Halloween Brings Out the Paranormal in Frankford

“There are spooks in there I tell ya, Spooks “. A famous line from a famous movie opens this first time column.

The quote above isn’t all that unusual for my associates or myself to hear. Paranormal 215 formed in 2008 to find out if we could indeed gather any evidence to support claims like this. We also are able to, at times, clear up what is sometimes unnerving people. People may find out what was scaring them in fact weren’t spirits or ghost but acorns hitting and rolling down the roof. But, what about the times we are faced with the unexplainable? Noises, smells, lights turning on and off or furniture moving are just some of the things that can be encountered. We have seen some weird things over these past few years.

But, what if the evidence is disturbing to even the investigator? Yes, I have witnessed such cases. We have had a case when even the local priest was contacted and brought in. You’re thinking in the back of your mind, “I wish I could tell these people to leave as quickly as they can.” Needless to say, it isn’t our place to make such a request or cause panic in a family. At this point, it is time to educate the person to the best of your ability. We’re not there to perform  exorcisms or blessings’, we are there to see if we can indeed find evidence of an actual haunting. One thing, I believe, is the need to stress the fact that it would be very unusual for a spirit to do any physical harm to someone. Another thing to pass on is that full body apparitions are extremely rare — most investigators would never witness one themselves.

We have all heard of famous haunted places that are written about often such as Gettysburg Pa., Williamsburg Va., and the sprawling hills of Valley Forge Pa. as well as countless others. Just about everywhere you visit will have stories to tell. Stories of old train lines and old time miners are common as well as the stories surrounding the southern plantations. Thousands of reports have been collected over time in places like these but it doesn’t end there. Many locations, especially here in Philadelphia and its surrounding areas, are rich in stories, lots of them. From the days of early settlers, followed by William Penn and the forefathers, this area has been crawling with history. It astonishes me how much Mr. Smiley has unearthed just in the Frankford area. If there is a place that could harbor such tales, ours would certainly be eligible. Just think, not far from here, the likes of the pirate Blackbeard walked and had his share of mistresses. Battles and soldiers from the revolution as well as the Civil War were housed and cared for here. Their encampments littered the whole region including Frankford. Need more be said? There is no doubt, many of you have stories to tell of your own.

So, maybe you are a believer but maybe you’re not. In either case almost everyone has times where they feel they are being watched, or thought they saw something out the corner of their eye. Who knows? That is one of the reasons Paranormal 215 formed. Maybe we could answer this question for ourselves. I lead investigations with a skeptical, yet open mind — hopefully you will read this article with the same open mind. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I’m not here to change that, but to give you some insight into our world. You may want to visit our website, paranormal215.com. Parts of it are presently being upgraded but will soon include sound clips and more pictures from our investigations, it does offer some pictures now. Stop by and check it once in a while for new content, we have an incredible web designer who constantly works to improve it. You can also contact us through the same web page. Hope to see you there.

Make sure you check for future articles from us where we will discuss some of our findings as well as some of our investigations. At times we may discuss other topics that may be occurring in the paranormal world.