled up outside, it didn’t look very scary. It was approaching 8:30 p.m., and the six investigators from CPIA, were preparing for another case.
As you go through the side door of the museum, the garage is what you first come upon. In the garage, many gadgets and technology lay on the table to assist in the night’s investigations.
9 p.m. Set Up
As I walked around the museum for the first time with the lights on, everything seemed quiet. Several of the investigators were putting up cameras, setting up motion detectors and getting the place ready to go dark. With the light on, the museum gave off a creepy feeling. Part of me was scared to be alone, but I resisted the urge to run to the nearest room with a person in it. It was fun to learn why each of the investigators were part of CPIA and how they all anticipated that night’s case. Along one of the walls stood a life-size, cardboard cut-out, of Jeff Gordon (I think). Seeing that thing was one of the creepiest moments of the night. Even when you knew to expect it, turning the corner and seeing a man staring at you, in a place known to be haunted, gave me shivers more than once. At one point, Debbie Pritt, one of the investigators, told me that she had already heard footsteps in one of the rooms she was in. Also, Tim Davis, CPIA director, and David Condoluci, lead investigator, were quickly trying to get a camera in the attic to catch the noises from above. As the set-up began to wind down, a loud beeping noise began. A voice on the walkie-talkie asked Ryan Campbell, tech manager, why he set off the motion sensor and why was it still going on. As the beeping stopped, the investigation was ready to begin and it was time to go dark.
10 p.m. Darkness
Since Iron Island is small, the investigators were split into two groups. One group sat in the garage and watched the cameras that were stationed throughout the house, and the other group headed to the basement. I followed Davis, Pritt and Investigator Jeff Fredricks down the stairs into the basement, which is where the current owners found urns whose remains were never collected by families back when the museum was a funeral home. The basement was pitch black— the only light was from the flashlight Condoluci had given me and the light from Davis’ camera.
The investigators walked around looking for high EMF (electromagnetic field) that could be causing people to see things or feel as though someone is watching you, even though there is nothing there. Fredricks said that high spikes can cause people to get sick, especially if they are sensitive to it.
Pritt, who is the psychic in the group, could feel the presence of a man. She thought that he could be the caretaker from when the building was originally a church. The group sat around and began asking questions, trying to get a response. Pritt asked the spirit to bang on the ventilation shaft or on the pipes, but there wasn’t a response.
As I sat in the dark, I began to feel like something was standing on my left side. Partially afraid to get in the way and partially unsure if I was actually seeing and feeling what I thought I was, I kept the feeling to myself. However, close to that time, Debbie said she felt something lightly touch her back. Jeff then took out a gadget that measured the temperature in the room: It was 70. They asked for the temperature to go lower. Even though there wasn’t an immediate reaction, the temperature began to go down, stopping at the number they asked. They then asked it to back away and make the temperature go up. With a quicker response it went up.
After that, the group headed back upstairs to give someone else a chance in the museum. Other investigators, including Campbell went into a side room to do EVP work. The investigators asked questions like, “What is your name?” “Are you male?” “What year is it?” When there was no response, they began to head into the first room
As we were walking, one of the investigators noticed that her camera battery had drained. At the same time, Campbell saw a battery drain on his voice recorder and the camera I was holding dropped from 25 minutes to 5 minutes remaining on the battery. Batteries are thought to drain when a spirit could be trying to manifest. We continued down the hall and went into a room. The spirit of a little boy had been seen in the room, so CPIA had brought toys for him to play with. As we sat in the room, again the investigators began to ask questions. They also had a K-II meter, which was a device that is supposed to light up if a spirit gets close to it. They asked the spirit to please move in front of the sensor. After several tries, the device lit up.
Ryan also felt as though someone was standing to the right of him and several times he saw shadows walk by. I ,too, felt like something heavier was in front of my chair, but again I questioned if it could just be in my mind. The group of investigators felt that they were successful because the K-II lit up several times when they asked, and they headed back to the garage.
11:30 p.m. Departure
As the night went on, I left the investigators to finish their case. I was heading home, but they still had several more hours of investigation left to go. As I drove away, part of me was relieved about not seeing an apparition of any kind. But the other part of me wanted to see more, in hopes of finding the ghosts and spirits that haunt Western New York. I spoke with Davis about how the rest of the night went at Iron Island, and he said that they heard unexplained noises, saw shadows and were able to pick up more responses with their equipment. The CPIA Investigators wrapped up their investigation at 5 a.m.
Contact reporter Rikki Cason at 798-1400, ext. 8227.
