Because there was such a great response to Lou Bernard’s interview about the Lock Haven Paranormal Society, I decided to reach out to Lou for a follow-up article. My goal was to discuss some actual cases that the group investigated in the area and get a better feel of what really goes on during an investigation. (OK, I’m curious but too chicken to go on an actual investigation.)
Dave: Lou, please tell us about some of your investigations that particularly stood out.
Lou: The Lock Haven Paranormal Society (LHPS) was first formed in October 2007, sixteen years ago. We spent some time learning and training and had a couple of walk-throughs in local cemeteries. Our first real investigation was a private business in Cameron County in July of 2008, and it was the first time we really came together as a team.
We don’t generally go out to abandoned buildings or private places, and I encourage the public to be a bit cautious of any ghost hunter who trespasses like that. We put the word out and wait to be invited to a haunted property. One of these was a local cemetery, which was interesting.
A mausoleum in this cemetery belongs to a prominent man whose granddaughter is thought to be haunting a couple of local properties. Using our EMF detectors, which measure electromagnetic fields, we got some high readings in that mausoleum. There was no electricity, no power lines anywhere nearby, and no reason to get a reading like that. And yet, we measured electric fields for a while in that mausoleum before they faded out.
There’s a building in Lock Haven that used to be the old jail. It was built in 1852 and served as a jail until the 1980s. It’s pretty severely haunted, and we’ve been asked to investigate that one several times. The only man ever hung for his crime in Clinton County was hung there in 1888, and he’s thought to still be haunting the place — among other ghosts. At one point, for no reason, we got a huge temperature drop during the investigation. The temperature dropped about twenty degrees; suddenly, we could see our breath, and then it went back to normal room temperature.
We also got some activity on the EVPs (Electronic Voice Phenomena). This is when we let a recorder run, ask questions, and see what sounds and voices we can get. Note here that we’re looking for specific, measurable information; nothing we do involves anyone pretending to hear voices or get messages from beyond. We don’t use psychics, and we’re looking for results that we can prove.
So, we asked, in the courtyard in the back of the jail, when the person died. And a little whispery voice on our recorder says, “You know that.” In another room, we started off the session. We always go around, and everyone says their name, so we have a record of who participated. After my name, on the recording, you can hear a voice repeat, “Lou.” And I can’t tell you how comforting it is that a dead criminal knows who I am.
Last summer, for practice, we took a ride down Clinton County’s most haunted road. The Pine-Loganton Road runs from McElhattan to Loganton through three townships and has more haunted legends than any other road in Clinton County. There are old legends of a murdered servant girl along the road and a man who froze to death, as well as a haunted cemetery on each end. We stopped in several places to run some tests and, at one point, got an unexplainable temperature drop. We use laser thermometers to measure the temperature. In this case, on one bend in the road, suddenly, we measured twenty-six degrees. Remember, this was August.
Dave: Do people ever ask to ride along on investigations?
Lou: We get people asking if they can come along on investigations, but we prefer them to attend our tours and seminars instead. All of our team members have gotten criminal background checks and have been trained. We make it a policy not to bring strangers into peoples’ homes. If you can imagine a plumber bringing a random friend, you’ll see how weird that would be. Besides, our tours and seminars are generally held to assist local nonprofit organizations, so by attending, you’re doing a good thing for the community!
For more information on the LHPS or to contact Lou and his team, you can find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LHParanormal or email lhpsteam@gmail.com.
