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Like the "Ghostbusters" of the silver screen, no story is too crazy for the nine volunteer ghost hunters who work for Paranormal Investigation of NYC.
"If there is evidence there, I want to be the one to find it," said founder Dominick Villella.
Villella, who's been fascinated by the paranormal since childhood, met a group of like-minded individuals through the Internet three years ago.
Soon after meeting, they went beyond discussing the possibility of the paranormal to actively trying to prove its existence.
Now with a Web site, 24- hour hotline, and thousands of dollars worth of gear, Villella, 38, a stay-at-home Brooklyn dad, and his team of "paranormal investigators" will look into any suspected haunting in the region for no charge at all.
"There are certain people not ready to let go of life, and maybe they hold on," Villella said.
This year alone, Paranormal NYC has conducted 19 investigations, including at Broadway's Belasco Theatre, in an East Village apartment and at a historic prison in Pennsylvania.
So far, the evidence it has collected wouldn't convince a skeptic. But the company is determined to scientifically document an actual haunting.
When on call, they carry a trunk full of pricey high-tech equipment, such as digital thermometers (they contend that ghosts may cause a drop in temperature), sophisticated microphones (to pick up a ghost's...