HamOnt Paranormal ghost hunters see dead people

One of the first dead people Stephany Silva says she ever talked to was her own grandmother.

At just four years old, her grandmother would tell her things – like about the time Silva's own mother almost drowned. Things that she says she couldn't possibly have known about as a young kid.

"She just looked like everyone else – it was my mom that made me realize that she had passed away before I was even born," Silva said.

I'm just trying to prove to myself that there's something out there.- Matt Winters, Hamont Paranormal

Silva is a self-described medium, and is part of Hamont Paranormal – a local group dedicated to creeping in the city's dark corners to prove the existence of a door between the living and the dead.

"I guess what people usually run away from we're running into," said Nechelle Venturini, who is part of the group alongside Silva, Garrett Kindermann, Matt Winters and Franz Stefanik.

So have they ever found a ghost? Well, the answer largely depends on if you believe in ghosts or not.

Using tools like infrared and full spectrum cameras, a meter that measures electromagnetic fields and a device that scans through radio frequencies backwards, the group has tracked down what they believe to be pretty compelling evidence. They search for audio and visual evidence that something ethereal is inside a building with them.

Take this video, which was shot in the old Avon Theatre on Ottawa Street:

On mobile? Watch the video here.

See the white spot that circles around Silva's face? According to the group, it's an orb that signifies a spirit in the area. Skeptics however might say that it's dust, or a trick of the light.

Then there's this video, which was shot in the bowels of the MacKay building by Gore Park:

On mobile? Watch the video here.

The group says that camera moved on its own – though again, a skeptic would point out that a camera could easily be nudged by someone standing next to it.

Kindermann counts himself as the group's skeptic, who is always looking for a confirmation bias on their trips and recordings. "Sometimes, yes, I do feel like you do want to hear a word, so you're searching for it," he said. "You do need to be careful and skeptical."

"Though sometimes there's just too many things happening at the same time to call it a coincidence."

This isn't a Ghostbusters-esque situation where the group shows up with proton packs in hand, promising to rid your house of spirits for a small fee. They aren't looking for cash – they just want to prove that the truth is out there. Or that ghouls are out there, as the case may be.

So far, the group has conducted investigations in residential homes they've been invited into alongside the old theatre, Dundurn Castle, Club Absinthe and more.

"I'm just trying to prove to myself that there's something out there," Winters said.