( a passion for the paranormal-- )

a passion for the paranormal

by jennifer hetrick

while anticipating the possible 2012 release of ghostbusters iii, members of boyertown paranormal are busy establishing roots for studying some less than ordinarily exposed elements of activity in our locale.

the group came together officially a year ago in january and consists of four core members and a junior investigator, kelsey schlegel.

regulars kevin hojecki, gary schlegel, rick yoder, and brian klingerman sometimes bring stand-ins or helpers on investigations but usually only have two team members in a space at a time to avoid discouraging spirits in question from wanting to communicate.

kevin said his interest in the paranormal sparked while he was 11-years-old. he noticed a shadow walking away from his bed for a few nights following his father’s death. he searched the room but found no evidence to support a shadow’s presence.

the crew used to tag along on investigations with the lehigh-based research and investigate paranormal activity group prior to forming their own organization.

with the hefty cost of equipment, they joked that before choosing their official name, they considered calling themselves low-budget paranormal because of buying used materials at cash converters.

for those who are skeptical, the group stresses that from what they’ve seen, they think paranormal activity is real, and they believe it is largely influenced by personal experiences—the ones that keep egging their curiosity into the build of investigation after investigation.

a major misconception the group sees as cultivated by the past few decades of horror films is that spirits will hurt those who are still alive, but they said usually they’re just lost, very attached to their former living places, clinging to trauma—often unaware that they’re dead, in the case of sudden accidents, or for one reason or another, haven’t crossed over yet.

team members have so far scoped out a few residential properties, schools, and firehouses since forming last year. they noted that they’d love to do more investigations in people’s homes, but often a wife or husband is anxious for the visit and analysis while the other is hesitant, with a few backing out of the agreement at the last minute.

boyertown paranormal performs investigations for free and keeps details confidential for its clients, likening their approach to that of the atlantic paranormal society on the syfy show ghost hunters, working diligently to rule out interference or false readings before considering the presence of spirits on a site.

during investigations, the group uses video cameras, digital cameras, voice recorders, k-ii meters, and other devices to detect the presence of lingering spirits.

k-ii meters measure electromagnetic fields along with increases and decreases in energy levels in a space. with several blinking light indicators, the group can ask yes or no questions, usually not hearing a voice response, (as spirits do not have vocal cords, said gary,) unless they have drawn enough energy to be heard by human ears.

yet when voice recordings of questions are played back, replies are often embedded in them, as digital mechanisms can track the speaking. several samples of this are on boyertown paranormal’s facebook page.

in photographs, gary said orbs of light are often dust particles when translucent, but when solid and of color, they are more likely evidence of spirits, and those colors carry emotions—like blue being curious and red, angry.

( this window scene is a close-up of the second floor window of a berks county school, 

with the view of a wolf's head on a pile, said kevin hojecki )

( in front of this monument, a visible mist could be 

a soldier on a horse, explained kevin hojecki )

( in a restaurant / beauty salon, this mirror looks to have the face 

of a child in it, said to be roaming the building, kevin hojecki revealed )

( photographs courtesy of boyertown paranormal ) 

kelsey explained that brand new batteries the group uses in its equipment often drain and die quickly because spirits need an energy source to draw from to communicate and make themselves known. it must be something already connected and in use, like one of their handheld electronics, as a pack of batteries or a few set out on a table are of no use to spirits.

the group has traveled out of town for several investigations but hopes to land more leads in the boyertown region. outside of this area, fleetwood, reading, kutztown, and phoenixville all have their own paranormal activity investigating groups.

as many people know, the larger part of odd happenings in haunted homes occur when property owners try to renovate or change a building from the specifics of how it was last known by the spirits of those who are giving the paranormal its name. this is often when boyertown paranormal receives requests for investigations, with the end goal to not necessarily remove them but identify the spirits and figure out why they are are making themselves known.

to find out more about boyertown paranormal, search for them on facebook.