Whether you believe in ghosts or not, the presentation on Friday, July 7, at the Oak Lawn Library by Ocean State Paranormal left little to doubt that we are not alone.

Director and Founder Buddy Thayer entertained the almost three-dozen attendees with visual and audio evidence that there are places here in Rhode Island that not only the living inhabit.

Thayer, who has had a lifelong interest in history, was not always a “true believer” when it came to the paranormal.

"I was always a show me kind of guy. It wasn't until I was working in a group home in Woonsocket in 2008, and I had my first experience that I became a believer. I would always find some sort of an explanation, or excuse to brush away what was happening. But, that one night, when a motion sensor went off and no one was moving, I was convinced," he said.

Thayer went into details about the history of the Hygeia House on Block Island, Smith Castle in North Kingstown, the (now-closed) Ladd School and Oak Lawn Library as all places where he has recorded and videoed occurrences.

The team uses several pieces of equipment when investigating. One of them is a K2 meter that measures EMF (electromagnetic forces) and also recording equipment that picks up EVP (electronic voice phenomenon). 

"We have no explanations for how or why voices are captured," Thayer said.

At the Hygeia House there were distinct recordings of sentences.

“My wife, Kathryn, said the word ‘flash’ and we immediately heard ‘that bothers me’, and when we were in room where the owner’s mother had passed away we were told ‘out, get out,’” Thayer said.

The Ladd School, which was originally established in 1908 as a home for those considered insane, was considered to be a hot-spot of paranormal activity.

“It was on my bucket list of places to investigate,” said Thayer.

No one wanted to let them onto the property, but eventually he was granted permission with certain restrictions about areas they could go into and how long they could stay.

Some of the clearer EVP messages that the crowd heard were “show me the flash,” “give up,” “not a camera,” “trash tray” and who did it” and “why?”

OSP has investigated Oak Lawn Library twice now, in 2015 and 2016 and each time has had success in audio and visual results.

Branch Librarian Stefanie Blankenship initiated the sessions due to her constant experiences with unexplained happenings.

Thayer showed a video that clearly indicated someone pulling on a wire that had been secured upstairs.

“Look at the way the wire is moving. If it was being pulled from upstairs, it would have gone up and down, this is clearly shows it moving as if someone was walking by it and brushing against it,” he said.

The EVP was active at Oak Lawn as well. “Open the door, can you help me, thank you, backroom desk, Bruce [the possible former electrician], shame on you. Several of the recordings sounded like children’s voices.”

Ethan Muro, a third-grader at Eden Park, was pretty impressed with the program.

“I thought it was cool. I don’t want to come to the library at night,” he said.

Not to be outdone by her big brother, 5-year old Josephina Muro said she would come to the library at night, but would not go into the attic.

For more information about Ocean State Paranormal, go to www.paranormalsocieties.com/view_society.cfm?id=802.

For complete lists of all library programming, go to www.cranstonlibrary.org.