Group insists there are ghosts

By Greg Snow
The Chronicle

Row by row, graves stand in the once open field. Sunlight is fading into darkness, leaving eerie shadows. Dried leaves rustle as they scuttle along the ground. Could someone be lurking behind a tree?
The Paranormal Seekers are an informal group that began three years ago in Durham Region. Ever since, they have examined hauntings in places like the Canadian Automotive Museum, ghost road, the old Whitby Psychiatric Hospital, The Parkwood Estate and the Lindsay Academy Theatre. This night, they’re at Union Cemetery in Oshawa.

The group consists of seven members. Brenda and Amanda, self-proclaimed psychic investigators of the group, Rachel, researcher, Jay and Donny, paranormal investigators and Jeff and Paula, infrared camera operators. They did not want to provide their last names because they don’t want calls from people wanting them to exorcise and examine their ghost problem. That has happened in the past.

Their interest has evolved from a lot of research and personal observations of paranormal events over the last three years. Brenda has been researching and training almost her whole life. Her psychic abilities started when she was a child and she has worked to develop them ever since.

On the group’s first visit to Union Cemetery they encountered the spirit of a small Greek women who they described as having grey hair tied back in a bun, a large waist, being about 70-years-old, five feet tall, and wearing a knee-length dress and slippers. Amanda also picked up on a man who made her feel a bit threatened. This spirit was yelling degrading remarks and gave her the feeling of a drill sergeant or abusive husband.

Events like this would cause many to run in fear towards the old steel gates at the entrance, but this is exactly why the seekers are there.
“Sometimes it is a little scary. Last time we came here it was scary. There was negative energy at the back of the cemetery, so we came back to the front,” said Amanda.

During the interview Rachel’s cell phone rang, playing The Ghostbusters theme. It was Brenda, saying she would be a few minutes late.

“Originally we started the group for the excitement and thrill of it, also to research it. Everybody tries to get the best pic that proves that there is actually spiritual activity from the dead, but obviously no one can seem to prove it, because there is no hardcore evidence,” said Jay.

Many people believe that if they move to a newly-built house it will be ghost-free. They are wrong.

The group researches every area they are visiting beforehand. Looking into the history of their destinations helps them determine what they are looking for. Also, if they do come across paranormal activity, information can help them understand if the house is haunted or if the land has history that could be a contributing factor.

“A lot of it is the land and what has happened on it, not necessarily the house itself,” Jay said.

By this time there was no longer sunlight. The moon was out in full force, casting an unearthly glow over the cemetery. Brenda showed up and the trek began along the pathways.

As we started our walk, Brenda, who is the lead psychic, said there was a ghost of a German lady standing to the left of us.

“Ghosts can hurt you as well. They can bite you, they can scratch you and they can toss you. I have left some places with scratches on my arms and bite marks,” Brenda said.

More paranormal activity began to take place. Brenda said there were children running around us and they were asking her to play tag. She continued to say to us, “tag your it,” reacting to what she was observing.

Finally, Brenda discussed Ouiji boards. Although sold in stores like Toy’s R Us they are not toys.

“Don’t use them,” Brenda said. “They are portals used to call demons into this world. They will give you any favour you want. They will pretend to be anything you want them to be, but as soon as they want a favour, they will tag around with you for a long time. People see it as entertainment, but it’s not” she explained.

Suddenly Jay tells the others he saw a black shadow zoom past in the distance, at which point heads turned in the direction he was pointing. Whatever it was had disappeared.

Brenda then asked if we would like to do a séance. While the group circled and joined hands, she began to call out to any spirit that wanted to communicate. During this time Brenda again picked up on the children who wanted to play tag.

“They are telling me to come play their game, because our game is stupid,” she said.

After two hours of walking and some careful observing, the group decided to call it a night, but not before Brenda was drawn to the graves of three brothers buried side by side, with graves representing the age, oldest to youngest. She touched the middle stone.

“I can see water linked to this. I believe this child drowned,” she said.

Finally, returning to the front gates under the bright spotlights, the adventure was over.

“People look too hard for things. They go looking for ghosts and end up getting disappointed when they don’t see anything. When spirits contact those with abilities it’s very subtle and sometimes it’s hard to pick up on,” Brenda said.

Be safe, you never know what could be creeping behind you, ready to follow you home and settle in