Everyone who knows me knows that I love ghosts
and zombies. I’ve been seeing the dearly departed since I was two years old, and I've always been interested in what goes on during a professional ghost investigation? I’ve had the pleasure of doing many ghost investigations with several different groups including one with a
very capable team known as Jersey Paranormal Investigations. I was able to find
out more about the team by interviewing three of the board members: Maureen
Carroll, Nikki Steward and Toni Gushue. Join me now as we learn what is takes
to search for spirits.
Thank you Maureen, Nikki and Toni for taking
this time to explain your work to my readers.What
is Jersey Paranormal Investigations, and why was it formed?
MAC
- JPI was founded in November of 2015 by people with many years of experience
in the paranormal field. We were looking to do things just a little
different (such as expanding Paraunity and letting the members have greater
control over the group as a whole), and thus Jersey Paranormal Investigations
was formed. I've been investigating since August of 2006, so this is my
10-year anniversary! JPI's investigators are all serious-minded
individuals whose main focus is the well-being of our clients. No matter
if the client is a private house, business, or historic location, JPI treats
them equally with respect and strives to achieve what the clients have
requested of us--evidence, counseling, fundraising, etc. All of our members are
volunteers and receive no monetary compensation. Our services are free and JPI
is an official 501(c) (3) charitable organization.
Maureen and Nikki
What
are the duties of the Board Members?
Nikki:
The duties are to take over
the world... Hahaha Just kidding. The JPI Board of Directors is like the
engine of a car. We are a big component of what makes it run, but not
without the rest of the parts working too. We oversee the day to day
operations of the group but also try to keep our members as involved as
possible in decisions. This includes, but is not limited to, helping with
new member interviews and voting on group expenditures. We oversee all
of our fundraisers and public events as well. Board Members review
questionnaires, schedule cases, and review case reports with the help of our
Case Manager, Beth.
Toni: There are
currently 4 Board Members and seats-Director-Nikki, Co-Director-Maureen,
Secretary-Toni and Treasurer-Sharon. Collectively, the four of us run the day
to day operations of the group, including training, financials, meeting
minutes, dispute resolution, networking with other groups, setting up
investigations and fundraisers etc. The
Board positions are elected positions, chosen by the membership, and each seat
is for one year, beginning January 1st of the year. This is something that I think makes our
group unique, as well as we put the power in the hands of the membership.
Toni and Nikki
Often, paranormal groups have a Director and that's it, they
are the Director for the tenure of the group.
This isn't necessarily the case with our group. Plus, in having four Board Members, if we are
that split on making a day to day decision where it is a 50/50 vote, we will
bring the subject to our membership and have them vote on the topic and give
them the power to have a say in how the group is being run.
What
inspired you to do investigations?
MAC
- I've always had an interest in the paranormal, but when I was growing up,
there weren't any of the paranormal shows that are so common on TV now. Sightings and In
Search Of were pretty much it. I had three experiences that I
can recall growing up, but the one that sticks out the most was when I was
around 16 or 17. It was Christmas Eve and my Mom and I were up late
wrapping gifts. Everything was spread out on her bed, unwrapped, when we
both heard footsteps coming down from upstairs. My house was built in
1906, and the stairs were made from Oak. Each step had a distinctive
sound and we could tell someone was coming down (as opposed to going back up).
My Mom asked me to see who was coming down. I checked all the rooms
as I made my way to the staircase and no one was there. I even went
upstairs and checked, but everyone was asleep--even the cat. When I went
to tell my Mom, we both thought it was weird, but didn’t' think much more of
it. The thing I find most odd now is that my mother has absolutely no
memory of this ever happening.
Toni:
I
always had an interest in the paranormal since I was young. My uncle's former residence was haunted and I
had an experience there when I was a kid and spent the night at the house. My cousin and I were sleeping in her bedroom
in bunk beds. She had locked the door
from the inside, why I don't know but she did.
When we woke up the next morning, a small table had been moved across the
room. She and I were young, maybe 8 and 6, so we weren't strong enough to have
moved the table and the door to the bedroom was still locked when I got up to
use the bathroom that morning. There
were a number of stories about things being moved around or going missing in
that house.
My Nana was always very interested in the idea of ghosts and
aliens and would read about them a lot, which was surprising to me as most
Italian grandmothers aren't talking about Lizzie Borden while they are stirring
the sauce. So, when she was done with a
book, she would pass it off to me and then we'd talk about it afterwards. It
was always our thing that was just between us. She will be 90 this year and now
watches the paranormal shows and we will talk about my experiences on
investigations and I will show her evidence we have obtained from public or
historical locations (private clients are always kept strictly confidential).
Nikki: I grew up in homes that had paranormal
activity in them. I became somewhat obsessed with the paranormal when I
was about 11 or 12. At the time, my mom was starting to really delve into
her genealogy. We would spend countless hours at libraries, county
probate offices and of course cemeteries. While she spent her time
pouring through records and microfiche at the libraries, I searched for any and
all books on ghosts and hauntings. Fast forward to 2003, a family friend
was visiting and we took a photo of her. Right over her face was what we
believed to be an "orb". This seemed to reignite my
passion for the paranormal. I sat down on the computer and started doing
some research. I found my former group, SJGR, and applied to join, curious
about what I would learn and how I could help others. Luckily, they saw
value in what I had to offer and the rest is history. I have spent many
years involved in the paranormal since then. While i was not always with
an organized group, i have always used my passion and intuitive abilities to
help those who are in need. It brings me great satisfaction helping those
who may be scared or do not understand why they have activity happening in
their home or business.
What
type of cases do you investigate?
MAC:
JPI handles all types of cases from the innocuous to "Emergency"
cases that require experienced investigator. These cases may be human or
inhuman, but are considered highly negative in nature. We also do a lot
of work with historic locations, bringing awareness of the location and
fundraisers.
Toni:
I
have only been doing paranormal investigations for about a year, but we are all
trained to handle whatever we may encounter along the way. Sometimes we may go into a residence or
business thinking it will be calm and the investigation is going to go one way
and anything can happen, so we must always be prepared to roll with the
punches. If we know we are walking into
a situation where we believe there to be negative entities at work, we have members
of the group who have specialized training and experience that we can send on
that type of case. Nikki has a wealth of
experience in this area.
Nikki: JPI handles many different types of cases,
including what we consider a "casper" case, which is generally just a
human spirit who may be trying to get the attention of the owners, etc.
We also will handle more intense hauntings which may be human or inhuman.
Site of Investigation at Red Mill
What
training is required to do this work?
MAC:
There are several classes that are taught to our trainees before they can be
considered for full membership. These include Psychic Protection,
Equipment Training, Electronic Voice Phenomena Training, Evidence evaluation,
Understanding the procedures and by-laws of JPI, Cemetery Training,
Preternatural Training, and many investigations to gain experience and
confidence. It takes approx. 3 months, but mostly depends on the
individual and if the BOD/members feel that person is qualified to obtain full
membership status.
Toni:
If
someone is an experienced investigator and wishes to join the group, we may
just ask them to take a refresher in an area, so that we know they are
proficient in it or trained to do things the way we do them within JPI.
Nikki: I believe that it is irresponsible to bring
investigators into the homes of our clients without as much information and
training as we can provide for them. While I understand that the
paranormal is still a field that there is much to learn about, there are still
some basic trainings that are an important foundation for all investigators.
Is
it required to have some psychic abilities to do investigations?
MAC:
No, that's a falsity some people believe, but the number 1 ability we require
is for people to listen and learn. We are all born with the ability to
interact with spirit energy, but most lose it over time--usually between 7 to
10 years old. However, it is something you can get back with a bit of
work. We say it's like a muscle that atrophies... you can work on the
muscle to get it strong and fully functioning again. It's the same with
our psychic abilities.
Toni:
Not
at all. In fact, we joke within the
group that I have absolutely no psychic abilities whatsoever! What is required is a willingness to learn,
to listen and patience. Patience is key
because paranormal investigating isn't like it is on TV where all kinds of
stuff happens in that hour span for the show.
Those filmings take days generally.
It's a lot of sitting in the dark, in the quiet, waiting for something
to happen. Then it's hours of evidence
review-audio, video, photo and the more equipment you own, the longer it takes
to review everything.
Nikki: This is a bit of a trick question, as I
believe that EVERYONE has psychic abilities! That aside, it is absolutely
NOT required for our members have any psychic abilities. An open mind is
the most that we require in that sense. It is really beneficial to have a
good mix of people with varying abilities.
Why
do ghosts stay at a particular home or site, and how do you handle the
troublesome ones?
MAC:
There is usually a reason why ghosts and spirits stay where they do, but we
might not always know the reason. Some stay with living family members,
especially during the holidays, milestones, and life-changing events.
Just as our family wants to be there to support us in life, they continue
to do so after they have passed. Another reason is they are attached to
the home, land, or a physical object. It's completely understandable if a
person spends 30+ years, for example, in their home, and then wants to remain
there after they pass. Maybe to them, that's their version of heaven.
When a spirit becomes troublesome, there might be a reason for it--such
as they are just trying to let you know they are there for you during a
particular time, or they just want to be acknowledged that someone realizes
they still exist even though their physical body has died. No matter what
the reason, we tell our clients they own the space they are living in and they
need to take control of it. They need to make the location feel like
their home, bring in light, live plants and maybe add a fish tank. They
also need to set boundaries, such as telling the spirit what they want or don't
want from them. People have every right to ask a spirit not to disturb
them when they are in the shower or trying to sleep. We just tell them to
be firm, but respectful, and to set boundaries when they are not in fear or
angry. We want to keep everything as positive as possible.
Nikki:
Since we have an extensive
questionnaire and investigation process, we often hope to handle any issues
very early on. I have had many experience with spirits that were just
plain ol' grumpy and unhappy with the residents, to Native American spirits
that felt their land was being disrespected. Each of these situations has
to be handled with complete care and understanding. Sometimes we have to
get an understanding of any religious beliefs that may be holding the spirit to
a location and if that is causing the conflict. I have had experiences
where I've had to not only counsel the homeowners and help them understand why
things are happening and how to deal with it, but also there are times when I
have had to counsel the spirits as well.
Walk
us through the set-up of an investigation beginning with that first call from a
client.
MAC:
Once a client contacts us, we send them out a questionnaire. This is a
form that gives us all the information about the client and the case, starting
with contact information, general history of the location and how much time
they've been living there, and then questions about what they have been
experiencing. Are they hearing voices or sounds? Smelling things
out of the ordinary? Seeing apparitions? Have there been other groups
involved? If so, what was their assessment of the case? etc.
Toni:
Once
we get the questionnaire back, our Case Manager, Beth, will reach out to the
client via phone and confirm details as well as get more information if
possible. After Beth speaks with the
client, she confirms with the Board and we decide how we will proceed with the
case. If we are responding to the
location, a team leader will be assigned to conduct a short preliminary
investigation. This involves meeting the
client and discussing information more in depth, getting a feeling for the
location and its layout etc.
MAC:
The BOD will read the report and make a decision on what will help the client
the best way--either doing an investigation or counseling, etc. If the
client is very sensitive to spirit energy, they might not necessarily need an
investigation. They just need to know how to handle their sensitivity.
That's where counseling is going to be more effective and help the client
more than an investigation would. Ultimately, that's what we want... to
make sure that we have satisfied the client's needs and met their
expectations.
Toni:
Each
case is really a case by case scenario because no two cases are ever the same
and each location and client may have different needs that we need to
meet. Our number one priority is just to
do everything in our power to satisfy the client and make sure their needs are
met and they are happy with whatever the outcome is.
It
isn't always easy for people to talk about paranormal experiences-plenty of
times we have heard "You might think I'm crazy, but" and then they
will go on to tell us something that they've experienced. No, we don't think you're crazy, we've heard
most everything. That's why it was
imperative that we put the words "without judgment" in our mission
statement. We don't want a client to
every feel judged or condescended when they are reaching out to us for
assistance.
How
can people contact you and is there a fee?
MAC:
We are very active on our social media pages, so Facebook, twitter, Instagram,
etc. They can also email us at JPIHauntedHelp@gmail.com or visit our website
at Jersey Paranormal. com All of our services are free of charge to the public.
Our most recent cases
have been investigating The Red Mill Museum in Clinton NJ. In September, JPI will be conducting a
paranormal fundraising event for them.
We have only been able to do 2 investigations, yet the evidence
collected from The Red Mill has been excellent and we haven’t finished
evaluating all the evidence as yet! We
have video of a trigger prop’s activation, another of a possible light anomaly,
and a slew of EVPs, some of which are interactive with investigators. There were personal experiences such as
investigators being touched, seeing shadows, and hearing disembodied
voices. The Red Mill certainly lived up
to its haunted reputation!
Thank you, ladies. If anyone is interested in learning more
about ghost investigations or if you think your home is haunted, you now know
who to call.
