Stars of A&E show haunt UConn

An eerie air filled Jorgensen Wednesday night as SUBOG brought Ryan Buell and Chad Calek to speak to a sizable crowd. 

"He's the star of the hit A&E show 'Paranormal States' and we though we would try something new this year for Halloween," said Caroline Wolfenden, the SUBOG special events chair and a 7th-semester communication disorders major.

Buell, a 27-year-old from South Carolina, founded the Paranormal Research Society when he was only 19 year-old at Pennsylvania State University. 

The mission of the research society, according to their Web site, is to "scientifically and spiritually explore the supernatural." His work with the research society has became the focus for the A&E show "Paranormal States."

"I know a lot of people have questions about the supernatural," said Buell. "What we've captured over the last few years we want to share with you the best of that evidence."

"If you've never had a paranormal experience, it's really disturbing - especially when no one believes you when you're a kid," he said. "I was always very different when I was younger because I had these experiences that made me different. I had to close off for quite some time."

Buell explained that there are four different types of entities including ghosts, spirits, poltergeists and demonics. Ghosts are residential and tend to haunt places by appearing by time or date in a consistent fashion whereas spirits are a conscious entity that one can interact with.

"There is something strange going on in this world," said Buell. "And it happens to everyday people."

Poltergeists are a bit different. In the paranormal community, it is not a spirit in theory, Calek explained. Poltergeists utilize the individual as the agent for communication.  These individuals are primarily children or young women who lived in a broken household who have suffered abuse. 

"The other difference is that in ghosts and spirits it's an external agent, usually you need to remove that force and it's a lot easier," said Buell. "You bring in a priest or exorcist to order the spirit to move on. In poltergeists cases, you have to deal with the psychological trauma that is embedded in the individual."

Buell talked about the Enfield Poltergeist. The activity in this case was not just spiritual; it ranged from thousands of people seeing UFOs in the sky, to rocks falling down from seemingly nowhere.  The case focused on the experiences of the Harper family.  One daughter in this family, Janet, was caught on film levitating for about 20 seconds above her bed.

Janet's personality altered after interacting with this poltergeist, and obtained out-of-body strength to where three or four men could not hold her down as she began barking like a dog.

The first demonic haunting that Buell encountered was in his senior year in college. After meeting with his senior advisor to make sure he was all set to check out of college and join the working force, he got a call from a man who was scared for his son and daughter-in-law.  They would see black mists, things would fly across the room, and crucifixes would bend.

"People ask me, well, what are demons," Buell said. "Most major religions or belief systems have some form of a demon or annoying spirit.  It is essentially a fallen angel, what was used to be divine but then fell from grace. But now has one motive, to seek the ruin of souls."

Calek and Buell showed the audience a variety of different clips from the Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, Kentucky.  The sanatorium, which opened in 1910 to accommodate 40 to 50 tuberculosis patients, is one of the most haunted locations in the United States.

"If you're going to go ghost hunting, you have to have a ton of patience," Calek said. "If I could get back at the end of my life all of the time I've sat alone in the dark talking to nobody …" he laughed.

Calek introduced a video of the camera crew in sanatorium.  The crew was attempting to connect with a ghost named Timmy. The crew filmed in the dark for up to eight hours watching a soccer ball, hoping that the ghost would move the ball and communicate with them.  Buell showed the audience a clip of the ball moving slightly, rocking back and forth.

The last piece they showed was from The Church of the Damned, an abandoned church in Kansas. A man and his three sons were given free rent to renovate it, and after the father breaks down in the basement crying because of activity - the team goes to investigate.  Buell himself is attacked by what he claims was a demon in the basement.

"Coming from a science-medical background, I definitely had my skepticism coming to this event," said Melanie Brunner, a 7th-semester pharmacy major. "Afterward I'm definitely a believer in paranormal activity.  The evidence they showed was really terrifying but fascinating."