On Saturday afternoon, Jenny Beyerlein and Greg Reisner hosted an event at the DeKalb Public Library in which they detailed some of their paranormal investigations, findings and simple methods of finding paranormal activity.

Nearly everyone has had some experience with ghost stories, but to Greg Reisner and Jenny Beyerlein, ghost stories are not just stories; they are a science. 

Reisner and Beyerlein are part of the Spectre Group, a paranormal investigation team based in Iowa City, Iowa.

Reisner, a Sycamore native, held a previous event at the library in July which he hosted alone. 

Speaking to a room of roughly 30 people, Reisner and Beyerlein showed clips from their paranormal adventures. They showed happenings they found at places famed among enjoyers of the paranormal such as the Peoria State Hospital, the Morse Mill Hotel and the Villisca Axe Murder House. 

In each clip, the pair showed movement, orbs or sounds that they identified as being paranormal. Sounds like floors creaking, chains jangling, human voices yelling “get out of here” and sounds that resembled Reisner’s voice were shown as examples of their findings. 

“We encourage everyone not to go anywhere without permission,” said Beyerlein. “If people just want to do something at home, if you have a phone, just get your recording app, just set it up and see what you get.” 

Though Beyerlein and Reisner wanted people to be open to paranormal experiences, they wanted everyone to be safe while doing so. 

Reisner even admitted that sometimes paranormal activities got too scary for him. 

Reisner said that his unnamed psychic, who was communicating with a spirit, said “he’s taking your energy so he can do something.”

“I just felt something in my stomach, and I started to feel weak,” said Reisner. “I kind of moved out of that area.” 

Reisner was full of intriguing stories. During the Spectre Group’s hour-long presentation, there were gasps and audience members squirmed lower into their seats as the hour went on. From being scratched by a spirit to losing his memory of segments of time, Reisner told some scary stories while videos of light orbs and doors closing with no visible source appeared on screen.

“There’s been a few situations where I’ve been like ‘I’m not very safe right now,’” said Beyerlein. 

Another paranormal enthusiast in the audience, Josh Kayser of G.A.S.P.S. (Ghosts, Apparitions, Spirits, Paranormal, Supernatural) Paranormal was getting the word out about an event he was hosting and fell upon this event. “I’ll see what they have to say, what equipment they use,” said Kayser. 

Kayser also had some stories to tell. One story he told was about the biggest mistake he made while trying to contact spirits. 

“I asked one of them to hit me, and they almost broke my ankle. I got kicked right in the ankle bone,” said Kayser. “I could barely get my shoe off, it hurt so bad. For the next four days, it was hard to walk.”