FAST FACTS
• WHAT: Manteca Paranormal Conference
• WHEN: Saturday, May 7, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• WHERE: Boys & Girls Club, 545 W. Alameda
• COST: $40 for adults, $10 for youth
• MORE INFO: Go to www.mantecaparaexpo2011@eventbrite.com
Mark McCool never had any reason to believe in the paranormal.
He had never seen anything that had given him reason to believe that there was any tangible link to another world, and he never expected that he’d come across anything that would change that.
And even after his wife Valerie woke up and saw a full-body apparition at the foot of their bed, he just shrugged it off as something other than a paranormal link. It couldn’t have happened in his house, McCool thought, and especially in such a blatant manner.
But then things started happening. Keys started ending up in places without being moved. A stapler – which was secure in its place on a shelf – ended up slamming onto a table three feet away without any human assistance.
It was then that the skeptic in McCool started to melt away.
“That stuff started happening about a year after I lost my mom to cancer,” he said. “All of this weird stuff started happening that couldn’t be explained, and I thought that this was something that I might want to look into.”
So rather than continuing to live his life in the dark about what was going on, the couple contacted the local group Ghost Research Investigators of the Paranormal – also known as GRIP – to help them find out what exactly was going on inside of their home.
They were so enamored with the work that was being done that they joined the organization, and are now putting their paranormal ghosting knowledge out there for anybody in the community who wants to learn about it by hosting the 2011 Manteca Para-Expo on Saturday, May 7, at the Manteca Boys and Girls Club.
“It feels good to be able to play a part in bringing people together for paranormal unity,” McCool said. “There is competition out there in the field – and there’s nothing wrong with healthy competition – but this event is designed to bring all of the groups together for one common goal, and that’s to be able to walk away with more tool and more knowledge that they’ll be able to apply in the field.”
One of the biggest draws to the inaugural event will be the presentation of Mark and Debby Constantino of www.spirits-speak.com – a couple considered to be experts in the field of Electronic Voice Phenomena. The Constantinos will be speaking to all who attend, and will be joined by noted paranormal investigators Andy Coppock, Michelle Brown, Syd Schultz II and Cristl Phillips as experts who will share their information and knowledge with paranormal enthusiasts.
General admission tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children. A limited number of VIP tickets – which includes reserved seating, access to a hospitality room and a special after-party at a secret location where Mark and Debby Constantino will try to establish contact through EVP – are available for $70. The deadline for purchasing VIP tickets is Thursday, April 29.
The event, which is being held at the Manteca Boys and Girls Club on Saturday, May 7, will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.mantecaparaexpo2011.eventbrite.com.
He had never seen anything that had given him reason to believe that there was any tangible link to another world, and he never expected that he’d come across anything that would change that.
And even after his wife Valerie woke up and saw a full-body apparition at the foot of their bed, he just shrugged it off as something other than a paranormal link. It couldn’t have happened in his house, McCool thought, and especially in such a blatant manner.
But then things started happening. Keys started ending up in places without being moved. A stapler – which was secure in its place on a shelf – ended up slamming onto a table three feet away without any human assistance.
It was then that the skeptic in McCool started to melt away.
“That stuff started happening about a year after I lost my mom to cancer,” he said. “All of this weird stuff started happening that couldn’t be explained, and I thought that this was something that I might want to look into.”
So rather than continuing to live his life in the dark about what was going on, the couple contacted the local group Ghost Research Investigators of the Paranormal – also known as GRIP – to help them find out what exactly was going on inside of their home.
They were so enamored with the work that was being done that they joined the organization, and are now putting their paranormal ghosting knowledge out there for anybody in the community who wants to learn about it by hosting the 2011 Manteca Para-Expo on Saturday, May 7, at the Manteca Boys and Girls Club.
“It feels good to be able to play a part in bringing people together for paranormal unity,” McCool said. “There is competition out there in the field – and there’s nothing wrong with healthy competition – but this event is designed to bring all of the groups together for one common goal, and that’s to be able to walk away with more tool and more knowledge that they’ll be able to apply in the field.”
One of the biggest draws to the inaugural event will be the presentation of Mark and Debby Constantino of www.spirits-speak.com – a couple considered to be experts in the field of Electronic Voice Phenomena. The Constantinos will be speaking to all who attend, and will be joined by noted paranormal investigators Andy Coppock, Michelle Brown, Syd Schultz II and Cristl Phillips as experts who will share their information and knowledge with paranormal enthusiasts.
General admission tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children. A limited number of VIP tickets – which includes reserved seating, access to a hospitality room and a special after-party at a secret location where Mark and Debby Constantino will try to establish contact through EVP – are available for $70. The deadline for purchasing VIP tickets is Thursday, April 29.
The event, which is being held at the Manteca Boys and Girls Club on Saturday, May 7, will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.mantecaparaexpo2011.eventbrite.com.
