Interest rises in things that go bump in night

By Joel Kurth / The Detroit News
WESTLAND -- Ghost-busting is back big time in Metro Detroit, as reports of haunted spirits rise and barriers between science and faith fall.
   Armed with video cameras, sophisticated recording equipment and an undying belief in the inexplicable, at least five "ghost hunting" clubs have sprung up in the last few years seeking documentation of the stuff that still elicits snorts from skeptics.
   Many of the true believers -- and some with more questionable motives -- increasingly are turning their attentions to William Ganong -- or Butler -- Cemetery in Westland, which is touted as one of the most haunted spots in Michigan.
   And the ranks of phantasmal fans could rise as mainstream society inches ever closer to embracing phenomena that science can't answer, suggested Richard Mann, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan who specializes in the unordinary.
   "There's more of an interest now than skepticism," said Scott Hattis of River Rouge, a member of Ghost Hunters of Southern Michigan. "It used to be that people would never believe in it, but there's so much happening now, you can't help but have a revival. I get e-mails every day from people experiencing spirits in their homes."
   Indeed, while ghosts and other apparitions once were dismissed as laughable fodder from the Middle Ages, respected academic publications such as the Journal of Scientific Exploration now treat the paranormal with as much respect and analysis as physics or the chaos theory.
   Too much evidence has existed for too long to deny the existence of something out there that modern science can't identify, he said. Once the province of cranks, brushes with UFOs or spirits now happen to credible sources, Mann said.
   "The reason this stuff is spreading is because there's a whole lot of people who are experiencing it," he said.
   If the experience at William Ganong Cemetery is any indication, however, the raised-eyebrow set still prevails over ghost groupies -- even in spots supposedly swarming with spooks.
   Renowned among paranormalists, the cemetery's spirits are said to cause fender-benders, roam the small grounds at night with chains and scatter flower petals. In nearby neighborhoods, however, such scary stuff often elicits little more than a giggle.
   Westland Police Lt. Marc Stobbe said neighbors "rarely set foot in the place because they think it's haunted." Poppycock, retorted Sandra Allen, a secretary at the Annapolis Church of Christ across the street.
   "The cemetery is directly across my window, and I've never seen anything," Allen said.
   Formed in the 1830s and named after nearby farmer William Butler, the cemetery has been inactive for years. Once owned by the city of Wayne, it's now maintained by Westland and often the subject of vandalism and neglect, said Jo Johnson, vice-president of the Westland Historic Commission.
   A few of Butler's children died in the Civil War. Lore has it workers once exhumed graves and headstones for a renovation -- leaving grouchy ghosts homeless. About 20 years ago, rains unearthed the skeletal remains of a long-dead lady still wearing a white dress, Stobbe said.
   Hattis' group investigated the cemetery several times in the last few years. Once, audio equipment picked up the voice of something calling out the name of one of the researchers, Hattis said.
   Another group, the Great Lakes Ghost Hunters Society, claims it has documentation of floating orbs, inexplicable scattering of flower petals and ethereal specters, its Web site stated. Group members did not return messages for comment.
   A few hundred yards away, lost souls are said to haunt the grounds of the former Eloise Mental Hospital, which was later called the Wayne County General Hospital and closed its psychiatric ward in 1981.
   On a recent day, however, the only thing suspicious at the cemetery were a few empty chocolate milk bottles.
   "You walk in there and you can just feel that they're all around, like a heavy feeling that they're on your chest," Hattis said. "They show up right away on photos. A lot of people get frightened, but it doesn't bother me at all."
   He began searching for answers in 1988, when his 2-year-old son died. A long interest in the supernatural caused him to pick up a tape recorder and begin midnight excursions with the group earlier this year.
   The cemetery is also a hotbed for witchcraft, Hattis said.
   Pentagrams regularly appear on tombstones, as do hardened wax and talismans. A few years ago, cleanup volunteers found a black kettle containing feathers, bones and other charms. They turned it over to police. An angry warlock demanded it back, said Johnson of the historical society.
   "I don't believe in ghosts," said the Rev. Jimmy Rose, who opened his church across the street three years ago. "I know I serve a higher power. God is more powerful than the Devil and maybe (our church) scared away the ghosts."
   Westland historians are well aware of the cemetery's notoriety but don't publicize it, Johnson said.
   "We're interested in the people buried there, not ghosts, witches and warlocks," she said.
   
You can reach Joel Kurth at (313) 222-2192 or at jkurth@detnews.com