WESTFIELD—Ever feel like your house or workplace was haunted? Then Joyce Peregrin of the Westfield Athenaeum may want to hear from you.
Peregrin, public services librarian at the Athenaeum and a committee member for the Friends of the Westfield 350, is looking for possible areas where paranormal activity has been supposedly experienced, in an attempt to help raise money for the Westfield 350th birthday celebration. The locations, if chosen, will be investigated by Rob Goss and his team at Agawam Paranormal, with donations being taken for a chance to join in on the investigation.
In addition, Goss will be at the Westfield Athenaeum Oct. 25 to present “Who Goes There,” to help explain what goes on during the investigations and what a person may expect during and as a result of the investigation.
“Rob will talk about activity that he has captured in the last nine years but also explain what Agawam Paranormal is about, what they’re doing and explain to Westfield residents and patrons why he’s coming to Westfield,” Peregrin said about the Oct. 25 event.
According to Peregrin, the sites that are being looked for are ones that may not be known already as some of the oldest buildings in the city but that do have a history and could be on the older side. One of the keys, she said, is the story.
“We are looking for any stories of things people have heard down the line that may drive it,” she said of suggested paranormal activity.
And it doesn’t just have to be homes.
“Residential homes absolutely, but also industrial and commercial spaces have history behind them,” Peregrin said.
Peregrin said that “the idea behind this is to do a presentation on Westfield and the community in Westfield.”
Regarding the investigation process, Goss said that the investigations themselves are not just at night in a home waiting for activity. Instead, Goss said that research goes into the place before trying to gather evidence of supposed paranormal activity.
“The first thing, generally speaking, is the client reaches out to me and shares with me what’s happening, what feels paranormal,” Goss said.
From there, Goss catalogues the information gleaned from this and starts a folder on the investigation. He will also meet with the potential client, and if he knows the case will be taken, then research will be done by his team on the property and whatever events may have occurred there.
“They will go back about 150 years for a standard residential case,” Goss said, and even further back if the location is a historical landmark.
“It’s important to know not just history of the building but what was also there,” he added.
This information will be used during the investigation, according to Goss, including historical names given.
After, Goss said that he and his team will typically go to a location at least two times in order to try and investigate any potential paranormal activity. This step of the process includes using eight high definition cameras, electrometers, digital voice recorders and other devices to try and record activity, he said.
During the first night, cameras are set up in locations where the clients suggest possible activity may occur, while the second night Goss said the cameras are set up in areas where the team may have experienced activity during the first night.
And while Goss is looking for the activity, he doesn’t go in believing that it will always be there.
“I try to find, this is going to sound a little weird, but I don’t go into each location believing that it’s necessarily haunted,” he said. “I believe in paranormal but I don’t believe every location we go to is haunted.”
Goss will be on hand at the Westfield Athenaeum on Oct. 25 to explain more and to talk with residents and those interested. Visit westath.org for more information and to sign up for “Who Goes There.” To sign up to have your location considered for investigation during the Westfield 350th celebration or for information via phone for the Oct. 25 event, you can also contact Peregrin at the Westfield Athenaeum by calling 413-568-7833.
