Move aside Ghost Busters.
Any unhappy spirits haunting local homes must now answer to the Central Raleigh Paranormal investigation team.
The organization a nonprofit team of research investigators" seeks to provide answers to seemingly unexplainable events plaguing Triangle residents.
""We want people to feel comfortable in their homes"" investigator Niki Sherman said. No one should feel alone when they are dealing with potentially paranormal activity.""
Central Raleigh Paranormal" founded in January by Jason Jording and Paul and Niki Sherman" has tried to fill a gap in community resources.
""The community didn't have anywhere to go to prove that these things really are happening" that they are sane and that others have gone through the same thing" Niki Sherman said. It's really a search for answers that aren't out there.""
Each member has had personal experience with the uncanny and paranormal.
""People told me stories about my psychic great-grandmother"" Jording said. She once predicted the death of a neighbor months before it happened.""
And team members believe paranormal activity does sometimes exist.
Using digital voice and video recorders" electromagnetic field detectors and digital thermometers" the group has been able to record electronic voice phenomena and ghostly images.
""We base our investigations on the theory that ghosts are energy in manifest" Paul Sherman said. You can't always see or hear them" but you get a funny feeling occasionally.""
Interest in the paranormal has gone through cycles in the American psyche"" according to Erik Larson's ""Thunderstruck"" a New York Times best-seller.
The early 20th century saw a rise in occult societies, séances and ghostly interventions, along with a crowd of scientific-minded debunkers who sought to disprove the frauds all too common during this time.
People want to delude themselves into thinking there's an afterlife after we die"" said DJ Simons, a third-year psychology graduate student. Some people can handle the fact that when you die" you just rot in the ground and some just can't" so they use ghosts as a way to explain death.""
Members of Central Raleigh Paranormal are willing believers.
""Before I got involved with the group" I was skeptical myself Paul Sherman said. If you give us a chance" you might be surprised what you find.""
But during routine home and business investigations"" they look for conventional explanations first.
Past scientific answers have ranged from faulty wires sparking to air conditioning units clanking.
""We don't need paranormal explanations to be successful in our investigations"" Niki Sherman said.
The four volunteers for the nonprofit group have full-time jobs of their own, and funding often comes from the volunteers themselves.
We are local people who are here to help" who want to help people find some comfort in their home or place of business" Niki Sherman said.
Simons recognizes the appeal of ghostly explanations for events, but he still has his doubts.
I'm not anti-ghost" he said. But if there were ghosts" scientists would tell us there are ghosts. Some people just need ghosts to explain the unexplainable.""
WHO YOU GONNA CALL?
Contact the Central Raleigh Paranormal Investigation Team at
webmaster@central-rpit.com.
Listen to whispers and other recordings at www.central-rpit.com/pics_and_evps.
Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.
