Paranormal activity? Call local ghost busters

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Yakima's ghost busters aren't sucking up ectoplasmic residue in metal canisters that look suspiciously like backpack vacuum cleaners the way Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd and other paranormal scientists did in the 1984 movie.

Still, if you suspect telekinetic activity in your home or business, you can call The PAST is Present to conduct a paranormal investigation.

That's just what the owners of The Depot Restaurant and Lounge did, long before Halloween, which is Saturday.

Instead of using "unlicensed nuclear accelerators" to bust ghosts, like the scientists used in "Ghost Busters," this real-life investigative team uses camcorders, audio recorders, digital cameras and KII meters -- which pick up fluctuations in electromagnetic fields -- to record data at the site they are investigating.

The members of The PAST is Present -- PAST is an acronym for Paranormal and Spirit Team -- aren't out-of-work professors from a nearby college, either, as the investigators are in the popular film.

Instead, they are a diverse group that includes an engineer and counselor, among others. And each says they've had an unusual personal experience with the unexplainable or have simply become interested in the subject.

For example, 28-year-old Jay Vowell of Yakima, a founding member of the group, remembers being 9 years old "and, in a fit of courage, I walked up to my bedroom with the lights out.

"I jumped up on my bed, then noticed the closet doors were open. I said, 'I'm not afraid of you!' to which I swear I heard 'You're not?'"

Ulises Zamora, 25, also of Yakima, says he had an unusual experience as a college student, waking in his dorm room to feel another presence that seemed to be touching him.

The group currently has seven members. But at one time, The PAST is Present numbered as many as 15, including a woman who's a self-described clairvoyant.

"I have been involved in the paranormal -- in one form or another -- for almost 10 years," says 42-year-old Ellen Allmendinger of Yakima.

Allmendinger was instrumental in bringing the group together. The group formed last year mostly by word of mouth. And its members conduct most of their investigations for people who heard about them through the grapevine.

The group has investigated paranormal activity in both private residences and public buildings from Seattle to the Tri-Cities. Members have also visited local cemeteries, where they say they always seem to succeed in collecting paranormal data. This is usually in the form of audio recordings.

The data they collect helps them discern whether the unusual activity is explainable by natural means, unexplainable and therefore paranormal, or officially haunted.

Many buildings with paranormal activity aren't necessarily labeled as haunted by the group. But if the group believes a structure or area is haunted, there are two definitions its members use.

If a ghost seems to respond to stimuli, such as group members asking questions, it's considered an intellectual haunting. If a ghost seems to repeat an action or sound, it's considered a residual haunting.

According to Allmendinger, The Depot is officially haunted -- with both residual and intellectual ghosts.

Members of the group have spent a night in the restaurant on two separate occasions -- once in December 2008 and again in June 2009. Both times, group members say, EVP, or Electronic Voice Phenomenon, was recorded on a camcorder as well as audio recorder.

Listening to an audio recording from one of the group's investigations at The Depot, Zamora can be heard asking, "Are you still here?" And a muffled response can be heard.

So are ghosts good for business? Kristie Pasten, 52, and her husband, Karl Pasten, 67, who own The Depot, say yes.

"People are very curious," Kristie Pasten says.

In fact, Allmendinger compiled a folder describing the group's findings. And, "We give it to patrons who ask to see it."

According to the Pastens, unusual phenomenon -- including noises, sightings of a lady in white and cold spots within the restaurant -- are common occurences experienced by numerous patrons.

Depot bartender David Ruddell, 37, of Yakima believes his 2-year-old daughter, Evelyn, has seen the lady in white. Evelyn, he says, described her as "pretty."

Yakima's ghost busters don't race to the scene of a supposed haunting in a converted ambulance with sirens blaring. They are less theatrical than that.

The PAST is Present team arrives quietly in sedans and SUVs and spends the night collecting data in the dark.

None of them have been "slimed," like the ghost busters in the movie. But they say they have experienced some unusual, and seemingly unexplainable, phenomena.

And they also say they have collected some pretty convincing data -- especially at The Depot, where it took the team two to three weeks to analyze and synthesize all their evidence.

Karl Pasten says he's fascinated by the findings.

"The only thing I don't like about it is that the ghosts don't pay rent," he quips.

• For more information on The PAST is Present, visit www.myspace.com/paranormalandspiritteam.

• Lindsay Burns is a freshman at West Valley High School and a member of Unleashed, the Herald-Republic's program for high school journalists.

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