Halloween may be over, but ghost hunters Christopher Moon and John Zaffis left their audience members spooked about the possibility of spirits lurking among them after their presentation Oct. 24 in Missouri Southern’s Taylor Auditorium.

“Ghosts defy what we know and defy what we understand,” Zaffis said, explaining that the idea of not knowing scares people and when people get scared or can’t explain something it causes controversy.”

Zaffis, a paranormal investigator, specializes in cases of demonology and human possession. He warns that these cases are real using the movie The Exorcism of Emily Rose as an example.

“It is a well-documented movie that hits a little too close to home for me,” he said.

Moon, paranormal investigator, is senior editor of Haunted Times magazine, which he began in 2005. Moon said he wanted a way to publicize his information and findings from his investigations.

Moon said Hollywood makes it look like spirits do not move on because of unfinished business, but he disagrees.

“Most spirits don’t want to pass on because they think they will be punished on the other side,” Moon said.

He says people often ignore the signs of family members or friends that have passed on and are trying to contact them. Most people just do not know or do not want to know what to look for.

The ghost hunters said everyone is born with a certain amount of ability, just most choose not to use it or deny it. If people would be more open to the other side, ghosts may make their presence known more often.

“Our view narrows, we are told what is right and wrong,” Moon said. “We’re told how to perceive society and eventually we narrow our view to fit that, and that’s why a lot of who use to be able to see ghost can’t see them now.”

The two investigators agreed on many things, including the power of spirits to pull energy from batteries and equipment.

Zaffis who has removed many items from homes, claims items can be possessed.

“Things come from different islands and different beliefs, that is when they are a problem,” Zaffis said.

Zaffis warned that if an item is possessed, a professional should take care of the removal.

“One of the worst things you could do is to break or burn something because if there is energy attached to it, it will go right toward you,” Zaffis said.

Moon and Zaffis conduct their investigations with night vision cameras and audio equipment, looking for evidence of spirit activity. They recommend that potential ghost hunters never go alone, ask for permission to enter property and use good equipment such as night video cameras and don’t believe everything you see on the Internet.

“Doing paranormal investigating is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, you never know what is going to work or what is going to resolve the situation,” Zaffis said.