Home » The Haunting In Connecticut 2 – The Ghostfinder Paranormal Society interview

PosterIf you’re looking to enjoy a horror film for Halloween this week, there aren’t many options in the cinema. Beyond the re-release of A Nightmare on Elm Street, your best alternative for a scary flick is The Haunting In Connecticut 2. While not a direct sequel to the 2009 hit, this movie exists as a companion piece with the same ideas and ghostly happenings but with a new setting and unique characters. Starring Chad Michael Murray (One Tree Hill) and Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica), The Haunting In Connecticut 2 tells the tale of the Wyrick family who move house to Georgia in 1993. After moving, strange visions begin for the women in the family, and a mystery begins to unfold – but is it real life madness or something from beyond the grave?

To celebrate this release from Lionsgate, we had the opportunity to talk to a real-life ghost hunting expert from The Ghostfinder Paranormal Society. Known as the leading paranormal investigation team in the UK, they have appeared on Sky Living, numerous BBC radio shows and even Eggheads. We caught up with director and co-founder Barri Ghai to learn more about ‘ghosts’ in the real world!

How did you get into ‘ghost hunting’?

If you ask most “Ghost Hunters”, many will tell you that personal, childhood experiences have led them to investigating the paranormal in search of answers. I had many (unpleasant) paranormal experiences as a child, and as I got older I sought valid, scientific explanations to make sense of what had happened to me. Many people who have experienced ghosts, spirits, poltergeists and other entities seek a deeper understanding and at the same time, strive to provide others with proof of the paranormal.

What are your own personal beliefs about what ‘ghosts’ are?

There are many different kinds of ghosts: residual hauntings, intelligent hauntings, shadow entities, poltergeists, etc. Residual hauntings seem to be a recording or playback of a past event (people report seeing people in period clothing) and there’s not much interaction. With an intelligent haunting, the entity is aware of the living and there is the possibility of communication and interaction; people believe this is most likely spirits of the dead.  Poltergeists are a bit different as there is debate whether or not they’re ghosts at all. Some believe it may be a young person that has been unknowingly responsible for items moving, doors slamming; seemingly ghost-like activity that could be linked to telekinesis. In other cases, a poltergeist or “noisy ghost” could be attributed to an entity rather than a living person. When people talk about “shadow people”, which are usually decidedly negative, I believe we could be witnessing inter-dimensional beings that we see more and more of these days, but know very little about. In every case different forms of energy exist that can be measured, recorded, and photographed and eventually… understood.Barri_Director

What is the scariest experience you have had?

When I was a child, living in our family home I was physically assaulted, which is pretty scary as a child as you have adults telling you there is no such thing as ghosts and nothing to be afraid of. It’s hard to rationalise when your frame of reference is so small and the fear is unbelievable. During an investigation at a famous restaurant and bar in Canary Wharf, London I was violently pulled backwards off a coffee table onto the floor by an unseen force. I guess it’s not as scary as an adult, having an idea of what was responsible, but I did have to step outside the building for a few minutes to recharge as it shook me up a bit!

Is there anywhere in the world you would love to go and investigate?

I’d love to spend a night in the Séance Room in the Winchester Mystery House in Santa Jose, California, The Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (which is meant to be heaving with activity) and of course, Alcatraz.

Which movie would you say is the closest representation to true paranormal activity?

Most films are exaggerated for entertainment purpose but I think The Entity, which was based on Carla Moran’s accounts of the famous haunting in Culver City, California, hits some pretty realistic notes. Most people who have had personal experiences in their home with temperature fluctuations, doors slamming, unexplainable smells, and physical assaults by unseen forces can relate to a lot of the subject matter in the film.

What would you recommend to anyone who believes they have seen a ‘ghost’?

Count yourself lucky especially as witnessing a full body apparition is rare. Find out as much as you can about what you’ve seen; ask questions and research the history of the location. Don’t let people tell you that you’re crazy, but try and calmly rationalise what you’ve just witnessed. Failing that, call The Ghostfinder Paranormal Society!

You can find The Ghostfinder Paranormal Society on line at http://www.ghostfinder.co.uk , on Facebook, and Twitter @gpsparanormal , or download their Android App!

The Haunting In Connecticut 2 is out now in cinemas.

David Bedwell

Television addict from Lost to X-Files to Breaking Bad and beyond. General hoarder of DVDs and Blu-rays (2000+). Addicted to Twitter.

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