"Are you troubled by strange noises in the middle of the night?
"Do you experience feelings of dread in your basement or attic?
"Have you or your family ever seen a spook, specter or ghost?
"If the answer is 'yes,' then don't wait another minute. Pick up the phone and call the professionals ..."
- "Ghostbusters"

There will be tears tonight.

There will be voices in the cemetery — a child's laughter, a whispered threat.

MORE FROM THIS SERIES Spirit quest: Part 2 Spirit quest: Part 3 COMMENT ON THIS STORY COMMENTING: Do you believe in ghosts or other paranormal activity? MORE PHOTOS PHOTOS: Late night visit to a Longview cemetery PHOTOS: Images from Above & Beyond Paranormal team Kevin Green/News-Journal Photo (ENLARGE) Melissa Sallee, left, and Megan Mathis takes photos while researching paranormal activity at Rosewood Park Cemetery and Mausoleum.   MORE AT NEWS-JOURNAL.COM BREAKING NEWS IN YOUR INBOX: Click here to sign up for our breaking news e-mail alerts. It's free. PHOTOS AND VIDEO: Click here to check out our multimedia page. SUBMIT YOUR OWN: Upload your photos on our photo-sharing site -- SeeYa. BLOGS Talk of East Texas: Pine Tree OKs alternative high school BizBuzz: Pilgrim’s Pride impacted by China trade decision Sideline View: Slick Rick’s NFL Picks - Super Bowl SPORTS Longview's Davis, Harmony's Fielden nab weekly honors  Area soccer teams kick off district play         More sports FEATURES The 30-million word gap: Talk to children  Broken heart repaired: Lifestyle changes good for everyone         More features

On a cool, damp night in Longview, paranormal investigator Misty Richardson says she will not fear the spirits she expects to encounter during research of a local burial ground.

"Me, what I believe is that I have the Lord with me," she says. "We say a prayer and feel that He protects us. Some of them do try to possess you, so you have to do it with a clear head. If you act relaxed and peaceful, you don't have anything to worry about."

If you give in to panic, on the other hand, you become vulnerable. You must not panic.

Otherwise, "something can actually attach to you, and you can take it home," she says. "It's very, very rare, but it has happened."

Richardson knows. She's one of a handful of local investigators who form Above & Beyond Paranormal, a research team that is registered and open for business in Gregg County.

"We're here to prove there is life after death here," Richardson said.

"Basically, we ghost hunt. Anybody that allows us to either go in their homes or cemeteries, we'll go in overnight. We'll investigate by pictures, videos, voice recordings. It's actually pretty neat."

They aren't afraid of ghosts, she says. But that's about to change.

Ghost hunting

Forty-four percent of Americans believe in ghosts, according to a 2008 Harris Poll.

Tourism operators offer nighttime "ghost walks" through historical streets and buildings. Taking their cues from TV shows such as "Ghost Hunters," groups have formed to investigate paranormal activity in Gilmer, Jefferson and other towns.

On a ghost walk not too long ago in Jefferson, Richardson and colleague David Langley say they recorded a little boy's voice, though no child was nearby. The recording was among a handful of intriguing finds.

"Behind the Jefferson Hotel, I have a picture I caught where it looks like a human lady, but you can see right through her," Richardson says. "The dress she has on, I can't pinpoint what year, but it's not of this century. It's long, real dusty and dark gray. She has her hair up in an older bun that people used to have their hair in, and a pearl necklace."

In the cemetery

The time has come for Above & Beyond's next investigation. On this night in September, Richardson, Langley and the rest of the crew will be investigating a newer cemetery in the Judson community of northern Longview.

Former groundskeepers had reported hearing voices and feeling ghostly pats on the back over the years, and an ex-security guard once saw a shadow of a man carrying a lantern, according to Langley, who secured permission to investigate the property.

A week earlier, the crew members had conducted a test investigation there.

"You'd be amazed," Richardson says. "There was a lot more activity than we ever imagined.

"We were nervous when we went out there, so we stayed close together, which was probably the biggest thing not to do, but we had to get familiar with it. After we're familiar with it, then we can actually hit it."

During the investigation, Langley, a small man who wears an earnest expression and a black goatee, says he was extra-careful to lock his car doors, but that didn't stop at least one intruder.

"I come back and my door's wide open," he says. "It's just wide open."

And that wasn't all.

"As we were leaving the cemetery, we decided to make a drive around there and our headlights kept going off and on," Richardson says. "It was awesome. I looked, and David's hands were nowhere near the light switch."

Praying for safekeeping

The team forms a circle beside the mausoleum and locks hands. Richardson recites the protection prayer.

"It just basically protects you from any type of evil entities or anything that can harm you," Richardson explains. "We don't believe it will come from a cemetery, but we like to be protected."

Richardson is a blustery woman with short locks of hair that curl around her ears. Other team members include Megan Mathis and Melissa Sallee, who is Richardson's sister. Sallee has a knack for deciphering voice-like sounds that emerge from the static noise of audio recordings.

"Melissa has really good ears," Richardson says. "She's one of the best on audio."

Another team member, Steven Valentine, 19, wears a ponytail and a green military-style jacket. He is the "sensitive" — the person who is expected to be the medium if a ghost is willing to communicate.

"We had another guy who was a sensitive" at the previous investigation, Langley says. "He got real spooked, so we had to find us another one."

After the prayer, Langley unlocks the mausoleum with a borrowed key. Bouquets of flowers line the walls, and shadows crisscross the vaulted ceilings. The air is quiet and still.

The investigators set up video cameras and audio recorders and lock the door behind them. A week earlier, the recordings had been fruitful.

"You hear a lot of bumps as if these doors are slamming shut," Richardson says, "simple noises you wouldn't think would come from here." Also, "there was a woman humming, then saying words."

The crew splits up to snap photos of the cemetery grounds.

In the half-light of street lamps, rows of headstones cast sidelong shadows across the lawn. The only sounds are the crunch of fine gravel underfoot, unseen crickets and the clicks of digital cameras.

It feels almost like trespassing. You can't live in Longview for long without knowing someone who is interred at Rosewood Park Cemetery and Mausoleum. The News-Journal's own Obie LeBlanc, a photographer, is entombed here. When a flashlight beam catches his marker at the mausoleum, it gives one pause.

"We're not here to dishonor anyone," Richardson insists. "We're not here to upset anybody. I hope it doesn't."

The Above & Beyond investigators are not deterred by their detractors.

"We have faith in what we do," Richardson says. "We're just normal parents, family people who just have an idea of outside life.

"We're going to prove something."

* * *

Education may determine paranormal beliefs

The possibility of paranormal activity haunts two different types of people in America, according to research by Baylor University.

On one side are the casual believers.

"The casual believer tends to be someone a little more disconnected with society," said Carson Mencken, research director for Baylor's Institute for Studies of Religion. "They tend to have lower levels of education, lower levels of income, and tend not to believe in one thing but tend to believe in a bunch of things."

On the other side are the interested people who take a more academic approach to it.

"In terms of people who actually do the research on the topic and read books on paranormal topics," Mencken said, "they tend to be slightly higher educated, they tend to have slightly higher income, and they tend to be more mainstream in their patterns of living."

If it seems that more people than ever are lighting candles and trying to communicate with Grandma, Mencken is not so sure.

"The perception is there are higher levels of paranormal belief because of all the new TV shows, 'Ghost Hunters,' et cetera, but we have not seen any data to suggest that's the case," he said. However, "we are predicting a slight uptick, given the sheer volume of shows out there that are likely to drive a few people who were on the fence on that topic maybe into the belief category."

Why do people believe? One idea is belief in paranormal activity serves as a "religious compensator," Mencken said.

"Belief in paranormal ideas is not a substitute for spirituality per se," he said. "It's the idea that if you have special knowledge or if you have paranormal insight to the world, then it makes you unique and different from other people."