Searching for Evidence Of Paranormal

From the "What's Up" section of the Stevens Point Buyers Guide.

Searching For Evidence Of Paranormal

By Kris Rued-Clark

Even though they have invested thousands of dollars in equipment, Vicki Love & Ann Troullier are not in it for the money. In fact they don't charge for their services. Ann & Vicki want to satisfy their own curiosity and reassure others as they gather evidence of paranormal activity.

They have been friends for over 20 years, but they don't see eye to eye on ghosts. Vicki is skeptic, and Ann is a believer. Vicki admits, "Until a ghost stands in front of me and says "Hey I'm a ghost," I'm not going to believe in them."

As Ann explains, "We try to show people who are scared that there are usually reasonable explanations for what they are seeing and hearing and put them at ease." Vicki adds, "We don't get rid of ghosts. We just want to gather evidence."

For the past six years, they have been slowly acquiring equipment. They have been searching for evidence of the paranormal in homes and businesses. Ann "We give suggestions for how to take control." Vicki: "You empower yourself and the spirit should leave you alone."

Whenh investigating, they set up five video cameras, set to "night vision" with extra infrared lights. They also have a KII Meter and EMF detectors, which measure electromagnetic fields. "Ghosts are mostly energy", explains Vicki. "If a ghost is near, the readings will change."

They also use digital thermometers and a digital voice recorder. So far, the most evidence has been gathered with the digital voice recorder. Ann: "We have caught many voices on that." Generally, they set up their equipment and remain in the home or other site from 10pm until 4am.

Once they complete their on-site observations, they sift through hours of data. With five cameras and the digital recorder, they may end up with 30 or more hours of evidence from just one night's investigation.

Describing an electronic voice phenomena (EVP) session, Ann explains, "We set the digital recorder out and ask questions. An intelligent haunting will sometimes replay to us." Vicki adds, "Very seldom will we hear anything with our own ears, but we do hear them on our recorder." Ann: "When you catch evidence like that, it's exciting."

Because they approach their investigations with different beliefs, they approach evidence differently. Ann explains: "Vicki doesn't believe, so she's always trying to disprove what we find. I, on the other hand, look at the evidence and ask 'Could this be paranormal?'."

Vicki admits, "There are some odd things out there that I can't explain." Ann adds, "You can't explain away a voice, when it's clear for everyone to hear it." One client felt his brother was still with him, even though he had passed away 20 years ago. "We caught his brother
saying his name on all our equipment, though we never heard it when we were there," says Ann. "The client said "Wow, that's my brother's voice."."

At one investgation, Vicki smelled perfume. "I said out loud, "I wonder whose perfume that could be," and I heard someone say "Mine," right next to me. When you're alone and there's no recorded evidence, it's awful to be the only one to hear something."

Sometimes callers will say they're on the verge of moving out of their homes. Ann says, "People want some validation so they can say 'Look, I'm not crazy.' If we find something, we take all the evidence and put it on a DVD for them. We go back to show them what we've found and try to give them some suggestions."

Often, there's a perfectly reasonable explanation. Ann explains, "Sometimes it can be the room itself. If we find a high EMF reading, that can actually be dangerous. It can make you paranoid, see things, cause skin rashes or have odd feelings. Even the feeling that you're being stared at all the time could come from an excessive electromagnetic field."

A high EMF reading may result from old or faulty wiring. Vicki: "Many alarm clocks found in hotel rooms are terrible. We always unplug them when we're doing base readings."

On one occasion, when they drove through the gate, Vicki immediately became so uncomfortable she wanted to leave. After investigating, they left the location, and Vicki instantly felt fine.

Once she encountered a terrible feeoling in a hotel basement. "We had a tour during the day, but when we went there at night, I would not go in there. Later I was so mad at myself. I don't know what I was afraid of."

Remodeling a building can stir up paranormal activity. "Ghosts can attach themselves to people, objects, or places," says Vicki. "If the homeowner feels afraid or threatened, we advise them to forcefully state 'It's my home now. I'm in charge. You're fine to stay here, but leave me alone.' That seems to work most of them time."

They are both careful to explain that most of the time the presences or hauntings are not hostile. "We're just trying to let people know they don't need to be afraid," says Ann.

Vicki and Ann have named their investigative team WISPERS, which stands for Wisconsin Paranormal Explorers. Although based in Wisconsin Rapids, they are willing to travel throughout the state for investigations. For more information, call 715-323-7061. All information is kept confidential.