In the middle of Oakwood cemetery, John Zaffis stood surrounded by a group of more than 40 students from Syracuse University and SUNY-ESF. Zaffis, a nationally recognized ghost hunter, was trying to communicate with spirits that inhabited the cemetery.

The ghost hunter used an AM/FM radio, otherwise known as a ghost box, to scan over white noise static, which ghosts can communicate through, Zaffis said.

‘Can you tell me how many spirits are here with us?’ Zaffis called into the darkness. The students waited in complete silence, listening for a response through the ghost box.

‘Seven,’ a voice through the radio said.

Zaffis and students continued to ask questions such as ‘Can you tell us your name?’ and ‘Are you buried here?’ For a little more than an hour, students were able to ‘communicate’ with a spirit who said his name was Tom and that he had died in an on-campus fire back in the 1950s.

Zaffis, who has more than 37 years of experience in the paranormal field, started off Thursday night with a presentation in Marshall Auditorium on the ESF campus. The hourlong presentation was filled with pictures, videos and sound clips from hauntings that Zaffis has personally worked on, including the case the movie ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’ was based on.

He explained that he began working in the paranormal field when he was 16 years old, after he encountered an apparition of his grandfather’s ghost in his bedroom. Immediately after, Zaffis made it his mission to educate himself and others about life beyond the grave.

‘We are taught anything we can’t see, we can’t touch, we shouldn’t believe in,’ Zaffis said.

Zaffis took students through multiple famous paranormal cases, most notably the case the movie ‘The Haunting in Connecticut’ is based on. A family in Connecticut moved into a home that was previously a funeral parlor and soon began experiencing paranormal activity. After moving into the home, the family’s son began exhibiting symptoms of demonic possession.

Zaffis worked for nine and a half months on the case, he said. One day, while doing some research on his own in the house, Zaffis saw what he believes was a demon coming down the stairs toward him. The experience nearly made him quit working in the paranormal field.

‘What I experienced, what I saw that night, I don’t think I’ll ever forget,’ he said.

Currently, Zaffis runs his own museum, the John Zaffis Museum of the Paranormal, which is filled with haunted objects. ‘I stopped counting at probably 1,000,’ Zaffis said.

In his presentation, he showed pictures of some of the objects from the museum, including dolls, statues, artwork and military clothing, and talked about how he came into possession of the objects.

‘Everybody tells me I’m nuts for it,’ he said.

Even after handling exorcisms, demons and poltergeists, Zaffis said, ‘there are situations even the ‘old man’ leaves alone.’ Zaffis said he prefers not to handle cases that involve voodoo.

After the presentation, Zaffis entertained a Q-and-A session followed by the ghost hunt in the cemetery.

Nicole Vona, a freshman environmental science major at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, said she decided to attend the event because it sounded interesting. Although she liked Zaffis’ presentation, she was still unsure about whether she believes in ghosts because she had never personally experienced the paranormal.

‘I’ve heard stories of friends and family members who have had stuff happen to them, but I’ve never had anything happen to me,’ she said.

During his presentation, Zaffis said he understood why some people don’t believe in the paranormal.

‘It does go beyond anything you can comprehend or anything you can understand,’ he said.

Originally, the event limited the number of students who could go on the ghost hunt to 40 people, who were given tickets on a first-come, first-serve basis. However, after a number of students showed up during Zaffis’ presentation, he opened the event to anyone who wished to go.

Laura Crandall, director of the Office of Student Activities at ESF, said she was very pleased with the turnout. She said she was also intrigued by Zaffis’ presentation. Although she doesn’t necessarily believe in ghosts, she said, she doesn’t disbelieve, either.

Zaffis, who is also visiting other colleges and universities across the United States, said he was also very happy with the turnout.

‘When you speak about the paranormal on campuses now, people come out of the woodwork,’ he said.

David Bloom, a junior wildlife science major at ESF, said he attended the event because he is very interested in the paranormal field.

‘Hopefully they’ll come to see it next year,’ Bloom said of students who didn’t attend the event. ‘They missed out on a lot.’snbouvia@syr.edu  

Published on October 15, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Stephanie: snbouvia@syr.edu | @snbouvia