BPG News Article

North Adams Transcript Article

Cameraman Bob Oliver videotapes Nick Mantello and his son,
Josh, of Berkshire Paranormal, as they set up their ghost-hunting
equipment in the Masonic Temple in North Adams last March for the
'Chronicle' magazine show. The segment airs on WCVB in Boston
on Wednesday evening. Photo by Gillian Jones/North Adams Transcript

Local Ghosthunters Caught on Camera - Jennifer Huberdeau - North Adams Transcript {Posted 04/18/06}

NORTH ADAMS — Creaking stairs, doors closing on their own, lights that flicker and shut off, cold spots in rooms — some people might see these as traces of communication from beyond the grave. That's where Berkshire Paranormal comes in, looking to validate or dispute claims of "hauntings" in the county. "Not every cold temperature change is a ghost. Not every abnormality in a picture is a spirit orb," said Josh Mantello, founder and lead investigator of Berkshire Paranormal.

Haunting investigation

Founded a year ago, the group began investigating reported paranormal activity at the Masonic Temple, the former Houghton Mansion, on Church Street, with the aid of Ronald Koleck, founder of the New England Ghost Project. From there, they collaborated with Koleck's group to found the Berkshire Paranormal Conference and then began conducting their own investigations locally.
On Wednesday night, Berkshire Paranormal, the New England Ghost Project and Jeff Belanger of Ghostvillage.com will be featured on the Boston television show "Chronicle." The episode will air at 7:30 p.m. on Channel 5.
"When they first started talking to us about taping, they were going to focus on the aspect that our group began as a family thing," Mantello said. "It's not common for a paranormal group to have so many family members." Mantello's investigation team includes Stephanie Mantello, his wife; Nick Mantello, his father, and his sister and brother-in-law, Sarah and Greg Onarato.
"When we began the group everyone was either related to me by blood or marriage," Mantello said. "Now, we have two other members who are not related to us. We've known both of them for a while. John DeMarco, a reiki master with an interest in the paranormal, joined the group as a full-fledged member last year. Paul Oleskiewicz has recently been added as an associate member. However, Mantello isn't sure what the "Chronicle" episode will focus on.

Tour of mansion

"When the show came out to the mansion, we set up like we were doing a real investigation. We gave them a tour of the house like we would ask someone to do if we were investigating their house. We explained what (paranormal events) happens where," he said. After setting up a "base camp" of television monitors for video camera and other electronic feed to go to, the group led the film crew on an investigation of the mansion.
"We went on like we were investigating the mansion. We demonstrated how we use our electromagnetic field readers, night-vision and infrared cameras," Mantello said. "People will see how we conduct an investigation." He hopes the television appearance will stir up more interest in the group and lead to more local investigations. So far, the group has investigated one house and the Charlemont Inn.
"The Charlemont Inn was an awesome time," Mantello said. "We approached them because they are pretty well known as being haunted."

Eerie inn

The inn has been featured in several books chronicling haunted New England locations, and its owners claim to have several resident ghosts. Multiple stories of encounters with the other-worldly inhabitants of the inn have been documented. "We invited Ron from NEGP to go along with us. We had mixed results, but it was a great experience," Mantello said. "Ron, Greg and myself were all in a room at the inn when the lights cut off. The light was one of those turn-style knobs that just clicked off. We also had some weird anomalies in our pictures."
Another investigation, at an unidentified house in North Adams, did not turn up much. The home's owners have claimed to see apparitions. "We really didn't find anything but that doesn't mean if we go back on another night, we wouldn't find anything. It's like a fishing expedition," Mantello said. "We also have two more buildings lined up. We have one in Adams and another well-known haunt in Berkshire County."
Besides the investigations, the group is gearing up for the second Berkshire Paranormal Conference: Contact II, being held Sept. 22-24. This year's schedule includes a psychic medium who will do readings on the second night.
"The psychic medium will be no different than Susan Northrop (Albany, N.Y., radio personality) or (television psychic) John Edwards," he said.
The group also offers private investigations at the mansion and Mantello is preparing for his first presentation at a regional paranormal conference.
"Hopefully, people will see that we're professional and take this seriously and give us a call," Mantello said. "We're approaching summer time and have more free time to take on investigations."

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