IF there is something strange in your neighbourhood, who ya gonna call? Well, if you happen to be in Inverness, the answer to Ray Parker Jnr’s question should be the Highland Paranormal Group.
Not ghostbusters, but rather ghost investigators, the group does, however, keep an open mind on what the ghosties might be — if there are ghosts at all.
"I firmly believe there is something," co-founder Liam Shand said.
"Whether it is a ghost or something from the past or something produced by our own energies, I don’t know."
The group was founded just last year, but already has almost 3000 Facebook friends, something Liam attributes in part to romantic associations with the Highlands and the supernatural.
"There was an Edinburgh based group that was trying to branch out in the north, but it didn’t happen, so rather than not do anything, we decided to form our own group," he explained.
Liam admits one of the sparks of his interest in supernatural matters were the various ghosthunting shows seen regularly on satellite television, combined with his lifelong interest in history, but these days he takes a slightly sceptical view of what is seen on television.
"A lot of what’s shown on TV is done for the cameras," he said.
"You’ve also got to remember that they are doing a three or four hour investigation and all you are seeing is a 30 minutes programme."
Fellow group member Gary Davies has long been fascinated by the supernatural.
"As you get older, you do wonder what lies beyond this life," he said. "But we have an open mind. We are not looking for ghosts first and foremost. If we see one, we’ll be delighted, but the main thing is the investigation. We are almost looking to debunk it."
Debunking is the job of the HPG lead analyst, Liam’s wife Angela.
Though she owns up to being "a great believer", Angela is entrusted with the job of eliminating more down to earth explanations.
Other group members have different roles. Using trained historians, the group try and research each building or location they visit before going on site.
"Some of the investigators like to know that in advance and some don’t," Liam added.
Though Gary says the group prefers to take a scientific approach to its investigations, making use of digital equipment rather than ouija boards, the group will sometimes work with psychics or mediums, not only adding another element to the group’s own investigations, but also, as Liam points out, giving the group a chance to study the mediums at the same time.
That mix of psychics and science was evident earlier this month when the HPG held its first ever open meet and ghost walk. Starting at the Dunbar Cafe, housed within Dunbar’s Hospital — one of the oldest buildings in Inverness and therefore prime ghost hunting territory — the walk included the Old High and Greyfriars graveyards in the town centre with some intriguing results — including a chair at the Dunbar Cafe which was consistently a couple of degrees warmer than any other chair in the room, and a digital recorder picking up faint sounds of children’s singing near a child’s grave.
It was such a successful result that the group hopes to arrange another ghost walk soon. It is also looking for potential locations to investigate with Boleskine House, once the home of the notorious magician Aliester Crowley, and the former psychiatric hospital at Craig Dunain high on its wish list. It has also had a number of approaches from local hoteliers about potential investigations — which, as a non-profit group, the HPG does not charge for — though none have as yet given the final go ahead.
However, one member does not have to look far to go ghosthunting.
Gary is the proprietor of Heroes For Sale comic shop on Church Street, and it seems he already has a ghost or two in situ.
"I personally haven’t seen that much, but my daughter came down to the cellar with a box and claims to have seen a man pass from one door to another which has a set of steps behind it," he revealed.
"She dropped the box, screamed, and ran up the stairs. She’s seen him once more since then.
"These buildings are kind of the oldest in the town, so if there was such a thing as a ghost, it’s more likely to be here than in a housing estate in Kinmylies."
His daughter is not the only one to have had a strange experience in the shop’s basement.
"When we first investigated this building, one of the investigators was pushed to the ground, and he’s a big guy," Liam revealed, though he is hesitant to immediately label this a paranormal encounter.
"In this room you have a very high electrical field," he explained.
"Some people are very receptive and can feel sick if exposed to it for any length of time. A lot of ‘hauntings’ are due to high electrical fields — basically down to dodgy wiring."
The group was meeting in the basement of Heroes For Sale for a combined training night and investigation. As well as The Inverness Courier, they were joined by sensitive and spiritual healer Mike Murray, whose strongest impressions centred on the second main room of the basement.
"There were beds down here," he declared.
"There’s a male and a female. The male is dressed like an undertaker, he’s got a dark suit on — and the girl is in a wheelchair. It feels as though people have been left to die in that room — the energy has soaked into the walls."
Other impressions suggested a fire and a partial collapse of the building, a claim apparently supported by evidence of some rebuilding work, and the names Arthur, Mary, McCormack, Victor and Bill, which the HPG researchers will look into for any connection to the building.
Along with Mike’s impressions, two other investigators thought they heard a voice speaking in the basement.
"What was weird was it was when Mike was talking about the little girl, they heard ‘Mummy’ and ‘Find the girl’," Angela said.
Though, by definition, the group’s investigations take them into potentially spooky environments, Liam and Angela say they have never been frightened by any supposed haunted location.
"I think that’s because you are doing it in a group," Angela said.
This is partly for safety reasons — a matter less to do with ghosts than the potential for accidents in often poorly lit surroundings — but also to ensure any findings are corroborated.
Though inevitably weighed towards those who believe in or are at least open to the possibility of some sort of paranormal phenomenon, Liam says that the Highland Paranormal Group does have one out and out sceptic in William, the husband of co-founder Anna MacDonald.
"But even he has had a few things happen to him that he’s not been able to explain away," Liam added.
To hear what was recorded in the Heroes For Sale Basement go to http://soundcloud.com/highland-paranormal/basement211011a
