GAPA investigates paranormal activity

Some would call investigating the paranormal a ghastly hobby, but others would call it a "ghostly" one.

You don't have to be a mortician to work with the dead, and Jefferey Hansbrough is living proof of this.

Unlike morticians, Hansbrough sees a side of the dead that would make the hairs on the back of Dr. Frankenstein's neck stand up.

Their spirits.

Hansbrough, 23, makes working with the paranormal a part of his everyday life-as it is with many others in the small town of Gettysburg, Pa.

When he's not working, he's doing whatever he can to research the paranormal or doing investigations with his paranormal research group, Gettysburg Area Paranormal Association (GAPA).

Hansbrough doesn't get paid for his services, but considers it a second job. Much of his spare time is spent researching and trying to educate people about the paranormal.

"We aim to, above all, help people. We specialize in potential hauntings, spirits, ghosts, unexplained happenings and anything of the paranormal realm," said Hansbrough.

"Through scientific analysis, we view gathered evidence from every angle and attempt to discern the source of the activity or happening in question."

Hansbrough explains that GAPA tries to help them understand what is happening in their homes.

"When somebody has a leaky toilet, they call a plumber. When somebody has objects flying around the house, they don't have anybody to turn to," he said.

For their investigations, GAPA has a variety of equipment at their disposal including: digital thermometers to measure ambient and surface temperatures, digital voice recorders, electronic voice phenomena and video cameras with external infrared illuminators, which allow cameras to "see" in the dark.

The self-funded group of five investigators will spend, in some cases, as many as 50 hours reviewing evidence for each case, which includes a mandatory four-hour investigation period.

Part of the investigation process is reading up on history of the location and setting up an interview with the subject.

"After we have heard all the stories, we take a tour of the house to see if there are any natural explanations to the activity being reported, such as creaky floors, loose window frames, or openings around doors where the wind can blow through the house," said Hansbrough.

While GAPA is a small group, they promise to return evidence to their clients within two weeks.

"We review all the evidence, anything that we feel is out of the norm," said Hansbrough, GAPA's case manager.

This could include: unexplainable noises, voices, apparitions, shadows or moving objects.

When this is finished, the group will try to find links to any people or events that occurred in or around the location. Then they get together as a group and go over all the evidence that they have found.

"We try to determine which pieces of evidence have a natural explanation, and which pieces cannot be explained," said Hansbrough.

GAPA checks the history of the area by contacting the nearest historical society to see if there may have been a battle of a war fought there, a murder, a suicide or a death.

"After we have discovered the location's past, we calculate a plan of attack," said Hansbrough.

By plan of attack, Hansbrough means that the group will go over evidence in a place that has little to no paranormal activity.

"It should be as far away from where we will be investigating as possible in order to not contaminate the evidence on the stationary recording equipment," he said.

"After base has been set up we then proceed to plan out which equipment will go where and what type of equipment will be placed in each area."

Ghosts, according to "The Ghost Next Door," a book by paranormal researcher Mark Allan Morris, are spirits of the dead that are "stuck" between this plane of existence and the next.

According to the book, this could be a result of some tragedy or trauma. Many ghost hunters believe that the spirits don't know they are dead. They exist in a limbo in which they haunt the scenes of their life or locations that were pleasant to them in life.

Ghosts, or spirits, are, on some level, aware of the living and react by materializing. Some psychics claim to be able to communicate with them. When they do, they often try to help them understand that they are dead and that it is time to move on to the next stage of their existence.

When in the suspect location, GAPA investigators break into pairs and ask spirits questions such as their name, why are you there and what can they do to help.

"We go through the active areas multiple times and with different partners to see if the change in people leads to a change in activity," said Hansbrough.

"After the house has had a thorough sweep of the reported hot spots of activity, we then do what they like to call 'dead time.'

"We leave our equipment running and have each team member, and if possible the clients as well, leave the location for a minimum of two hours. If we feel that the house is active, we will continue to investigate as long as we are able to."

GAPA is just one of dozens of paranormal research groups in Gettysburg.

Hansbrough explains that one of the many advantages to living in Gettysburg as a paranormal investigator is that there are many people in the area who believe in the paranormal.

"Another advantage is that it is not hard to find haunted places and we have access to one of the most haunted places in the world. Since Gettysburg is such a well-known area and a largely historical site, there are infinite research tools and resources to go," he said.

The team does most of its investigations outside of Gettysburg, but "we have gone on investigations on the battlefield, but just for our own enjoyment," Hansbrough said.