Post by Michelle on Jul 21, 2008 10:28:01 GMT -5
scrantontimes.com/articles/2008/07/21/news/sc_times_trib.20080721.a.pg3.tt21paranormal_s1.1824666_top5.txt
"Paranormal gurus probe the unknown
BY JESSICA DURKIN
STAFF WRITER
Published: Monday, July 21, 2008 9:36 AM EDT
THROOP — Joe Shock will go to Philadelphia to reach the other side.
On Aug. 3, Mr. Shock will escort a dozen ghost-hunting enthusiasts on an overnight paranormal expedition at Fort Mifflin, where he believes Revolutionary War spirits could reveal themselves.
The fort is the site of the largest bombardment during the American Revolution and was a key fortification defending the Delaware River in 1777, according to the Olde Fort Mifflin Historical Society.
“I think (paranormal research) gives a better understanding of what happens after death: Is there really life after death? — that type of thing,” Mr. Shock said.
“From what I see, I think there is.”
Mr. Shock, 42, is a lifelong enthusiast who started dabbling in paranormal investigations seven years ago. He founded Northeast Pennsylvania Paranormal Investigations and joins a handful of other such groups based in the area whose main goal is to investigate the unexplained.
Mr. Shock said paranormal investigations serve to rule out everyday phenomena that might otherwise seem peculiar. “There’s explanations,” Mr. Shock said.
“Not every place is haunted. We try to go in and disprove the haunting. If we can’t disprove it, then there has to be something to it.”
Mr. Shock started basic investigations with a digital camera and voice recorder, and now spends donations or other contributions on more sophisticated equipment, such as a digital video recorder with infrared capabilities, an electro-magnetic field detector to measure energy spikes and room thermometers to check an environ’s “cold spots.”
He has uploaded a series of voice recordings, or EVPs, from a recent investigation, on his Web site, www.north eastpennsylvaniaparanormal investigations.com, where anyone with an Internet connection can decide if odd voices captured are non-human.
dickson City resident Tom Fritz’s Society for Paranormal Research and Investigation group conducts about 15 investigations a year. Mr. Fritz, 39, is co-director of the group, which has about 100 members and 15 investigators, he said.
“We pretty much go wherever we need,” Mr. Fritz said. “We’ve been from Honesdale to Mount Pleasant, and in Reading.”
Mr. Fritz said he and his wife have been going on paranormal expeditions worldwide for more than 20 years, but about five years ago, the two considered the local coal mining and railroad history and decided to stay closer to home.
“We have a lot of people who have lived in this area, and with a lot of people, you have potential for a lot of paranormal activity,” Mr. Fritz said.
As a policy, Mr. Fritz keeps most investigations confidential. However, the group’s investigative case study of paranormal activity at Andy Gavin’s Eatery & Pub on North Washington Avenue is detailed on the SPRI Web site.
A personal paranormal experience two years ago led Scranton resident James Webber, 26, to form Paranormal Researchers of Scranton. He said he wanted to learn more about the voice he heard and felt whisper “What are you doing?” in his ear as he sat and watched television alone one night.
“What surprised me, when that first happened, I got really excited,” Mr. Webber said. “Other people may have an experience like I had and they may get scared.
“We just try to help people learn to live with it.”
Contact the writer: jdurkin@timesshamrock.com"
"Paranormal gurus probe the unknown
BY JESSICA DURKIN
STAFF WRITER
Published: Monday, July 21, 2008 9:36 AM EDT
THROOP — Joe Shock will go to Philadelphia to reach the other side.
On Aug. 3, Mr. Shock will escort a dozen ghost-hunting enthusiasts on an overnight paranormal expedition at Fort Mifflin, where he believes Revolutionary War spirits could reveal themselves.
The fort is the site of the largest bombardment during the American Revolution and was a key fortification defending the Delaware River in 1777, according to the Olde Fort Mifflin Historical Society.
“I think (paranormal research) gives a better understanding of what happens after death: Is there really life after death? — that type of thing,” Mr. Shock said.
“From what I see, I think there is.”
Mr. Shock, 42, is a lifelong enthusiast who started dabbling in paranormal investigations seven years ago. He founded Northeast Pennsylvania Paranormal Investigations and joins a handful of other such groups based in the area whose main goal is to investigate the unexplained.
Mr. Shock said paranormal investigations serve to rule out everyday phenomena that might otherwise seem peculiar. “There’s explanations,” Mr. Shock said.
“Not every place is haunted. We try to go in and disprove the haunting. If we can’t disprove it, then there has to be something to it.”
Mr. Shock started basic investigations with a digital camera and voice recorder, and now spends donations or other contributions on more sophisticated equipment, such as a digital video recorder with infrared capabilities, an electro-magnetic field detector to measure energy spikes and room thermometers to check an environ’s “cold spots.”
He has uploaded a series of voice recordings, or EVPs, from a recent investigation, on his Web site, www.north eastpennsylvaniaparanormal investigations.com, where anyone with an Internet connection can decide if odd voices captured are non-human.
dickson City resident Tom Fritz’s Society for Paranormal Research and Investigation group conducts about 15 investigations a year. Mr. Fritz, 39, is co-director of the group, which has about 100 members and 15 investigators, he said.
“We pretty much go wherever we need,” Mr. Fritz said. “We’ve been from Honesdale to Mount Pleasant, and in Reading.”
Mr. Fritz said he and his wife have been going on paranormal expeditions worldwide for more than 20 years, but about five years ago, the two considered the local coal mining and railroad history and decided to stay closer to home.
“We have a lot of people who have lived in this area, and with a lot of people, you have potential for a lot of paranormal activity,” Mr. Fritz said.
As a policy, Mr. Fritz keeps most investigations confidential. However, the group’s investigative case study of paranormal activity at Andy Gavin’s Eatery & Pub on North Washington Avenue is detailed on the SPRI Web site.
A personal paranormal experience two years ago led Scranton resident James Webber, 26, to form Paranormal Researchers of Scranton. He said he wanted to learn more about the voice he heard and felt whisper “What are you doing?” in his ear as he sat and watched television alone one night.
“What surprised me, when that first happened, I got really excited,” Mr. Webber said. “Other people may have an experience like I had and they may get scared.
“We just try to help people learn to live with it.”
Contact the writer: jdurkin@timesshamrock.com"