Ghosts, Goblins, Ghouls, oh my!

Do you love Halloween? Are you a fan of all things spooky? Are you a believer in the afterlife? Keep reading if you answered “yes” to any of those questions!

My name is Alicia Rose Aerni and I wear many hats. I network in Mt Juliet with many small business owners who most of you probably know. I am a singer in a band called “New Binge”, I am Punky the Halloween Elf with “Give a Little Christmas”, and finally, I am on a paranormal team of investigators called “NightSong Paranormal”. Since this is the Halloween issue, Krys (knowing I am a Halloween enthusiast) asked me to write an article highlighting the spooky adventures of NightSong Paranormal and our ghost-hunting adventures.

NightSong Paranormal (NSP) consists of four core members and two part-time investigators. The “core four” of NSP consists of Barbie Horsley, Tabitha Moore, Buffy Wolfenbarger, and myself. Barbie is our lead investigator, team founder, and fearless leader. Tabitha is our co-lead investigator and mother of junior investigator “E”. Buffy is an investigator, tech manager, mad scientist, and creator of all NSP designs for shirts, bags, koozies, and more! Then there’s me! I am an investigator and resident trash panda (I love snacks). Our two part-time investigators are Deb Johnston (“Mama Spooks” and the keeper of snacks), and Shelley Hutto Hughes.

As a Christian-based team, we start an investigation with open hearts and minds and the utmost respect for the location and the spirits. Barbie always says, “You get out of it what you put into it”, meaning you should come to a location with a positive mindset and good energy because the spirits will give back that same energy. You get what you give. I’m sure most of you have seen many of the different ghost-hunting shows because there are MANY! Oddly enough, I have not seen a single show. I am a believer in the supernatural, ghosts, spirits, and the afterlife but I don’t put a lot of stock into the shows. Many TV shows are for entertainment purposes and ratings. Through editing magic, there are endless ways these shows can fake activity giving false information about the paranormal. Through editing, you can make ghostly images appear, cause equipment to trigger, or rig objects to make it seem as if a spirit is manipulating them. As an investigator, I just want to see, hear, and feel things for myself, and with NightSong Paranormal, I have!

NSP has caught some of the most compelling evidence on camera, on digital audio recording devices, and has heard or felt things in person. We have caught ghostly voices sighing, whispering, whistling, or children talking or giggling. We have even caught a wispy apparition on camera! NSP approaches an investigation with some history of the building or land. We try not to get hyper-focused on the paranormal experiences at a location because A) We do not want the power of suggestion to impede our judgments or stop us from having a true experience and B) We want to experience activity for ourselves and verify claims through what we document without knowledge of those things occurring.

Let’s dive right into some of the equipment NSP uses and the many different methods of communication used as we investigate. We start an investigation with a protection prayer and get to work establishing a home base or main command center. We then set static cameras with night vision capability around the location and “bait” the rooms with various ghost-detecting equipment and trigger objects. This allows the team to cover more ground and alerts us to where activity is occurring throughout the location. Some objects include motion detectors like proximity alarms or music boxes that will trigger if anything comes within a certain distance from their position. REM Pods, which detect electromagnetic energy (something spirits are said to give off), or laser grids which allow us to detect shadow movement. We even put out some of the more “non-traditional” objects like jingle bells hanging from door entrances or door handles (just to name a few). Basically, we set out anything that alarms and lights up in order to draw us to the area and investigate when triggered. Once all the equipment is set up and the rooms are baited, we introduce ourselves and tell the spirits we would like to have a conversation with whoever would like to speak with us. We pick a comfortable spot and talk amongst ourselves with a recorder and camera rolling. We sometimes play the ABC game where the first person in line names a food that begins with the letter “A” and the next person in line has to name something that begins with a “B” and so on. We encourage the spirits to play the game with us. The team makes sure to address everyone in the room by name so the spirits can get familiar with our investigators. This helps us break the ice and let the spirits know we are harmless and there with good intentions. No living person would walk into another person’s home and immediately demand answers. So, we respect that the location is home to the spirits and we are just guests. We let the spirits warm up to us and once our devices start sounding or lighting up, we know the spirits are ready to communicate. It usually only takes about 30 minutes or an hour for the activity to start. Then we go into investigation mode in hopes of finding answers and documenting the activity through our various scientific devices and methods. At the end of our investigations, we recite a prayer not only for the team but for the location and spirits, too.

Here are some of the incredible locations we have had an opportunity to visit and investigate this year: Moore County Jail, Harrison Funeral Home, Lotz House, Thomas House, Two Rivers Mansion, Old South Pittsburg Hospital, Murray Station, Clay County Courthouse, Buchanan Log House, Gaines House, Pickled Treats & Antiques, Scott County Jail, Smith County Courthouse, an undisclosed Haunted Airbnb, and Octagon Hall! We have even more in store for an incredible 2024!

With the mention of Buchanan Log House, we are absolutely humbled and excited about a new endeavor regarding that location. We are now the resident team that has been granted permission to host events. We hosted our first event on National Ghost Hunting Day (September 30) and it was amazing! Aside from the investigations, this is an opportunity for us to give back. 100% of ticket sale proceeds went to the Buchanan Log House Chapter APTA. This is the first of many events that will be held at this location, so be sure to follow us on our social media pages to keep up with all things NightSong Paranormal. It’s a spooky season which means, as a paranormal team, we have LOTS of exciting things happening! For the first time ever, NSP will be a vendor at the Tennessee Haunts and Legends

Expo in Nashville, TN. All proceeds from this event go to the Animal Rescue Corps (A.R.C.) and the historical Trousdale Place. The expo takes place at Nashville Fairgrounds on October 21st from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. This will be an opportunity to stop by our booth, get to know us, grab some merch, and visit other amazing vendors! There will be many spooky, cool things to check out. You can find all the information at tnhauntsandlegendsexpo.com. Our final big event for the year is our public ghost hunt on Halloween weekend. We will be hosting an overnight investigation at the Old Historic Harriman Hospital on October 28th from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. This is an exciting chance for anyone to investigate one of the most haunted hospitals in Tennessee! Tickets are still on sale and we would love for you to join us! Go to our website for more information: www.nightsongparanormal.com

Every six weeks or so, the core four members get together and do a Live Video broadcast called “Paranormal Uni-tea” which is live-streamed to our Facebook and YouTube pages. During our broadcast, we recap any investigations we’ve done since our last broadcast, talk about upcoming investigations or events, and answer any hot topic questions that may have come in from our followers. NSP is big on Para-unity which means we support other teams or individuals in the community and help promote their investigations and events.

During our broadcast, we mention events that other teams may be hosting in the area and may even invite members from other teams to join us on the broadcast. We love to meet new teams and collaborate with them on investigations as well. Since there are an endless number of ways to communicate with the spirit world and new equipment is being created all the time, every investigation can be a learning experience.

The reason for having so many different approaches and equipment is to give the spirits options on what methods of communication they prefer. Also, we love to create and try out different techniques and share those with our friends as well. #paraunity works as long as you do, too!

Most of our investigations are private but you can always tune in when we go live on social media. If you have ever wanted to know what it was like to experience the paranormal or go on a ghost hunt, we would love for you to join us. Also, if you or someone you know has a pesky spirit in your home we can always come out and assess the situation! Please email us at nightsongparanormal@gmail.com or visit our website for more info.

Keep up with NightSongParanormal on our website, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube! Thank you so much for reading and stay spooky friends!

Website: www.nightsongparanormal.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/nightsongparanormal
YouTube: @NightSongParanormal
TikTok: @paranormal_in_TN