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Managing Editor Is Chicopee the center for paranormal investigation in New England? A new book, "Ghost Hunters of New England," detailing the organizations dedicated to ghost hunting, lists three organizations with Chicopee connections more than any other community listed in the book. Representatives of two of the three groups Sarah Gabrenas of New England Paranormal (NEP) and Tammy Biller of SIGNS spoke with Reminder Publications about the growing interest in ghosts and the demand for their services. Both women credit the popularity of the Sci Fi Channel show "Ghost Hunters" as being the catalyst for the current boom in interest in both people seeking answers to phenomena in their homes and in wanting to join an investigation organization. Both women were drawn to the field because of their own history with the paranormal and both said the first effort each group makes in an investigation is to try to find a non-paranormal explanation for an event. Neither group accepts payment for their services. And, yes, both women have encountered events that have frightened them. New England Paranormal A former Chicopee resident, Gabrenas said that NEP was founded by Steve Gonsalves, a Chicopee native, who is a part of The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS), the group featured on "Ghost Hunters." She said that NEP assists TAPS in investigations and that NEP members have been seen on the show. She herself hasn't been on the show. "I like being behind the scenes," she said. Gabrenas, a co-director of NEP, came into investigating through her uncle, a ghost hunter based in Pennsylvania. She listened to his stories around the kitchen table and began her own career over 10 years ago. The members of NEP buy their own equipment and support themselves. She said some groups have dues to raise their operating budget. NEP has done a lot of work in Western Massachusetts, she said. She is particularly interested in investigating Mount Holyoke College. Some groups use a person with psychic abilities or a medium in its investigations, but NEP employs only science, she explained. The investigators use audio and video equipments as well as devices to measure temperature and electromagnetic swings. The goal of any investigation is "to try to make people understand what's going on," she said. Many people contact the group out of fear and hope the investigators can arrive at a non-paranormal explanation. Gabrenas has seen unexplained shadows and measured cold spots an indication of paranormal activity. She said that during one investigation in which the ghost of a child was present, the investigators asked the entity if he could lower the temperature. Their equipment measured the temperature decreasing from 65 to 63. They then asked if he could raise it and the thermometers measured the temperature quickly going to 67. She said there was one case, which she described as "different," with a presence she called "demonic." Although she didn't go into the details, she said that in such a situation an investigator has to "take yourself [emotionally] out of the situation and ask [yourself] what happened." She admitted, though, she was afraid. NEP can be reached through its Web site at www.newenglandparanormal.com. Spirit SIGNS Tammy Biller of Chicopee is one of the three co-founders of Spirit SIGNS, which began in 2004. For Biller, the group is a continuation of experiences she has had since childhood. Her husband Jay had an interest in ghost hunting and the pair even investigated during their honeymoon. "It was fascinating to us," she said. The couple met "like-minded" people and decided to form a group to try to help people. The members of SIGNS range from having careers in the health field to cable television installers, she said. The impact of "Ghost Hunters" has resulted in two groups of people contacting SIGNS, she said. One group is people who have had long-time unexplained events in their home, while the other are folks who have developed suspicions due to the watching of the show. Biller said most of the cases they investigate come from residences whose owners are seeking some sort of closure. She added the majority of people who contact them are afraid. Biller hesitated calling herself a "psychic." "I just know things. I pick up on things," she said. She said the investigators interview the people involved first to determine what kind of investigation they would like. If they want a purely scientific effort that's what they get, she explained. The group seeks in every investigation to capture proof of an anomaly. If Biller is asked to use her abilities, she will do a walk-through of the building to see what she "feels." She said that at one investigation she believed the spirit of a slave woman was still staying in the home's attic. The group's historic investigator discovered that such a person lived in the house and was buried in a cemetery across the street. Biller has also been scared during one especially harrowing investigation that has taken place over a year and a half involving a "very dominant spirit who does nasty things to the homeowners all of the time." Although one of the group's rules is never to provoke a spirit, during one session group members asked the entity to speak its name. The question was met with a burst of energy that drained the batteries of the recorder. More questions resulted in a burst that knocked Biller to the ground and emptied the batteries of all the group's night vision cameras. They did record one sentence: "You don't belong here." The group which is a non-profit funds activities by hosting special events open to the public. On Oct. 18, SIGNS will host a presentation on the paranormal and a dinner followed by an investigation of a church in Chicopee. The cost for the event is $40 per person. For more information call 563-0360. Biller said that not every investigation yields interesting results and that at times the job of ghost hunting can be boring. When something does happen, she said, "It's an adrenaline rush." |
