Expect eerie encounters at paranormal Powell business

Columbus Local News: Expect eerie encounters at paranormal Powell business
The Powell Paranormal Place opens April 17 with a visit from pro ghost hunters Debby and Mark Constantino.

When Travel Channel and A&E ghost hunters Debby and Mark Constantino entertain crowds at the Powell Paranormal Place's grand opening April 17, they may be able to do more than just explain their methods.

Business owner Lynlee Lybrook said the celebrities can use their specialty in advanced Electronic Voice Phenomenon, a device that allegedly allows people to communicate with the undead via static and radio waves, to interact with ghosts that live in the old farm house at 9216 N. Liberty St., which houses the Powell Paranormal Place.

"I couldn't ask for a better place to have this business," Lybrook said of the hauntings.

The entrance to the shop is through the metaphysical store Mystic Nirvana, where a photo on the cash register depicts what the owner calls a spirit standing next to a member of the weekly psychic development class.


"Meters are for skeptics," said Lybrook, who dares anyone who isn't sure about the paranormal to join her on a ghost hunting trip. "You can't explain an electric reading in a house that hasn't had electric for years."

The store offers infrared cameras, EVP meters and camcorders for those who question what they hear, see or don't see on a ghost hunting trip or in their own homes.

Lybrook said there are two kinds of hauntings: residual and intelligent. Residual may be recurring events, such as an object being misplaced or seeing a shadow at the same time each day. Intelligent hauntings involve the ghost interacting with humans via EVPs or what Lybrook calls her "lucky flashlight."

During a meeting of paranormal minds in the basement of the business, members noticed a flashlight turning on and off. They began asking questions about the ghost and receiving answers, Lybrook said, by way of turning the light on and off. This lasted for 30 minutes and has occurred since, she said.

She and a Mystic Nirvana worker also have been able to hear voices on real-time EVPs and talking when no one else is in the old home.

Lybrook said she began ghost hunting five years ago when her brother Steve died.

"It is kind of a healing thing to find out that there is something after death," she said.

Her first experiences occurred on the U.S.S. Freedom that's docked in Tampa Bay, and at the Mansfield Reformatory, where she saw shadowy figures.

"I didn't believe it at first," she said. "Like anyone else, I had to experience it."

Lybrook said every ghost-hunting trip is different, and the Powell Paranormal Place will offer a variety, ranging from spooky children's camps to downright terrifying adult jaunts through former penitentiaries and mansions.

The first adventure will be to Prospect Place Mansion in Dresden, Ohio. Lybrook said she will invite no more than eight people to participate in the $60 trip. Other planned visits include the Mansfield Reformatory and Moundsville Penitentiary. Prices will vary for each trip, she said.

Those looking to dabble in ghost hunting, but who might be faint of heart, can stop by the second Monday of each month for a paranormal chat, where for $10, students can discuss how to deal with paranormal events, take field trips to local cemeteries or homes, and learn how to use ghost-hunting equipment.

For the younger crowd that might be intrigued by the unknown, Lybrook said in the summer she plans to host backyard campouts that will feature s'mores, equipment tutorials and, of course, some good old-fashioned ghost stories.

The business is believed to be only one of four boutiques like it in the country, Lybrook said.

The boutique offers lower-end items beginning at $14 to pique interest in ghost hunting. Upon further advancement, items such as the real-time EVP can be purchased for $300. Five percent of all the store's profits benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

The store hours are 3 to 9 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Lybrook said she plans to have longer store hours during fall, when she anticipates business to increase.

For information on classes and products, visit the website powellparanormal.com. Tickets to the grand opening event April 17 are $20 and can be purchased online.

Lybrook maintains that while there are ghosts with evil intentions and hunters should always be prepared for the unknown, most spirits are just mindful observers with personalities that might resemble who they were as humans.

"I think if you have good intentions, they'll know," she said.