NSPIR Investigators, George Matthis and Jason Parrish, answer questions submitted by NBC17 viewers.

1. I've been interested in this field for as long as I can remember. How does one begin to explore the paranormal? submitted by Colleen O'Keefe.
George: Located here in Raleigh is a meetup group, the Carolina Hauntings, Apparitions and Poltergeists Society, which is sponsored by our company (NSPIR) that will provide the basic information necessary to properly investigate the paranormal. Its free to attend the monthly meetings, where various topics of paranormal nature are discussed by NSPIR staff as well as guest speakers from the field. Field trips to practice investigating the paranormal are also offered through this group. You can find more information about this group at www.meetup.com/Carolina-Paranormal

Jason: The first step is to read up on what interests you. Chances are, someone's been there and done that before, so it's always good to do research about the Paranormal before actually trying to investigate firsthand. Loyd Auerbach's books are great tools to begin your journey into Paranormal Investigation, as he is an accredited Parapsychologist, and has been a Paranormal Investigator many years.

2. Did any of you have experiences when you were little that made you want to become an investigator? submitted by Jake in Wake County.
Jason: I didn't have any one particular paranormal experience as a child that made me want to become an investigator, but I did have a distinct fascination in the paranormal enough to want to become a Parapsychologist when I was a kid. I am just finally starting to answer my calling these many years later.

George: I have been interested in the paranormal since childhood. While I can't say that I've been an investigator since a teen (I'm now 55!!), I can attest that I've had many experiences I could not explain, which led me to begin learning about this field as far back as 15-16 years ago.

3. Are those proton packs heavy? How many times have you been slimed? Is it cool driving around in that old ambulance with the siren going? OK...seriously though. What are some tell-tale signs of a haunting? submitted by Brian.
Jason: The state of North Carolina wouldn't give us a nuclear reactor license because they were afraid I'd just be too tempted to cross the streams. I've been slimed twice... once at birth, and once when I visited the set of, "You Can't Do That on Television". We couldn't score a '59 Cadillac, so we had to settle for a Jeep Wrangler with Flood Lights and an air horn from an '84 Peterbuilt tractor trailer. Seriously though Brian, since a haunting is much like a "recording on a DVD stuck in a loop", there could be a number of tell-tale signs. Events which play themselves over and over with no interaction to those who witness the occurrence for one. Hauntings are also tied to an object, place, or event, so if you are seeing something out of the corner of your eye, witnessing strange distinctive smells such as perfumes, or other odors with no source of emanation, the feeling of being watched, pets in the home seeming to react to someone or something that isn't there, small children having conversations to no one in particular, strange footsteps in the home where no one seems to be, or objects that disappear, only to later appear where you already searched. Those are just a few, and many still can be attributed to the "Human Element", and not Paranormal at all. It is up to the investigator to learn the nature and cause of these events.

4. How do you feel about the misconception of a paranormal investigator and the common stereotype of the "Ghostbuster"? submitted by Anonymous
Jason: You can't really blame the average person too much for what they are subjected to by the media and Hollywood. A lot of Paranormal investigations don't yield any "paranormal" results at all, and some can be disproved as being caused by high electromagnetic fields, mold, unsecured water pressure lines, etc. That doesn't make much for a movie, so the end result is the spooky, all ghosts are evil, and you can trap spirits in an electo-magnetic shoebox-type movies. Until the study of the Paranormal field is finally recognized by the mainstream scientific community as a science itself, it will always face the ridicule and torment is has so undeservingly endured over the many years since it's introduction. It is up to those who take this study seriously to work together and prove to the world once again, that the Earth is round, and not flat.

George: One of the things we try to do is differentiate to the public, through our education efforts both via public speaking and the CHAPS meetup group, ghost busters, ghost hunting and ghost tracking types of activities and real paranormal investigating. While the movie Ghostbusters was entertaining and actually had some components of real psi-related research in it (the use of zener cards to detect ESP, for example) it does tend to make a mockery of investigation techniques and clouds the public perception of what really happens. We also work through an alliance with the world-renowned Rhine Research Center in Durham NC on our education outreach efforts. The Rhine Reseach Center is a tremendous resource for those interested in parapsychology.

5. What is your response to people who say they don't believe in ghosts? submitted by Jennifer
George: Skeptics abound when the topic of the paranormal is mentioned, so whatever one believes or does not believe doesn't really bother me. It is my hope that someday we will be able to provide conclusive proof of life after death in a form that will be acceptable both to mainstream scientists and the public alike.

Jason: If someone doesn't believe in ghosts, it is their right as a human being, and not just an American to not believe, just as much as it is someone else's right as a human being, and not just an American to believe. Different religions also have different views on the paranormal based upon their set of spiritual beliefs. Skeptics may never believe because they are skeptics, and true believers will always believe because it is their nature. If one is close-minded to any topic, that person is only exercising their freedom of mind, but may never truly experience real freedom as one who is open-minded and not afraid seek the truth.

6. What's the scariest/weirdest thing you've ever seen? submitted by Jennifer.
George: There isn't one particular incident that I recall as being especially scary or weird, but there is a recent event that comes to mind that seemed to be something it wasn't. Well into an investigation, there were significant sounds heard coming from an adjacent room by the investigation team that were believed to be pots and pans being banged together over a hearth. Immediate observation of the items did not yield any answers, but later in the evening it was discoverd that a small opossum had found its way into the area and was moving the pans. It also was documented on video, so what would have been an interesting and albeit maybe scary occurrence turned out to be something just plain funny!!

Jason: I am more afraid of what living people are capable of, than I am of what an entity or spirit is capable of. Having said that, the scariest thing I have ever seen took place when I was nine and was confronted by a man on drugs who clung to my mother's car as she tried to drive out of the super market parking lot. There is nothing scarier than a person who has given up his or her soul to psychotropics.