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Many years ago, Robert Hunnicutt
walked into the dressing room of an Arizona theater to find a woman
sewing.
Throughout all his rehearsals, he'd
never seen her before.
Before leaving the dressing room,
Hunnicutt, who was then 17, turned back to get a second look.
She had vanished.
When Hunnicutt told the cast and crew
what had happened, they told him he'd seen the ghost of the theater.
That was 1976. It was a life-changing
moment. Hunnicutt found himself hooked on ghosts.
Flash forward to 2000 when Hunnicutt,
who never lost his interest in the paranormal, established the
Georgia Ghost Society. The mission of the nonprofit group:
Conducting ghost research, performing investigation and
documentation of the paranormal and promoting Georgia's haunted
historical landmarks.
The Society is based in Macon, where
Hunnicutt also lives. Over the years, he said, members of the group
have traveled all over the state to help individuals and families
troubled by hauntings at no charge.
Their adventures may one day end up on
television.
Ron McLellen, a Flowery Branch-based
horror filmmaker, spent the last year shooting footage of the
Georgia Ghost Society at work. He hopes to turn it into a six-part
series for television called "The Seekers: Investigating Southern
Haunts."
"I've seen some stuff since working
with Bob," McLellen said.
The Georgia Ghost Society puts
prospective members through an interview process as rigorous as any
job interview.
The paranormal community, Hunnicutt
said, can attract some nut jobs.
Many years ago, one woman, who said
she was a psychic, joined the society. No one noticed anything
peculiar about her, Hunnicutt said, until the day she told a
reporter at a big city newspaper that she'd been abducted and
impregnated by aliens.
Hunnicutt will never let that happen
again.
"If I lose my credibility I might as
well hang it up," Hunnicutt said. "If they think we're a bunch of
wackados, we're finished."
Currently the Georgia Ghost Society
has 24 active members, according to Hunnicutt. None are from the
Athens area. Hunnicutt hopes to soon change that.
He approached media outlets around the
state about the Georgia Ghost Society in hopes that getting the word
out about the society might lead to individuals coming forward with
information about other haunted spots in the Peach State. "I want
people to know we're here," Hunnicutt said.
The Georgia Ghost Society's primary
calling is to help individuals or families being tormented by
hauntings. Hunnicutt said the group receives between four to 10
calls each week from people requesting investigations or information
about ghosts. They do not charge for investigations.
Hunnicutt once helped a family so
scared of the spirits sharing their house they'd plastered the walls
with paper crucifixes.
"I may not have all the answers," he
said. "But they need someone."
Investigating a haunted residence may
sound like nonstop action, but it isn't that different from being on
a stake out.
"You can sit there all night long and
nothing will happen," Hunnicutt said.
Sometimes, though, things do happen.
"I'll be the first to tell you, I've
been doing this for 30 years, and I still get scared," Hunnicutt
said. "I learned not too long ago that the devil is not a metaphor."
Paranormal activity increases around
Halloween, according to Hunnicutt. He warns folks not to plan a
séance or go out to buy an Ouija board.
"We believe it opens a doorway,"
Hunnicutt said. "Just because it says it's Uncle Fred or Aunt Mary,
doesn't mean it is."
Cable television shows like "Ghost
Hunters" and "Most Haunted" don't accurately depict what it's like
to explore the haunted world, Hunnicutt argued.
"When these shows first came out, the
paranormal community was very excited," he said.
Most everyone, according to Hunnicutt,
ended up disappointed. "The way they conduct themselves and their
behavior to me can be questionable," he said.
McLellen, who's best known for 2004's
Lions Gate horror release "Jack O'Lantern," wants to show people
what it's really like to investigate the paranormal. With each site,
McLellen said, the investigators went in without any preconceived
notions. "We're not trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes," he
said.
At one investigation, McLellen said,
he captured a 2-year-old girl talking with a malevolent spirit
through the answering machine. An investigation at the Mount Hope
cemetery in Dahlonega with the Georgia Ghost Society last Halloween
proved fruitful as well.
"We all had some experiences there at
Mount Hope," McLellen said.
Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 102807
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