Paranormal Investigation: My Interview with Eddie Westbrook, a Ghost Hunter of NCHAGS.Org

Interviewing Eddie Westbrook of NCHAGS.org has been my dream. Eddie is the Public Relations spokesperson and Paranormal Investigator of North Carolina Haints, Apparitions, Ghosts and Spirits (NCHAGS). As a person who is very interested in the paranormal and metaphysical, I have been aware of Eddie Westbrook for some time. I happened upon the work of Eddie and team members, Jeff, Mike and Andy while doing some research on the internet. The research lead me to their videos on YouTube.

The attractive aspect of NCHAGS was not only their wide range of experience within North Carolina, but the professional, candid and unpolluted manner in which they have presented their investigations to the public. Many investigative groups, like computer technicians, like to keep their knowledge to themselves, however, NCHAGS has been very forthright with any who are interested in learning about the paranormal or about paranormal investigations.

Though this interview is with Eddie Westbrook, I'd like to mention the qualifications of the group team members that Eddie works with.

Jeff is a tech specialist and skeptic. Jeff brings knowledge to the technical side of paranormal investigations, but more important to some, Jeff brings his skepticism. Many persons who read about the paranormal are true skeptics, like Jeff. Jeff lends balance to the team.

Andy is also a tech specialist. However, Andy is familiar with the paranormal from a personal perspective. Andy has paranormal and supernatural experiences himself. Since he was very young, Andy has been gifted with what some call "the sixth sense".

Mike is the team's empath. For those who wonder about Mike's qualifications, an empath is very sensitive to people, places and yes, spirits. An empath can sense what is occurring in the present in a haunted location and can sometimes sense things from the past and into the future. Where entities may try to hide their presence or emotions, Mike would be able to sense what is beneath the surface. Many empaths can't tell you why they are able to do this. They just know they can. Mike has a high accuracy rate.

Truthfully, I wish I could interview each and every member of this group. Each one of them has something unique and exceptional to bring to the group and paranormal investigations. Now on to the interview:

Eddie, what made you decide to become a Paranormal Investigator?

The reason I decided to become a Paranormal Investigator is because as a teenager I had to learn to live with a ghost at our home. It was very scary in some ways, interesting in other ways. For a long time, no one believed me and I thought I was losing my mind. Later, many different witnesses saw the ghost and then everyone knew I was telling the truth. I decided I wanted to get to the bottom of things and find out what was going on. I had been taught that when we die we go on to heaven, so I wanted to know who these ghosts were and why they were hanging around on earth.

What made you and your team decide to form NCHAGS.org?

The reason we formed NCHAGS is to come together as a group of people interested in finding answers in the much misunderstood paranormal world. All of us had something to bring to the table as far as how we felt or why. We also realized very early on that it was a way to gain knowledge, help people out that may have questions or fears and meet many new friends.

What has been your most interesting paranormal investigation and why?

I would say the most interesting, and believe me it's hard to pick, because so many are interesting investigations, would be The Lake Lure Inn in North Carolina. I never realized when we went to the conference/investigation there would be so many ghosts in this old hotel. We were teamed up with some others for the investigation part and everywhere we went seemed to hold a new adventure. There was a lot of communication with ghosts in many different areas and one even followed us back to the room that night. It whispered in my ear and about scared me to death (I did not include this in the video) and the next morning it moved the covers on the bed twice while team member Jeff watched it. The place is haunted as the day is long.

If you could return to a site that you have investigated, which one would it be and why?

Not if, but when I return to the Battleship - that is the place for sure. The USS North Carolina anchored at Wilmington NC is the place. When we first went I was already familiar with the ship from many previous visits as a tourist. This time however, we were trying to catch a ghost, so to speak. I started viewing the ship in a different light. There are many places a ghost could hide on that big old ship. Five men were killed when a torpedo struck the side of it during the war. We went during the day and could just sense the presence of something underlying. We did hear a chain rattle right beside us and Mike felt a strong presence that the ghost did not want anyone there. We now have the chance to go back and stay onboard all night with 8 other people. This is a great opportunity for us to really get some work done and maybe make contact with the spirits. Maybe, we can learn who they are or why they are there.

What do you hope to accomplish with paranormal investigations?

We hope to learn and understand what the paranormal is and how it works. We all have to die someday and it would be nice to know a little about the good and bad before we get there. Paranormal doesn't play well with most religions so you have to learn about it on your own. Also, there is the historical aspect of ghost hunting. Most of the locations we choose have something to do with history. We like visiting and learning as well as sharing about these great places. We are heavy into the sharing our findings with others. Not all groups are this way. We want to learn and to help as much as possible. Letting people know about the history helps prompt people to get out and visit local historical places as well as help preserve them. The paranormal part helps out with a interesting subject or backdrop for many of the historical stories.

What do you feel you have learned about the paranormal since you started NCHAGS?

That it's not just some demon sitting there trying to scare people. There appears to be many types of ghosts. Most are pleasant and not scary. A few are bitter or angry, would be my guess. I've learned you can find ghosts in the daytime as well as night. Also, you never know what you've captured on pictures, video, audio, etc. until you review it all at home. And you can directly talk to ghosts as they are listening and sometimes respond with words or actions. Example: I ask Joe Baldwin (authors note: for those who don't know Joe Baldwin, he is the reported ghost of the Maco light) to show himself for my picture and sure enough he is on the film in green. There should have been nothing but complete blackness on that picture, but there he was. (authors note: for those who would like to see this picture, visit NCHAGS.org and watch the Maco Light investigation, or click here to view it on YouTube.)

Has there been any event that was particularly scary? If so, tell me about it. At which investigation did it happen?

One event that was a little scary but very unbelievable was when we went to The Oakwood Inn and we had figured out that a female ghost was hiding from us. The two group members with psychic abilities kept feeling her moving from room to room trying to avoid us. Well, we had a infrared camera set up in the upstairs hallway that was totally dark. Andy, one of the team members went up to the opposite end of the hall to listen for anything that might happen. The rest of the team was downstairs watching the monitor screen. We could see Andy at the other end of the hallway. All of the sudden we saw a shape or orb move slowly in front of the camera. It moved around with an intelligence that a piece of dust or lint would never display. Andy was not looking in that direction and stepped in and out of the room at the end of the hall. We hollered to Andy to look towards the camera, even though he was in darkness. As he did the orb/figure shot out of camera sight to the room across the hall as though hiding from Andy. We were amazed. We thought "great". We'd go back and review the video and show it to others. It was nowhere on the digital film. I watched that scene 10 times to find it. It never showed up on the film. Everything else we saw that night was on the film but not the scared orb.

Is it possible that the orb that would not show on camera was something other than a ghost, say like an angel or guardian and did not want to be discovered?

We cannot prove what the orb was or was not. We only know that during the time it happened was when the ghost had been moving from room to room to hide from us. We had to assume it was the ghost. To actually witness it was awesome. It was like the ghost was peeking out from one room trying to see where Andy was, and then realized he was right down the hall. Of course at that point, it took off quickly. I personally don't think angels sneak around.

What types of equipment do you use?

We use regular digital cameras, regular type audio recorders, 2 infrared video cameras and a regular video camera for documentation.

What has been the most interesting and revealing piece of equipment you have used?

We have been lucky enough to use and see other equipment provided by other ghost hunters. Michael LaChiana from Heritage Hunter Society allowed us to use his Paranormal PUCK recently. It is very interesting to hear it spew out possible answers to questions we had ask. Joe Wright from Paranormal Scene Investigators (PSI) allowed us access to The CROSSTALK. It contains all the sounds a human voice makes. The spirits use these sounds to turn them into words and communicate. Both of these devices have electronic voices and can be a little unnerving at times. They will say things that you don't expect and may answer questions directly. I would say the CROSSTALK is a little more to the point, but both are fine.

What would you say to people who are thinking of becoming a paranormal investigator?

If you have the nerve to do it, go for it. Always get permission before going places and don't ever let someone tell you they know better about ghost hunting than you. Granted, if they are like Lorraine Warren (demonologist) or someone with 25 or more years of experience that is different, they most likely do know more than you do. Just keep in mind there are people out there that want to make money off of this stuff and would rather you pay them to go along on an investigation. Forming your own group and learning by trial and error is part of the fun and excitement. Who knows, you may capture a very famous picture of a ghost with your own little family camera. You just have to be in the right place at the right time. It doesn't take expensive equipment. And always work with and share with good honest people with which you can network. Watch out for people wanting to display your findings and not give you credit for it.

What is the process when someone contacts you needing help with the paranormal or wanting an investigation?

If someone needs to or does contact us it's through the website. There is a contact form that they can use. I will say the vast majority of the time the contacts have not been for us to come to their house, etc. It usually is a question or they want to share a picture or EVP and see what we think. Many times it's just people letting us know of a ghost that they know about, and where they live. Most of the video locations were learned about by us through other means, then researched, then investigated. We have been contacted about some private homes and some are pending for possible future investigations. I think a lot of people tell people about their ghost, but never go through with the actual investigation of their home. Either way it works for us just to help answer some questions. The only rule we have for not doing an investigation, is if we feel we would be dealing with a demonic entity. We are not qualified to handle that and would have to call in a Priest or Minister. So far that has not been the case.

Eddie, do you or your group charge for investigations?

NCHAGS does not charge for a paranormal investigation. This is a unproved science with unproved results so to charge would be crazy and dishonest.

From the author: Happy Ghost Hunting!