CAPS in the News

The Stanly News and Press
Published: October 30, 2007 08:02 am

Group investigates unusual phenomena

By B.J. Drye, Managing Editor

Sunday, October 28, 2007 — If there’s something strange in your neighborhood, who ya gonna call?

If you live in Albemarle, you might call Joseph Helmsorig or one of his associates.

The Albemarle resident is a member of the Charlotte Area Paranormal Society (CAPS), an organization that investigates and analyzes “ghostly” activity.

Helmsorig, a full-time student in the simulation and game design program at Stanly Community College, is an investigator, webmaster and data analyst in CAPS. He analyzes data such as pictures and video and looks for anomalies.

“Things that cannot be explained away by conventional means,” he said.

The 2- to 3-year-old organization has between 30 and 40 members. Usually 10 or less people attend an investigation, to leave these individuals room to operate.

The society is investigating two possible hauntings at the moment, one in Mint Hill and another in Gold Hill.

“One of the businesses there is reported to be haunted, and they requested us to come investigate,” Helmsorig said.

The organization was founded Tina R. McSwain of Charlotte, who is president of the society.

“I had been a member of other groups over the years and wanted a more professional and well respected group, so I started my own,” McSwain said.

The group does not charge a fee for an investigation.

“We are here to help, and in return, gather further evidence to support the existence of ghosts,” McSwain said.

“When not on an actual investigation, we will hone our skills in a local cemetery. We have a very good reputation and are let into these areas with owner/management approval and permission.”

“We do this for scientific research and also to help those that need our help,” Helmsorig said.

There is a screening process involved with an investigation.

“If it were a home and the owner ‘thought they had a ghost,’ we would first talk over the phone,” McSwain said.

“If deemed warranted, we would travel to the home with two or three members of CAPS. We would interview the person while observing him/her and their surroundings. We would then ask to see the area of where the phenomena occurred. If we did not see anything out of the ordinary, or something that could easily explain away a supposed ghost, we would break out a few instruments and begin to check out the house.

“Our first objective is to try and rule out the possibility of a ghost. For example, if you say ‘doors open by themselves,’ we would look for settling of the house, air flow and/or placement of air vents, the vacuum effect when you open doors on opposite ends of the house, etc.

“If we could not find anything obvious, we would then use instruments such as EMF detectors, temperature guns, compass, volt meter and a Geiger counter to measure the environmental factors that could have an impact. Finally, we would take digital and film photography as well as video and audio recordings to see if any unexplained anomalies appear.

“Our team is always accompanied by someone we refer to as a ‘sensitive.’ These people are more in tune with their abilities and can often provide insight into a spirit's presence, how they passed, why they may be still around, etc.”

So has anything been found?

“We have gotten photographs of things that can’t really be explained,” Helmsorig said.

“Our instruments have reacted to something with no obvious cause,” McSwain said.

“Many of our team members have had experiences of being touched by unseen hands, seeing something strange or having sudden physical or emotional feelings.”

Call B. J. Drye at (704) 982-2121 ext. 25 or e-mail snaponline25@yahoo.com.

 

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