Two groups of ghost hunters investigated Camp Floyd State Park this year and came away with some unexplained phenomena, but no photographs of apparitions or recordings of ghostly voices according to James Boley, co-founder of Utah's Unexplained.

Investigators with Utah's Unexplained and Research Investigations of the Paranormal presented their findings at a gathering in the park at Camp Floyd on Saturday. The clear, sunny autumn afternoon in the park provided a pleasant atmosphere far-removed from the spooky subject matter of the discussions.

Debunking hoaxes and exaggerated claims while documenting genuine paranormal phenomena with evidence from scientific instruments is the focus of the groups' investigations, Boley said.

"Our credibility is maintained by rigorously debunking our own evidence where we can," said Rich Oliver, an investigator for Utah's Unexplained.

Boley told a humorous story explaining their own observation of a growling noise they encountered and recorded in an upper room of the Stagecoach Inn at Camp Floyd. The spooky growl came from an empty room and was loud and repetitive enough to get the investigators' attention.

Boley told a humorous story explaining their own observation of a growling noise they encountered and recorded in an upper room of the Stagecoach Inn at Camp Floyd. The spooky growl came from an empty room and was loud and repetitive enough to get the investigators' attention.

The investigators soon discovered that vibrations caused by people walking on uneven floorboards on the stairs made a table in the room shift with a dramatic groan.

"You have to be prepared for the mundane," said Boley. The investigators photographed several anomalous orbs of light at Camp Floyd, but orbs are "90 percent explainable," said lead investigator Brian Bockelmann.

He said that orbs could be light reflected from swarms of bugs, dust, or even a concentration of microwave energy. Since the evidence from investigations conducted at Camp Floyd in August and September was scant this year, the paranormal investigators spent most of their presentations on general explanations of what they do, the tools they use, and weird experiences from other locations.

Deborah Lowe, an investigator with Research Investigations of the Paranormal (RIP) played some dramatic recordings of electronic voice phenomena or "e.v.p.'s" from other investigations. One ghostly whisper replied "so did I" when Lowe said "Hope you have a peaceful day."

They also showed photographs of apparitions

"The talking was boring, but the pictures were really cool," said Braxton Panek, a young Fairfield resident.

The ghost hunters document investigations by filling out detailed questionnaires including the time of day they encountered an unexplained phenomenon, lunar cycles, sun flares, flight paths of aircraft in the area, people and animals present, weather conditions, and locations and conditions in and around buildings.

They use sensitive equipment including electromagnetic frequency detectors, infrared "night vision" camera lenses, supersensitive tape recorders, and infrared non-contact thermometers to document energy activity.

Then they sort through the evidence for an explanation for anything out of the ordinary.

This story appeared in North County on page A5.