Illinois Paranormal Society

Interview with Ron Fabiani from Chicago Paranormal Detectives/Paranormal Cops on A&E TV

This is an interview I did with my good friend Ron Fabiani back on November 18, 2010.

I recently had the pleasure to speak with Ron Fabiani from Chicago Paranormal Detectives and former TV show Paranormal Cops on A&E TV. The following is the complete interview.

How did you get started in the Paranormal?

In 2003, I received a 911 call while on duty. It was at a local bar in the town that I work in. I had dealt with the owner in the past. He was not a man that was spooked easily, but he had been seeing figures in his business after he closed down, and had enough of it and did not know who to call. So, I returned to the bar, off duty with a few fellow officers who were curious as I was. I brought a Sony Night Vision camcorder and walked the interior of the building and filmed a figure…a black mass, minimally transparent, like black nylons. It was moving back and forth and almost interacting with questions I asked and then it vanished. We returned a few more times, trying to recreate what we had seen, but was never able to. I figured that if this is happening here, maybe this is happening elsewhere in the area. So, I decided to put a group together consisting of police officers, to investigate other claims in the area.

How many Paranormal cases have you investigated?

We have roughly investigated 30 cases. We do not conduct cases based on curiosity. There has to be an immediate need due to some form of exigence. We also do not work on cases in apartments, townhouses, or condo’s. We focus our attention on cases where visual or audible phenomena is reported. Things like feelings of being watched, dreams, or other sensations cannot be recorded. We can’t consider anything which is not recorded as evidence. Therefore, we turn down about 85% of the cases due to not meeting our group’s investigation criteria.

How many people go with you to an investigation?

Most of the time, there is four of us. Tom, Austin, Pete, and myself. Sometimes there is five if we have a medium join us.

What equipment does your team use?

We use Sony Night Vision camcorders, Internal hard drive cameras, digital voice recorders, four to five different EMF meters, thermal imager, and many temperature gauges. We also like to experiment with different devices, such as a Geo phone, Stun Gun, Infrared strobe lights, and real time EVP devices, such as our Echo device. We also incorporate some of our profession into the investigation. We will use Forensic Techniques, including dusting for finger prints, if the case calls for it.

What is your favorite piece of equipment?

My “staff” as its now being called. Its an old microphone stand that I converted. It holds a camcorder, EMF meter, and digital voice recorder.

Out of all your investigations, which case stands out most in your mind?

I would have to say the Casa Madrid in Melrose Park. Its a former Speak Easy and Mafia night club through the early 60’s. We were able to get really good EMF’s and interaction. I would also have to say that the old college in Lake Forest. Its a four story, old abandoned building. It does not have any power, but there are windows and doors. Pete became really unnerved there and there was a claim that a woman’s body was found on the front lawn in the early 1900’s.

What has been your most frightening experience?

I would have to say my first investigation at the bar. It was very eye opening to me. My most uneasiness feelings were at the Casa Madrid and the college building in Lake Forest too.

Do you believe in animal ghosts?

I really don’t know much of anything to support them. There’s many theories and speculation, and they’re wonderful, but I’ve never really given any thought to them.Therefore I do not know if I would be able to give a valid opinion on it.

What is your explanation of Shadow People?

There really is no explanation. There is just many theories and opinions. Shadow People will remain unknown until we get proof of what they really are.

Do you feel that a place is just as active in the day time as it is at night or are we just too busy to notice?

It could be. You have to wonder, are people or the locations haunted? Maybe both are haunted. We feel that investigating at night is best for us because, it minimizes contamination of possible evidence and it’s quiet. You will also see things that you normally do not see during the day time. More than that, it’s our experience and it seems that we are not so sure who’s afraid of who. We as the investigators are the intruders. You have to think, why are they obliged to answer our questions? We use the night to investigate, in hopes that it will drop their defenses, where they are more comfortable. We also do not provoke or demand anything from them. With that said, we possibly could be too busy or preoccupied during the day.

How do you feel about these “Ghost Boxes” and “Shack Hacks”?

They’re Magic 8 Balls and I don’t like them [laughing]. They really don’t conclude anything. They give you more things to consider. For instance, take the Ovilus. It has two hundred programmed words in the device. You may have forty words that make sense, but one hundred and sixty that don’t make any sense at all. Its all too suggestive to me. Even people who use them can’t tell you “how” or “why” it works or what is “it” that’s making it happen? How does a spirit know, what frequency to use? To me, its just an entertainment piece.

What is the best EVP you have ever captured?

We captured some really good EVP’s at Casa Madrid. Believe it or not, we got a lot of “4 letter” words. During an episode of Paranormal Cops, Austin and I were in a women’s bathroom and captured an EVP that said “boys can’t be in here” clear as day.

What is your take on M.E.S.A (Multi-frequency Energy Sensor Array)?

We as Paranormal Investigators tend to over analyze things. We don’t really use base EMF’s, barometric pressure, or temperature and wind outside. It is a very interesting idea though. Also, the EMF spikes really don’t mean a lot to us. It just warrants more unexplainable conclusions. I’d be very interested to see how it works from someone that is trained on it though.

How do you feel about Ouija or Spirit boards bring you good or bad luck?

Well, if you believe that the board has brought you good luck, rather than bad luck, and you have truly believed this, then just leave it alone. I mean, if you are happy with the responses, then don’t fix, what is not broken. There is also zero evidence to support the theory that they are bad. It’s really unknown at this point.

What do you think is attributed to the recent surge in popularity of paranormal on television?

The popularity created by TV and ratings is what’s made it surge. Having the paranormal shows on television and out there for the public to see, has made it boom. Since the shows aired, they’re have been groups sprung up over the years, that normally would not have. I really feel that it is a fad for a lot of people really. A lot of the shows that are on now are more acceptable for certain people to be more open about the paranormal and what has happened to them, where they would have been judged in the past. People also mimic what they see on TV. You have your thrill seekers out there going for the excitement too. There’s just so many different levels of groups out there.

It seems as if every group on TV represents a different facet of Paranormal investigations. TAPS takes a very scientific approach while Penn State Paranormal seems much more spiritual in their investigations and Ghost Adventures takes an emotional approach. How would you describe the techniques that’s used by your own group?

You have your regular hobbyists and self proclaimed investigators, where we are actual investigators in our careers. Those groups on TV, that’s their careers, the TV show. We don’t attack any groups, but there are certain groups out there that don’t care about the actual evidence, but care about feelings. We are a strictly evidence based group. We handle everything like a crime scene and conduct it like a real investigation. We also do not jump to any conclusions. We look at all evidence and don’t rush to assume anything. Just because one Orb might appear to be dust, we don’t rule out the others. We are current police men and are not former or prior anything like other groups. We are also held to a higher level of accountability. If we fail to do an investigation into the Paranormal, how would that look to the public when we as police officers are conducting a real investigation in our jobs?

Now that the TV show is over, what are your goals?

Yes, the TV show on A&E is over, but we will consider another show if it comes a long. Recently we were contacted by the Italian show Voyager. It’s pretty much the Italian version of our Destination Truth. It’s also one of the most popular TV shows in Italy. They go all over the world just like Destination Truth on the SyFy channel. They contacted us to do an episode with them. They wanted to come to Chicago and profile us for an episode of their show. We brought in psychic Chris Flemming to assist us on the investigation, which we chose the Casa Madrid. The episode will air on Voyager in Italy next year. You know, we really are just regular guys with regular jobs and regular lives. It was just so strange to us and don’t understand how we could be so huge in Italy. TV aside, our mission still remains the same. We are here to help people. There have been hints from other Networks and production companies and we would entertain the offer if it arose. We also play in a band and write our own music. We all have jobs and families and that takes up a lot of our time. So, for now, we will just focus on all of those things and see what the future will bring us.

 Check out Chicago Paranormal Detectives - www.chicagoparanormaldetectives.com