~ Written By Pattyhap1863 ~

Every day you see them in news articles and in headlines. Once a week, they invade your home through your TV screens. You watch and read about the places they investigate, the tools they use, what they do, what they think and how they carry out investigations. Because they are famous, people want to imitate them or glorify them. Because they are famous, and we are able to catch a glimpse of their investigations on TV, many people believe they lead exciting lives and ghost hunting is an adventure. Maybe this is why there have been ghost hunting teams popping up all over the country and the paranormal is suddenly ‘cool’ and a great ‘hobby’ to pursue.

GhostsAmongUs recently interviewed five paranormal investigators. These interviews will be presented on the home page in a series of five different articles, one for each investigator. We interviewed people that are NOT on their own TV show, nor do they have a radio show to tune into. They are not in the spotlight and they continue to work in the field, because they are passionate about it and because they want to genuinely help. These are people who want others to think before they jump to the conclusion that everything is paranormal. People who continuously work in the background and to whom we are extremely grateful. People who try to educate others in the field and tell it as it is, and who continue to experiment to one day obtain irrefutable evidence of the existence of life after death. This is
the not so famous side of the paranormal


Joe Eversole believes that there are no norms, laws or boundaries in the paranormal field. This is why when he founded MPI he and his co-founders agreed that they must present evidence as it is, the truth at all cost, whether it be scientific or paranormal in nature. The “Military” in MPI stands for professionalism, because he and his team are very professional and serious about what they do. He doesn’t want people to call them ‘ghost hunters’. MPI is a team of skeptics who use investigative techniques and state-of-the-art equipment to analyze any paranormal activity they encounter.

How many years have you been in the field?

I am relatively new to the field. I have done some cryptozoological searches in Arkansas, Texas and Alaska for years in search of the urban legend type subjects, but to no avail. I turned to paranormal activity research about a year ago, leading to the start of MPI by Jeff Jones, Rob Wirth, and myself. I work with experienced paranormal researchers, and I am dedicated to furthering self-education in research, investigative techniques, and in what myself and Rob Wirth call “paranormal forensics”.

What are your accomplishments?

When we started MPI we had a round table discussion on what our goals vision were. First and foremost: legitimacy. We are slowly seeing MPI come into the light across the internet as a legitimate source of information and a representation of what a science-based paranormal group should be. This is an accomplishment for all the members of MPI, something we can all share. We have established a successful screening and hiring process for new personnel utilized, NOT EMPLOYED, by MPI. Each member brings something different to the table. All members’ theories, opinions and values are taken into consideration and our success can be directly linked to our organization, communication skills, and desire to adhere to a finely outlined mission objective. When MPI first started we had our share of turmoil, yet we overcame, and have made MPI what it was meant to be according to our vision and for ourselves.
We are receiving encouraging email from some heavy hitters in the paranormal community. An individual who spearheaded the Army’s true life remote viewing project during the cold war along with his associate who has done paranormal research for decades has offered up his 13,000 volume library and assistance for research in Langley AFB, VA. Now that’s awesome! To have a “credible” paranormal source giving us letters of encouragement and offering assistance to furthering the advancements in the paranormal field measures the success of MPI. Where to go from here? Our name has taken off, and I am very proud of what Jeff, Rob, myself, and all our department heads have put together. We knew when we first met that we had something big here, with big plans and the potential for growth all over the U.S. – anywhere there’s a military installation. Our vision is to establish detachments for military personnel to have the possibility to do research with us, and we are seeing our potential for growth every day. We are implementing an investigators reserve program, which will allow select civilian members to be a part of the MPI paranormal research team. We have established a successful affiliated member program for people all over the U.S. truly wanting to contribute and be a part of something positive and credible in the paranormal field. We’re very proud of where MPI is going and what the future may hold for our members. Very proud.

Which investigation do you remember the most and why?

All our investigations are memorable. MPI’s first investigation was to be the White Sanitarium in Wichita Falls, TX. This investigation fell through, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We opted for the investigation of Clara cemetery, just outside of Burkburnett, TX. The Clara cemetery exhibits much activity. The variables were in our favor that night, no wind, no dust, no ambient light. Everyone was on the same page- working together, doing their part to make for a successful, organized operation. As the temperature dropped, we opted to go to an undisclosed building. Due to discretion, this building is labeled “029”. It had been verified that a murder had taken place in the building in the early 50’s due to two individuals settling an accusation of infidelity with a handgun. To set this scene, Jeff Jones and Rob Wirth were setting up cameras in two strategic positions in hopes to capture anything paranormal. Upon rounding a corner from a series of ramps within the building they both saw what appeared to be a shadow apparition burst away from them. Their reaction was on the digital recorder and can be verified that it was the same reaction at the same time, which will fortify the unexplainable evidence we got that night. Building 029 continued to produce activity. We witnessed a pacing shadow which appeared agitated by our presence. We agreed to split up. I went up a series of ramps in hopes to flush something out, and they descended the opposite ramps in hope to catch something on camera. We use hand held radios only at a minimum, but I planted myself on a ramp, and called them to tell them I was in position and they could start ascending the ramps. Directly after my call to Rob, I felt a burst of cold hit me and my radio, my flashlight, and my cell phone batteries drained. That night was full of trying to isolate the position of a shadow. It was around 0345 when we knocked off the investigation, and did a small review of our photos, etc. to see if we had gotten anything, to no avail. Rob had decided to start listening to the digital recordings, and no more than 3 minutes into the recording did we hear the incident between Rob, Jeff and the shadow apparition, and another voice, disembodied, calling them “Sons of B****s”. It seems we had riled up the entity leading to hours of glimpses of his disdain for 4 individuals invading his space. This was the one for MPI. Hours of effort, investigation, etc. had paid off with one disembodied voice…amazing how one EVP pays you back for all the effort you put into an investigation isn’t it? We were proud.

The worse part of investigating a location is:

This is a hard one to answer. I would have to say logistics. Getting everyone from point A to point B. When we did the MacArthur museum of Arkansas military history in Little Rock, AR, we pretty much knew who was driving, who was riding, etc. However, moving a team out after each of us had a brutal 11 hour workday, to drive almost 500 miles has a lot to be desired. A command decision on where to eat was not difficult, as Hooters is the typical pick of military men on the move! Successful logistics require a plan. Not so much agenda, but a well thought out plan. All the variables are gonna hit, as they always do, but the plan gives a framework to bounce the variables off of. Make the problems bend to the plan, not vice versa.

The best part of investigating a location is:

I am adamant on Pre-briefings and case file management. We give our pre-brief as if it were a military operation, and this works for us. I find the best part to be watching investigations now, and evaluating our investigative techniques. Asking the questions: “what can we do better”, “what can give us the edge on data collection, professionalism”, “what techniques can we develop for ourselves to bring out anything we may be looking for?”, I get more out of watching someone new investigate. We’ve just brought in another new investigator, Mary, and we are stoked to watch her and have her be a part of MPI. To sum this one up: being able to sit back and watch what we’ve all worked so hard for, a successful team pulling together for a thorough, meticulous investigation. Awesome.

Why do you do this?

How do you answer this one? I don’t want to give the generic answer, I’m searching for answers. First, this is a blast! It’s healthy, challenges the mind, causes focus, attention to detail, out-of-the-box thinking and theory, the list can go on. It allows me to do what I enjoy the most with close friends and team members. I desire to be a part of something bigger than myself, and contribute in my own way to paranormal research and investigative techniques.

What is your favorite tool when investigating and why?

I’m big into lighting. I have a few techniques with creating false ambient lighting that are still in work, and apply them whenever I can. An example is with strobe lights and glow sticks. For example, if you’re investigating in a long hallway or corridor, and there’s no lighting at the end of the hall, how will you know if you can see a shadow? A backdrop of light, “false light” is paramount. It allows a plain of light to be broken by the shadow between the light source, and the investigator’s eye. I use glow sticks, strobe lights, lanterns etc. The key is placement. If you place them in direct line of site, you get eyeball “burn-in”, which can cause matrixing. If you take a small box, lay it on its side and project the “false light” against the wall in the background of where your focus is, then you’ve reduced the possibility of matrixing, and increased the possibility of catching a shadow movement. The use of strobes is different. The strobes I use are military survival issue, and can be seen for over 6 miles. The technique is to place the strobes around corners and look for shadow movement in the pulses of light. Some burn-in can occur, and I’ve found the solution to that is to wear a very light pair of clean sunglasses. Give yourself a reference point to stare at and keep the eye movement to a minimum. Artificial ambient lighting, “false lighting” does work. This was evident in MPI’s Macarthur investigation when a shadow was witnessed crawling up a set of stairs by breaking the runoff lighting on the wall from our camera monitors. I suggest to every investigator to pursue lighting techniques and share your results with us all. We need all the tips we can get.

When did you first encounter something paranormal in your life?

My brother and I were backpacking in Arkansas on the Ouachita trail. Heading from the start of the trail we headed westward toward Oklahoma at night. There was a full moon behind us, and we could see the trail without any flashlights, it was awesome. We had hiked about 4 miles in and decided to set camp. To the south of us we noticed what we thought was the moon. It appeared to be 25 or 30 yards away. My brother and I were “paralyzed”, asking each other if that was the moon, or a spotlight on us. Whatever we saw was in the trees- the moon would have been broken by branches in front of it, but there were no branches in front of the light. When we said that’s the moon, and turned to finish setting up our tent and camp, we turned around and the light was gone. My brother pointed out the moon. Needless to say we did not sleep that night. Day 3 into that backpack trip, we were sitting in our camp, by the fire, in the middle of nowhere, and a tall bearded scruffy man came out of the woods, looked at me and my brother and walked through our camp, by the fire back into the woods and was gone. We hollered at him, tried to see where he was going, but found and saw nothing. That to me was paranormal because he looked as if he were dressed in old clothing, brown pants, black vest scruffy beard, and covered in dust and soot. He looked as if he were pulled from a dusty mine that had caved in. Was this paranormal? I don’t know but isn’t the meaning of paranormal “other than normal”? That was the first encounter.

Have you ever had an unpleasant encounter with either an inhuman entity or evil spirit? If so, what was it?

During an investigation of Ft. Richardson, in Jacksboro, TX, we picked up an EVP that sounded demonic. We were in a grove outside of the fort grounds north of the fort, and stumbled across a dozen set of eyes, which turned out to be goats. It was eerie to see glowing hollow eyes illuminating light back to us. I made the comment that that was demonic looking, and at that moment when played from the digital recordings, you could hear a growling disembodied voice saying what sounds like “I am Zagan”, and then give a short growling hiss. Directly after the comments were made, an enormous stag standing about 10 yards in front of us reared his head high, looked at us, and then bolted off. I refer you to the Lesser key of Solomon, in reference to Zagan, which is a demon represented as a horned animal or beast. I’m not the authority on this issue. MPI member Jeremiah has done research on topics such as this, and we often “pick” his brain.

What advice would you give newcomers in the field?

Be open to the truth. Be willing to take constructive criticism when dealing with “evidence”, and learn from such. Be thorough in all your debunking avenues, and if there is one shred of doubt about something, discard it and use it as training for everyone involved. We at MPI use debunked evidence as training for everyone new coming in. Remain skeptical and scrub, analyze, verify, and re-verify anything you post as evidence. Stay true to your beliefs, goals for yourself and your group, and you will be successful in the field of paranormal research.

What would you improve in the paranormal field and why?

Education, to have a school dedicated to paranormal studies exclusively. All areas of the paranormal. To train in all areas of investigation, research, documentation, etc. To establish laws instead of theories, and learn to amend those laws based on research advancements to be foreseen in the future. That would be incredible – a university based on teaching everything known in the paranormal field. Awesome.

What do you do in your spare time?

My spare time is full up with MPI business. I enjoy what I’m doing and spend every day working on investigative possibilities, developing training, looking over applications. My hobbies when I get a chance include mountain biking, rappelling, diving, backpacking, camping, and snowboarding – anything outdoors related with my wife, Celeste. I travel to and from Arkansas to visit my 4 girls- Tawny, Ireland, Maia and Jaden. They consume pretty much all of my spare time away from home and MPI business.

Visit Joe Eversole’s website: http://www.mpi-paranormal.com/

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