Mike Einspanjer said he grew up in a haunted house.
The original owner of his childhood home, who'd hung himself,haunted it by slamming doors, opening others and running up anddown the stairs almost daily, Einspanjer said.
However, Einspanjer, now a ghost hunter, didn't conduct aninvestigation at the time.
"I had my own agenda at age 4," he said.
Einspanjer, 33, founded the Memphis Paranormal InvestigationTeam five months ago and considers it a new community service.
"All some people need to hear is that they're not crazy,"Einspanjer said. "It's for peace of mind."
The team uses digital cameras, infrared temperature guns to findcold and warm spots and electromagnetic field detectors to detectabnormal activity.
Einspanjer, who grew up in midtown Memphis, said there areparanormal "hot spots" all over town, but activity varies based onan area's history.
"If you live in a 100-year-old house in the Cooper-Youngneighborhood, you have to think about how many people died in yourhouse," he said.
Like many University of Memphis students, Einspanjer has heardstories of hauntings on campus. However, he has not found theproper contacts to bring in his team.
Einpanjer posted flyers around campus informing students aboutthe team, and several weeks ago, six U of M students joined.However, he said their "fear of reprisals" prevented them fromtalking about their involvement.
"We are big proponents of anonymity," said Einspanjer, addingthat Memphis is a skeptical Bible Belt community that sometimesostracizes those who believe in ghosts.
After the 21-member team conducts an investigation, data issorted and examined, and a report is given to the propertyowner.
In addition to electronic gadgetry, Einspanjer uses his skill asan automatic writer, which he likens to channeling, to supplementinvestigations by helping identify spirits to determine whether ornot the team is welcome.
Einpanjer said he has vivid memories of the night he discoveredhis skill.
Awake in the middle of the night, he dictated a letter to aminister he'd never met from a relative of the minister he'd neverseen. Though Einspanjer was not raised as a Christian, a differentminister told him he had accurately quoted several Bibleverses.
Since he'd never read the Bible, Einspanjer said he knew he'dstumbled onto something extraordinary.
A recent FoxNews poll said 34 percent of Americans believe inghosts. U of M students seem to be divided on the subject.
Education graduate student Geno Appolinaire said he would haveto see them to believe in them.
"I believe in experiences," Appolinaire said, adding he has nothad any encounters with the paranormal.
However, Aletha Ratchford, sophomore physical education major,said she "sometimes" believes in ghosts.
"(After) my daddy died, I'd see movement or something in ourhouse and think it was my him," Ratchford said.
Students who wish to join MPIT should contact Einspanjer atparanormal38111@aol.com. Membership is not guaranteed. Rather,potential members must submit to an interview, during whichEinspanjer listens for keywords like "Satan" or "demons," which maysuggest the person is not serious about ghost hunting.
"Can you imagine someone calling your grandmother a demon?" hesaid.
