Membership Roster
Name: Brandy Stark
Position: Founder, PR, Senior Investigator, President/LLC
Years of interest: 25
Years of investigation experience: 14
First Investigation: The Williams House, Nelson Poynter Library, 11th Ave North, Haslams Bookstore, and Cherry Street, as well as an unnamed office building in downtown St. Petersburg, were the first series of investigations that I did. Nelson Poynter Library, Williams House, and the unnamed office building were pre-SPIRITS; they were re-investigated before the team was named, and again after the team became the SPIRITS of St. Petersburg. 11th Ave North, Cherry Street, and Haslams Bookstore were in the first few months after the SPIRITS were formed.
Paranormal Background: Religious Studies, Humanities, History, Classics (Degrees earned are to the post-graduate level; currently a PhD candidate/ABD. Working on dissertation). Research/paper emphasis on the role of ghosts in culture/religion/society; PhD and post-graduate training in Quantitative and Qualitative research (Dissertation is a qualitative study of the role of [the study of] world religions as producing social, educational, and economic capital).
I don't really "see" the dead but through my interaction on over 400 investigations in 12 years, I have had enough contact to believe that there is something else out there (about 20 - 25 cases stand out). One of my first non-investigation contacts was with my grandmother on the night she died (smell of flowers, sense of extreme serentity, knew that she died, knew she was OK; four hours later I was told about her death).
Additional "Official" Paranormal Research Biography:
Brandy Stark has had an interest in the paranormal world of ghosts since childhood. During her college, graduate, and post-graduate studies she has compiled and presented multiple papers on the role of ghosts in western religions dating from the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh through to modern times. She continues to research the role of ghosts in popular culture as expressed through modern humanities. Currently, she is a PhD candidate working on her doctoral dissertation for Barry University.
Ms. Stark has researched haunted phenomena in the greater Tampa Bay area for the past 12 years. In 2000, she co-founded a group of other paranormal enthusiasts, the SPIRITS of St. Petersburg, who continue to research reports of haunted phenomena. Recently, the group has expanded its interest into studying, researching, and proving or disproving local ghostly urban legends, compiling historic data on Native American areas, and creating lists of cemeteries alleged to be haunted.
Ms. Stark has been interviewed by the media, and was the featured guest on the nationally broadcast Coast to Coast in 2005. She is a regular guest on “Entertainment and the Arts” on WTAN 1340. Her paranormal websites have also won multiple awards.
In addition to her interest in the paranormal, Ms. Stark teaches classes in both religions and the humanities at several local colleges and universities. She is also an artist whose award winning hand-wrapped wire metal and found object statues have been shown internationally.
Other websites: http://www.starkimages.homestead.com/ghostlyimages.html
Name: Mary N
Position: Co-Vice President, Researcher, Investigator, Sensitive
Years of Interest: Over 37 years
Years of Investigative Experience: 5 years
First Investigations: My first paranormal investigations with the SPIRITS were 110th St and Holiday.
Background/Paranormal Background: BA in Psychology and Sociology (double major); 8 years as an LBSW while living in South Carolina; over 25 years as a professional genealogist and historical researcher; former Special Agent and fraud investigator for agencies in South Carolina and Florida. This experience translates well into the paranormal field especially in historical research of locations and in client relations.
My first paranormal experience occurred at age 4 or 5 when a lady in white glided into my bedroom and then back out. I went partly down the stairs and saw her glowing figure across the room behind a chair. This sensitivity was suppressed for a number of years due to discouragement of expressing anything that delved into the paranormal. Since I have joined the SPIRITS I am now re-discovering a sensitive ability. I do see on rare occasion very detailed figures of people who have passed away. Names often come to me as well during investigations.
The SPIRITS are not satisfied with merely printed records or stories in books to substantiate the history of a location or person since they are often in error and contradictory. As a researcher for the team, I strive to perform in-depth investigations of locations and personages based on actual records for as much historical accuracy as possible.
Name: Verna Peddi
Position: Co-VP, Investigator and Sensitive
Years of Interest: 26 years
Years of Investigative Experience: 11 years
First Investigation: Grace Episcopal Church (grave yard) Yorktown, Virginia
Paranormal/Personal background:
Information Technology Professional with Gateway Computers and Lockheed Martin for 4 years. A+ Certified Computer Technician and also hold certifications with Microsoft. I am also an ISO 2001 trained Auditor and am a member of the Gamma Phi Beta Sorority. Also, I am a licensed hair dresser (17 years) in the states of Virginia and Florida.
Before moving to Florida, I was the Assistant Director of the "Ghost Research Society of Tidewater, Va" with my dear friend S.L. Fowler. We investigated many public and private haunted locations in southeast Virgina. We also investigated many famous places, including Ft Monroe, Va., the Ghost Ships of Matthews County, Va., and Gettysburg, Pa. When I first started with paranormal investigations, the two of us comprised the only group in that part of Virginia. It seemed paranormal investigation was almost unheard of. During my involvement with GRST, we wanted to interact with others interested in the field and reached out online. Our efforts were met with approval, and we were listed by our chat room "The Ghost Channel" under the section titled "Paranormal Activity on the Web" in the Everything Ghost Book by Jason Rich (Copyright 2001).
After moving to Florida, I solicited the SPIRITS of St Petersburg for membership to continue my interest in the paranormal. I have been a member since 2007 and enjoy every aspect of this team. Not only am I the Co-VP of this wonderful group, I also offer sensitive capabilities. I do not consider myself a "psychic" as I do not see things or predict the future, but I am able to feel energy in haunted locations. This is what I offer to the team.
Name: Jeanne Davis
Position: Investigator
Years Experience: 7
Years of Interest: I've always had an interest in paranormal subjects. I've read about them, and eventually started to delve into them more in my travels. I've vistited St. Augustine, Cassadaga, Savannah, New Orleans, Sedona, Gettysburg, and Salem, among other interesting places. I was introduced to the SPIRITS by a friend and co-worker who was a member, and I joined the group in 2003.
First Investigation: Mattwood. It was an interesting investigation with some strange findings. The homeowner kept finding sand in his bed between the blankets. We eventually had it analyzed, and it was just sand, but we have no idea how it got there.
Paranormal Background: Since my first investigation, I've been on many public and private investigations. My favorites are the theatres, being a theatre fan. Venice Little Theatre was a particular favorite. There's nothing like roaming around a big empty theatre until dawn. There was a lot of activity, and it's where I got my first EVP. He was a colorful character we called "Bathroom Bob" because of his fondness for hanging out in the ladies room. The Royalty Theatre and the Angel Cabaret were other favorites. Through my years with the group I've met many interesting and unusual people, and have seen some strange things that I can't explain. But that's what makes it fun, and keeps me coming back for more.
Name: Evie Loster
Position: Investigator, SPIRITual Ambassadore to Kentucky
Years of Interest: 47
Years of Investigative experience: 5
First Investigation: South Pasadina
Paranormal Background: Ever since I can remember, I just "knew" things when there was no logical reason I would know. My birth sign is Pisces and Pisces people seem to be very intuitive as a whole. My interest in the paranormal really started when I was 19 and a cousin who was very close to me died. There was a question as to whether her death was suicide or foul play. A few months after she died, I would wake up at night and she would be standing at the foot of my bed. This went on for several years and stopped just like it started, one night I woke up and she wasn't there. I was never frightened and when I started reading and researching the paranormal, I realized that there had been other signs of paranormal experiences that I had not recognized as such.
My favorite experience was investigating the Heritage Hotel, which actually led to my getting hired working the front desk for the night shift during the time that the SPIRITS of St. Petersburg was doing their year long investigation. I had a bird's eye view of all sorts of experiences that could not be explained.
Name: Beth
Position: Investigator, sensitive
Years of Interest: 32
Years of Experience: 3
First Investigation: Heritage Hotel
I've been interested in the paranormal since childhood. My mother is precognitive and my sister, as a very young child held conversations with family members that had passed. I became aware of my own abilities in my pre-teenage years when my sleeping dreams became reality just days later. I often receive auditory messages and on occasion have seen visual manifestation of spirit.
At my first investigation at the Heritage Hotel with the SPIRITS I was greeted by an unexplained tugging on my purse strap.
Name: Les
Position: Investigator, Technical
Years of Interest: 16
Years of Investigative experience: 3
First Investigation: Private home in Trinity
Paranormal Background: Well, it all started in my formative years. Born in Iowa, I was brought up on Midwestern values and ideals. While the paranormal was not discussed at our house I always had a notion that there could be more out there than just corn fields and pig farms. I never really gave it much thought until I married Beth and she started me on ghost tours on our honeymoon. (Well, what else was there to do?) We went on our first tour in New Orleans and it was quite interesting to say the least--scared the crap out of me!--But anyway, as we went on many other tours in other cities I became more enlightened to the possibility of paranormal activity. I have never seen a ghost or experienced the things that Beth does but I believe them to real. I require more proof than people who have had these experiences and am skeptical of most hauntings. While a lot of the readings can be explained away- I do look forward to the ones that can't be proven false.
Name: Cheryl Kirby Pugh
Position: Investigator, Technical
Years of interest: 35
Years of investigation experience: 3
First Investigation: Home in St. Petersburg which had a moving ball of light in a bedroom and a very disturbing garage where a suicide had occurred.
Paranormal Background: My love for the paranormal started when I was 10, when my deceased grandmother' s face clearly appeared in an otherwise out-of-focus Polaroid picture I took. I spent many weekends as a child investigating cemeteries in rural Kansas where I was raised. After moving to Florida in 1992, I experienced first-hand the spirit of a deceased family member who had committed suicide which solidified my belief in the possibility of spirits. My love for anything paranormal lead to my hobby of staying only in "haunted" hotels and B&B's on vacations. Some of my favorites were staying in Lily's Room at the St. Francis Inn in St. Augustine, the Turret Suite at the Artist House in Key West, and my favorite B&B, The Ann Stevens House in Lake Helen, not far from Cassadaga. I was a long-time lurker of the SPIRITS website which eventually lead to my submission to be a team member. While I've never considered myself sensitive, I'm amazed at what I pick up in investigations that's later quantified by the research. I've found a repeating theme in my experiences has been a strong mother/child connection.
I especially find EVPs fascinating after an experience while I was recording during an informal investigation in late 2007. On the tape I ask my daughter who was with me, "Did you say 'mom'?" To which she answered, "No." When I later listened to the recording, you hear a child-like whisper say, "Mom....Mommy! " before I asked her the question.
Name: Kathy
Position: Investigator, sensitive
Years of interest: 20
Years of experience: 3
First Investigation: My first investigation was "Gentry".
Paranormal Background: My first experiences with paranormal was when I was a small child. I experienced relatives who had passed would come and read to me and tell me stories. I often saw one aunt who came to talk to me, and who is still a presence today. Every now and again, I see people who have passed over such as my brother -in -law’s deceased employer. Currently, I live in a haunted house. I am happy that they are here and as long they are comfortable, I can share the house.
I am always learning and am continuing my education. My employer has said that I have a very empathic connection to children, who feel comfortable around me. With the SPIRITS, I hope to learn to recognize the things that I feel, and understand them more.
Name: Odyssey Stark
Position: Consultant/part time sensitive
Year of experience: 10
Years of interest: 14
First Investigation: Key West, 26th Avenue
Paranormal Background: Speaking on behalf of Odyssey and as his caretaker, I, Brandy, can only presume that he has had a lifelong interest in the paranormal. He grew up in a mildly haunted home with a woman wild about the supernatural, and he has accompanied me along my 12 year journey into paranormal investigation. Of the pugs that I have, Odyssey has always shown the highest levels of awareness and self-awareness. He is conscious of his surroundings, his own appearance, and what is going on in his environment. He is, perhaps, the most "human" pug I have ever had (and as a life-long pug enthusiast I have met many).
For non-SPIRITS related events, Odyssey was present for the two manifestations in my own home -- when my grandmother passed through (no reaction) and when the mist manifested in the living room. I was, in fact, responding to rather distraught sounds of the pugs when I found the mist hovering about 5 feet above the living room coffee table, under a ceiling fan that was turned on. The mist did not break apart and was the whitest color I have ever seen in any form of smoke -- yet, despite watching this unchanging mist for some 15 seconds, it simply vanished in the blink of an eye. Due to his recent surgery and need for a stringent medicinal schedule, I brought Odyssey with me when I went to Key West. I was scheduled to stay at a haunted bed and breakfast which was also, happily, pet friendly. The first night present at the location, he stared intently at one corner of our room, which is the only place I had EM activity and captured an orb image (on a film camera. For this particular film camera, orb images are an incredibly rare occurrence). That night I had several odd (nearly lucid or borderline paralysis) dreams of items moving through the bathroom (next to that corner); after the first night, Odyssey had no further interactions, I had no more readings and no other dreams.
Because I, and the SPIRITS of St. Petersburg, DO NOT endorse putting animals at undue risk or psychological stress, any activity that he has done with the SPIRITS is in the form of rechecks in locations that I deem allowable, and where the homeowners have already granted prior permission for Odyssey to come in. The SPIRITS have always done at least one, and usually have performed multiple, full investigation before Odyssey is present. Analysis of the entities must be determined by the SPIRITS to be benign or benevolent, and the homeowners often have animals already living in the establishment that are not harmed. He has attended multiple rechecks at 110, 3111 and the Heritage Hotel. Of those, he only showed reaction to the Heritage Hotel where the Conference Room made him uncomfortable. As we walked through, he simply refused to stop, despite vocal commands, and sat down outside of the room. Investigators going through the area did feel uncomfortable prior to Odyssey and my walk through, and it is an area of continued activity (EVP, EMF).
