Courtesy photo

When it walks through the wall, you know who to call.

That is the message from a group of Utah residents, including some from Utah County, who enjoy spending their time as Ghostbusters — or as “Ghostbusters” aficionados.

Ghostbusters of Salt Lake is a local “Ghostbusters” fan club and charity cosplay, or costume play, group. They’re not actually out hunting for ghosts as the heroes do in the movies, but they do love to have fun and love the popular films, which began with the original “Ghostbusters” movie in 1984.

With about 35 members of various ages, they go above and beyond what many movie fans do.

“We often get calls to come investigate paranormal disturbances, and as fun as that would be, we don’t actually catch ghosts,” said Geoffrey Brown, a member of the group who lives in Eagle Mountain. “We are huge fans of the fictional universe of the ‘Ghostbusters’ movies, cartoons and comic book universe.”

Jeremy Hall

Brown said being a member of a “Ghostbusters” fan club means they get to hang out with others like themselves and celebrate together this one thing they all love. “We all build our own gadgets, gizmos, gear and uniforms with detail and accuracy that you would see in the movies,” he said. In fact, the group actually has two Ectomobiles. The Ecto-1 is the fictional vehicle from the “Ghostbusters” movies.

Recently, Ghostbusters of Salt Lake teamed up with Megaplex Theaters to appear at their Sandy and South Jordan locations to bring a unique and fun experience to moviegoers. The group greeted fans, handed out stickers and posters, demonstrated their equipment and took photos with fans at the theaters during opening weekend of “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” the latest in the “Ghostbusters” movie franchise.

Helping out in the community is another goal of the group. “When we’re not building props, we focus on serving our community by making appearances at local charity events, fundraisers, hospital visits, food drives and toy drives,” Brown said. Members of the fan club also make appearances at birthday parties, corporate events, parades, city celebrations and conventions.

Every year, they participate in the FanX Salt Lake Comic and Pop Culture Convention, which will be happening Sept. 26-28 at the Salt Palace Convention Center. “This is the big event that we participate in every year and you will see us there with one of our Ectomobiles, 25-foot Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and other familiar props from the movies,” Brown said.

For more information or to join the group, check out one of the Ghostbusters of Salt Lake social media pages or send an email to info@ghostbustersslc.com.

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