Welcome to Mr. Haunted!
Since childhood I always had an interest in the supernatural. One of the first books I remember owning was called Ghosts by Daniel Cohen. There was a picture in this book that I thought was the most amazing picture I had ever seen, The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall. This is the famous picture taken in 1936 for LIFE magazine that depicts a woman descending a staircase even though the photographer swore there was no one there when he took the picture. They called this a psychic photograph and I knew one day I wanted to grow up to be not a fireman or a doctor, but yes, a psychic photographer. Being 7 years old, it was hard enough to find a camera to use let alone finding a haunted location to bicycle to
My first introduction to the paranormal
I was about 10 years old. I was listening to a baseball game on the radio at about 8 PM while on my bed. I was lying on my stomach with my knees bent and my feet in the air (got that?). My radio was the type with the dials on it, sort of like the ones on a stove and it was to the right of me on top of the dresser. My mother had company downstairs and I was told to "Stay in bed." Even though the lights were on I began to get the feeling of being "watched". The radio began changing stations on its own. I immediately thought" I can't go downstairs, what do I do?!" So I look over at the radio and I can see the dial moving quickly back and forth. I was frozen and couldn't move until "something" with great force pushed my feet down to the bed.I got up and ran downstairs. I can imagine the horror on my mother's face when her nerdy 10 year old son (who am I teasing, I was probably 18) in his Incredible Hulk pajamas came running down screaming "Ma!, Ma! there's a ghost in my room, it was turning my radio and then it threw my legs down and...." Get back upstairs, there are no such things as ghosts! So I was sent back upstairs.Luckily, nothing else happened that night or ever again in that house. But I guess a psychiatrist would say I am still trying to prove my mother wrong. There ARE such things as ghosts, Mom.
My involvement with the paranormal
In the early 90's,I was taking pictures in Union Cemetery in Easton, Connecticut. I was under the assumption that this place was so haunted that "The White Lady" would just simply appear and you could take a picture of her. After an hour or so of waiting I decided to just take my roll of film and keep the pictures as a souvenir. I thought this would be the end of my "ghost hunting" career. But when I got my pictures developed almost half had "ghostly" images on them. So I kept going and I took so many that I threw away dozens that weren't dramatic enough and if I got any "orbs" I would throw them out too. I met someone there(Debbie Elward)that was also getting psychic or spirit photos. She told me that the Warren's would love to see these pictures. I knew of Ed and Lorraine Warren from a lecture they did at SCSU. She told me that they teach classes and invited me to go the next week.
I became a member of The New England Society for Psychic Research.Ed and Lorraine Warren, along with Tony Spera conducted classes and instruction on investigation techniques,paranormal terms,their own experiences.We also had some great guest speakers such as Fr Malachi Martin.I eventually I was sent out to investigate alleged haunted houses and interview the people involved while gathering evidence with video,audio,and photos and then report back to them as to what we had discovered.
Another group I was a member of was H.O.P.E It was with this group that a producer from ABC came across our website and wanted to do a story on us for PrimeTime Live. They were interested in the exorcisms that we had helped with. To make a long story short, after the PrimetimeLive special "The Devil Within" aired we had hundreds of calls from all over the country from people in need of help. This group broke up after a few years.
Curently taking a break
I am currently taking a break from investigating but that doesn't mean I'll turn my back to anyone who is need of help dealing with the paranormal. I will help where and when I can by putting people into contact with others, in their area who are experinced in the paranormal and can provide the help that is so desperately needed. I have never and will never charge for investigations.
Since my ghostly encounter at the young age of 10, My ghost pictures and videos have appeared on PrimeTime Live,Good Morning America,Unsolved Mysteries,Scariest NIght of my Life ,Sightings and "Hostage to The Devil".
My experiences and pictures have also been featured in the book,Ghost Hunters of New England by Alan Brown,,Sun magazine,LIFE magazine,Connecticut Magazine,The Hamden Chronicle,The Cheshire Herald,The New Haven Register,North Haven Post,Easton Courier and I taught "Intro to Ghost Hunting" classes at the high school for over 10 years. I have investigated hundreds of supposed haunted locations and assisted around 50 exorcisms.I have recently co-authored the book Phantom Messages with Bill Hall.