This past Saturday, APB brought a paranormal expert to campus to hunt the spirits that roam the halls. After an hour long presentation about what his past hunting experiences and haunted items that he has collected, we set out to Decary.

We made our way through the empty halls and into the Sutton Lounge. The ghost hunter sat at a round table and the rest of us gathered around in anticipation. He set up an EMF reader, which monitors the paranormal activity in the room, and a speaker set that he plugged into his phone. He then explained that an app was developed to pick up noise that humans can’t hear. As soon as he turned the EMF on it lit up green, signaling there was a lot of energy on the room. When he turned on the app we instantly heard voices.

At first, nothing could be made out. It sounded like there was a really bad radio connection and only parts of words were coming through. The ghost hunter told us how unusual it was to have such a strong reading right away. Then the he asked who was with us and we got a reply. In several different voice we heard Tim, Rose, Ryan, and many others which was also considered extremely unusual. We then asked if any of them were attached to anyone in the room, and a roar of noise came through. Several people in the group asked about why they were on campus, Rose didn’t respond, Tim said he was dead, and Ryan said he worked as a professor. When we asked him what he taught he said math and then didn’t answer us for a while after that.

The highlight of the night was when we helped a ghost cross over. Throughout the listening session, Tim consistently asked for help. When the ghost hunter asked why he needed help, Tim replied he fell from his barn and his partners weren’t home. Tim also told us he was eight years old. After hearing his story, the ghost hunter asked if Tim would like to be with his parents again, Tim did. So all fifty of us encouraged Tim to go to the light, but he didn’t want to go until we said goodbye. As we all yelled goodbye and waved at seemingly nothing, several other ghost also said goodbye to their friend. During all of this students were crying and I myself got chills. It was a truly moving experience to help a spirit cross over.

The ghost hunter told us that Rose must have crossed over with Tim because she stopped talking after that. We were left with Ryan, who still gave us attitude every so often, and a few others that never gave their names.

Once it became eleven o’clock we decided to turn it off and head back to the campus center. I was genuinely scared to walk alone after talking to dead people for an hour. But, outside of never wanting to return to that hallway again, the ghost hunt was a truly mind opening event. I find myself stopping and thinking for a second about all the spirits that are around me and how long they have been there. It sends shivers up my spine knowing what is undetectable but still out there. And being from a campus as old as this one, I can guarantee you it’s a lot.