A student organization searches for evidence to support its paranormal findings.
Trisha Swed spends her time studying the supernatural. The junior organizational leadership major knows the ins and outs of investigating paranormal activity, including what time of the day is the best time to do investigations – the nighttime.
Swed, after all, is the president of T-Lights, a paranormal student organization.
Founded a year ago to study the supernatural, T-Lights is meant to stress the principles of scientific explanation and objectivity in investigating the paranormal. But don’t expect a T-Lights meeting to mirror the Travel Channel’s “Ghost Adventures.”
“If there’s a ghost or someone there, you don’t tell them to throw something or yell at them,” Swed said. “Evidence is anything which can be recorded and replayed to a fresh pair of eyes or ears.”
T-Lights tries to focus on the less-theatrical side of investigations using standard recording equipment, such as voice recorders, video cameras and K2 meters to measure electromagnetic waves. The group’s equipment must be routinely checked to rule out technical malfunctions.
A few weeks ago, members were shown how use Ouija boards, though the devices are not implemented in actual investigations.
“Night is the best time to do investigations,” Swed said. “It has the smallest amount of energy being used by people, appliances and buildings.”
With approximately 20 regular members, T-Lights focuses on a variety of member interests, and meetings commonly include a presentation or lesson about the supernatural.
Last year, the group traveled to the “haunted” Fort Mifflin military base near the Delaware River, but this year to the group plans to travel to the Eastern State Penitentiary, a former prison at 2027 Fairmount Ave.
But T-Lights is also in the planning stages of investigating something close to home: a T-Light relative’s home near Ambler Campus.
Amelia Brust can be reached at abrust@temple.edu.
This article originally referenced T-Lights President Trisha Swed was a sophomore and that the organization was going to visit the Pennhurst State Hospital. We regret the error.
Does T-Lights plan to investigate the Manor on the north west corner of Broad and Jefferson Sts. a Temple property reported to have paranormal activity especially in the basement where the boiler room is.