Members of the Pennsylvania Valley Paranormal Alliance team demonstrated some of their equipment used on ghost hunting investigations on November 24 at the Hughesville Library. Founders David Conklin, Jr. and Eric are from Nanticoke and Heather May, case manager, is from Hughesville.

HUGHESVILLE – If you ever hear strange noises, or think you do, there’s no need to fear as long as the Pennsylvania Valley Paranormal Alliance is on call to verify the sounds. With state of the art equipment, this investigative team will come to any building or site to track and record paranormal activity, which does exist according to the team.

The Alliance was at the Hughesville Library on Tuesday, November 24 to explain to an interested audience from the community about detecting paranormal existence.

They are professionals with rules and protocols, business cards, experience and most of all enthusiasm. “Most of the time, it turns out to be background noises from pipes or dust particles leaving behind a mist,” said Conklin, Jr. “But when there is something, we set up a controlled environment and monitor everything,” he added. They do not use psychics or mediums or tactics. Everything is scientific and they use digital voice recorders for documentation. “We always do a walk-through first before other team members come to the investigation,” said Conklin. “But we always have at least two or more team members to check for conditions which could create false positives.” There are seven members of their team including Hughesville resident, Heather May.

May said she had her first paranormal experience when she was nine years old. She grew up in Elimsport with her sister in a very old house. “I will never forget it. The night my grandfather died, I saw him kneeling by my parent’s bed. It was so clear to me and frightening at the same time,” she stated. “I didn’t tell anyone for years because I was petrified of my own house until one night when I was sixteen. A friend spent the night and said she saw an old woman at my house. Later I told my sister who said she also had similar experiences. She said she would see objects move for no reason and electronics shut off. I felt so much better after she told me that.” Some people are more sensitive to outside energies than others explained Heather. “I feel that my family is gifted because both my mother and sister have had unique experiences with outside activities.”

May became connected with the Conklin brothers through their website which explains their investigations very well. “I wanted to be part of their team because others around this area have shared stories with me, and asked for our help.” said May.

Barbara Shoemaker said that she spent 20 years living in a haunted house on Main Street in Hughesville and opened her own website to record her happenings at wpi-williamsportparanormal.com. She is now part of an investigative team recording paranormal activities. “Equipment is important,” said Conklin, Jr. He showed the audience the best five pieces of equipment that they use starting with video cameras, digital sound recorders, Electro Magnetic Field detectors, digital wireless thermometers to determine temperature drops, and a good digital camera with ability to take shots at night. “A lot of our investigations take place at night,” said May who works full time in Hughesville. “This equipment can be expensive, but it must be reliable.” They showed the audience video recordings of some of their investigations with disembodied voices. “Know that tapping sounds could be from plumbing pipes,” they said. Networking with other paranormal investigation teams is very important because it helps to verify the data. The more data and responses there are, the better the evidence. Science backs up results they said. All witnesses are interviewed and their statements recorded.

The Alliance does not charge for their work. Most of their work takes place in historic places. They just completed an investigation in Milton and they have one scheduled in South Williamsport. When asked what motivates them to spend time on these investigations they replied that they want to be part of science. The ‘sport’ became more popular once the TV show “Ghost Hunters” came into view. “If an apparition is sighted, try to remain calm, communicate and take photographs if at all possible and if you ever find yourself in a situation you can’t handle, walk away calmly and do not run,” they advised. “I keep an open mind at all times,” concluded May. Methods for this kind of work are constantly improving.