When the hit show "Ghost Hunters" aired on the Sci-Fi channel several years ago, it brought increased publicity to exploring the supernatural realm and spawned new interest in amateur hunting.

The show follows a group of hunters known as The Atlantic Paranormal Society while they attempt to locate and document haunted sites.

Area hunters vary in their opinions of the show, but agree that ghost hunting is a pastime that will likely be around for some time to come. While paranormal activity can be located nearly anywhere, hunters are more likely to have experienced it at places of historical significance, such as cemeteries, hospitals, schools, prisons and private residences.

Cemeteries

Nothing could be scarier than a cemetery on a windy October night. Unless, of course, it's known to be a haunted cemetery.

"Haunted cemeteries are the best combination," said Beth *Removed for Privacy*, a Columbus resident who has spent the past 13 years of her life studying cemeteries across the United States, not only for their haunted possibilities, but also for their history and symbolism.

A member of the Ohio EVP and Paranormal Society, she recently took a day off to return to Marion to visit two cemeteries that she said are haunted.

*Removed for Privacy*, who has visited nearly 650 cemeteries, said she is always excited to get the chance to revisit her favorites.

"I have a lot of fun with it," she said.

Armed with a digital camera and an audio recorder, *Removed for Privacy* went straight to the gravesite of Queen Cleo Ann Judge, a gypsy queen said to haunt Marion's Saint Mary Cemetery.

Through research, *Removed for Privacy* has learned that Queen Cleo had traveled through Marion County in the early 1900s. She died March 20, 1905, reportedly from difficulties with childbirth. She was supposedly buried in an upright position and encased in concrete, as was the gypsy tradition.

Through the Web site that she launched nearly four years ago, www.graveaddiction.com, *Removed for Privacy* has received reports of Queen Cleo's spirit wandering the cemetery grounds. It has also been rumored that to vandalize her grave is bad luck as she will put a curse on those who do.

Unfortunately, she knows little more about the gypsy queen.

"I've done a lot of research, but I haven't learned a whole lot," *Removed for Privacy* said. For the gypsy culture, however, that is not unusual, she said; gypsy cultures tend to be extremely secretive. In addition, the history and tradition of gypsies can vary and has only been partially studied.

*Removed for Privacy* recently attended her first national convention for gravestones to broaden her knowledge base concerning cemeteries. While her interests expand into the realm of ghost hunting, the convention included many people with many different interests.

"People are interested in gravestones for different reasons," *Removed for Privacy* said. Some are interested in the stone, others in symbolism, still others in regards to what information can be found, such as cause of death.

The 27-year-old attributes her obsession to her mother.

"I blame my mom. She always liked to tell scary stories," she said. "My sister isn't into this stuff, but it rubbed off on me."

At the Marion Cemetery, *Removed for Privacy* made a slow beeline to the Merchant Ball, the second unusual feature of Marion's cemeteries. The large granite gravestone, which marks the site of the Charles Merchant family plot, consists of a ball that sets atop a base.

The mystery of the Merchant Ball is its movement. On an annual basis, the sphere rotates approximately two inches, *Removed for Privacy* said. While there are different theories as to why it moves, from the mischief of a restless spirit to the effects of gravity that cause the earth to rotate, *Removed for Privacy* said no one knows for sure what causes the movement, which explains the continued fascination it causes.

*Removed for Privacy* said that she has the most luck identifying paranormal phenomenon in older cemeteries, she has received a number of reports from people who have reported strange things at the newer section of Marion Cemetery, located adjacent to the Harding Memorial.

Ghost hunting, *Removed for Privacy* said, is more science than lore. She spends a great deal of her time visiting sites, making recordings and reviewing those recordings. She said that hunting is not for those who are easily spooked.

"It's good to approach ghost hunting with a little bit of skepticism," *Removed for Privacy* said. Not every strange occurrence can be attributed to the paranormal. In fact, she said, it is better to attribute strange happenings to any other possible cause.

In January 2003, *Removed for Privacy*, who wanted a way to share all of the information she gathered, launched her web site. The response she received was far beyond her wildest dreams. On a regular basis she receives contact from fellow cemetery enthusiasts, people reporting encounters with the supernatural and, of course, thrill-seekers who usually come out of the woodwork around Halloween. *Removed for Privacy* said her site usually gets between 3,500 and 5,000 unique visitors a day.

For a ghost hunter who often had to convince reluctant family and friends to join her on her adventures, her web site has provided her with a means to meet others across the United States interested in the same types of experiences.

Private Residences

On Friday, Oct. 13, G.H.O.S.T., or the Ghost Hunters Ohio Search Team, visited a private residence on Marion's northeast side to explore reports of paranormal activity.

Sitting in the pitch black basement, four of the team's members attempted to talk to dead people.

"If you are here, could you please give us a sign?" asked Mark Snodgres, followed by a long period of intense silence.

While the members said they don't expect to hear a response, they were hoping to detect an EVP (electronic voice phenomena) on their audio recorders. Or possibly even activity, whether it be an orb or vapor, on camera.

Nearly every Friday night the team travels to places of reported haunting around Ohio to try to document some kind of proof of the experiences being reported by homeowners.

The team was attracted to Marion after being contacted by a man reporting haunted actions at the home he purchased two years earlier. When he first purchased the home and began some extreme renovations, he began to have some strange activity, such as doors slamming, footsteps on the stairs and misplaced tools.

"A lot of people think that this is exciting, but 90 percent of the time it's boring," said Brenda Shupe, who founded the group two years ago. "Most of it's just waiting."

Recording for eight hours also means the group will have to spend another eight hours watching the tape. When they are able to capture some proof, it makes the time spent all worth it.

"You're just kind of in awe," Shupe said.

In past hunts, the group has captured evidence of paranormal activity in the form of photographs containing orbs and vapors and EVP's that indicate communication with the unknown.G.H.O.S.T. has returned to the Marion home over a half-dozen times since their first visit as they say the residence is an authentic haunted house. During their first visit to the home, the group experienced slamming bedroom doors that had no explanation. Subsequent visits continued to reveal new information, including the sighting of a "shadow figure," described as the outline of a man standing in a doorway.

Shupe warns, however, that not all reports of haunted activity are verifiable. Over the two years the group has been together, they have investigated nearly 100 different sites. Of those, only a handful provided the results they were looking for.

"A lot of people want to have ghosts," Shupe said. Though the group members all have different theories as to why this is, they have to keep this in mind when meeting a homeowner.

"We operate under the philosophy if it can be something else, it is," Shupe said. "You try to come up with some kind of explanation."

The group posts all of their documentation online at their web site, www.ohioghosthunter.com, which keeps them connected with other hunters and those seeking information about hunting.

"It's hard to believe other people's evidence," said group member Angela Newman. "You have to get your own."

Other places

Marion resident Joe Howard stumbled into ghost hunting somewhat accidentally.

"I'm grounded more in science," said Howard, who spends his days working as a registered nurse.

A history buff interested in the Civil War, Howard made a number of trips to Gettysburg, Pa., to study its many battlefields. During one of his trips to the, he learned of a conference being held to discuss paranormal activity at the various sites.

"I thought, 'That sounds interesting,'" he said. "Gettysburg is supposedly the most haunted battlefield in the U.S.."

He signed up and spent the day learning of the various legends associated with the battlefields. At the end of the conference, participants had the option of paying an additional $20 to go on a hunt of a local building.

"These people were talking about orbs and vortexes and all these crazy things," he said, admitting he was extremely skeptical that they would find anything.

During the next few hours, Howard was introduced to the world of the supernatural; the hunters he had tagged along with took dozens of photographs that contained orbs, spherical balls that luminesce. He was hooked.

"I thought, 'I want to look more into this,'" he said. Following his initial experience, Howard read as much as he could on the topic and began purchasing his own equipment. Before he knew it, he was convincing family members and friends to join him on his expeditions.

While he has traveled across the United States investigating reports of haunted hospitals, homes and other sites, his favorite remains Gettysburg, not only because he more often than not he has some type of paranormal experience, whether it be his equipment shutting down, a drop in temperature or a rare vapor sighting, but also because he knows its history.

"History evolved into folklore at some point," Howard said, explaining why following reports of haunting can be difficult to prove. Many ghost stories and legends that still circulate were at some point based in historical fact, however, like a game of 'telephone,' the facts become blurred with embellishments that have been added through the years.

Because the history of Gettysburg has been carefully documented and because Howard has studied the sites in-depth, he said he is better able to discern and interrupt paranormal phenomenon. Skepticism is a tool that Howard continues to carry with him.

"You have to start with the idea that nothing is haunted," he said, adding that while he has honed his hunting skills, he still doubts some of his "evidence."

"These orbs, nine times out of 10, are dust particles," Howard said.

Howard said that in a world where science has taken the fun out of many things, paranormal experiences remain inexplicable and, therefore, interesting.

For Howard, sometimes having a question is better than knowing the answer.

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