Calvert's Freaks Club researches paranormal activity

By GREG OKUHARA
Eagle Staff Writer


CALVERT - The lights from Casey Unger's sport utility vehicle
provide the only illumination as she drives down a narrow wooded
path behind Calvert High School.

The sun disappeared hours ago, and barely any ambient light emanates
from streets and homes around the wooded area.

Unger turns off the headlights and parks the SUV. Faint beams emerge
from two flashlights as Unger and her paranormal investigation team
head toward an old burial vault.


click to zoom in
Eagle photo/J.P. Beato III
Freaks Club members Jennifer Heath, Jarrett Snider, Michele Snider,
Casey Unger, Caty Snider and Trish Campos-Brenner seek ghost
contacts.
Far from being a deterrent, the dark, remote location is ideal for
the group's pursuit on a recent Saturday: making contact with ghosts.

The five main members, Unger, Michele Snider, Trish Campos-Brenner,
and sisters Roseanna and Jennifer Heath, investigate for the thrill
of the hunt and exhilaration of potential paranormal findings.

"We don't necessarily try to convince someone [there are ghosts],"
said Unger, the group's founder. "All we're saying is here's what we
got, and we can't explain it. We're just fascinated to see what we
can get or collect."

Besides, outsiders - whose initial reaction often will be suspicion -
aren't going to be easily persuaded that the group made contact
with ghosts.

The women are accustomed to sarcastic remarks and skeptical looks
when people learn about their ghost-hunting hobby. Some popular
insults include the line from the Ghostbusters movies, "Who you
gonna call?" or accusations that the group is involved in satanic
worship.

The mockery doesn't phase the five women. In fact, the joke's not
lost on them; it provided the inspiration for the group's name, The
Freaks Club.

Despite the naysayers, the group stands firm in believing that its
investigations produce evidence of possible paranormal activity.

The hunt

Unger and Snider's interest in paranormal activity can be traced to
their childhoods in Robertson County.

Unger said she grew up in a house that was built in 1872 and was a
funeral home before her family moved in. Over the years, Unger said
she witnessed objects moving on their own, the downstairs piano
playing by itself or the stairs creaking at night.

Snider, who operates her own Robertson County candle business, said
she remembers encounters with ghosts as a girl. In one incident,
Snider saw a "white form" lean around a corner and stare at her
while she ate dinner. That sighting, Snider said, revealed her gift
for making contact with ghosts.

Thus began the two women's lifelong interest in the paranormal.

From girlhood, Unger and Snider combined efforts to investigate at
Unger's home. "As kids, these were the things we'd do to pass time,"
Snider said.

Campos-Brenner, a social worker, and Roseanna Heath, a nurse, met
Unger, counselor, through their jobs in Bryan several years ago.

They shared an interested in anthropology, which developed into
discussions about the paranormal.

Their investigations didn't gear up until October 2004, when Unger
found an online auction featuring used paranormal investigation
equipment. The kit included motion detectors, an electromagnetic
field meter and infrared cameras.

The meter uses a series of LED lights to indicate EMF field changes.
When it flashes red, the device is picking up a strong EMF, which
could indicate the presence of a ghost.

The group also uses an infrared thermometer that can record the
specific temperature of an object by detecting infrared radiation.
Roseanna Heath said drastic temperature drops of 25 to 40 degrees
also theoretically indicate paranormal activity.

The infrared cameras help them record activity in complete darkness.

Because of Unger and Snider's familiarity with the region, their
investigations mostly take place in the Calvert area and Falls
County.

The club has snooped around the old Robertson County courthouse
(which is being converted to a bed-and-breakfast), a cemetery behind
Calvert High School, and an old telegraph office in downtown Calvert.

When their schedules allow, the five women begin or continue
investigations on Saturday evenings.

The results

One area the team investigates is an old burial vault behind Calvert
High School. In 2004, Unger said the women were near the vault when
Campos-Brenner said the EMF reader spiked to red, and Roseanna Heath
said she heard something.

On the way home, they listened to the recording and heard a faint
whisper.

"It stopped our hearts up when we heard this," Unger said. "I nearly
drove my Nissan Xterra off the road."

At home, they transferred the recording to a computer and cleaned up
the static. The end product was a fuzzy but audible voice that
sounds like a child saying, "The children left." Adding to their
excitement, the voice was recorded after Unger asked one of her
prompts, "We're trying to reach the children buried here."

Could the child's voice be a glitch in the recording? How can anyone
be sure the recording wasn't altered? The Freaks Club is convinced
of its authenticity.

"I'm a firm believer in the scientific method, and these are things
I want to prove without a shadow of doubt," Roseanna Heath said. "We
try to rule out any outside factors and take that into consideration
before we present anything. In the end, it comes down to whether you
believe it or not."

In the year-plus the group has used the special equipment, they have
only a handful of "electronic voice phenomenon" recordings that they
feel comfortable identifying as ghost contacts.

Campos-Brenner, a social worker in Bryan, said any findings they
present as potential paranormal activity require corroboration with
at least two instruments.

And when residents in Robertson County call and ask the group to
check out suspicious noises or weird feelings, Snider said it
usually turns out to be nothing. "I'd say about 80 percent of
investigations turn out to just be old pipes or a draft in the
house."

Although the paranormal investigations are just a hobby, The Freaks
Club is looking to expand both its membership and operations. They
plan to start offering regular tours of Calvert's haunted areas to
explain what they do and present their evidence. Unger said it'll be
like a "Ghost Hunters 101" class.

"If we make it fun, they won't be frightened," she said.

The women realize there will always be skeptics who either don't
accept or actively frown upon their efforts.

Regardless, The Freaks Club intends to concentrate on collecting
evidence and invite others who share the fascination to join.

"Sure, we have some iconoclastic views," Unger said. "But for the
most part, I think we're pretty normal."

• Greg Okuhara's e-mail address is greg.okuhara@....