About
In the spring of 2010 two friends, David Laville and Keith Cassella were having dinner at a local restaurant when the conversation turned to the topic of ghost and the paranormal. They discussed personal experiences and how interesting it would be to have a paranormal research group that collected evidence and hopefully find the answers to their experiences. They knew living in New Orleans, considered one of the most haunted cities in America, the vast opportunities for investigations and by the time dinner had ended the name the New Orleans Ghost Hunters had been adopted. Several days later David told the idea to his younger brother Mark who joined the team soon followed by his wife, Tonya.
The first contributions to the team was 2 infrared digital cameras, a Mel 8704R EMF meter and a K-II EMF meter purchased by Keith. David added 2 Olympus digital recorders, a 4 camera infrared DVR system and started work on a web site. The rest of that summer all 4 of them investigated friends and relatives homes learning to use the equipment and gathering experiences while reading and trying to learn as much as they could about the paranormal and paranormal activity.
Later in the fall of 2010 they got their first official call, a homeowner in Chalmette, Louisiana was experiencing paranormal activity and wanted help to determine what it was. After 4 hours of investigating the group returned home to review the data collected being skeptical since no anomalies were experienced during the course of the investigation. A couple of hours into the review David heard what sounded like a little girl talking and after sound analysis determined they had in fact captured their very first EVP (this EVP can be heard in the evidence section). It was the success in capturing this EVP that caused them to hit the ground running never looking back and they continue to experience a very high rate of success in their investigations. They have increased the size of their equipment inventory and research members, each bringing their own unique skills to the team. The New Orleans Ghost Hunters now cover a territory of southern Louisiana to the Mississippi Gulf coast.
Unlike many ghost hunting and paranormal teams who buy equipment and do the occasional ghost hunt for the thrill factor while calling it paranormal research, the New Orleans Ghost Hunters are a recognized research team who have developed their own theories of the paranormal based on their knowledge of physics. The evidence and data they continue to collect are in support of these theories. They have also come under criticism from other paranormal groups for questioning the validity of some of the equipment used in ghost hunting (their own experiments have proven how easily they can produce false positives) and finding flaws in the “universal theories” of the paranormal.
With the success of the team has come a 2 cameo appearances on national cable television networks. Paranormal television shows from the A&E and SyFy channels often contact them about featuring some of their investigations on their shows or ask for their assistance in putting together stories about the folklore of Louisiana. In 2014 they tutored an actress from CSI New Orleans for her upcoming roll in a horror movie as a parapsychologist. They co-host Ghost Camp and Paranormal Festival, a 4 day 3 night event held each year that features seminars and ghost hunts at some of New Orleans most haunted locations. Local conventions and libraries invite them to conduct panels and talk about the history of New Orleans, its haunted history and the folklore of Louisiana. They also host Paranormal Talk, a weekly radio show that started on WGSO AM in New Orleans but can now be heard world wide on the Para-X internet radio network. They discuss paranormal news, stories, their latest investigations and anything they feel is educational to the listening audience. They lead by example and remain the most copied and imitated ghost hunting group in New Orleans.
Some things you should know about the New Orleans Ghost Hunters: