Paranormal state

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Paranormal state
October 21, 2010
By Tenley Woodman
The Edge


If it goes bump in the night, chances are it’s in New England.

Two new books by local paranormal experts spotlight the abundance of haunted happenings in the region.

“New England is the birthplace of America, so why not the birthplace of the paranormal? We have the witch trials, funky stuff like the Bridgewater Triangle,” said Dracut resident Ron Kolek, co-author of “A Ghost a Day: 365 True Tales of the Spectral, Supernatural, and ... Just Plain Scary!” (Adams Media, $14.95).

Bay State hauntings from Dogtown in Gloucester (sightings of witches and ghost dogs), to the home of acquitted Fall River ax murderess Lizzie Borden are included in Kolek and co-author Maureen Wood’s compilation about specters.

Both Kolek and Wood are paranormal investigators with the North Shore-based New England Ghost Project. Kolek, a self-proclaimed skeptic, founded the group and hosts the radio show “Ghost Chronicles.”

Wareham resident Tim Weisberg, author of “Ghosts of the Southcoast” (The History Press, $19.99), narrows his focus to the communities surrounding New Bedford and Fall River.

“There is definitely something to this area. Some sort of scar that exists,” said Weisberg, a paranormal investigator, host of the radio program “Spooky Southcoast” and sports reporter for the New Bedford Standard-Times.

Weisberg digs into popular lore - the Bridgewater Triangle, considered by some to be the epicenter of the unexplained south of Boston; Wareham’s Fearing Tavern, home to a ghost woman who enjoys her rocking chair; and Borden’s house - and explains the factors that might contribute to paranormal activity.

Orbs, cold spots and noises in the night aside, it’s the volume of ghost stories in New England that is truly chilling.

“(In New England) the smaller the town, the more it rings true: We have a Gothic background. These stories weren’t from a far-off place, they were from our town. There are some towns whose identities are molded by the hauntings there,” said Christopher Balzano, a New England native and author of “Ghosts of the Bridgewater Triangle.”

And where there are ghosts, there are ghost hunters. A simple Google search for paranormal and Massachusetts turned up nearly a dozen local groups.

“I think that if you looked across the country, there are a lot of places that have paranormal investigators. I don’t know if people in New England are more open-minded about it. I think they are intrigued by the possibilities out there,” Wood said.

Rhode Island-based the Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS), headed by Roto-Rooter plumbers Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, has a high-profile thanks their show “Ghost Hunters” on Syfy channel.

“People are only starting to realize now, maybe because of this mainstream acceptance of the paranormal, that (New England) has the best stories and connections to (the paranormal) than any place in the country,” Weisberg said.