Media & Awards
Who goes there?
Restless spirits may cause sleepless nights but this group will look into 'haunted' houses
Thursday, April 03, 2008
By Erin Gibson Allen
Does your house make peculiar creaking noises late at night? Do garbled distant voices call
out to you? Do you suspect that your house might be haunted?
What to do? Who are you going to call? (OK, say it: Ghost Busters!)
Residents in the South Hills have a new group to contact if they are concerned about
unexplained activity. Don Wagner, 42, of Finleyville, Washington County, recently founded
the Peace of Mind Paranormal Society, at 3045 W. Liberty Ave., Dormont, to help people with
concerns about things that go bump in the night.
And he doesn't mind Ghost Buster jokes.
"More than likely the noises are natural occurrences, like the house settling," said Mr.
Wagner, who has been active in paranormal investigations for eight years. "For the other ten
percent of cases, we try to help people understand what is going on."
The society's services are free. When someone asks for an investigation, the group has a
standard procedure. Members interview the individual and then tour the home or location
where the questionable activity has been occurring.
Mr. Wagner said that in his experience, he finds that most spirits make their presence known
between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 2 a.m. So investigations are done at night after the
group sets up its equipment, which includes temperature gauges and recording devices. The
amount of equipment required for spiritual surveillance is extensive, Mr. Wagner said. When
not in use, the society's devices fill his entire living room.
The group then asks the client if he or she wants to be involved in the surveillance.
"Whatever is happening is more likely to let itself be known with the client there," Mr. Wagner
said. He added: "not everyone is comfortable being there for an investigation."
After a full night of surveillance, the team then spends about a week reviewing the evidence
collected, including electromagnetic field readings.
Pat Pettijohn, of Pittsburgh, recently joined the society, and said that she is looking forward
to investigations. She believes the Dormont area house that she grew up in was haunted and
this sparked her interest in paranormal activity.
"Normally I'm a skeptic, I need to see for myself," Ms. Pettijohn said.
She said that many are surprised, even shocked, to learn of her interest in looking for proof
of the spirit world. But, she descries her self as "an average person'' who has an interest in
the paranormal. "I am a Catholic, and we are not in league with the devil," she said.
Kaity Conrad, of Sharpsburg, also recently joined. At her first job, done at a South Hills
business, she said "we heard unexplained footsteps, but we are still reviewing.''
Other members of the team include Mr. Wagner's wife, Jackie, and son, Matthew.
While headquartered in Dormont, the group travels throughout the tri-state. This month
members are working at an old mansion in Mt. Pleasant, Westmoreland County, and at a
restaurant in Penn Hills.
What happens when the society determines that there is paranormal activity at a location?
"We try to communicate with the spirit to see what it wants," Mr. Wagner said. Often, he said,
the spirit is that of a deceased relative who feels tied to the living relatives. Through
communication, the society works to get the spirit to move on, Mr. Wagner said.
Other times he advises clients to just ignore the activity. "If you don't confront it that helps,"
he said. "The theory is that spirits feed off this negative energy."
The group does not seek to remove spirits, as in the movie "Ghost Busters," Mr. Wagner
said. "If a person wants to, we can get their church involved to have their house blessed," he
said, "but we don't try to remove spirits."
"People think we're crazy at first, but when they see the work that we do, they take us
seriously,'' Mr. Wagner said.
For more, visit www.peaceofmindparanormalsociety.com.
Restless spirits may cause sleepless nights but this group will look into 'haunted' houses
Thursday, April 03, 2008
By Erin Gibson Allen
Does your house make peculiar creaking noises late at night? Do garbled distant voices call
out to you? Do you suspect that your house might be haunted?
What to do? Who are you going to call? (OK, say it: Ghost Busters!)
Residents in the South Hills have a new group to contact if they are concerned about
unexplained activity. Don Wagner, 42, of Finleyville, Washington County, recently founded
the Peace of Mind Paranormal Society, at 3045 W. Liberty Ave., Dormont, to help people with
concerns about things that go bump in the night.
And he doesn't mind Ghost Buster jokes.
"More than likely the noises are natural occurrences, like the house settling," said Mr.
Wagner, who has been active in paranormal investigations for eight years. "For the other ten
percent of cases, we try to help people understand what is going on."
The society's services are free. When someone asks for an investigation, the group has a
standard procedure. Members interview the individual and then tour the home or location
where the questionable activity has been occurring.
Mr. Wagner said that in his experience, he finds that most spirits make their presence known
between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 2 a.m. So investigations are done at night after the
group sets up its equipment, which includes temperature gauges and recording devices. The
amount of equipment required for spiritual surveillance is extensive, Mr. Wagner said. When
not in use, the society's devices fill his entire living room.
The group then asks the client if he or she wants to be involved in the surveillance.
"Whatever is happening is more likely to let itself be known with the client there," Mr. Wagner
said. He added: "not everyone is comfortable being there for an investigation."
After a full night of surveillance, the team then spends about a week reviewing the evidence
collected, including electromagnetic field readings.
Pat Pettijohn, of Pittsburgh, recently joined the society, and said that she is looking forward
to investigations. She believes the Dormont area house that she grew up in was haunted and
this sparked her interest in paranormal activity.
"Normally I'm a skeptic, I need to see for myself," Ms. Pettijohn said.
She said that many are surprised, even shocked, to learn of her interest in looking for proof
of the spirit world. But, she descries her self as "an average person'' who has an interest in
the paranormal. "I am a Catholic, and we are not in league with the devil," she said.
Kaity Conrad, of Sharpsburg, also recently joined. At her first job, done at a South Hills
business, she said "we heard unexplained footsteps, but we are still reviewing.''
Other members of the team include Mr. Wagner's wife, Jackie, and son, Matthew.
While headquartered in Dormont, the group travels throughout the tri-state. This month
members are working at an old mansion in Mt. Pleasant, Westmoreland County, and at a
restaurant in Penn Hills.
What happens when the society determines that there is paranormal activity at a location?
"We try to communicate with the spirit to see what it wants," Mr. Wagner said. Often, he said,
the spirit is that of a deceased relative who feels tied to the living relatives. Through
communication, the society works to get the spirit to move on, Mr. Wagner said.
Other times he advises clients to just ignore the activity. "If you don't confront it that helps,"
he said. "The theory is that spirits feed off this negative energy."
The group does not seek to remove spirits, as in the movie "Ghost Busters," Mr. Wagner
said. "If a person wants to, we can get their church involved to have their house blessed," he
said, "but we don't try to remove spirits."
"People think we're crazy at first, but when they see the work that we do, they take us
seriously,'' Mr. Wagner said.
For more, visit www.peaceofmindparanormalsociety.com.
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Hello Don,
I enjoyed my visit to your site and was very impressed
with the work your group does. I am pleased to give you
our award attached below. Keep up the good work.
Pam Johnson
UPIA Officer
Titlow Times
Titlow Tavern & Grille Monthly Newsletter Issue 6, August 2008
Welcome to the TitlowTimes newsletter!
We appreciate your patronage and strive to inform and entertain.
titlowtavern@verizon.net 724-437-6749 www.titlowtavern.net.
Historically Haunted!
The Titlow Hotel has had a very colorful past and anyone who has
spent much time there will tell you, the place is haunted. Stories vary.
Some say it is a famous violinist, others expect that it is George Titlow
himself. Some believe the spirit/s lived there when they were human, in
the apartments that once graced the upper floors.
We are hoping to find out a little about the spirits who may or may not
walk the halls of the Titlow. This month, the Peace of Mind Paranormal
Society, accompanied by author and publisher, Marci McGuinness, will
set up cameras and digital recording equipment in the Titlow to see
what the spirits are up to these days.
McGuinness will be writing a book and creating a DVD called Haunted
Laurel Highlands, after visiting a number of spiritually active buildings
in the area with the paranormal group. In the September Titlow Times,
we will report on our findings!
Hear about the SPIRITS residing at the Titlow on WMBS Radio, August
26 - Author and Publisher, Marci McGuinness, will be interviewed by
John Robinson on the Jack Evans Show from 6:15 - 7p.m. on Tuesday,
August 26. She will let you know the findings, if any, from their
investigation in the Titlow's upper floors, with the Peace of Mind
Paranormal Society. The group's Technical Manager will join the author
on the show.
Titlow Tavern & Grille Monthly Newsletter Issue 6, August 2008
Welcome to the TitlowTimes newsletter!
We appreciate your patronage and strive to inform and entertain.
titlowtavern@verizon.net 724-437-6749 www.titlowtavern.net.
Historically Haunted!
The Titlow Hotel has had a very colorful past and anyone who has
spent much time there will tell you, the place is haunted. Stories vary.
Some say it is a famous violinist, others expect that it is George Titlow
himself. Some believe the spirit/s lived there when they were human, in
the apartments that once graced the upper floors.
We are hoping to find out a little about the spirits who may or may not
walk the halls of the Titlow. This month, the Peace of Mind Paranormal
Society, accompanied by author and publisher, Marci McGuinness, will
set up cameras and digital recording equipment in the Titlow to see
what the spirits are up to these days.
McGuinness will be writing a book and creating a DVD called Haunted
Laurel Highlands, after visiting a number of spiritually active buildings
in the area with the paranormal group. In the September Titlow Times,
we will report on our findings!
Hear about the SPIRITS residing at the Titlow on WMBS Radio, August
26 - Author and Publisher, Marci McGuinness, will be interviewed by
John Robinson on the Jack Evans Show from 6:15 - 7p.m. on Tuesday,
August 26. She will let you know the findings, if any, from their
investigation in the Titlow's upper floors, with the Peace of Mind
Paranormal Society. The group's Technical Manager will join the author
on the show.