10-17-2003As parents track the progress of their costumed ghosts and goblins on Halloween, a different kind of ghost tracking will be pursued by members of Indiana Ghost Trackers.
Mike Weides, a member of the not-for-profit organization, said the group is especially busy during the Halloween season.
With chapters in nine cities, boasting a membership of 900 people, Indiana Ghost Trackers, of Crown Point, provides the technology and expertise to investigate bumps in the night and unexpected chills in the air.
In the county recently to generate interest in an IGT-sponsored “Haunted Weekend,” Weides considers Kosciusko County prime ghost-hunting territory.
“We’d like access to locations that have a history or reported haunting,” he said. “We’re called into some prominent public and historical places, and all the information is strictly confidential.”
Armed with simple equipment, like digital and conventional cameras, infra-red sensors and temperature and voice recorders, a team of trackers usually spends the night hours in a particular location and reports their findings to the owners.
On IGT’s Web site, indianaghosts.homestead.com, photographs with “orbs” shown in them are presented as proof of a paranormal presence.
Weides said things happen in people’s homes that can’t be explained. Unseen hands open and close doors, radios turn on and off, toilets flush when no one’s in the bathroom or voices and footsteps can be heard – all common occurrences.
“Quite often, the ghost at your house doesn’t live at your house. The residence is in a travel or lay line,” he said, adding that most people are afraid to talk to anyone about strange happenings.
“After dark is the best time for investigations, 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Everyone’s senses seem to be heightened; it’s when human senses are at their peak.”
The IGT has a waiting list and they don’t take everyone’s word about hauntings. People are asked to keep a journal. They must go through a lengthy interview.
“There are many dysfunctional households, there’s a lot of mental illness out there. Often the ghost is in the medicine bottle. Before we respond, we make sure there are multiple occurrences and a second witness, too,” Weides said.
Spinal injury and drug and alcohol abuse can cause voices and strange noises to be heard.
“We can gain a lot of information during the interview, especially if people are pulling your chain,” he said.
Weides said females are more likely to notice a ghostly presence than males.
“People who see a ghost usually have the dickens scared out of them. The ghost will simply notice there is someone with a heightened sensitivity.”
Not all ghosts are harmless noisemakers. Folks report handprints on their bodies, scratch marks, things happening to them as they sit awake.
Weides gave this warning: “Leave the Ouija board alone and don’t have a seance. There are nasty things out there disguising themselves as Aunt Betty or Grandma Rose. As you open that door, it’s hard to get rid of them.
“We don’t deal with demons or evil entities; we contact others we know to do that.”
IGT membership is $20 per year. Fees go toward equipment that can be used by each chapter.
“This is an intellectual, not a profitable, hobby,” Weides said.
The group is always fund-raising. And the haunted weekend tours are one way to get funds.
There were 200 IGT investigations last year.
“We’re experts in a field that doesn’t exist. We do have fun with this, scientifically. No one is a black robe-wearing occultist or sporting aluminum foil hats.
“We provide training and a philosophy to members. Anyone with experience or enthusiasm to be a ghost hunter can join us,” Weides said.
“We aren’t out there representing ourselves as anything other than what we are – intellectual hobbyists.”