Ghost hunters who is leaving

So we built this momentum [for the show] to the point where I said I could stop and be with my family again. So at that point I felt I needed to get my voice back out there and needed to take it to the next level. Why has it become popular again? I think there was this eruption of shows and ideas, and [other producers] saw that Ghost Hunters was a hit -- the formula worked and was repeatable.

Now people are starting to see what they were missing and [the genre] has come back strong. Are you concerned that the genre may again find itself suffering from over-saturation given the number of shows currently in the marketplace?

What we really need to do is avoid that same repetition. We have to advance the programming -- as the audience gets smarter, we have to get smarter. She started hanging out with others of the same mindset until she finally joined Tri-C, a group that — free of charge — tries to investigate people's reports of strange activity in their homes and businesses.

Everything is out of our own pockets. Rorris gave a presentation in which she played video and recordings made during late-night visits to reportedly haunted locations, including Mansfield's historic Ohio State Reformatory and the Madison Seminary of Ohio, and had to stop and rewind on several occasions to point out things that were picked up by the recording devices. Yes, it's not as glamorous of work as it seems on TV.

Sometimes Rorris nods off listening to tapes. Which brings up the question: Why do ghosts always whisper or make tiny knocking noises? Why don't they just talk normal and show themselves? The strange thing was this: Phillips had never been there before.

She had never even visited Puerto Rico. Halloween treats: Local shops stock spooky goodies. Fall dining: These Orange County restaurants have heated patios. Spooky fun: Halloween events in the Hudson Valley.

It turns out, Phillips said, she had been there before through astral projection: an out of body experience that allows one to travel subconsciously to another place. Today, Phillips has channeled that spirit-world connection into an unusual business. They run ghost-hunting tours around the Hudson Valley region. While her earliest experience with the paranormal was exceptional, it wasn't the only instance in which Phillips was touched by a mysterious, perhaps celestial apparition.