Brett Nease became interested in the paranormal when he and his ex-wife stayed at Gettysburg’s Cashtown Inn, which has been featured in videos such as “Ghosts of Gettysburg” and “Haunted Gettysburg.” While staying at the hotel, he heard the sounds of footsteps alongside his bed and watched a cake fly off the dresser. He met Kathy Rothenberger, who shares his interest in the paranormal, about three years ago.

Together, they founded the Paranormal Activity Research Association, or PARA, which specializes in detecting and deciphering Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). According to the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena, EVPs are voices that are detected in electronic devices that cannot be explained with known physical principles. The voices typically utter a few short words in response to a question or comment about occurrences in their environment.

This phenomena is considered a form of after-death communication. Many people confuse EVPs with a haunting, but they are not. A haunting is a recurring paranormal event that is experienced by different people (or groups) at different times.

Nease approaches each of his cases with a healthy dose of skepticism and hates the term “ghost hunting,” which to him, smacks of amateurism and sensationalism. “Ninety percent of what you see on TV is false,” he said in an interview. He also refutes another popular paranormal myth in regard to conjuring spirits. They don’t come when you call them, but communicate on their own terms.

On a good day, Nease and Rothenberger will receive 20 to 25 EVP recordings. Then their work begins.