A chill runs down the back of your spine and the hairs on your neck stand up. You get a nervous, uneasy feeling and you are unsure why. Maybe you just had an close encounter of the paranormal kind.
A local group, known as S.P.O.T.A.-G.H.O.S.T, hopes to capture evidence of these paranormal activities.
The acronym stands for Special Paranormal Operations Team of Arkansas-Ghost Hunters Original Southern Team and is a combination of the founder’s previous groups.
The 12-member team uses video cameras, digital voice recorders and still cameras to document these events.
Team leaders, Chris Bryant and Bryan Coney, chose to merge their efforts after working together on an investigation. According to Bryant, they contribute equally in all decisions.
Coney is aware that many people are going to be skeptical about the group’s activity, but he thinks that some of his evidence could sway their opinion.
“There are going to be people that think it’s not real,” Coney said. “It blows my mind how good some of this stuff we have is.”
Coney became interested in the paranormal during his youth and this interest has remained over the years. He attributes this to his passion for ghost hunting.
“Believe it or not, I saw spirits when I was a kid,” Coney said. “I saw my great grandfather a couple of days after his funeral.”
Perhaps some people are more sensitive to paranormal activity than others. Coney hears his name often during the recordings of electronic voice phenomenon or EVP. In the beginning EVPs would disturb Coney.
“They have a knack for saying my name an awful lot,” Coney said. “It used to freak me out.”
Another thing that bothers Coney about the investigations is sometimes the voices are screaming or asking for help. This is even more disturbing when they hear a child’s voice pleading for assistance.
An interest in wanting to visit haunted houses and other areas led Coney into ghost hunting, but seeing television shows about it gave Coney the idea to document these events.
Coney said, “There is just so much more that goes into ghost hunting that these television shows don’t cover.”
More goes into paranormal investigations than most people think. Much preliminary work must be performed before the actual investigation may take place. This includes research of former property owners and the history of the area.
“It is best to do your homework before you go into places,” said Charles Landrum lead investigator for the group.
Landrum thinks being a member of the group offers him an opportunity to experience things that he would not be able to otherwise and likes being a member of a team.
“You get the chance to see something you might be able to explain and some things you can’t,” Landrum said. “It is a group effort.”
Finding out about and documenting the unknown drives Coney in his efforts to explain the paranormal.
“We are much more about the understanding of these events than the thrill,” Coney said. “It is very interesting because there is so much to learn that nobody knows yet.”
Some strange and extraordinary things occur during some of these investigations. This includes being mimicked by the voices on the EVPs and occasionally the voice will say the exact words or phrase before one of the investigators speak them.
Another curious phenomenon the group has encountered is an unusually rapid loss of battery power in their electronic devices. According to Coney, spirit energy may feed off of the energy in their equipment.
Coney feels rewarded when he makes contact with the disembodied voices and thinks it is one greatest benefits of being a ghost hunter.
“The best thing is when they communicate with you,” Coney said. “Our goal is to find out what is going on.”
Ghost hunting is not limited to cemeteries and haunted houses, but some places do have more paranormal activity than others, according to Coney.
“It is not like they are just at one or two places,” Coney said. “They are everywhere. Our theory is that no place is particularly haunted.”
Sometimes the group will get a recording of the same voice or name during their investigations at different places.
“We’ve had the same voices follow us around to all the different cemeteries,” Coney said.
Cemeteries offer the most opportunities to capture and document paranormal activity. One particular graveyard, Robinson Cemetery, is where much of the group’s evidence has been collected. Also known as Red Eye, the area was known for strange occurrences even before it became a cemetery.
“Out of all the places we have been, Robinson Cemetery certainly tops the list,” Coney said.
For more information visit the group’s website, www.spotaghost.com. It contains photos, videos and digital recordings the team has collected.
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A chill runs down the back of your spine and the hairs on your neck stand up. You get a nervous, uneasy feeling and you are unsure why. Maybe you just had an close encounter of the paranormal kind.
A local group, known as S.P.O.T.A.-G.H.O.S.T, hopes to capture evidence of these paranormal activities.
The acronym stands for Special Paranormal Operations Team of Arkansas-Ghost Hunters Original Southern Team and is a combination of the founder’s previous groups.
The 12-member team uses video cameras, digital voice recorders and still cameras to document these events.
Team leaders, Chris Bryant and Bryan Coney, chose to merge their efforts after working together on an investigation. According to Bryant, they contribute equally in all decisions.
Coney is aware that many people are going to be skeptical about the group’s activity, but he thinks that some of his evidence could sway their opinion.
“There are going to be people that think it’s not real,” Coney said. “It blows my mind how good some of this stuff we have is.”
Coney became interested in the paranormal during his youth and this interest has remained over the years. He attributes this to his passion for ghost hunting.
“Believe it or not, I saw spirits when I was a kid,” Coney said. “I saw my great grandfather a couple of days after his funeral.”
Perhaps some people are more sensitive to paranormal activity than others. Coney hears his name often during the recordings of electronic voice phenomenon or EVP. In the beginning EVPs would disturb Coney.
“They have a knack for saying my name an awful lot,” Coney said. “It used to freak me out.”
Another thing that bothers Coney about the investigations is sometimes the voices are screaming or asking for help. This is even more disturbing when they hear a child’s voice pleading for assistance.
An interest in wanting to visit haunted houses and other areas led Coney into ghost hunting, but seeing television shows about it gave Coney the idea to document these events.
Coney said, “There is just so much more that goes into ghost hunting that these television shows don’t cover.”
More goes into paranormal investigations than most people think. Much preliminary work must be performed before the actual investigation may take place. This includes research of former property owners and the history of the area.
“It is best to do your homework before you go into places,” said Charles Landrum lead investigator for the group.
Landrum thinks being a member of the group offers him an opportunity to experience things that he would not be able to otherwise and likes being a member of a team.
“You get the chance to see something you might be able to explain and some things you can’t,” Landrum said. “It is a group effort.”
Finding out about and documenting the unknown drives Coney in his efforts to explain the paranormal.
“We are much more about the understanding of these events than the thrill,” Coney said. “It is very interesting because there is so much to learn that nobody knows yet.”
Some strange and extraordinary things occur during some of these investigations. This includes being mimicked by the voices on the EVPs and occasionally the voice will say the exact words or phrase before one of the investigators speak them.
Another curious phenomenon the group has encountered is an unusually rapid loss of battery power in their electronic devices. According to Coney, spirit energy may feed off of the energy in their equipment.
Coney feels rewarded when he makes contact with the disembodied voices and thinks it is one greatest benefits of being a ghost hunter.
“The best thing is when they communicate with you,” Coney said. “Our goal is to find out what is going on.”
Ghost hunting is not limited to cemeteries and haunted houses, but some places do have more paranormal activity than others, according to Coney.
“It is not like they are just at one or two places,” Coney said. “They are everywhere. Our theory is that no place is particularly haunted.”
Sometimes the group will get a recording of the same voice or name during their investigations at different places.
“We’ve had the same voices follow us around to all the different cemeteries,” Coney said.
Cemeteries offer the most opportunities to capture and document paranormal activity. One particular graveyard, Robinson Cemetery, is where much of the group’s evidence has been collected. Also known as Red Eye, the area was known for strange occurrences even before it became a cemetery.
“Out of all the places we have been, Robinson Cemetery certainly tops the list,” Coney said.
For more information visit the group’s website, www.spotaghost.com. It contains photos, videos and digital recordings the team has collected.
