Ghost Research Foundation
"The people who don't believe will be the first to tell you a story..."
About GRF
Ghost Research Foundation was founded in July 2000 in response to letters Patty Wilson received from readers of her first book, "Haunted Pennsylvania," who were seeking help in dealing with the paranormal. The group's name was later changed from Central Pennsylvania Paranormal Association to GRF. The team was founded by Wilson and Jim and Carolyn Hedges.
Patty Wilson
Patty Wilson is cofounder of Ghost Research Foundation and author/coauthor of 17 books on the paranormal, including "Haunted Pennsylvania," "Boos & Brews: A Guide to Haunted Taverns, Inns, and Hotels of Pennsylvania," "The Pennsylvania Ghost Guides, Vols. 1 and 2," "Totally Bizarre Pennsylvania," and "Ghosts in the Museum." (To order Patty's books, click here.) She has written for publications such as FATE Magazine, Mysteries Magazine, Countryside, The Pennsylvania Game News and The American Agriculturalist, and she is a regular contributor to examiner.com. Wilson has taught classes at the Rhine Research Center in Durham, North Carolina, Lily Dale Assembly in New York and at various colleges and schools. She has appeared on the television shows "Mysterious Journeys: The Witches of Salem" and "Mysterious Journeys: Eastern State Penitentary" on the Travel Channel in 2007 and "My Ghost Story" on the Biography Channel in 2011, and she was instrumental in the first two episodes of "Ghost Hunters" on SciFi. Wilson is a popular lecturer and speaker through the central Pennsylvania region. You can follow Wilson on Twitter @ghostladyofpa.
Jim Hedges
Jim Hedges and his wife, Carolyn, helped cofound GRF after reading articles about Patty Wilson in newspapers in Blair County, Pennsylvania, from where Carolyn hails, and Adams County, Pennsylvania, where the couple's daughter lives. A writer himself, Jim interviewed Wilson for an article for The Fulton County News in Fulton County, Pennsylvania, and Carolyn returned to Patty's residence to have one of her books autographed. Patty invited the pair to a meeting at the Jean Bonnet Tavern in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, and the couple have been GRF members ever since. Jim's favorite places he has investigated include the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum, the North Carolina capitol building and Gettysburg "because of the perplexing phenomena at those places." Born and raised in Iowa City, Iowa, Jim moved to Pennsylvania after retiring from military service. He has been married to Carolyn for 25 years. Jim also enjoys playing in civilian bands, researching geology of caves, handcraft printing, studying political history, and "being a community agitator." To those who don't believe in ghosts, he says, Come up with an alternative explanation, if you can."
Charley Helsel
Charley Helsel, a businessman who completed management courses at Penn State University, is a member of various organizations and is well respected in the local business community. Helsel is a paranormal researcher and sensitive who has been a member of GRF for more than a decade. He has assisted in the North Carolina Capitol investigation as well as in several demonic cases. He resides in central Pennsylvania with his dog, Buddy.
Tom Buck
Tom Buck has been a member of GRF since 2001, when the team went on its first investigation of Captain Phillips' Monument in Saxton, Pennsylvania. Buck, an intuitive, has had many firsthand experiences with the paranormal. He resides in his parents' home in Altoona, Pennsylvania, which was built in 1916. Three relatives and a pet cat have died in the home, and Buck reports seeing their full-bodied apparitions and communicating with them. Buck also reports seeing his deceased parents in the kitchen and hearing their voices, as well as witnessing a family cat interact with a spirit energy from a portal in the home. Buck, a hypnotherapist, coowns Imagine That Hypnotherapy with his wife, Carolyn, in Altoona.
Carolyn Hedges
A native of Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania, Carolyn Hedges first became interested in the paranormal as a young child, listening to her father tell stories about "Pennsylvania Dutch pow wow doctors, omens, tokens, and other tales of the supernatural." Personal experiences helped reinforce her beliefs, and he and her husband, Jim, cofounded GRF. Carolyn's favorite ghost hunts include the Railroaders Museum and Baker Mansion in Altoona, Royer Mansion in Williamsburg, the U.S. Hotel and Restaurant in Hollidaysburg, and the North Carolina Capitol building "because of the richness of phenomena there." A homemaker and mailroom assistant, Carolyn has three children and two grandchildren. She also genealogy, reading, cats, and American Indian culture.
Dan Dulashaw
Dan Dulashaw and his wife, Patty, became involved with GRF after a bike trip that ended at the Jean Bonnet Tavern in Bedford, Pennsylvania,.Patty Dulashaw, who had read all of Patty Wilson's books, asked if the couple could tour the upstairs. They then unexpectedly met Wilson, who told them a few historical facts and invited them into the group. While the Dulashaws claim they sense little of the paranormal, they bring a bit of fun to GRF. Patty Dulashaw is the group's self-proclaimed "chicken," but the couple has captured audio and visual evidence of the paranormal for GRF.
Carolyn Buck
Carolyn Buck has been a member of GRF for more than 10 years, participating in investigations with her husband, Tom. She became interested in the paranormal after some personal encounters in her home in Altoona and after meeting GRF founders Patty Wilson at a presentation at the Blair County Genealogical Society. Buck reports seeing an apparition of a Native American crouching behind a tree during the Captain Phillips invesigation in 2001. Buck, a hypnotherapist, has reported psychic experiences through dreams and performed automatic writing with a spirit in her office. She has also taught dream interpretations at high schools on the West Coast and in Pennsylvania.
Lori Matta-Rhode
Lori Matta-Rhode has been interested in the paranormal since childhood. Born in West Virginia, she grew up in Ohio before moving to Altoona, Pennsylvania, in 1995. She officially joined Ghost Research Foundation in 2012 after participating in paranormal investigations with GRF and other groups for several years. The sites she has investigated include Old Bedford Village, Royer Mansion, the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum, Baker Mansion, the Grand Midway Hotel, Gettysburg, the U.S. Hotel Restaurant & Tavern, Bedford Tavern, the Waterfront Marina in Manteo, North Carolina, and several private residences. Lori is a graduate of Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia, with a degree in communications: print journalism and a minor in English: writing and language. You can follow Matta-Rhode on Twitter @lmrhode.
Chris Zemleduck
Chris Zemleduck, an Altoona native, first became interested in the paranormal as a teenager, when he and a few friends investigated a location and experienced activity they could not explain. He joined GRF in October 2008 after an investigation at Royer Mansion in Williamsburg, Pennsylvania. Other places Chris has investigated include Baker Mansion in Altoona, Bedford Tavern, the abandoned Cambria County Prison and West Virginia State Penitentiary, Old Bedford Village, where he captured his first image of a full body apparition, and the Captain Phillips’ Rangers and Cox monuments. He has been a part of investigations all over central Pennsylvania. He counts Royer and Gettysburg among his favorite places to investigate because of the great atmosphere, people and history. “I mean, what’s better than sitting down and having a Confederate or Union soldier talking to you and reliving history?” he says. “It is alive and doing well.” Chris also enjoys investigating private homes and helping residents with their paranormal problems, as well as educating the public about the supernatural. To the skeptics, he advises to keep an open mind: “Spirits are everywhere.” And don’t believe everything you see on TV. When he’s not chasing ghosts, Chris works in a warehouse and a supermarket and enjoys hunting and fishing. He resides in Altoona with his wife and fellow investigator, Alicia, and their son, Carter.