HOPPS Ghost Hunters

 Who I am and what got me interested: 

My name is John and I worked for 12 years as a Law Enforcement officer for the Air Force.  My next 8 years in the Air Force, I worked in Emergency Management and Disaster Preparedness, dealing with terrorism, natural disasters, chemical spills, chemical weapons and anything else you can think of that can hurt you.  Needless to say, experience from both jobs helps me not get too excited about things that make the normal person fearful.  I retired in 2006 and didn't have much else to do so this seemed a good way to put my talents and training to use. 

I had my first paranormal experience in my military housing unit in South Dakota in 1995. Very large furniture rearranged itself in my home, footsteps were heard upstairs when everyone was downstairs, the aroma of perfume that only my wife and 3 girls could detect, and seeing a young girl darting around the corners in the hallway –always shadowlike, but still quite visible.  The situation became more and more intense as someone (something?) began playing with the doorknocker type handles on the dresser during the night.  Later, the sound of someone sharpening a knife with a sharpening steel was heard clearly in my upstairs hallway near my kids’ room.  One night the computer chair rolled down the hallway, all on its own (it actually had to make 2 turns to leave the room it was in, so I know the floors weren't warped and causing the movement). At the time, I lived in SD for just 3 years out of the twelve I spent there.  I knew a lot of people because of my job and happened to run into a genuine Lakota Indian who I shared these experiences with. I actually got rid of the problem by doing what he said; "Acknowledge them verbally, welcome them to stay only if they would stop tormenting, and continue to acknowledge them when odd things would happen...they only want attention."  Well, it worked. I moved from the house in 2003, as it was scheduled to be demolished and replaced. Keeping in mind what my native American friend told me, I went back and asked the "spirits" if they would like to move with us (sounds strange), and I’m guessing they took me up on the offer.  We live in Pennsylvania now and every once in a while our family gets a reminder there is still something there…….apparently them acknowledging us!

 (Laura meeting Steve Gonsalves of TAPS)

I am a native Gulf Coast Texan. I'm from Corpus Christi and I've had paranormal experiences with shadow people/animals since I was a child. I work for Ashler Manor in Muncy with distressed pre-teen & teenage girls. My career experience has always been working with young people. From Pre-school Teacher to Christian Youth Camp Director. I am a sensitive, very open-minded and animated person. Keep It Simple & Happy Ghosthunting  

...Laura Waltz

Born in Okinawa, I traveled with my dad (John) all over the world.  We lived in South Dakota for 12 years and had many strange things happen in every house we ever lived in.  The strangest was the one my dad talks about the most when the furniture moved.  I saw "Ghost Hunters" one night and asked a friend to go with me to a cemetery because my dad had some of the stuff they showed on TV.  We didn't find anything, but I told him about the show so he watched it once and got interested.  When we did the house where the lightstring got pulled I really got scared at first.  I didn't think anything like that would ever happen around me.  Depending on what they find out about a house I go along (when I'm not working), but if it's something that seems like it would be bad, I wait and see what the other people in the group find.  I don't want something following me home because I live way out in the country.

I am Miranda, I have a wonderful and supporting family.  I have 3 jobs
and my hobby, which is genealogy.  I got into genealogy about 6 years
ago, while working on my family tree.  Then I started helping others
in their hunts.  I  have a very large collection of cemetery headstone
pictures, of Lycoming County.  I get a rush off of finding forgotten
memories, and the enjoyment of people's gratitude.