Architect, Jonathan Rivers is devastated when he loses his wife in a tragic accident on the day she finds out that she’s pregnant. Just as he is leaving for work, he sees a man sitting in a parked SUV across the street. He ignores the man and goes to work, only to see him sitting on a bench in front of his office. The man identifies himself as Raymond Price, who found peace when he contacted his deceased son via EVP.

Raymond stops following him, and Jonathan tries to return to his normal life. One day, he is showing a building to one of his firm’s clients when they get stuck in the elevator. The lights go out, and then Jonathan’s cell phone rings. The caller is from Anna, his deceased wife. Her cell phone is lying in his dresser drawer at home, inside the plastic “personal effects” bag that the police had given to him.

The incident sends him to Raymond’s house, where he is shown video and voice recordings from dead people who had allegedly contacted his clients. At first, Jonathan is overwhelmed by the possibility of communicating with his wife. Then he becomes obsessed with the idea to the point where this obsession begins to take over his life. The bizarre incidents that take place help keep his obsession alive, despite warnings from a psychic and from Raymond.

“Not every spirit is nice,” Raymond had said.

Jonathan tries to piece together what is happening around him, while still searching for Anna. Raymond’s words fail to register until the explosive climax. Everything was tied up at that point, but the last scene is somewhat open-ended, suggesting a sequel of some sort.

I enjoyed this movie very much. Keaton did a great job portraying a grieving and obsessed widower. Although I didn’t like the static in the beginning of the movie, I thought the producers did a good job with the cinematography. There were plenty of spooky scenes and elements to make this a satisfying ghost story. Highly recommended.

The Lumber Baron Inn & Gardens was originally built by John Mouat, a Scottish lumber tycoon in 1890. In 1970, the 8,500 square foot mansion was converted into an apartment complex. One of the tenants was a seventeen year-old runaway, who was raped and murder inside her apartment. A friend of hers happened to stumble upon the murder as it occurred and was also killed. Their killer(s) was never caught.

Dina Everling and Christopher Moon of The Haunted Times Magazine have visited this place many times in order to learn the details of this brutal double murder. Using a specialized piece of equipment, the team was able to pick up EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) recordings from the girls, who gave them details about the double murder.

“The Lumber Baron experiences are always tough. We want so desperately to help the two murdered girls come to some peace with their deaths. Until the murderer is finally arrested and convicted, I don’t think that will happen. The girls replay their attack every day, and you can always feel the horror they felt on that fateful day.”

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.