YOU KNOW THE FEELING, YOU ARE IN A POSSIBLY HAUNTED LOCATION AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, YOU GET THIS FEELING AND ALL THE HAIR ON THE BACK OF YOUR NECK STANDS UP! WELL, THAT IS A SURE SIGN THAT SOMEONE IS CLOSE BY.  THIS PAST WEEKEND, WE WERE INVESTIGATING OUR FAVORITE PLACE, THE HALEDMAN MANSION. 

WHEN WE WALKED INTO THE BACK UPSTAIRS ROOM, THE TEMP IN THIS ROOM WAS SO FAR ABOVE THE REST OF THE HOUSE, THAT I KNEW WE WERE GOING TO HAVE SOMETHING UNUSUAL HAPPEN.  WHILE THE GROUP IS IN THE ROOM, I HAD MY BACK TO THE DOORWAY AND AS I STOOD THERE, I SUDDENLY FELT SOMEONE BREATH ON THE BACK OF MY NECK!  I AM NOT ONE TO MAKE THINGS UP.  THIS WAS REAL.  YOU KNOW THE FEELING WHEN A LOVED ONE GETS BEHIND YOU AND BREATHES NEAR YOU, WELL THIS WAS NOT A LOVED ONE, BUT IT FELT LIKE THAT.

OUR EFFORT TO CONTACT WHOEVER WAS IN THIS ROOM FINALLY PAID OFF AND WE GOT SOME GREAT EVPS SAYING "HELP, HELP ME."  EVERYONE HEARD IT CLEARLY, BUT WE ALSO HEARD "GET OUT OF HERE!" SO WE HONORED THE REQUEST AS IT WAS SO HOT IN THERE THAT I FELT WE ALL NEEDED TO GO TO THE BASEMENT...AND THAT IS ANOTHER PLACE WHERE THINGS WILL MAKE YOU FEEL...THE HAIR ON THE BACK OF YOUR NECK!

THERE ARE TYPES OF EVIDENCE THAT ARE MORE CREDIBLE THAN OTHERS AND THAT IS WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR AS A PARANORMAL TEAM.  SOME EVIDENCE HOLDS MORE WATER THAN OTHERS, BUT THAT IS NOT TO SAY THAT THE EVIDENCE IS NOT REAL, JUST THAT DEPENDING ON THE SOURCE, IT MIGHT NOT BE AS CONVINCING.

SOUT JERSEY GHOST RESEARCH FOUNDER DAVE JULIANO STATES THAT EVPS'S ARE OUR BEST EVIDENCE, AND I HAVE TO AGREE WITH HIM.  PICTURES OF ORBS OR WHITE STREAKS CAN BE EXPLAINED AWAY AS DUST OR OTHER ANOMALIES, BUT A GOOD EVP IS HARD TO BEAT!  WE MAKE SURE THAT WE VIDEO OUR EVP SESSIONS, SO THAT NO ONE CAN ACCUSE US OF FAKING ANYTHING.  IT IS ALSO A GOOD BACK UP IN CASE SOMETHING HAPPENS TO THE RECORDER(WHICH HAS FROM TIME TO TIME).  WHEN THE RECORDER IS PLAYED BACK AND NO ONE HAS TALKED EXCEPT THE PERSON ASKING THE QUESTION, AND YOU HEAR A RESPONSE WHERE THERE WAS NONE, THAT IS  SOLID EVIDENCE.

I KNOW SOME FOLKS USE WHAT IS CALLED A "SPIRIT-BOX" OR "GHOST-BOX", WHICH IS SIMPLY A RADIO TUNER THAT SCANS THRU THE AVAILABLE FREQUENCIES AND STOPS WHEN IT FINDS A WORD.  THIS IS SUPPOSED TO GIVE YOU A RESPONSE FROM AN UNKNOWN ENTITY.  I AM NOT SAYING THAT IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO GET A RESPONSE THAT WAY, ONLY THAT IT IS HIGHLY QUESTIONABLE AND NOT SOLID EVIDENCE TO ME.  IT CAN EASLIY BE ARGUED THAT THESE WORDS ARE JUST "COINCIDENCE" AND THAT ANYONE TRYING TO GET A WORD OUT OF THE HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS OF WORDS THAT ARE FLYING THRU SPACE IS NOT THE "BEST" CHOICE OF EVIDENCE.  i CAN SEE HOW SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT GETTING GOOD EVPS, WOULD TRY TO UP THEIR GAME BY USING ONE OF THESE, BUT IT IS ONE OF THE LEAST CREDIBLE TYPES OF EVIDENCE.

IF YOU ARE AWARE OF THE AXIOM, IF YOU PUT A BUNCH OF MONKEYS IN A ROOM WITH A HUNDRED TYPE WRITERS, EVENTUALLY THEY BY SHEAR ACCIDENT WILL TYPE SHAKESPEARE!  WELL IF YOU LISTEN TO ALL THE WORDS ON ALL THE RADIO STATIONS, EVENTUALLY YOU WILL FIND A FEW THAT MAKE SENSE TO YOU.  BUT THAT IS SO FAR FROM SCIENTIFIC, THAT TO BASE YOUR FINDINGS ON THIS BIT WOULD BE FAR FROM SCIENTIFIC OR CREDIBLE. 

NOW, I AM ALWAY UP FOR TRYING NEW TACTICS, EQUIPMENT, AND TECHNIQUES, AND I EVEN HAVE BOUGHT AND AM TRYING THE RT-EVP, WHICH HAS A "SPIRIT-BOX" BUILT IN.  I AM OPEN TO NEW IDEAS, BUT I AM ALSO SKEPTICAL ABOUT ANYONE WHO CLAIMS THAT HE IS THE ONLY ONE TO BE ABLE TO "INTERPRET" THESE BOXES.  THAT IS WHAT THE "INVENTOR" OF THE SPIRIT BOX CLAIMS.  hMMM....NOT VERY SCIENTIFIC. 

A GOOD EVP, AND WE HAVE PLENTY, ALWAYS TRUMPS JUST ABOUT ANY OTHER EVIDENCE.  WHILE I AM OPEN TO NEW EQUIPMENT, I AM ALSO A BELIEVER IN PRESENTING YOUR BEST EVIDENCE FIRST.  TO DATE I HAVE NOT BEEN IMPRESSED WITH THE SPIRIT BOX AND FELL THAT A DISEMBODIED VOICE IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN HEARING AN FM RADIO NEWS REPORT.  TO ME, A GOOD EVP WITH A NAME OR DATE THAT CAN BE TRACED BACK TO SOMEONE IN THE HOUSE IS ALWAYS THE BEST EVIDENCE!

If you like "THE OFFICE", NBC's tv show that highlights Scranton's Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, you should visit this great town in northeast PA.  Scranton is an old city, dating back to the mid 1700's when the valley was first settled and was called "skunk hollow" among other names.  At the turn of the 20th century, it was the first city to use electric trolley cars in america and thus the name "the electric city!"  But there are plenty of ghosts that haunt this electric city.

One of the big places said to be haunted is the West Mt. Sanitarium.  The stories I dug up, indicated that there had been a terrible fire and that hundreds of patients died, being unable to get out.  This simply is not true.  I have been there and investigated this site and yes there was a fire, however it was an arson fire that was set after the place had closed down and been abandonned.  Only one small portion of the several buildings left standing was burnt, the others had no sign of smoke or fire damage, however they were caving in. 

While I got little evidence of spirits while I was there, I assume there would be a few still hanging around, but it is not as active as some other places in that area.  Few EMF's and no EVPS would indicate that the place is fairly clean.  This is not the case however for the Laurel Hill Nursing Home in Dunmore, nearby.

The Laurel Hill Nursing Home is in a building that was built for the PA Coal Company in the early 1900's.  Over the years it was used as a hospital, nursing home and possibly other uses.  Most of the beds and equipment are stil inside, but kids and homeless people have vandalized what is there.  If you can get in, there are 3 floors and aa basement that will take your breath away.  Upstairs on the third floor, I believe they used to have children who had TB or other diseases.  We had all kinds of activity, got EVP's and even heard a noise or two in the same room as I was in!  This place is haunted!  But Scranton has many establishments that date way back.

The Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple is another.  We were fortunate enough to get into this great architectural wonder and do an investigation.  WOW.  4 floors above ground and 2 below!  The building was opened in 1930 and celebrates its 80th anniversary this year!  There are several stages and a concert hall, rooms, hallways, and even a bar!  Having a mason on our team helped get us access to the masonic halls for some ghost hunting!  We got EVP's saying "leave" and one who said his name was "Bob".  We were only there for a few hours and got quite a bit of evidence and we will go back there in the near future!  But wait, there's more.

Scranton is in the Coal Region and this is where the industrial revolution started in this country.  You can still go down in an old coal mine and see what it was like for those men who struggled to build our country.  We were also the first paranormal team to go down into the mine there and do a hunt.  What we found may surprise you!  Crossing over a trapped miner who died in a collapse around 1916, was very cool.  We also had an EVP from a small boy and got two orbs moving slowly when we crossed a 17 year old boy who was in a shaft off the main gangway.  When we crossed him over, the psychic who was with us said "oh, he has a dog..." then on my recorder I can hear a dog bark "Ruff Ruff".  There were no dogs 250 feet below ground with us that day!  It is clear on my audio recorder that this was indeed a dog!  But if you are looking for more haunted sites, just go to Lazy Scranton.