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Ghost Enthusiasts Try To Scare Up People's Interest
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Published: September 6, 2008
TAMPA - Some people might view Lee Ehrlich, co-founder of Ghost Pros, as a Ghostbuster like in the popular movies.
But Ehrlich, 47, says he and his crew are more like "paranormal plumbers" who step back to look at what a situation truly is.
"You're neither halfway to discovery or halfway to disappointment. Objectivity is at the wheel," he said.
The Cape Coral-based paranormal investigator was one of the guest speakers today at a paranormal conference at the Cuban Club in Ybor City. Ghost Pros co-sponsored the event with the group Tampa Ghost Watchers, drawing about 50 attendees.
Ghost Pros has shiny white vans filled with infrared cameras, high-wattage audio equipment and digital video recorders, but "a lot of what we do is sensitive and intuitive," Ehrlich said.
Some clients genuinely believe they see paranormal activity and want to know they're not crazy, he said. He's seen apparitions and objects thrown at him and heard phantom voices while on an investigation.
"A lot of it is making people feel good about things – that they're not crazy, we see it too," he said.
Others read into phenomena like electrical problems and arcs of light in photos because they're worried whether deceased loved ones are at peace.
One woman thought her house was haunted because of different sounds around the time her father died; it turns out she was fretting that he was in limbo, Ehrlich said. In that case, reassuring conversation made her "ghost" disappear.
"It has a lot to do with your belief system," he said. "Sometimes people just need to hear it's OK."
Ehrlich doesn't think charging clients money is proper. He said his equipment is paid for through seminars and promotions such as T-shirt sales.
"It would be taking advantage of people's misfortune. That's not what we do," said Ehrlich, who earns his living through another business.
Tonya Hacker and Tammy Wilson, both 35 and from Oklahoma, also don't charge for their investigations. They're known as the Ghost Divas, ghost hunters and online bloggers with a skeptical streak.
Hacker's regular job is at a nonprofit organization and Wilson works as a paralegal.
"Anybody that charges for paranormal investigations is a fraud. It's unethical," Hacker said.
Armed with a tape recorder, a video recorder, an electromagnetic detector and historical research, the Divas say they visit clients to try to record and explain mysterious voices, bad dreams and other happenings. They love history and consider themselves on a search for the truth that sometimes takes them into unorthodox territory.
"We go in assuming it's not haunted and hoping we find something," Wilson said. "It is kooky and wacky, and we laugh at it all the time."
Author Andrea Dean Van Scoyoc, 39, of Port Richey said coincidences unexplained through science and facts keep alive her belief in the paranormal.
"I'm not prone to flights of fancy. I don't have an overactive imagination. For me, it's what did you see? Where were you? Where's your proof?" said Van Scoyoc, who shared her true-life experiences from the book, "A Walk in the Moonlight."
Van Scoyoc remembered growing up in a house where the previous owner's spirit didn't like renovations - like the bathroom her parents added.
"Every time you went in the bathroom, you would feel like somebody was outside the door," she said. "He used to walk through the living room to the foyer and through that door."
Attendees – many of whom belong to Tampa Ghost Watchers – enjoyed meeting others who shared their interests and found the different viewpoints fascinating.
"I would like to believe in ghosts, but I want proof. I want to see for myself," said Teri Petway, 37, of Lutz. "I've had some strange experiences … shadows, things like that. Nothing too extreme but enough to rattle your nerves."
Another speaker, author Murray Silver of Savannah, Ga., suggested that anyone who encounters a ghost should find out who it is and what it wants.
"All ghosts indicate to me is that there is no end to life. The bad news is, it's a pitiable condition," Silver said. "I think they manifest because they need help. … It's not there for you to take a picture of it and say, 'Isn't that weird?' It's in search of you for a reason."
Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800 or vkalfrin@tampatrib.com.
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