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Maine Ghost Hunters Show to Feature Bridgton Home

May 17, 2010 - AUGUSTA -- The findings of a Maine paranormal investigation team will air on national television in July.

Kathleen "Kat" McKechnie of Bowdoinham, co-founder of the Maine Ghost Hunters, said evidence from the group's investigations will be included in the "My Ghost Story" series on the A&E Biography Channel.

Normally, she said, paranormal teams aren't involved in the filming of this show, which documents the experiences of people with personal ghost stories.

But the producers and director thought their team's visual evidence was so compelling, they requested three of the ghost hunters' tales.

"Each case that will be aired will focus on a Maine Ghost Hunters' team lead, as well as the client to which each case pertains," McKechnie said. "This is exciting news for our team."

Shows featuring the ghost hunters start July 17 at 10 p.m.

McKechnie's husband, Tony Lewis, said the Mark Phillips Philms & Telephision Company in Los Angeles, stumbled upon the Ghost Hunters while researching an old paranormal story in Portland that had been on the online video site YouTube.

"They were looking for paranormal groups in Maine to follow up on that story and they contacted us through our website," Lewis said. "But while looking through our site, they saw all our evidence and decided they wanted to talk to us about some of our investigations. They liked our mission statement and the way we do investigations and our whole mindset around the paranormal community."

Lewis, who owns and operates a technology and software company, said the group submitted a DVD with evidence of half-dozen investigations.

One of the cases chosen for the show was an investigation the team conducted in a Vassalboro home built in 1847.

"The old house was a mill agent's home," he said. "There are several sprits there, the most prominent is an old Civil War captain who also owned the house. It passed hands. That spirit actually followed us home. And we know this because he wrote on our mirror in the bathroom the punch line of a joke we told him while we were there."

The second case is the Homeland Farm in Bridgton, where the family has seen several apparitions. The third is in a Boothbay bed and breakfast called the Kennison Hill Inn, in which the inn's namesake was murdered.

Fellow member David Hopkins of Augusta -- general manager of the Senator Inn & Spa -- said the most modern equipment is used in their investigations: infrared cameras, digital audio recording devices and "ghost boxes" he said receive messages from the spirit world by piecing together snippets of sentences from radio broadcasts.

"We usually set up a main base camp where we're investigating, that's where the computer screens will be, and watch cameras throughout the building," he said. "We're always searching for new electronic devices."

Lewis said there are two sides to the services Maine Ghost Hunters provide. People can request a paranormal investigation, which they do at no cost. But also, the group, which has about a dozen members, does community outreach.

Lewis said the organization formed about two years ago. The idea for the group came out of experiences members have had throughout their lives.

Hopkins said he has always believed in ghosts.

"Growing up as a kid, we had a house with some activity happening," Hopkins said. "I was too little to know it was ghost activity. And the house I live in now, stuff goes on that my friends notice. They'll hear something or get the feeling of being watched. So it's always been a part of my life."

by Mechele Cooper, May 17, 2010, Kennebec Journal

Lakes: Highland Lake
Regions: Sebago


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