Ghost hunter Michael Roa uses a video camera to track down a ghost inside a home. When the sink leaks, you call a plumber. When you have a termite problem, you call an exterminator. But when a house is visited by wayward spirits -- and not just Halloween trick-or-treaters -- who ya gonna call?
A good start may be to contact one of the half-dozen or so Chicago area ghost hunting teams. The spirit experts, who typically don't charge a fee, arrive at purported hauntings to document paranormal activity or to attribute the phenomena to natural occurrences such as "cold spots." At best, hunters can help homeowners alleviate the feeling that they're losing their minds.
Scott Stewart / Sun-Times
"We don't want people driving by looking at our house, or knocking on our door, because it's haunted," Jane said. "We don't want to become a target for pranks, like having my house toilet-papered. And we don't want our neighbors to think we're crazy."
More importantly, if the Smiths ever decide to sell their 49-year-old contemporary home, they're concerned it won't be saleable. "I'm not sure someone would buy this house if they knew it was haunted," Jane said.
For the first year in their new house, the Smiths kept hearing noises and seeing the plants move.
"I knew there were noises but I didn't think about it being haunted until I told the neighbor across the street about the noises and she just started laughing," Jane said. "Then, the couple who sold us the house moved in down the block. When I met up with them, they asked me, 'So, I heard you've met the ghost.'" The two couples then exchanged ghost stories.
The Smiths have lived with the unexplained noises for more than a decade. They finally decided to do something about it when Jane saw a crouching shadow of a man streak across a wall. That evening, John saw the same shadow. The couple compared experiences and concluded that there was definitely something paranormal about their home.
They started doing their own research and discovered, through neighborhood lore, that one of the previous residents committed suicide in the garage. He died of asphyxiation. The Smiths can't find any record of the suicide, nor the person's name, but they haven't given up trying and Jane intends to visit the Recorder of Deeds in person and check out old newspaper articles at the local library.
Meanwhile, the couple claims the garage has a creepy feeling and they feel uncomfortable when they look out their kitchen window to the garage. One time, Jane claims, she distinctly heard the sounds of a rainstick and later learned the home is built near an old Native American trail.
"But all this didn't bother us. The spirits seemed friendly and didn't scare us. It wasn't like it was violent poltergeist activity," she said.
Last year, curiosity got the best of the couple and they contacted ghost hunters Henry Pena and Michael Roa of the Chicago Ghost Hunters Society. Their team has been investigating the Smiths' home at intervals for more than a year now. During that time, the ghost hunters have compiled a thick file of notes, photographs with peculiar images and electronic voice phenomena (EVPs) captured by a digital tape recorder.
The Sun-Times recently joined the CGHS team on a follow-up visit to the Smiths' home. The team uses an array of equipment, in particular digital cameras and video and voice recorders, but unlike other ghost hunters, CGHS doesn't use specialized devices such as thermal indicators (ghosts are said to emit cold or heat) and electromagnetic field indicators (spirits are thought to be energy).
"We don't use all that fancy equipment like the TV shows like 'Ghost Hunters.' It's expensive and you don't need things like a thermal imaging device and electro-magnet detector," Pena said. "That's why I always tell people who are interested in starting out hunting ghosts that all they need is a cheap digital camera and a tape recorder."
When the Sun-Times arrived at the home a clear half moon was rising and the sky was cloudless as the team members unloaded equipment from their van. The home is a typical modest suburban residence. Inside, Pena and his team once again went through the home with their cameras and recorders. This time they also brought along Chicago-based psychic Gloria Herrera, who was not given any information on the home prior to her arrival.
Herrera immediately said she saw a little dog, a Pomeranian, running through the house. Later that night, one of the voice recorders captured the sound of a dog barking. There were no dogs in the house. As Herrera walked through the house with a photographer, Pena, Jane Smith and this reporter headed to the garage for an EVP session. That's when you sit in the dark and ask questions of the supposed ghosts, hoping to capture an answer on the digital recorder. Suddenly, a bright orb shone in a corner of the garage ceiling and moved swiftly in downward arc, and then disappeared. It was followed by another orb manifesting in mid-air, then zig-zagging before it, too, disappeared. The orbs were witnessed by this reporter and captured on video.
The investigation continued until the early hours of the morning. At 1 a.m., the team gathered in the basement with the homeowners to give an initial analysis of the night's data. The cache included a half-dozen or so EVPs. The recorded voices said things that appeared to refer to the psychic, such as: "She knows" and "She can talk to us." They also captured what they claim is a partial image of a ghost in a kitchen doorway wearing a T-shirt.
As for the psychic, many of her claims were accurate. For example, Herrera said she saw someone crouching and crawling along the floor -- in the same spot the Smiths witnessed their shadow sighting.
The CGHS then retired with plans to painstakingly go over all the footage and recordings second-by-second at a later date.
As for the Smiths, they say now with the ghost hunter's evidence, they're sure they're not crazy and that their house is indeed haunted.
"We have no plans to move," Jane said. "Yes, I get a little skittish, especially when I'm alone or at night. But they seem to be harmless and we've learned to live with them. Sometimes when I come home from work, I walk in the door and say 'Hello!' I want to make sure they stay friendly."
As for the ghost hunters, the team advised the couple to continue talking to the spirits to keep on friendly terms. They've also advised the Smiths to be firm and tell the ghosts to stay out of their bedroom, so the couple can sleep in peace.
The Chicago Ghost Hunters Society hosts monthly Ghost Dinner Investigations at the Union League Boys and Girls Club at 2157 W. 19th. After the slide show and dinner, guests can hunt ghosts at the club, alleged to be haunted. Tickets: $10, all proceeds benefit the club. Call (312) 829-6840, or visit the Web site: www.chicagoghosthunterssociety.net.
