Paranormal Investigator Visits Knox, Hunts for Ghosts

by Stephen Danilovich '14

A recent lecture by Chris Fleming, self-described paranormal investigator and spiritual counselor, attracted both ghost enthusiasts and skeptics from the Knox College community. They showed up to learn more about the paranormal -- and possibly get a chance to witness something supernatural themselves.

The first 40 people to make it to the lecture were invited to join Fleming on a ghost hunt around the Knox campus. This meant that many students arrived hours early to secure their seats.

"I'm here to evaluate him," Jarrett Thorsted, a sophomore from Kirkland, Washington, said before the lecture. "I'm not quite sure what to think of him yet."

"I'm a curious skeptic," said Maria Silva, a sophomore from Omaha, Nebraska. "I'm here to study this guy and see if he is legitimate."

The October 15 lecture, sponsored by the Union Board, started with the lights dimmed and Fleming's PowerPoint presentation accompanied by a mood-setting soundtrack. Fleming described himself as "a real-life paranormal investigator" and "a sensitive or medium" who is able to communicate with "conscious energies."

"I don't like the word ‘psychic,'" Fleming explained. "I don't do tarot readings, I don't do palm readings, or anything like that."

Much of Fleming's lecture covered the evidence he has collected over the years, including photographs of what he says are ghosts. He spoke about the equipment he uses to detect paranormal activity and his theories about the nature of ghosts. He also described his childhood experiences with ghosts.

"His stories were full of details," said Andrei Papancea, a sophomore from Vaslui, Romania. "He seemed very rational."

Fleming was candid about his experiences, often poking fun at himself while still vouching for his work. "Some people don't take this stuff seriously. I do, but I have fun doing it."

When the lecture ended, the group of 40 (the first who had arrived at the event) gathered on stage to talk with Fleming and prepare for the long-anticipated ghost hunt.

Fleming's first stop was the George Davis Hall basement (photo above, right). As the group crowded into the confined space, Fleming said he was hit by a wave of nausea and the smell of smoke, and he guessed that a fire had happened in the basement years ago.

A later check with the Knox College Archives revealed that there had been a fire in the building's attic about five decades ago, but nothing conclusive about a basement fire in George Davis Hall was found.

Using his "spirit box" -- a device that sweeps through different radio frequencies -- Fleming attempted to communicate with what he called "conscious energies," asking them questions as the equipment crackled. Occasionally, Fleming and others in the crowd said they could make out a ghostly response in between the stretches of static, although they didn't always agree on what they heard.

"You can only do this for five to 15 minutes," Fleming said after a while, switching off his device. "Any more than that and your brain just assumes it's hearing stuff."

The Old Jail (photo at left) was the second and final site of the ghost hunt, where the group followed Fleming into the cell block in which a man convicted of murder in the 1970s supposedly hanged himself.

There were plenty of scares in the gloomy jail, including a student sensing someone brush her arm, others feeling eerie drops in temperatures, and many collectively confirmed experiences, such as hearing several distinct responses on the spirit box.

At midnight, the investigation ended and everyone dispersed from the Old Jail building, either swayed, skeptical, or still uncertain of what to make of the paranormal.