Filmmakers to bring ghost-hunting documentary to Ross for one-night even

From Journal Star.com: Filmmakers to bring ghost-hunting documentary to Ross for one-night even
From the time a young Chad Calek and his family moved to Persia, Iowa, more than 20 years ago, he said, they have been attacked by a paranormal presence.

“And it got to a breaking point, emotionally and physically,” Calek said. “It was the darkest, craziest stuff. When something occurs in front of your eyes that defies all the laws of physics, you don’t shake that off. Especially when it happens hundreds of times.”

When he hit college age, Calek literally ran from home. Despite the fear of the experience -- or perhaps because of it -- he became a paranormal investigator. He eventually landed a job as a ghost hunter on the A&E reality series “Paranormal State,” investigating supernatural occurrences all over the country. But it wasn’t until 2009 that he could work up the nerve to go back home to the town northeast of Omaha and confront his own demons.

“It just kept pursuing me my whole career,” he said. “It led me on to ‘Paranormal State.’ And here I was on this show, gaining fame for helping families. And yet my own family needed help. It became a point of manhood for me. I’ve got to go back and try to fix this.”

During the “Paranormal State” off-season, Calek and fellow ghost hunter Ryan Buell took a camera crew to Persia to fight whatever has tormented his family and film the whole experience. After many long discussions, Calek’s family agreed to be part of the documentary. Calek and his family felt by making this movie, they were all putting themselves in danger. The result is "American Ghost Hunter," which will be shown Saturday night at part of a six-hour event at the Ross Media Arts Center.

“It’s hard to explain to somebody how much this film peels open my life,” Calek said. “There’s some dark, traumatic stuff that went on between my family and me. Going back to this was incredibly hard. I love my parents dearly, and they were brave to do this.”

Not to give away too much of the movie, Calek said, but if anything, making “American Ghost Hunter” bolstered his relationship with his parents. If Calek and his family were ever going to be happy, they needed to close this chapter of their lives. The big question is, how much closure did making the movie bring?

“I went there knowing I had to try everything in my power to stop this,” Calek said. “I had to be able to leave Iowa saying I’ve done everything I can do.

“To that degree, I have closure.”