Paranormal Society

Almost everyone on campus is aware of the reports that Bunce Hall is haunted, backed up by several people’s testimonial of paranormal activity and even photos of ghostly orbs with captions emphasizing how they are not photoshopped.

With the growing popularity of magazines like “Weird N.J.,” more people over the years have become interested in the unexplained and strange past that inhabits the state of New Jersey.

Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t until last semester that Mike Kerrigan, a freshman, began the Rowan Paranormal Society (RPS).

Kerrigan has an enormous interest in paranormal activity of all kinds. After seeing that the University of Rhode Island has a paranormal society and the Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) is based in Rhode Island, he decided to bring the idea to Rowan.

He explained that to some degree, he was more interested in disproving the paranormal activity that was present in the specified location.

“I always wanted to try to go places that have [paranormal] activity and see what happens, and find a logical reason for it,” Kerrigan said.

Currently, RPS is just a Facebook group and although it has over 40 members, only about 15 students have showed serious commitment thus far.

RPS is in its earliest stages of development. As of now, they are not recognized as an official club on campus, and are currently working on becoming chartered. They must find an adult adviser, formulate a written constitution and elect some form of committee positions for its selected members, among other things.

On the other hand, the group has been working on getting a show approved, which would document their search for paranormal activity starting in local places, with hopes of branching out broader places in the future.

“The show is the main thing right now, and it will be something similar to Ghost Hunters on SciFi Channel,” Kerrigan said.

Dan Attamante, a sophomore radio/television/film major, has currently been developing a trailer for the show, entitled “Filming a Ghost Show,” which he explained as “a mix between a ghost hunting show and a situational comedy”.

“All the hunting is real but at the same time all the characters have loosely scripted traits and jokes between each other with the occasional drama and sarcasm of a sitcom,” Attamante said.

According to Monday night’s RTN meeting, the show will be previewed and then voted upon by its members. If the majority agree, it will stay how it is and if not, then Attamante will have to plan accordingly.

One drawback for RPS is the budget. Kerrigan explained that though the group has some of the equipment necessary for paranormal research, they are missing things like a thermal camera, which detects varied heat patterns and runs from $300 to $400. The group itself personally has equipment such as night-vision goggles, a video recorder and a voice recorder.

If the show gets approved, the group would receive funding contributions by RTN, on which the show would be presented. The group would only get what they needed for their budget, and once they are an official club, they will receive more out of state funding.

Kerrigan and Attamante remained optimistic about the future of RPS.

“I was very surprised to find out that anyone was interested in this project,” Attamante said. “Even though I know a lot of students on campus enjoy watching shows of this nature I always imagined they would be embarrassed to do it in real life.

“I guess group mentality has a lot to do with their decisions to help with the show. ­ It’s great that I’m not the only one doing this.”