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Pursuing the Paranormal
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Tracy Ahrens
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Neighbors
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08.21.08
On July 26 the Chicago Paranormal Research Society (CPRS) conducted the first of three investigations at Teapots Cafe, 610 Gould Street in Beecher, along with the building just south of it at 606 Gould Street. Both are owned by Bob Tully and have shown signs of paranormal activity.
A team of eight researchers gathered evidence in both buildings for eight hours, beginning at 8 p.m.
Tim, who asked to leave his last name confidential for work reasons, led the CPRS team.
"Paranormal scientists are what we call ourselves," Tim said. "We put a body of evidence together at each investigation to determine if paranormal activity exists at that location. We also put a lifetime body of evidence together to determine if 'ghosts' exist in general.
"I'm not an expert on the paranormal and no one is," he stressed. "We come from the skeptical science side of paranormal investigation. This is why we gather information and take out anything that may be false.
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"We are very serious in the research we do," Tim said. "Our organization has spent thousands of dollars on equipment and is really out to disprove as much as we are to prove that spirits exist."
After evidence by the team is gathered from voice recorders, video cameras, infrared thermometers, cameras and electromagnetic field detectors, the members review it collectively to rule out what could be simply "junk" and what is paranormal.
On this night, the team detected several findings both at 610 and 606 Gould, Tim said. A full report will be given when all three nights of investigations are complete. Three investigations are usually needed because one night often doesn't produce results.
"The two areas where most activity was noted were in the sitting room (an addition at the back of 606 Gould) and in the former butcher shop (in the basement of 610 Gould)," he said. "We did get a few EVP readings in the sitting room, including footsteps, and activity was noted on an EMF detector in the butcher shop and in the sitting room.
"We are still going over 24 hours of video tape and examining several hundred pictures taken that night," he added.
Paranormal investigators believe that spirits are made up of electromagnetic energy. During ghost hunts, electromagnetic field detector (EMF) readings that are unexplainable are often recorded.
EMF is a tool that was not developed for ghost hunting, Tim said, but it does seem to provide some evidence that a spirit could be materializing in the area.
EVP stands for electronic voice phenomenon (the voices and sounds of the dead) that can be detected with a digital audio recorder. EVP is a valid form of paranormal evidence gathering that has been examined since the turn of the century, Tim said.
During the investigation, in the basement of Teapots, one member experienced the feeling of their hair moving up the back of their head and tingling of their fingers like someone was touching them. This happened in the same area where another investigator recorded a jump in an EMF reading.
The person who felt her hair move "began to feel sick to her stomach while in the butcher shop and had to leave the area after being there just 10 minutes," Tim said.
This "touching" sensation coincides with other paranormal "touching" experiences people have felt directly upstairs in Teapots.
CPRS investigators do not ask owners about "activity" in a building or location before they conduct their research. They only research history on a building or location, such as what it was used for, who lived there and if anyone died there.
"We don't want to be influenced by stories about (spirit) activity before an investigation," Tim said.
As the CPRS Web site notes, the group, formed in 2005, strives to "investigate thoroughly and objectively, seeking out all possible explanations before accepting evidence as supportive of paranormal activity."
Several members of their organization have been investigators in other paranormal groups since 1995.
They use scientific equipment for their research, such as EMF detectors, infrared cameras, digital cameras, digital audio recorders and a DVR system that allows four cameras to be operated at once.
Investigations, which are free, take place at night. At night, locations are more quiet, Tim said. Spirit activity, however, can happen at all hours of the day and night.
Clients contact CPRS by phone or e-mail with a "request" for an investigation. A CPRS member calls them back with questions and a team is organized to research the history of the property to make sure the request is legitimate.
From that point, a lead investigator plans the search and brings in a team. Equipment is brought to the location and information is recorded as the team rotates to different areas of the building. Periodically, the teams report by walkie-talkies back to the lead investigator at a control station in the building.
With evidence gathered, the investigators leave. Up to three visits on different nights are performed. Members sift through the material at a different location.
After materials are reviewed, the client is informed of what is found.
Clients sign a waiver noting if they wish to publicly disclose, or not disclose, the paranormal findings.
Paranormal investigations are kind of like fishing, Tim said. "You cast a line, do a search and every once in a while you note something really big."
In the 13 years that Tim has done paranormal investigations with two organizations, he's only had a "slight tap on the back" by a spirit during an investigation.
Hauntings most often encountered are residual hauntings, a haunting that happens over and over again.
These are past events that are replayed.
"It's like the story of a man who comes home every day from work, closes the front door and walks down the hallway," Tim said. "The people living in that house may hear a door close and footsteps at the same time every day.
"They say 70 percent of the population has had an encounter with the afterlife, but they don't want to talk about it," Tim said.
People who learn that Tim is a paranormal investigator either respond with "That's cool," or "Are you an idiot?" he said.
"Through the years many forms of paranormal activity have been documented," he said. "Too many people have seen stuff during research. There is legitimate stuff happening out there that has been scientifically shown."
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If you would like to read more about the Chicago Paranormal Research Society, see their Web site at www.chicagoparanormal.org. You can also contact them at 773-489-5664 or e-mail them at information@chicagoparanormal.org.
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