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First Paranormal Expo Held In Plattsburgh



For one day exercise gave way to X the unknown.

Saturday, October 24th, 2009. The City of Plattsburgh Recreation Center welcomed psychics, ghost hunters, healers and others involved in the paranormal.

The Northern New York Paranormal Expo was co-sponsored by the City of Plattsburgh and the Northern New York Paranormal Research Society. The setting for the vendors was a bit unusual: a gymnasium. The building was once the recreation center for the decommissioned Air Force base.

Tables were lined up in neat rows on the gym floor. The basketball hoops were raised up, out of use for the day. Up above ran a second story track along the walls, a jogger doing laps while people waited in line down below to consult with a psychic. Muscles and minds.

Other tables featured girl scouts selling Halloween cupcakes, an author with copies of his book for sale (“Saviors Among Us: The Story of a Northern NY Superhero”), recycled Halloween costumes (“Think Green”), and the usual unusual, from herbal remedies to crystals.

One table was manned by members of the NNY Paranormal Research Society who explained the tools used in their investigations (mostly hauntings). A laptop computer featured a screen with frozen green waves: most likely an example of EVP (electronic voice phenomena). One researcher demonstrated how a EMF (electro-magnetic field) meter worked, one of the tools in the ghost hunting trade. Two compact dgital cameras stood side by side on a small tripod; one had been converted to record images in the infra-red range.

I arrived late in the day but from what I saw the event was well-attended. One factor that helped: it was set up for the whole family. Fun for children 12 years old and younger, according to the brochure, included a Witches Hat Ring Toss, Bite the Witch's Apple, and a Cauldron Toss. There was a “haunted city morgue” installation that came with the warning: “The Haunted House could be too scary for some children. Please inspect it prior to allowing children to enter.” I didn't see any crying kids.

And with all of that activity upstairs, downstairs was set aside for guest speakers. I'll comment on that part of the PExpo (as I call it) neXt time.

Comments

X. Dell said…
It could have helped that it was so close to Halloween.

You know, I've never been to a UFO/paranormal/conspiracy convention. Perhaps I should start.
3:29 AM
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