Brandon Twp.- Robin Lemkie hunts ghosts.
She has looked for, listened for, and tried to sense spirits in homes, businesses, and cemeteries as founder of Ghost Hunters of Southern Michigan.
She says that 90-95 percent of the time, she is successful in finding ghosts at places where she has been called to investigate the supernatural? more than 100 cases since she founded GHOSM in 1994.
‘We’ve had amazing results,? says Lemkie, 56. ‘Not only in helping the homeowner, but the spirit. People are ready to move, terrified, and we tell them why the ghost is there.?
She has been interested in the paranormal since the age of 5, when she listened as her mother and grandfather talked about the supernatural. She believes she had her first personal encounter with a spirit when she woke one night in her old, country house, frightened to see a large shadow moving down the hallway.
Now, as one of eight members of GHOSM, she seeks out such encounters, going to the homes and businesses of people who are experiencing the supernatural.
GHOSM is selective about the the places they choose to go. Lemkie says she is suspicious when people say things are being thrown, for example, and tends to believe these are people whose imaginations have gotten the best of them.
‘It’s not like people see on TV or in Hollywood,? Lemkie said. ‘The most I’ve ever seen is a rocking chair rock by itself. Mostly there are sounds, feelings, electrical disturbances, a radio or TV coming on by themselves or changing while watching. People will leave their home, the doors are locked; come back and they’re opened. It’s very rare for us to witness what is happening.?
Instead, GHOSM members will go to a home or business, typically on a Saturday evening, and walk the home, trying to discover a ‘feeling? in a room. They ask home or business owners not to tell them what is happening, as they do not want to be influenced. They wander through rooms until they feel a need to be in a certain room, that something is ‘wrong.? A sensitive (psychic), is with them.
Lemkie notes they are drawn to different areas, whether it be a bedroom or the basement. They take pictures, both still and video. They use tape recorders with external microphones and ask questions of the spirit, like their name and why they are there.
‘Lots of times, we don’t get anything,? Lemkie says. ‘We can go through 500 pictures and not get anything. Sometimes, noone hears it but the sensitive. I think everyone has some psychic ability, but it depends on how much you use it and how you use it. I’ve used it for many years.?
Lemkie notes that the spirits don’t speak in sentences, usually just a no or yes. And many times, questions are met with silence. But she has had some memorable times when she has gotten interaction.
As a believer in God, Lemkie tries to tell ghosts they should not be there, but should ‘go into the light and be with God.?
‘There is some reason they’re still here and we’re trying to find out why,? Lemkie says. ‘They (ghosts) have things to take care of they haven’t finished. Some choose to stay here to be with families. Sometimes they don’t want to cross over because they fear judgment. Some don’t realize they’re dead and need to go into the light.?
Lemkie, a Lincoln Park resident who works full-time as an engineering technician, enjoys her part-time forays into the supernatural, although she admits to nightmares and waking her husband up with her screams.