Steven Flaherty has witnessed a lot of strange things over his time as a ghost hunter, such as cabinet doors that are repeatedly opened even after he or others close them. And he recalled visiting a student apartment in the city in which a spirit was mad that the previous tenant’s cat was no longer there
WORCESTER – Steven Flaherty wouldn’t exactly call himself a ghostbuster, but he’s perfectly comfortable going into a haunted house to speak to spirits. Most ghost sightings, Flaherty explained, are just deceased family members either trying to convey something to the living or a spirit who has passed away and isn’t ready to leave their former home.
“If you think there’s something in your house, I will figure out who it is and what they want,” said Flaherty, who is 62 and got his start hunting ghosts as a kid growing up in Worcester. His fascination started when a friend who used to talk to spirits in the local cemeteries brought him along.
“I’ve never had anything bad happen to me,” he said.
Flaherty adds that he has always enjoyed watching spooky movies, so the idea of finding and talking to ghosts wasn’t all that unnerving. But this time of year, as Halloween approaches, scary images and creepy stories start to bombard kids and adults alike.
“There are too many horror movies out there that say ghosts and spirits are evil,” said Flaherty. “Most of them are not evil.”
Under the name Seven Hills Ghost Hunters and Paranormal Researchers, Flaherty is called into houses, apartments and sometimes businesses or institutions. He brings along a simple digital recorder to capture the voices and comments of spirits. And Flaherty sometimes uses a video camera, similar to that used on the paranormal investigator show “Ghost Adventures,” with an infrared light projector that detects changes in room temperature and air movement.
“At first I didn’t believe it,” said Flaherty of the camera’s capabilities. But he’s captured enough photos of alleged ghosts or otherworldly beings on the camera that he uses it routinely.
Flaherty typically starts his ghost hunting visits by turning on his recorder and placing it down in a quiet room. He begins talking as he would to any stranger: “Hi, I’m Steve Flaherty. I’m here to help you.” He admits it can feel a bit odd to talk to an empty room. It’s not until he goes home that he listens to the entire recording and sometimes picks up answers from the spirits. Flaherty says they tend to reply in such soft voices that it’s the recorder that can detect their sounds. “Your ears are not set up to hear them,” he remarked.
Flaherty is nonchalant about his ability to communicate with spirits and ghosts. He treats them with respect, just as he would treat anyone who is alive. He is polite, considerate and sometimes firm, asking spirits to “move on” or to stop bothering the people they are bothering.
He’s often called into a home because a child is asking questions about the ghosts that they are seeing, or kids are found talking to no one in a room when they swear grandma or grandpa was just there. “You and I have the understanding that there’s no such thing as ghosts,” explains Flaherty. “Children haven’t learned that yet.” Flaherty says he often sees older relatives who have passed away “checking on their lifeline.”
Flaherty has witnessed a lot of strange things over his time as a ghost hunter, such as cabinet doors that are repeatedly opened even after he or others close them. And he recalled visiting a student apartment in the city in which a spirit was mad that the previous tenant’s cat was no
longer there.
“The spirit wanted a comfort cat,” he said.
So, Flaherty was firm but understanding. “If you go to another apartment, you’ll find another animal to keep you company,” he told the spirit.
Most spirits aren’t mean, the way people imagine them, Flaherty insisted. Rather, they are looking for company, wanting to pass on a message, or are struggling to move to the after world. “I help the spirits move on,” said Flaherty.
One thing Flaherty doesn’t claim to know is if a ghost is living in a space as soon as he walks into it. “I don’t get a sense or anything like that,” he adds. Instead, he needs to spend time there inquiring and learning. Often, Flaherty comes up empty, without any answers. “It’s not as exciting as you think it is,” he said. “You sit in the dark, talking to yourself and you go home and get nothing.”
Other times Flaherty finds something. He recalls one spirit who was pestering a man who was trying to watch the Super Bowl and kept turning on and off the television during the game. Another was upsetting the family dog so much that the animal was afraid to lie down in his own dog bed. “Hey, you don’t belong here,” Flaherty recalls saying to that particular spirit. “You let the dog in this area and give the dog his space.” Apparently, it worked.
As for Halloween and how it all relates to the work he does, Flaherty chuckles: “It’s just a holiday for the kids.” And this isn’t even his busiest season. Flaherty gets the most calls around Easter and Christmas, two major holidays when he notices spirits come out. “There’s more demonic energy then,” he adds. “I love the feeling when you leave someone’s house and they understand what is happening. It’s frightening to be afraid in your own house. In your own house you’re supposed to feel safe.”
Back to Oct. 31, when kids in ghost, goblin and terrifying creature costumes race from door to door eager for candy. Flaherty plans to spend that night in his apartment, with the requisite bag of candy he buys each year, even though no one ever ends up coming to his door for trick-or-treating.
“I want everyone to go out and have a good time,” he said.
Bridget Samburg is a freelance editor, reporter and ghostwriter. She has written for Boston Magazine, The Boston Globe and Yankee Magazine, among other outlets. She can be reached at bsamburg@comcast.net
