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| Photo by Kelly Roncace |
When The Atlantic Paranormal Society brought "ghost hunting" to mainstream television more than 10 years ago, it brought modern-day, scientific paranormal research out of the shadows.
Fans of the paranormal - across the country and the world - joined together and formed their own teams similar to TAPS, and went out into the darkness to try and communicate with the spirit world.
Not only did the popularity of searching for spirits bring groups of people together into their own teams, but the phenomenon has created a community of ghost hunters who all have a common bond.
Jersey Unique Minds Paranormal Society — the group I currently investigate with — has had the opportunity to meet and work with many other investigators from all over the east coast.
But on June 12, I got the exciting opportunity to investigate Burlington County Prison with Simply Paranormal UK, the second largest paranormal research group in Britain.
Founder and director Tyler Evans created the group in 2012 in his hometown near Warwick, Warwickshire, England. He now lives in New York.
"I was meant to be in America," he said in his thick (awesome) British accent. "I moved here last year."
Being on this side of the Atlantic, but still acting as director, Evans runs his team from New York, planning events, organizing ghost hunts, and communicating with interested folks like me.
When I arrived at Burlington County Prison for the investigation, I first met Anita Hutchings and Chris Murphy - two investigators with Simply Paranormal UK who had flown in from England for the event.
They promptly took me downstairs to join a tour of the prison museum which was perfect because I'd never been there before.
It was when we went outside to check out the gallows that I met Evans.
They say things happen for a reason, and this was one of those times.
"I get requests from people to join us all the time," he told me later. "When yours came through, I told my teammate, 'Just tell her to come.' I had a feeling."
Once the investigation began, I joined Evans along with three guests - Mandy Carter of Lakehurst, Tara Shannon and Amy Cass, both of Beachwood - in the prison basement. Using K2 meters to monitor the electromagnetic fields in the area, and two flashlights for communication purposes, we began the investigation much like I would with the JUMPS team.
"Are there any spirits here with us?" Evans asked.
Not too long after we began, one of the flashlights - or torches, as Evans called it - blazed to life, setting the investigation off into an interesting direction.
"I'm getting a man named Robert and he's here with his son," said Evans, who is also a medium.
In addition to spirits, he also began to pick up on the energies of the four of us with him.
"I know you don't all know each other, but you four should stay together tonight," he said of the rest of the investigation. "You have good energy together."
As the evening progressed, Evans and I shared stories, beliefs, and thoughts about the paranormal, as if we'd been friends for years.
And he was correct about the combined energies of myself and the three girls I met that night.
During a seance-type session in a prison cell on the main floor, we contacted a spirit who had a lengthy conversation with us through the use of special equipment Simply Paranormal UK had brought with them.
So, while the paranormal field is sometimes one of controversy, it can also be a tight-knit community that brings people together, even from two different sides of an ocean.
Follow Simply Paranormal UK on Facebook to find out when they are coming back to Burlington County Prison.
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