SALT LAKE CITY - Haunted houses and ghost tours are great, but local paranormal investigators say they don't compare to the real deal.
"We educate people," said Brooke Larsen, a paranormal investigator with 'Paranormal U.' "We show people how to use the equipment."
Larsen and his friend Jerry Hone started investigating ghosts for fun. Larsen started six years ago, and Hone has just one year under his belt. But the two say it's a catchy hobby, one that they hope others will be interested in too.
"I remember my first experience," Larsen said. "I was skeptical, until I went out with a group and heard it myself."
Larsen and Hone use a number of small gadgets and gear, ranging from a spirit box, to a white noise app they downloaded on their phones from the Internet.
"The spirits can use these to pick out words to communicate to us," Larsen points out.
The two like to frequent the Fort Douglas on the University of Utah campus because it has a strong connection to World War II history, and Hone is a retired sergeant in the Army Reserves.
The post served as both an exit and welcoming center for soldiers in the 1940s. It's even been said that the voices of American and German soldiers can be heard within the walls.
German soldiers were once housed as Prisoners of War at Fort Douglas.
The two also explore Empress Theater in Magna, and Asylum 49 in Tooele, but Hone says after one visit to Fear Factory in Salt Lake City, he's not going again.
"I did an investigation at Fear Factory last year and I won’t go back," Hone said. "There's a lot of the bad there, and I don’t enjoy it.”
Hone says he only focuses on finding positive spirits, and ironically, doesn't even watch scary movies.
Hone and Larsen say they are open to anyone who wants to join them for a public investigation.
You can find them by their Facebook page under the group Paranormal U.
For a complete listing of paranormal groups in Salt Lake City, visit: http://www.paranormalsocieties.com/state_list.cfm?state=ut
