Haunted by a Community Divided, Maybe, But Haunted by Ghosts?

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Haunted by a Community Divided,Maybe, But Haunted by Ghosts?
February 13, 2009
By Carisa Giardino
Garden City Life

When all is said and done, the Main Building at St. Paul's may forever be haunted by a community divided, but ghosts? Could it be haunted by ghosts?

Cynthia Romano, president and case manager of the Long Island Society for Paranormal Research (LISPR), a not-for-profit that researches the possibility of life after death through scientifically based research, has requested an opportunity to conduct a paranormal investigation of the now famous Main Building.

"It has come to our attention through one of our members that there is a property in Garden City that has been reported to have a high level of paranormal activity," Romano stated in her Jan. 27 letter to Mayor Peter Bee and the board of trustees. "Our group would be very interested in learning more about this location and respectfully requests your permission to conduct a paranormal investigation. We would be honored to be given the opportunity to investigate St. Paul's School at some point in the very near future."

Romano could not be reached for comment.

Mayor Bee, who told Garden City Life he is awaiting a staff recommendation on the matter, added, "although I doubt that St. Paul's has any higher incidence of paranormal activity than that experienced at the typical board of trustees' meeting."

Village Historian John Ellis Kordes said the building has had a storied past. "There's been all kinds of folklore associated with the St. Paul's Building, which dates back to 1883 when it began as a military school. However, usually the folklore turns out to just be good stories and not fact."

LISPR consists of responsible adults who use state-of-the-art equipment to gather data and obtain a scientific explanation for paranormal activity. They gather information for a case through research and interviews. Investigations consist of scientific methods that include (EVP) Electronic Voice Phenomena, photo analysis, temperature differentiation, electro-magnetic field anomalies and other various testing.

The Long Island Society for Paranormal Research investigates for free and keeps all collected information confidential. Covering the entire tri-state area, LISPR is an affiliate member of The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS), a group whose popular show, Ghost Hunters, is featured on the SciFi channel.

The Main Building at St. Paul's opened in 1883 as a school for military cadets. By the 1890s though, the military program was no longer and the building became home to a premiere prep school for boys.

The village acquired the building in 1993 and it's remained vacant ever since. A community debate ensues as to what to do with the building; some want it demolished, some want to continue maintaining it as it while others hope to resurrect it for public use.