Thursday September 22, 2005
Famed ghost hunter tells tales of the paranormal
by DAVE McMILLION


SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - Microphone and projector
problems would not be so noticeable during any other
speech.

But the fact they happened Wednesday night at Shepherd
University during a presentation from one of the
foremost authorities on the paranormal got some
attention.

John Zaffis opened his presentation in the Student
Center's Storer Ballroom by darkening the room and
showing photographs that depicted haunted places.

The photos showed images of faces in strange
formations and other weird phenomenon.

As Zaffis spoke, his microphone began cutting in and
out.

"I didn't do anything," Zaffis said.

The problem continued and at one point the projector
did not advance a picture correctly.

"You got spirits in here, I know you do," Zaffis said.

Zaffis, who spoke to a packed crowd, has been featured
on Discovery Channel documentaries and has appeared on
"Unsolved Mysteries," Fox News Live and Coast to Coast
AM, according to a biography on his Web site.

Zaffis has more than 30 years of experience studying
and investigating the paranormal and has worked with
cases of possession and exorcism. His research has
taken him throughout the United States, Canada,
England and Scotland, and he is lecturing at colleges
and universities throughout the U.S., the Web site
states.

Zaffis led Shepherd University students through his
experiences and then he planned to take a small group
of students on a ghost hunt on campus.

Because of his personal experiences with hauntings,
near-death experiences and other paranormal
activities, he said he is convinced such phenomena
exist.

He told students one time he prayed in a church and
heard an angelic voice respond to him. Zaffis said it
was like the voice went through him.

"I tells me that there are other things out there,"
Zaffis said.

Zaffis recalled one time when he investigated a
restaurant that was said to be haunted. After a search
of the restaurant, Zaffis said he could not find
anything.

Then, a shelf in the establishment tilted and items on
it went sliding.

"We got our verification right there," Zaffis said.

He recalled another instance where a movie theater was
said to be haunted and strange things were happening
to patrons in the theater.

It turned out that the theater was built on an Indian
burial ground. Zaffis showed the audience a photograph
taken inside the theater where the head of an Indian
could be seen.

He recalled his trip to Dudleytown, a town in
Connecticut that is reportedly haunted. People often
talk about feeling like they are being suffocated when
they enter Dudleytown and others talk about having
haunted experiences when they take items like sticks
out of the area, Zaffis said.

The speech was sponsored by Shepherd University's
Program Board.