The founder of the society, Hunnicutt said he's been chasing ghosts ever since he was 17, when he was spooked in an Arizona theater that was said to be haunted. And he says he has no doubt ghosts are real.

"I've been slapped, had my legs knocked out from under me and I've been physically grabbed," said Hunnicutt, who lives in Macon. "Anyone who does this and says they're not scared is either a liar or a fool."

Using ordinary cameras, thermometers and recording devices, team members try to document paranormal activity and uncover any pranksters perpetrating a hoax.

Co-director Drew Hester, who has studied paranormal psychology, relies on his senses.

"When I feel things, it's kind of like, if you can imagine, when you're on a roller coaster and you start to go down and your heart kind of goes," said Hester, who commuted from his north Georgia home in Chatsworth to investigate claims of ghost-type activity at the 155-year-old courthouse. "It's not a scared feeling, but it's kind of an adrenaline rush."

Kim Gordon, president of the Crawford County Historical Society, which is working to restore the building, said there has been evidence of paranormal activity.

"We've had a couple of people with us who have had experiences in here like a cold spot," she said. "One of them had a battery-operated lantern that would go completely off when she went over the threshold upstairs."

Members of the Georgia Ghost Society say they don't go looking for trouble, but investigate existing claims of spirit activity.

"We don't go into cemeteries. We don't go into abandoned buildings. We go into places with a paranormal history," Hunnicutt said. "So we're not ghost hunting. We're doing paranormal research."

Drawing nearly two dozen investigators from across the state, the nonprofit organization sets out to assist anyone experiencing a haunting. There is never a fee.

And the group begins every investigation with a prayer.

"All of our faith and what we believe is biblically based," said Hunnicutt, who wears a blessed medal of St. Michael the Archangel. "We definitely believe spirits attract spirits, and we can open the door for dark spirits to come.

"Sometimes it can be spiritual warfare. You draw a line in the sand and you don't back down," said Hunnicutt.

At the end of the prayer, the group splits up and the lights go off.
"That's when the fun starts," Hunnicutt said.