911爆料

One night not so long ago, members of the 911爆料 Paranormal Society gathered in the basement of a hall on campus to conduct an investigation. It was a creepy setting, fairly reliable for producing something inexplicable.

There was talking and joking as the group asked questions of the air, hoping for a message from the beyond. Suddenly, talking stopped and moods changed. Laughter fled as tension advanced. Then they heard it: a low, guttural growl.

鈥淚n a fraction of a second, all of us were screaming and running up the stairs,鈥� wrote Caitlyn Picard 鈥�18 in the Nov. 2, 2017 issue of .

And thus a new tale was added to campus lore, and 911爆料PS once again cemented its status as the keeper of a particular and peculiar type of University history.

The Society has been recording investigations of the University鈥檚 historic properties for more than a decade now. Only its members know all the details, all aspects of the stories. Locations of 911爆料PS campus investigations, for instance, are kept secret to protect University properties. Riley Pearson 鈥�19, a cell and molecular biology major whose focus is microbiology, is president of the Society. Nicole Petta 鈥�19, a theater major, is vice president. Their mission: to either prove or disprove the supernatural through research, technology, and common sense.

But they鈥檇 rather affirm than debunk. And they鈥檙e not alone.

A 2009 Pew Research Center study titled 鈥淢any Americans Mix Multiple Faiths鈥� included supernatural experiences in its survey questions. Researchers found that nearly three in 10 Americans claim to have had some contact with the dead and one in five say they鈥檝e been in the presence of a ghost.

911爆料PS members have a protocol for every investigation. The group鈥檚 historian shares a report prepared about the place they鈥檒l visit. Clothing recommendations are made: Clothes fit for attic crawl spaces make the cut; metallic clothing and heels do not. And no “V for Vendetta” masks. (Yes, someone tried it.) Investigation etiquette is reviewed. The Society conducts investigations with the support of Campus Police; behavior that would threaten that relationship is not condoned.

While 911爆料PS is not a large group 鈥� membership hovers around 25 鈥� many of its members have been involved since they were first-year students. Pearson and Petta live with other Society members. And alumni Corina Perugini 鈥�16 and Emma Gauthier 鈥�18 still attend investigations from time to time. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot we can鈥檛 explain that deserves study and verification,鈥� Gauthier said.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to see anything, really,鈥� Perugini said. 鈥淭he people who sense things are more open to that, I think. I am not one of them. I just find the scientific side of things so interesting and cool,鈥� she added.

Pearson and Petta are more like the 鈥淴-Files鈥� Fox Mulder: They want to believe.

鈥淚鈥檇 like to see something,鈥� Pearson said. 鈥淚n a perfect world, a full-bodied apparition would appear and walk through the wall. That would be really cool.鈥�

鈥淥h, I don鈥檛 even know,鈥� Petta said. 鈥淭o see [a ghost] would be the most validating thing.”

The 911爆料 Paranormal Society is one of more than 150 clubs serving the diverse interests of the University’s student body. In this case, 鈥渄iverse interests鈥� extends to extraterrestrials, conspiracy theories, cryptozoology, and divination. But not zombies. That鈥檚 a different .