Thursday, June 25, 2009

Ghost hunters employ technology, skepticism

Melinda Waldrup takes a seat on the floor of the maid's quarters at Körner's Folly in Kernersville. She speaks into her tape recorder, noting the time: 9:15 p.m. The lights go out. In the next room Caroline Rogers asks, "Is anybody with us tonight?" A few seconds later, Waldrup chimes in. "What was your life like here?" Some ice in a cooler trickles down. An air conditioner hums. And Rogers thinks she hears some kids playing. But there are no kids around. Rogers and Waldrup are members of the Southern Paranormal and Anomaly Research Society, which recently extended its reach into the Piedmont Triad. The group is affiliated with The Atlantic Paranormal Society of the Sci Fi Channel series "Ghost Hunters." Its Carolinas chapter has about 30 investigators, a half-dozen of whom reside in the Triad. They study alleged ghostly activities armed with...............