Moniteau uses ‘ghost hunting’ event to benefit scholarship foundation
CHERRY TWP — Brett McGinnis, a Moniteau School District graduate and known ghost hunter, has appeared on SyFy network and in the documentary “Ghost Nation,” building a career on the unknown.
It makes sense that he’s still not entirely sure what a ghost is, but he’s certain that something is out there.
“We don’t know. We don’t. A lot of people think that a ghost is the spirit of someone after they pass away. And maybe that’s true. I’m not sure,” McGinnis said. “Some people think it’s an alien or something that we can’t see. That might be the truth also.”
Despite conducting hundreds of investigations and ghost operations, McGinnis had never done one at Moniteau Jr./Sr. High School, where he graduated in 2007. That is until Friday night when he led roughly 25 others through the decades-old school building.
The paranormal investigation, tapping into the spookiness of the Halloween season, was used as a fundraiser for the Moniteau Scholarship Foundation.
That didn’t take away from McGinnis’ seriousness, with all participants having to sign a waver before entering the hunt.
McGinnis has seen things that are unexplainable, he claims, such as shadows that appear in front of him and disappear quickly, hearing voices and noises he can’t explain, energy picked up by technology and batteries of said technology being drained.
There are terms, McGinnis said, any ghost hunter or potential ghost hunter needs to learn ahead of their investigation. This includes EVP, orelectronic voice phenomena — a voice that you can’t hear with your own ears; E.M.F. electromagnetic field; disembodied voice, a voice with no source; intelligent haunting, a spirit that interacts with you; and residual haunting, a spirit unaware of your presence.
Mark DeMatteis, a Moniteau school board member, relayed stories from staff members at the high school that allege unexplainable activity. These included random banging, lights turning on and off, loud foot steps and the eerie feeling of a presence in places such as the cafeteria kitchen and the auditorium.
Using technology like K2 meters to measure electromagnetic activity and thermal guns to pick up energy and heat, participants had more questions than answers, thanks to random energy signals picked up in the gymnasium and cafeteria. Though nearby electrical wires could have caused them.
“That’s why we do these things, to try and figure out what a ghost is. But I know there is something out there. I’ve experienced a lot during these investigations,” McGinnis said.
