Make your plans to join us on a Paranormal Investigation hosted by The Charlotte Area Paranormal Society (CAPS). On Friday July 30th, we will meet at The Haunted Mill on Wilkinson Blvd. in Belmont,

[Read More]]]> Many of our Meetup members have asked for it, and now I am happy to be able to make it happen.

Make your plans to join us on a Paranormal Investigation hosted by The Charlotte Area Paranormal Society (CAPS). On Friday July 30th, we will meet at The Haunted Mill on Wilkinson Blvd. in Belmont, NC at 10PM.

Food (Pizza and snacks) will be served from 10PM until Midnight. We will have a short presentation as well.

The actual investigation will start at Midnight and last for several hours. Plan to arrive home in the wee hours of the morning!

This location is a 100 year old mill in the Belmont area, and it does have a history of a haunting. Bring your camera, your recorder, your flashlight, your EMF detector, or any other ghost hunting equipment you may have and join in the adventure!!

There is a COST TO ATTEND THIS EVENT. COST IS $5.00 PER PERSON.

PLEASE RSVP TO Gostwatchr@AOL.com AND PAY AT THE DOOR.

THIS EVENT IS LIMITED TO 50 PARTICIPANTS
 

More information to

[Read More]]]> Make your plans now to join in the fun! Come meet the CAPSters and your fellow Yahoo and Meetup Group Members. We will be at Freedom Park on East Blvd. in Charlotte at Picnic Shelter #2. From High Noon until 8pm on Saturday – April 24th. Food, fun, fellowship and ALL things paranormal!

More information to follow.
Hope to see EVERYONE there!

Website: http://www.phasmamovie.com/6qs/tina-mcswain-of-the-charlotte-area-paranormal-society.html

Movie Trailer: http://www.phasmamovie.com/trailer/

1. How did you become interested in the supernatural?

I used to watch the TV soap opera, “Dark Shadows”, with my grandmother.

[Read More]]]> "6 Questions With" is an ongoing series where the owners of the Phasma Ex Machina movie site interview many of the best researchers, educators, ghost hunters, and facilitators working in the paranormal field today.

Website: http://www.phasmamovie.com/6qs/tina-mcswain-of-the-charlotte-area-paranormal-society.html

Movie Trailer: http://www.phasmamovie.com/trailer/

1. How did you become interested in the supernatural?

I used to watch the TV soap opera, “Dark Shadows”, with my grandmother. It was a somewhat campy horror themed series of the 1960’s. I was intrigued by the characters, especially Barnabas Collins, the vampire. Not to be outdone, the series also had a witch, a ghost, and a werewolf. Upon entering elementary school, I developed a love of reading, and would check every book the school had on ghosts. I then found the TV series “The Night Stalker” staring Darrin McGavin as Kolchak, a reported who traveled his city by night, covering reports of all types of undead creatures. With this type of childhood, I believe I was just destined to grow up and become a paranormal investigator.

2. What’s the strangest or most interesting paranormal experience you’ve had?

I would have to say that it was the first time I ever saw an apparition. The interesting thing was the interaction between the ghost and myself. My friend’s grandmother’s ghost walked toward me with a purpose, looked at me, smiled at me (I could even see her teeth when she smiled) and waived her right hand. In that moment, we existed on the same plane and could actually communicate. Oh, what I would give today for that experience to occur again. I have learned and experienced so much since then.

3. Where/how does science fit into ghost hunting and the supernatural?

When we use our instruments such as EMF detectors, or thermometers, we are measuring the surrounding environmental or atmospheric conditions, looking for a sudden spike in those readings. This change in the norm or base reading, may be interpreted as a spirit presence, once all other causes, manmade or otherwise, have been eliminated. It is in this vein, that we would want to use every piece of scientific and properly calibrated equipment known to exist that measures these conditions. It is also necessary to conduct your investigations with proper scientific methods, valid research, and in a controlled environment as best you can.

4. Do you have any moral/ethical obligations in ghost hunting or communicating with the dead?

I believe it should be a two-fold approach. Answer the clients concerns, but attempt to aid the spirit as well. I also believe in unconditional positive regard in both cases. Believe your client, until you find evidence suggesting otherwise. And, respect the spirits of the dead. I do not advocate provoking or belittling a spirit in any way, shape, or form. I also believe that if you head a team, or are a member of a team, you should conduct yourself ethically, morally, responsibly, and professionally.

5. If it were possible to contact or bring back someone from the dead, whowould you bring back and why? Try to think of someone who is not famous.

I would like to speak to the first person who ever saw a ghost. It would be interesting to see how the story of the encounter then compares to the stories of paranormal experiences today. I would be willing to bet the similarities would astound me. The ideology of a ghost dates back to the oldest surviving written text, and I would wager, it also survives in the consciousness of mankind itself. The concept is a global one, appearing in all religions, peoples, and cultures down through the ages.

6. Do you have any other thoughts or interesting theories you’d like to share?

Instead of going high tech and modern, I believe we may want to think about taking a step backwards in our approach to investigations. Impart more history. My team extensively researches the history of the location we are to investigate. We identify historical names or antiquated terms and use them in our EVP sessions in the hopes that a spirit from that era will recognize a word or phrase from their time and respond to it. We also are big fans of trigger objects…period items…that may also enhance the chance of collecting evidence. For example, on the USS North Carolina battleship (a WWII era vessel) we laid out posters of Betty Grabel, a Japanese flag, and some campaign buttons featuring the likeness of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. When we held up the poster and asked if anyone recognized the lovely lady, we got an answer of “Betty”.

We would like to thank TAPS Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango of The SyFy Channel’s Ghost Hunters TV show for all their help this weekend on the Ghost Hunts for the Paranormal Investigator’s Convention held in Charlotte,

[Read More]]]> CAPS would like to send out a special thank you to the many people who helped with the convention.

We would like to thank TAPS Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango of The SyFy Channel’s Ghost Hunters TV show for all their help this weekend on the Ghost Hunts for the Paranormal Investigator’s Convention held in Charlotte, NC.

We would like to thank Jonathan Watts for the use of his property for Saturday night’s Paranormal Investigator’s Convention Ghost Hunt.

We would like to thank owner Delaine and her son, Dustin Clubb for the use of the restaurant Lake Todd Fish Camp in Kannapolis, NC for the second ghost hunt of the evening.

And finally to everyone who helped with this event…..THANK YOU!