G.R.A.S.P.P. - Gathering Research And Stories of Paranormal Phenomena

1. Where is your team based and when/why was your team formed?

G.R.A.S.P.P. - Gathering Research And Stories of Paranormal Phenomena – In October 2005, Connie and I were watching the show “Most Haunted” on Halloween night as they were having a seance trying to reach Jack the rRipper. We were making jokes about the validity of what we were watching. At the time we lived in Nunica and the community has a big party, so they don't trick or treat. This was news to us as I sat there with a huge bowl of candy. Connie mentioned that going on a ghost hunt might be interesting, just to see what it's really about. I agreed, asked when she wanted to try one and she replied “What about now?” We called our buddy Jay, grabbed our cameras and headed to the Nunica Cemetery.

Later when we were checking out what we found, the questions started to come. The three of us began looking for answers and today we keep finding new questions.

2. What can a client expect when they contact you?

G.R.A.S.P.P. bases all of our investigations on debunking. Our goal is to find logical answers to everything that we can. Explain as much as we can to our client, paranormal or not. We feel that this will make the things that we can't explain more credible. Our members are committed to finding the answers and we hold regular training for all members to make sure that everyone knows what they're doing and they have the knowledge to answer your questions. We will help you to understand what you are experiencing and find help with solving your situation.

3. How far do you travel for investigations?

We mostly investigate in the west Michigan area. We have done investigations in the Grand Haven, Grand Rapids areas as well as Muskegon and Cadillac. We are currently considering an investigation up in Petosky.

4. What is your stance on such things as "orbs" and much of the so called "ghost photos" out there on the Internet?

I don't like to quote TV stars but, Jason Hawes from TAPS has a saying that I believe in whole heartedly, “if you can recreate it, it's not paranormal.”. People find orbs in photos and videos all of the time. Orbs have to be pretty spectacular and have some very compiling evidence to go along with them for us to consider it a genuine orb.

Recently a lady sent me a photo with some really awesome light smears and wanted our opinion of them. After looking closely to this wild photo, it was easy to see why someone thought that it was paranormal. She told us a short story of something that has been reported in this spot as well. I then thanked her for sending us this information, and explained a little about how we worked. I explained what we were looking at so she would be able to understand all of the factors (weather, lights, reflection) that were present in the photo, which created this cool shot. I see photos like this online a lot, and people are saying it's got to be a ghost, really, if you take a little more time you can explain most of them.

5. Does your team have a religious affiliation?

Our team is currently a dozen members strong and we each have different beliefs. We all try to incorporate our own beliefs into each case, while always keeping an open mind and looking at the facts that we find. I don't think that any of us consider ghosts and spirits to be a completely religious undertaking or event, but we do feel that religion can and does become part of the equation from time to time.

6. Does your team have an open or closed membership? Can people request to join you?

We started the group with just the 3 of us and today we are 12 members strong. We have never had to advertise for members. All of the people who have joined us have asked to be part of our team. The requests for membership has been wild. We usually get 2 or 3 a month, so we have started to accept requests for applications to help sort out those who are really serious. We require that all applicants submit to a background check to protect our team and clients. They must also understand that a high level of commitment is required with monthly meeting, training and investigations that can pop up at a moments notice.

7. What is the teams motivation? What keeps the team going?

Most of the people on our team have had an experience at on time or another in there life, and they are wondering if they may find an answer to explain it. We also have a couple who joined as skeptics, myself included. At every investigation, something happens to make us scratch our heads. When we can explain it, great. When we can't, we work harder to try. It becomes an addiction of sorts, some cases tend to create the rush.

8. Contact info for the team – website/email

debunkers@graspp.info

www.graspp.info
Gathering Research And Stories of Paranormal Phenomena