Students are taking on Boston’s haunting with Suffolk’s new Paranormal Club. The organization, which has been running for only a few months, was formed by students interested in the paranormal phenomena.
With an interest for true paranormal activities, Arruda developed the idea for his hobby to become an organization at Suffolk, and from there had it approved by the university. “I’m strongly interested in the energy after death,” said Arruda about his reasoning for forming the club.
The club, which is primarily based off shows such as Ghost Hunters and Paranormal State, visits different areas of Boston that are rumored to be haunted. Once on location, they seek evidence of any paranormal activity and later review it. Much like the television shows, they use tools such as ghost detectors to catch unusual behavior.
“We firmly believe there is something going on besides something just walking around at night,” said freshman Kyle Arruda, president of the club.
The Paranormal Club has already specifically investigated the Omni Parker House on Tremont Street. The hotel is rumored to have a ghost named Harvey Parker who used to work there performing host duties. He was reported to have roamed the halls of the 10th floor annex. Meanwhile, elevators are automatically sent to the third floor without anyone touching them. This was the same floor on which Charles Dickens had once stayed. Other apparitions of men sporting clothing from the 1800s and stovepipe hats have been seen by guests and bell men over the years.
Club members generally work as ghost hunters gathering evidence from places like the Omni Parker House. Once enough evidence is collected, plans of a pilot episode are in the works. Like Ghost Hunters, they plan on filming their investigations of the city’s haunted sites. The club also had a movie screening of the film Paranormal Activity 2.
Although still new on campus, the club has sparked interest amongst students at Suffolk. Arruda sees it as something new and interesting. “I’m hoping to get a lot of people really interested,” he said. “Because it’s such a popular topic amongst many, especially after the recent uprise of movies like Paranormal Activity, the club has received a lot of positive enthusiasm.”
The Paranormal Club is still welcoming new members; anyone may join by visiting SU Connect for the club’s contact information.
Photo courtesy of www.complete80s.com
