The West Georgia Paranormal Research Society Interviews - Part Four (Conclusion)

I've always been interested in the paranormal. There are groups out there who validate that 'bump in the night,' that image you saw move out of the corner of your eye, that voice you heard when no one but you was in the room. The West Georgia Paranormal Research Society is one such group. I call them ghost hunters; but whatever you call them, their work in very interesting. The West Georgia Paranormal Research Society can be found online: here.

Debi Heaton has been working with the group for about three years.

How long have you been interested and investigating the paranormal?

I have been interested in spirits and all things paranormal since I was a young girl, maybe around 8. My grandmother used to tell me stories about her grandmother's house being haunted and I was always intrigued by the idea that spirits were around us all the time. As for actual investigating of the paranormal, I didn't start doing that until about 3 years ago.

What is your role within the West Georgia Paranormal Research Society?

My title is Research & Development Manager, which means I assist, as needed, with background research on locations we are to investigate and also help with the promotion of our team that may lead to additional sites to investigate. During investigations, I simply take pictures and attempt to record EVP's (Electronic Voice Phenomena) with our digital voice recorder. I'm not sensitive; however, I've been known to pick up on things without realizing it. I rely on my pictures and EVP's to document and confirm any activity.

Tell us about your hottest case; were you thrilled or scared or both?

Hmmm, my hottest case...... I've had many different occurrences that have thrilled me, but I can't say that, as a team, we've had a "hot" case yet. Although, we just recently had an investigation where we all experienced the same kind of feelings in different areas of the house that was unlike anything we've felt before all at the same time. There was certainly a sense of a lot of activity occurring and we were all excited that we were going to have a lot of good documentation material. Unfortunately, after we set up our equipment and left it in the house alone for a while, whatever we had sensed earlier was gone and there was no further activity. So far, there has never been a situation that has scared me.

Are you always with a group or do you ghost hunt - can I use that phrase? - alone sometimes.

I've never hunted alone for two reasons: first, being completely alone in a dark place does spook me and secondly, more importantly, for safety reasons, you should never go alone.

Tell us something about the equipment that you use and what this equipment does

. Because I'm not tech savvy, I mainly use a digital camera and a digital voice recorder. Sometimes I'll use our temperature gauge and EMF (Electro-Magnetic Field) detector to help get some baseline readings and to monitor if activity may be occurring.

The digital camera is fairly self-explanatory these days; however, for those who may still use cameras with film, a digital camera uses memory cards to digitally record the picture and has a screen that allows you to instantly see the picture. Digital cameras are very useful when it comes to capturing orbs (spirit energy in circular form - a great area of debate in the paranormal world), mists, and if you are extremely lucky, possibly an actual spirit in human form. It is believed that the infrared light that most digital cameras are equipped with better illuminates spirit energy.

My digital voice recorder acts like a tape recorder, minus the tape. Questions are asked while the recorder is recording and then when it's played back, occasionally disincarnate voices can be heard answering the questions or even just saying whatever they want to that has nothing to do with the questions.

The temperature gauge that I use is also electronic and we record the temperature in various spots within a location to give us a base reading. It is believed that when there is a sudden drop in temperature, and sometimes a sudden rise as well, that spirits are attempting to manifest themselves. Often times, these cold spots, which are more common, can be followed around a room for some amount of time.

The EMF detector measures the amount of electrical activity in areas throughout a location. You get high readings when you pass the detector near an electrical outlet or around lamps, for example. When you pick up a high electrical reading somewhere where there is no obvious electrical piece of equipment or wiring, it can mean that there is some paranormal activity occurring in that spot. These readings can also move around the room.

I notice from the website that you have a lot of voice recordings, I'm curious about this. Say you ask a question and later, someone is talking that wasn't 'there' when you were recording. How do you feel about this, does it make you want to go back and talk more? You don't just walk away from something like this do you?

I am extremely fascinated with this mode of conversing as you really can hear voices that weren't heard at the time of recording. It always makes my hair stand on end when answers are heard, but I'm more fascinated than I am scared. I always want to go back and try some more. To me, it's just further clarification that spirits are around us.

The West Georgia Paranormal Research Society goes to different places at request to investigate possible 'otherworldly happenings'. Do you have to believe in what the person is saying is happening, or is it enough that they believe it is? Do you turn people down and not go, and what would make you say no?

I do not actually conduct the initial interview with potential folks who claim to have paranormal activity. However, since we approach all investigations from a research-based frame of mind, we do not have to believe what that person believes is happening. It is up to us to attempt to record and document the activity they are reporting to determine if there is a normal, everyday reason for their disturbances or if it is unexplainable. Whatever our outcome is, that information is later shared with the person who requested our assistance. It is then up to that person to continue to believe that they have paranormal activity or not. So far, we have not turned any investigation down that I'm aware of and we do not have any specific parameters that we have established that would make us say no at this time.

I know from your disclaimer on the site that you will not trespass, nor will you break the law to investigate, but is there anyplace you would not go, or any strange happening that you'd be afraid to try to find out about? Where? Why?

Right now, there is no location that I would be afraid to go into, so long as we have the permission to do so. I'm always hoping that the next place will be the one that gives us actual proof on a camera or video that spirits exist that we can share with the world. Of course, there will always be the die-hard skeptics that will never believe even if the person who owns the video personally knows that it is authentic. I have seen two full-bodied apparitions since I've been doing this and just hope that one of these times, what I see will also appear on film.

I noticed a donation box on the website, what would you use donation money for? What are the needs of The West Georgia Paranormal Research Society?

We conduct all our investigations free of charge, but this is a very expensive hobby to those of us committed to the team. Donations would help cover all of the following costs that we now currently share out of pocket:

Batteries
Video Tapes
Monthly Website Maintenance fees
Monthly Radio Show Hosting fees
Team t-shirts
Promotional items such as pens, pencils, drink cups, etc.
Access fees charged for public investigations, such as in places like State Parks.

One of our biggest needs at the moment, besides donations to help us cover the items listed above, is public awareness of WGPRS. The more people are aware that we exist, the more people we could potentially help.

Is there anything you'd like our readers to know about researching the paranormal, any advice?

Always keep an open mind and know that anything is possible. Always keep safety your uppermost priority when you are out after dark. NEVER trespass or break the law to get into locations that fascinate you. Read, read, read! There are so many books out there that discuss the paranormal. Learn about the different points of views held by folks on various topics. Never let anyone talk you out of your beliefs!