Johnson City Press Media Coverage of Paranormal Technology Investigations Appearing on Destination America Channels National TV show
"A Haunting"
For more information about Paranormal Technology Investigations, go to the group’s website at www.ptitn.com.
Follow Tony Casey on Twitter @TonyCaseyJCP. Like him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tonycaseyjournalist.
Read more: Who y'all gonna call? Local paranormal investigators to be featured on Destination America | Johnson City Press http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/article/119741/who-yall-gonna-call-local-paranormal-investigators-to-be-featured-on-destination-america#ixzz3AynMMMLC
“What do you want?” Paranormal Technology Investigations’ co-founder Kathy Shephard asked an unknown force after she removed a mother and family from a residence outside Jonesborough because of a possible haunting.
“Just her soul. Bring her back,” the apparition repeatedly said, later picked up with electronic voice phenomena recorder.
The alleged ghost, Shephard said, was well aware the investigators had removed members of the family from the area so they could perform their work.
This is a somewhat common occurrence with Paranormal Technology Investigations’ team, who said they receive, on average, about three calls a week from people who want some kind of spooky situation looked into. While the symptoms of the alleged paranormal activity are frequently the same — loud footsteps in someone’s house, seeing a ghostly figure, even someone getting scratched or knocked to the ground — each situation is different.
Paranormal Technology Investigations looks to help families of these types of trouble through a spiritual blessing and come Sunday night, viewers will be able to see what their investigations look like. The Destination America channel will air its “A Haunting” show at 10 p.m. and use footage put together by the Paranormal Technology Investigations team. The first episode will show what they call paranormal activity that took place in Hampton on Dennis Cove Road in 2011.
There are more episodes filmed, but Shephard’s team is unsure when those will run. One of these includes a trip where four members of Shephard’s team went to Wasilla, Alaska, to perform an investigation, where they were all able to help out a family with a potential haunting.
Robb Phillips, a former preacher, now heads the paranormal outfit with Shephard, trying to help rid houses of negative or evil energies or spirits. They will perform exorcisms and special prayers and special blessings as needed. He said they don’t make money in carrying out their investigations but make some money when they offer historical walking ghost tours around the area. This money helps his team financially survive to help others. Because of the nature of the work they do, they’re careful not to give too much information on possibly haunted houses.
There have been times where his team has asked ghosts to move items around them and the ghosts would, on command, move a rocking chair or make a loud noise in one particularly intense haunting, he said.
“We’d hear a couple arguing with each other inside the walls,” Phillips said. Once members of his team put their ears up to the wall, he said, there was a massive slap, like that of a sledgehammer, next to where they were listening from inside the walls.
All this and light bulbs shattering above their heads and Phillips said they try their best to remain calm.
“We try not to show fear, because they sense that,” Phillips said.
The process conducted by the Paranormal Technology Investigations’ teams includes an interview with the person or persons alleging the paranormal activity, which is subsequently followed by a walk through of the property, an investigation conducted there, an analysis of the evidence, a spiritual blessing and then a series of check-ins to see how the process went.
“You can’t imagine the streaks of bad luck that can occur,” Phillips said. “The blessing removes anything negative or evil, depending on the family.”
Phillips and Shephard say they hope the episodes show what their investigations are really like and how intense their encounters can get.
Many people, Shepard said, come to them as skeptics of run-ins with ghosts and demons, but after they go through investigations with the team, they’re frequently turned into believers.
“Oh, my gosh,” one recent skeptic said after investigating with Shephard. “I can’t believe this.”
But he could believe it, she said, requesting as many of the recordings of what they all had seen as he could get.
Elizabethton Star Media Coverage of Paranormal Technology Investigations Appearing on Destination America ChannelsNational TV Show
"A Haunting"
http://www.elizabethton.com/2014/08/21/a-hampton-haunting/#sthash.9hEDgxCF
Jonesborough Herald and Tribune Media Coverage of Paranormal Technology Investigations Appearing onDestination America Channels National TV Show
"A Haunting"
http://www.heraldandtribune.com/Detail.php?Cat=LIFESTYLES&ID=61680
In downtown Jonesborough, nestled between antique shops selling stained glass and rustic wooden furniture, is a small red sign that piques the interest of those who walk by, calling all who dare to explore not only the history of Tennessee’s oldest town, but also its ghosts.East Tennessee Ghost Tours and Paranormal Technology is where visitors can explore what makes Jonesborough one of the top 10 most haunted places in America, according to http://tcprs.com a popular website for paranormal enthusiasts.
Located at 111 E. Main St., the little room that makes up the Ghost Tours offices is lined with eerie photos of local churches and businesses where people have claimed to have experiences with ghosts. Images of shadowy figures and smoke-like apparitions hang on the walls as proof there’s something spooky going on in Jonesborough.
The owners, Kathy Shepard and Robb Phillips, sat at desks only a few feet apart with a dry erase board behind them filled with lists of places in town — some marked with stars and others with check marks.
The ones with stars were the houses they had already investigated, and the ones with checks were the ones that needed their attention. A big white cartoon ghost sat in the corner with glowing green eyes and a hat on its head as if saying, “I’m a friendly ghost.”
Phillips sat on a small wooden stool, his eyes blue green and his goatee a peppered mixture of light brown and blonde. A pack of Marlboro red cigarettes sat on a desk cluttered with papers and yellow sticky notes. The normally shy man became animated as he talked about the paranormal and his love for helping people.
“I use to help cast out demons from people in our church. If outsiders would get turned away from their church, then we we're always willing to help them also. With that, along with personal experiences hat’s when I kinda decided I would like to really reach out. and offer ways to help other people,” said Phillips.
The paranormal team, which has been together for six years, set up shop four years ago in Jonesborough. When asked why they chose Jonesborough, they both offered an expression that indicated it was a no-brainer.
“The haunted location of Jonesborough is one of the top 10 most haunted towns in America, and the oldest town in Tennessee, so why not?” said Phillips.
Phillips believes the main reason for so many paranormal sightings is a cholera outbreak that killed almost half of the population.
“New people were settling here, new houses were being built, new businesses were coming together, and all the construction had to stop so the healthy could build coffins and dig graves for the dead.”
Shepard, who has inviting brown eyes and a short edgy haircut, recalled her own experience with paranormal events.
“I’ve heard a horse galloping down Main, and people say they saw Andrew Jackson on the horse. We also have a few pictures that capture apparitions in some of the local businesses,” she said, a wide grin on her face.
Many of the business owners in Jonesborough tell similar tales. At the Olde Courthouse Diner, owner Lance Davis and employee Opal Pagan claim the restaurant is haunted.
Davis has owned the restaurant for a year and a half. He says the building was once a pool hall and a bail bondsman’s office. A bullet hole in the front window is where they claim a man was shot in the building sometime in the 60s.
“Lots of times I’m here late at night after everybody’s gone and you’ll hear a crash in the other room, and you’ll go and see something laying on the floor for no apparent reason,” Davis said.
Pagan, who has long wispy brown hair and silver rings on her fingers, believes that maybe whoever was shot in the building is the one causing all the trouble.
“We call him George,” she said as she laughed at the thought of giving something invisible a name.
“Two weeks ago I was putting dishes away in the kitchen, and a bowl came off the counter, and this past Sunday I got pushed. It pushed me so hard,” she said.
At the AmericInn hotel, owner Gary Robertson and manager Nick Banderbegte sat in the airy lobby in two yellow chairs next to a brick fireplace. Robertson, a Jonesborough native and owner of the hotel since 2006, laughed at the rumors of guests who claimed to see a ghost opening and closing doors at the hotel.
“Well, when you own a property like this, you’re happy with anything that will open the doors,” he said, chuckling.
Banderbegte says guests frequently tell him they have spotted figures in the lobby late at night.
A guest recently told him that she saw two apparitions, one reading a paper, and the other just walking around the hotel. “I think it’s fascinating that other people are fascinated by it,” said the Minneapolis native.
Phillips and Shepard will be featured on the Destination America Channel series, “A Haunting,” with their first episode airing Sunday, Aug. 24, at 10 p.m.
“‘Haunting’ airs in 100 countries. People can watch that show and see how we helped someone else. Maybe they experienced the same thing and can say, ‘Hey maybe they can help us too.’ That’s what we’re shooting for,” Phillips said.
Anais Briggs is a journalism student at MTSU. She was one of eight students who recently spent a week in Jonesborough writing stories for the Herald Tribune.
Located at 111 E. Main St., the little room that makes up the Ghost Tours offices is lined with eerie photos of local churches and businesses where people have claimed to have experiences with ghosts. Images of shadowy figures and smoke-like apparitions hang on the walls as proof there’s something spooky going on in Jonesborough.
The owners, Kathy Shepard and Robb Phillips, sat at desks only a few feet apart with a dry erase board behind them filled with lists of places in town — some marked with stars and others with check marks.
The ones with stars were the houses they had already investigated, and the ones with checks were the ones that needed their attention. A big white cartoon ghost sat in the corner with glowing green eyes and a hat on its head as if saying, “I’m a friendly ghost.”
Phillips sat on a small wooden stool, his eyes blue green and his goatee a peppered mixture of light brown and blonde. A pack of Marlboro red cigarettes sat on a desk cluttered with papers and yellow sticky notes. The normally shy man became animated as he talked about the paranormal and his love for helping people.
“I use to help cast out demons from people in our church. If outsiders would get turned away from their church, then we we're always willing to help them also. With that, along with personal experiences hat’s when I kinda decided I would like to really reach out. and offer ways to help other people,” said Phillips.
The paranormal team, which has been together for six years, set up shop four years ago in Jonesborough. When asked why they chose Jonesborough, they both offered an expression that indicated it was a no-brainer.
“The haunted location of Jonesborough is one of the top 10 most haunted towns in America, and the oldest town in Tennessee, so why not?” said Phillips.
Phillips believes the main reason for so many paranormal sightings is a cholera outbreak that killed almost half of the population.
“New people were settling here, new houses were being built, new businesses were coming together, and all the construction had to stop so the healthy could build coffins and dig graves for the dead.”
Shepard, who has inviting brown eyes and a short edgy haircut, recalled her own experience with paranormal events.
“I’ve heard a horse galloping down Main, and people say they saw Andrew Jackson on the horse. We also have a few pictures that capture apparitions in some of the local businesses,” she said, a wide grin on her face.
Many of the business owners in Jonesborough tell similar tales. At the Olde Courthouse Diner, owner Lance Davis and employee Opal Pagan claim the restaurant is haunted.
Davis has owned the restaurant for a year and a half. He says the building was once a pool hall and a bail bondsman’s office. A bullet hole in the front window is where they claim a man was shot in the building sometime in the 60s.
“Lots of times I’m here late at night after everybody’s gone and you’ll hear a crash in the other room, and you’ll go and see something laying on the floor for no apparent reason,” Davis said.
Pagan, who has long wispy brown hair and silver rings on her fingers, believes that maybe whoever was shot in the building is the one causing all the trouble.
“We call him George,” she said as she laughed at the thought of giving something invisible a name.
“Two weeks ago I was putting dishes away in the kitchen, and a bowl came off the counter, and this past Sunday I got pushed. It pushed me so hard,” she said.
At the AmericInn hotel, owner Gary Robertson and manager Nick Banderbegte sat in the airy lobby in two yellow chairs next to a brick fireplace. Robertson, a Jonesborough native and owner of the hotel since 2006, laughed at the rumors of guests who claimed to see a ghost opening and closing doors at the hotel.
“Well, when you own a property like this, you’re happy with anything that will open the doors,” he said, chuckling.
Banderbegte says guests frequently tell him they have spotted figures in the lobby late at night.
A guest recently told him that she saw two apparitions, one reading a paper, and the other just walking around the hotel. “I think it’s fascinating that other people are fascinated by it,” said the Minneapolis native.
Phillips and Shepard will be featured on the Destination America Channel series, “A Haunting,” with their first episode airing Sunday, Aug. 24, at 10 p.m.
“‘Haunting’ airs in 100 countries. People can watch that show and see how we helped someone else. Maybe they experienced the same thing and can say, ‘Hey maybe they can help us too.’ That’s what we’re shooting for,” Phillips said.
Anais Briggs is a journalism student at MTSU. She was one of eight students who recently spent a week in Jonesborough writing stories for the Herald Tribune.
Special Thanks To Mark Griffith, & Kevin Rhea
Founders of Paranormal Technology investigate hauntings in area
Patience might be a virtue, but it’s also a necessity when you’re investigating claims of paranormal activity
When you’re in the midst of an investigation into the haunting of a residence, you’re on the ghost’s time.
That’s typically the case for the investigators of Paranormal Technology, a local ghost hunting team that takes their craft seriously when comes to getting to the bottom of otherworldly claims and the things that go bump in the night.
Robb Phillips and Kathy Shephard are the lead investigators with Paranormal Technology. The two ghost hunters operate out of an office located in downtown Jonesborough, a place both paranormal experts say is littered with spirits, apparitions and other kinds of ghostly activity.
Taking their name to heart, the team utilizes a variety of ghost-tech, including static night-vision cameras connected to a monitor and DVR, K-II electromagnetic field meters, digital voice recorders, still cameras and a device called a “ghost-box,” which is basically a modified radio designed to pick up extremely low AM frequencies — frequencies that are often used by spirits when trying to contact the living, Phillips said.
On Thursday night and well into Friday morning, Phillips, Shephard and three other members of the team investigated an apartment of a Hampton couple who have been experiencing strange happenings ever since they moved in about two weeks ago.
According to Phillips, several people were killed in a fire in the building about 15 years ago, which he said could account for the loud noises heard in empty rooms, items going missing and then reappearing and the general uneasiness often felt at the location.
“If there’s anyone in the house other than the eight of us and the two children within the sound of our voice, can you please come closer and give us a sign of your presence?” he asked.
This was the first in a series of questions asked by Phillips as both the camera and his voice recorder rolled. The team repeated these steps as they went from room to room from about 10:45 Thursday night until about 4 a.m. Friday.
Once back in their office Friday afternoon, both Phillips and Shephard said they were sure there was activity in the house, but they were still hard at work sifting through the hours of footage and audio recordings taken during the investigation.
While spending day after day watching for something out of the ordinary to appear on camera might seem tiresome to most, this is the point in the investigation in which Phillips and Shephard try to prove or disprove someone’s claims, which the reason the team was formed.
“About 15 years ago, I noticed people were needing help and didn’t know who to go to,” Phillips said.
Both Phillips and Shephard share similar stories of seeing things when they were younger that couldn’t be explained. It was that curiosity that led Phillips to spend the last 14 years searching for answers when it comes to questions of the paranormal. Shephard joined Phillips in his investigations about two years ago and that’s when Paranormal Technology was born.
“I said we should get an office and it should be in Jonesborough, since it’s so haunted,” Shephard said.
In addition to performing home investigations, Phillips and Shephard lead nightly ghost tours in historic downtown Jonesborough. Since they’ve had a presence in Tennessee’s oldest town, they’ve had the chance to investigate some of the older buildings in Jonesborough, like the Cranberry Thistle, which both Phillips and Shephard said was very active.
Paranormal Technology also offers ghost stories, paranormal discussions and investigations at haunted locations in the region, including a cabin in Rogersville that sits next to a cemetery.
For the paranormal investigating duo, it’s all about the rush of the hunt and helping people in the process.
“I love just going into a place that’s haunted and getting touched, pushed or shoved or seeing a full-body apparition, but what it comes down to figuring out what we’re dealing with. Once we do that, we can pray over the home and cleanse it. That’s rewarding,” Phillips said.
For more information on Paranormal Technology in Jonesborough, TN visit
www.ptitn.com or www.easttnghosttours.com.
Read more: http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/article.php?id=95385#ixzz1cJBep7sI
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Patience might be a virtue, but it’s also a necessity when you’re investigating claims of paranormal activity
When you’re in the midst of an investigation into the haunting of a residence, you’re on the ghost’s time.
That’s typically the case for the investigators of Paranormal Technology, a local ghost hunting team that takes their craft seriously when comes to getting to the bottom of otherworldly claims and the things that go bump in the night.
Robb Phillips and Kathy Shephard are the lead investigators with Paranormal Technology. The two ghost hunters operate out of an office located in downtown Jonesborough, a place both paranormal experts say is littered with spirits, apparitions and other kinds of ghostly activity.
Taking their name to heart, the team utilizes a variety of ghost-tech, including static night-vision cameras connected to a monitor and DVR, K-II electromagnetic field meters, digital voice recorders, still cameras and a device called a “ghost-box,” which is basically a modified radio designed to pick up extremely low AM frequencies — frequencies that are often used by spirits when trying to contact the living, Phillips said.
On Thursday night and well into Friday morning, Phillips, Shephard and three other members of the team investigated an apartment of a Hampton couple who have been experiencing strange happenings ever since they moved in about two weeks ago.
According to Phillips, several people were killed in a fire in the building about 15 years ago, which he said could account for the loud noises heard in empty rooms, items going missing and then reappearing and the general uneasiness often felt at the location.
“If there’s anyone in the house other than the eight of us and the two children within the sound of our voice, can you please come closer and give us a sign of your presence?” he asked.
This was the first in a series of questions asked by Phillips as both the camera and his voice recorder rolled. The team repeated these steps as they went from room to room from about 10:45 Thursday night until about 4 a.m. Friday.
Once back in their office Friday afternoon, both Phillips and Shephard said they were sure there was activity in the house, but they were still hard at work sifting through the hours of footage and audio recordings taken during the investigation.
While spending day after day watching for something out of the ordinary to appear on camera might seem tiresome to most, this is the point in the investigation in which Phillips and Shephard try to prove or disprove someone’s claims, which the reason the team was formed.
“About 15 years ago, I noticed people were needing help and didn’t know who to go to,” Phillips said.
Both Phillips and Shephard share similar stories of seeing things when they were younger that couldn’t be explained. It was that curiosity that led Phillips to spend the last 14 years searching for answers when it comes to questions of the paranormal. Shephard joined Phillips in his investigations about two years ago and that’s when Paranormal Technology was born.
“I said we should get an office and it should be in Jonesborough, since it’s so haunted,” Shephard said.
In addition to performing home investigations, Phillips and Shephard lead nightly ghost tours in historic downtown Jonesborough. Since they’ve had a presence in Tennessee’s oldest town, they’ve had the chance to investigate some of the older buildings in Jonesborough, like the Cranberry Thistle, which both Phillips and Shephard said was very active.
Paranormal Technology also offers ghost stories, paranormal discussions and investigations at haunted locations in the region, including a cabin in Rogersville that sits next to a cemetery.
For the paranormal investigating duo, it’s all about the rush of the hunt and helping people in the process.
“I love just going into a place that’s haunted and getting touched, pushed or shoved or seeing a full-body apparition, but what it comes down to figuring out what we’re dealing with. Once we do that, we can pray over the home and cleanse it. That’s rewarding,” Phillips said.
For more information on Paranormal Technology in Jonesborough, TN visit
www.ptitn.com or www.easttnghosttours.com.
Read more: http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/article.php?id=95385#ixzz1cJBep7sI
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