Free Paranormal State: My Journey into the Unknown by Stefan Petrucha, Ryan Buell

through his own spiritual evolution and eventually converted to Catholicism.
    Ryan Heiser, who also appears in “The Devil in Syracuse,” is titled in that episode by his last name to avoid confusion. He was well-rounded, and also very religious, part of the Newman Group, a Catholic organization. We weren’t terribly close, but he asked my advice once, while he was debating whether to continue with his political science major, or to join the priesthood. He’d always struck me as someone keenly interested in a spiritual path, so that’s what I suggested—and what he chose.
    If, even in slight way, working with PRS or talking to me helped him make that decision, it makes me feel good. Being a priest was something I’d considered. I thought the priesthood could use someone who’d seen what I’d seen—and remained open-minded. Now, in a way, I didn’t need to go that route, because Ryan would.
    He also helped with a bad taste I had for religion when my friendship with Adam ended. I remember shortly before we got the green light for the pilot, investigating a haunted boat in Philly with Ryan. We got to talking about the fact that I couldn’t accept that all paranormal activity was demonic. Because he was open, accepted my opinion, and still wanted to go into the priesthood, it helped me.
    So I get very sentimental whenever I see “Dark Man” and “Sixth Sense.” We were a great team, together for a long while, and I’m saddened by the lost opportunity. Had the series started six months earlier, I’d have had more experienced people to work with. By fall 2006, many were preparing to graduate and had to leave the group to focus on school. As we filmed that briefing, I realized PRS was changing. I was embarking on a new adventure with new faces.
    I told everyone about Helen’s late son, Chris, who reported seeing a dark man, or a dark shadow, and how she worried that his spirit was trapped by whatever was there. People didn’t want to stay in this house, Helen said, and activity happened every night. She was also worried about her surviving son, Justin. Paranormal or not, she needed help moving on from her grief and fear.
    The next day, bright and early, we headed to Blairsville. As usual, I called the client during the drive, only this time a cameraman was covering me. Apparently, when Helen told Justin we were coming, it freaked him out. I wasn’t clear what upset him, but it seemed he was experiencing things he hadn’t even shared with his mother.
    As we reached the house, it was like arriving on a film set for a horror movie, creepy and isolated. As an investigator, that was exciting, but things were about to get very different in ways that weren’t quite as interesting. For the pilot, the crew had just hung back. The process had suddenly become more earnest, and I had no idea what to expect.
    Four Seasons International and Go Go Luckey were our production companies. They did Laguna Beach and The Hills. They were famous for changing the way documentary TV was made. Their work was very cinematic, but . . . they’d never done anything involving the paranormal before. We were totally new to each other, and things would have to be worked out along the way.
    The second I got out of my car, a producer I didn’t know rushed up to ask what I was doing.
    “Going to see my client.”
    “We need you to wait until the cameras are rolling so we can film it.”
    About forty-five minutes later I was dozing off in the car when the same producer tapped at the window. I was taken to a production van, miked, then brought to a production meeting to discuss the day and the flow of shooting with the director.
    “So . . . how long until we start investigating?”
    “Ten, fifteen minutes tops?” another producer said.
    At the first meeting, they wanted to hear my plan for the day so they could prepare to document the investigation. What would I do at 5:00 P.M., 5:15 P.M.? How would Dead Time be set up? Who would be where?