Ghosts Hunts Popularity Reducing Stigma

By Valarie Honeycutt Spears - vhoneycutt@herald-leader.com Posted: Jul 11, 2011. Ron and Lori Coffey and Howard Hamilton, members of Gateway Paranormal Society, investigate paranormal reports of ghost sightings. Known as ghost hunters, the group looks for reasons before they look for ghosts. It has become so popular that Ron has taught ghost hunting. There was a paranormal weekend with a professional ghost hunter and ghost hunting teams. There's such interest from ghost hunting groups that it "gets very territorial over haunted locations," Hamilton lived in a house that he thought might be haunted, leading him to always be intrigued by paranormal activity. Another area ghost hunter is Patti Starr, who owns a Ghost Hunters Shop in Lexington. She heads a company called Ghostchasers International. She also teaches ghost-hunting classes. She said the popularity is rising, as evidenced by the thousands who ventured to Scarefest, which is billed as the largest horror and paranormal convention in the United States R & L Coffey - Gateway Paranormal