By Brooke Talbot

A new student organization is investigating anything out of the ordinary.

Paranormal is defined as anything out of the ordinary or not normal, including fairies, zombies, and ghouls, and the Paranormal Study Organization is a new club this year that investigates paranormal activity.

The club uses websites that set out rules and details and then does individual research on public records to see who has died at particular places, said Kayla Pickrell, journalism sophomore and founder of the group.

She said the club has 25 members so far but grows daily. Students, faculty and people outside of UK are able to join throughout the year.

Their first investigation is going to be held at Guignol Theatre Sunday, Oct. 30 from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., where they will break into groups of three to five people to investigate, Pickrell said. The Guignol Theatre burnt down in 1947, and was rebuilt as the current Fine Arts building.

She said the organization will be investigating if they can reach anyone who died in the fire. Cameras and recorders will be positioned in random places within the theatre to capture images and voices.

Easy or non-detailed questions like “what’s your favorite color?” or “what is your name?” work best when communicating with the spirits, Pickrell said.

“If the questions are too detailed the spirits words become jumbled and you might even hear it mock you,” she said. “It’s rare that you can hear it clearly, it could take you nearly two hours while looking at research of 30 second intervals.”

The spirits communicate on different sound waves so someone can’t hear it until they play back the tapes.

The Monday of Halloween the organization will get together to watch movies, eat, play games and review their research along with what they found in the theater, Pickrell said.

“Ghosts come back when they have an emotional tie to an area,” Mae Seay, a psychology junior and vice president of the club, said. “I’m really excited to go to Guignol. I think there will be a lot of activity.”

The club is going to investigate places such as cemeteries around Lexington and Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, Ky., Pickrell said.

“We hope to find a lot of activity and people as interested and excited as we are,” Pickrell said.

The organization will be having a Mascarade ball in February for Valentines Day.

“I want to do some crazy stuff and get involved with new adventures,” Hassan Alomran, a computer science sophomore, said.

About three in four Americans admit having at least one paranormal belief, according to a Gallup survey. Also, 41 percent of people believe in extrasensory perception, while 37 percent believe in haunted houses.

“My family thinks there’s a high-heeled ghost at my grandma’s house,” Chelsea Bentley, a merchandising, apparel and textiles senior, said. “I believe in them because it could be possible. I guess I’m gullible.”

The British Journal of Psychology said in a newspaper survey, 59 percent were believers in the paranormal. They found a large sex difference, as 70 percent of females were believers where 48 percent of males don’t believe in it.

“I have to see it in order to believe it,” Andrew Jarrells, a communications senior, said. He is a nonbeliever in paranormal activity.

Pickrell, who is also a staff writer for the Kernel, is in the Appalachian Paranormal Study Organization back home in North Carolina, and wanted to bring it with her to UK.

“Hospitals are my favorite because the spirits are crying out for help,” Pickrell said. “The craziest thing that I encountered in North Carolina was when I was at the Devil’s Tramping Ground and was pushed to the ground. I’ve always been touched or spoken to, but never pushed.”