Eastern State Penitentiary, photo courtesy of www.michigansotherside.com.Written by: Stephanie Lulofs
The heavy French door opened and shut - but nobody was near it.
On a dark night, the sunroom was pitch black except for the light coming from the kitchen. Yet something or someone had to open or close that door, but what was it?
Amberrose Hammond, a paranormal investigator, sees this type of event often enough and without an explanation of what caused it. Hammond is in a local group that goes around the West Michigan area and investigates locations that people believe to be haunted.
Paranormal investigation shows, like Sci-Fi's Ghost Hunters, are on the rise and becoming more popular. Hammond said members of her investigating group had high hopes these shows would have potential to show what investigating was like and show people the truth behind it.
“Many of us were excited when they first came out, but we were quickly disappointed as the shows on TV continuously showcased paranormal activity in every show, which is extremely rare,” Hammond said.
Scott Lambert, Hammond’s boyfriend and fellow paranormal investigator, agrees with her that ghost hunting shows are on the rise and they don’t see any signs of it slowing down either.
“People are looking for answers,” he said. “The world around us is in turmoil and in these times people always turn to spirituality in one form or another. Unfortunately, in this case, it is cheap reality-based TV shows that ironically rarely even flirt with reality. The few morsels of information that you may get on these shows have been in books for nearly a century but Heaven forbid anyone picks up a book! Instead we will sit on the couch eating Ben & Jerry’s watching our favorite ghost hunting show and then go on MySpace to discuss it with the other ghost hunters.”
Hammond and Lambert agree that the term “ghost hunter” is just a form of machismo and a term that people use to give ghost hunting more appeal. Lambert prefers to use the term ghost observer or ghost investigator, while Hammond prefers using the term paranormal investigator.
“It has a more serious tone to it than ghost hunter.” Hammond said. “I sort of look at a ghost hunter (as someone) who maybe looks for spooks on the weekends, but a paranormal investigator is someone who takes it a bit more seriously researching and working with people who are experiencing paranormal occurrences.”
Hammond and Lambert have been into paranormal investigation since 2001 when they both finished college.
Paranormal investigation, or ghost investigation requires more than a lot of guts and nerve.
Some of this equipment includes:
- Digital and 35 mm cameras
- Video camera with Night Shot on them
- EMF detectors (Electro Magnetic Field)
- Pen and Paper
- Thermometers
- Digital voice recorders
Hammond and Lambert said a lot of time is spent waiting, and they do not experience the paranormal as often as the television shows portray that ghost investigators do.
Hammond said the time spent on an investigation depends on what kind of place it is and what kind of activity is happening. She said if it is easier to go back several times if it is a public place rather than a private home.
Julie Williams, a fellow investigator, said nothing important is found on most investigations. Sometimes they have to go back to haunted places several times in order to receive anything. However, Williams said the time consuming part comes after the investigation when investigators go over collected material.
“It takes more time going through evidence after the investigation then the investigation itself sometimes,” Williams said. “(Time is spent) going over the audio, video, writing up the report etc.”
Lambert and Hammond have both experienced interesting unexplainable events.
“During one investigation a few years ago, as I was talking to the owners of the residence, I felt something crawling up my leg,” Lambert said. “I stopped talking, looked down and saw nothing. I never felt anything like that before.”
“I’ve learned that paranormal occurrences are quite rare,” Hammond said. “And many things are brought on by our own minds being in a spooked state.”
Hammond said her eight years of paranormal investigation has left her empty-handed as far as paranormal sightings go.
“I’m still an open-minded skeptic and have actually become more of a skeptic doing this,” she said.
Hammond has had a wider variety of experiences such as seeing the heavy French door open and then slam shut on its own, or seeing a moving blue light in a cemetery in Cape Code when no one was around.
“Seeing someone actually get taken over mentally by something,” Hammond said. “It’s hard to explain, but when you see something like that with your own eyes, it makes you wonder what’s really out there and what it’s capable of doing.”
For more information on paranormal investigations done by Hammond and Lambert’s group, or places in the area where there is haunting believed to be going on, go to Michigan's Other Side.
Michigan's Other Side has a blog, which includes updated information on the paranormal world. The photo album includes all of the places the group has visited.
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