For the last six years, I have been a part of the Diamond State Ghost Investigators (DSGI) team as a senior paranormal investigator.
When I interviewed to join DSGI in 2017, I was going through a very difficult time. I call the team members my “Ghosty Peeps” and consider them my extended family. They are some of the best people I have ever known. I remember feeling super nervous during the interview because I hadn’t really had anyone that wanted to talk about ghosts or the paranormal. Seeing spirits was not new to me. I have had this gift my whole life, as have many women in my family.
Some of the most notable haunted locations in Delaware include Fort Delaware State Park, Delaware City, and the Blue Ball Barn and DSGI has been to all of them.
Do you have any fears?
I remember one of the questions I was asked had to do with fears or phobias. I’m not afraid of sounds that go bump in the night. I’m not afraid of ghosts. I’m 
curious. My answer back then was about my fear of driving behind trucks with loose things in the bed. In high school, my school bus was driving behind a dump truck when it hit a pothole, and a large metal object flew out. Our bus flipped over when the driver swerved out of the way. So, I feel this fear is valid, not that fears need explanations to be valid.
Anyway, I digress. I’m still with the team six years later, and I love it. I enjoy learning the history of places we investigate. I’m probably one of the quietest investigators during our explorations because I tend to observe and take in all the details rather than ask questions. Some of the questions we ask are “Is anyone here with us?” or “Can you make a sound or move something to let us know where you are?”
We spend HOURS waiting for responses. Sometimes we hear knocks, footsteps, or the sound of furniture being moved. Other times we see doors open or slam, we see shadows and sometimes full-body apparitions. I have a tendency to hear music, like the faint sound of a music box, when something supernatural is happening near me.
Tools of the paranormal trade
I’ve had the opportunity to learn about various tools and techniques from the group, but I am usually the one just walking around with a flashlight and an EMF detector. Others in the group use dowsing rods, REM pods, digital voice recorders, laser grids, motion detectors, and spirit boxes to name a few.
We have been to various historical places to investigate, but we co-host paranormal tours with Delaware State Park staff at Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island each October. This abandoned fort on Pea Patch Island in the middle of the Delaware River is considered one of the most haunted places in the world. I wrote about one of our overnight trips to Fort Delaware on the DSGI website.
Do ghosts really exist?
If I could answer that question with absolute certainty, I’d probably be famous. I am not famous.
Truth be told, we have been asked to investigate many different places and often times the noises and shadows we see can be debunked. We can explain them. We want someone in the photo to be a ghost, but when we zoom in we find that it is a living human being that looks different because their face is glowing from the screen of a phone.
This article, “Are ghosts real? Check out the evidence and you be the judge,“ discusses reportedly haunted places in San Antonio and surrounding areas. It includes photos and videos that show what could be ghostly figures inside some local places. Some of the collected evidence in the article is quite curious. Though unless I am there myself to investigate and am able to replicate some of the findings mentioned, I’m not going to say if any of those places are truly haunted.
And I think that’s the answer. Do ghosts really exist? To find out you need to see for yourself. I believe ghosts exist. I’ve been able to see, hear and sense the supernatural since I was a little girl and I grew up with that being a normal part of my life. But if I took a picture right now and said something in the photo was a ghost, I would expect every reader to be doubtful. Too much can be doctored and faked these days. It is important to be open-minded, ask questions and take all possibilities into consideration.
Scientific facts can debunk paranormal claims in ninety-nine percent of cases, leaving just that one percent when I am unable to explain what is happening. Those are the moments I treasure.
