Welcome to Chesapeake paranormal!

The group is made up of Elizabeth Welch, Tracy Smith and Kip Ruposky of Loudoun and Kenda Sovero and Shane Rossman of New Market, MD. The members connected through regional paranormal groups and launched a local group last year. 

On a recent Saturday night, the investigators returned to Embark, where they completed a successful investigation last year. The historic building on Loudoun Street was home to Leesburg’s well-known Johnston family for more than a century. The investigators were joined by Catina Franklin Sweedy, a mentor/program advisor at Embark and Charles Johnston III, a descendant of the Johnston family whose ancestor and namesake bought the stone house in 1838.

Franklin Sweedy said the first investigation was requested by students at the center who noticed unexplained activity like doors closing unexpectedly and activity in the building’s stairways.

“[The students] were like, ‘We feel like there’s energy here. We feel like it’s good.’ They were the ones who got the idea going,” she said. “It really started with them.”

Franklin Sweedy said she was initially skeptical—but also curious—during last year’s investigation but came away convinced.

“I came into it hoping to have an experience, and when we got here it really was very powerful, things that I would not have expected to experience,” she said.

Rossman said one of the investigators’ roles is to help home and business owners understand activity in their spaces.

“I think it’s a common thing that people dismiss certain things that they’re hearing, but when you bring their attention to it, all of a sudden, their senses are heightened,” he said.