Tyler Wolford said he's never seen a ghost, but he swears he heard one.
Wolford is a member of the Paranormal Research Society at Ball State University, which seeks to legitimize paranormal investigations.
When the group heard screaming on an audio recording last semester, he said it was hard to rationalize the source. He and the group had been searching for the source of footsteps heard on the second floor of a house in Anderson, Ind. When they didn't hear anything on their audio equipment, they resorted to playing cards in the basement and waiting. The next day, they heard screaming on their recording, even though they hadn't heard it the night before.
"We couldn't explain it," he said. "Maybe it was something from outside, but we should have heard it from in the house. That's part of it, facing your fears."
Chris Chambers, one of the founding members, said he's still looking for the right method of paranormal investigation. He knows he can't look to television shows as a model.
"Shows like Ghost Hunters, Ghost Lab and Paranormal Estate, we see it as they're on the third story of a structure, but it's built on sand," he said.
Chambers said their investigations are more credible because they document everything. He said their readings are less prone to human interpretation because they use environmental readings to collect the data.
Benjamin Radford, editor of Skeptical Inquirer magazine, agrees there isn't one correct way to go about it.
"You have to remember, when you don't see or hear a ghost, it could just mean the ghost isn't there at the time you're looking for it," he said. "I don't go into it assuming there's no truth to [ghost hunting], because there can be some truth to it."
The Paranormal Research Society investigated Elliott Hall last semester after some students reported hearing their name being called when they were alone in a quiet dorm. Chambers said they didn't find anything, but he doesn't discredit the students' claims of hearing things.
He said as he's continued searching for the paranormal, he's become more skeptical.
"When I first got interested, I believed in it," he said. "But later I got more skeptical. Classes that I took directed me to a more scientific approach."
For their investigations, the group uses equipment such as infrared cameras, digital voice recorders, electromagnetic field meters, audio equipment and walkie talkies. Chambers said he recently spent $1,800 on computer and broadcast equipment.
Ratford said there are hundreds if not thousands of ghost-hunting groups around the world, and he wonders why people continue to use the same ghost-hunting methods when they tend not to unveil anything.
The Paranormal Research Society hopes to find a good method based on theory.
"Our grand hope is that it gets legitimate enough that we can talk about it in class," Wolford said.
The group conducted four searches in three locations in Muncie and Anderson last semester. This semester, they hope to start an online radio show with Hoosier Heartland and Doc's Music Hall to talk about paranormal activity. They're looking for people interested in broadcasting to help with it. On Feb. 20, they're going to Paranormal Fest at Crump Theatre in Columbus, Ind. They're also planning a trip in late spring to Waverly Hills in Louisville, Ky. The cost for a group of 10 is $1,000. Anyone interested in these events may contact Chambers at cjchambers@bsu.edu.
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