Co-founder of the Spirits of St. Petersburg paranormal investigators group, Brandy Stark, discussed hauntings as well as weeping icons and other unusual phenomena. There are a number of different types of ghosts, she said, which include interactive entities, impressions which repeat like a recording, crisis apparitions that relay important information, and living doubles that emanate from OBEs.
Her team, which includes "sensitives" who respond to psychic impressions, follows a specific procedure when they investigate homes. This helps to foster a neutral attitude, she explained. They employ various equipment such as EMF meters, cameras and an infrared thermometer which can detect temperature changes. Cold spots, Stark theorized, could be caused by the entities pulling energy out of a room or possibly passing through a portal.
Weeping statues are a worldwide phenomenon and few cases have been proven to be definitive hoaxes, she said. Eastern icons in particular, reportedly shed tears at times of tragedy or great emotion, she added. Stark also talked about "sliders," people who experience street lights turning off as they pass. They may be producing an altered electromagnetic field or low grade psychokinetics, she suggested.