The “spirited” man of Lock Haven: Come see the dead with me

By Christopher Miller

LOCK HAVEN, PA – There isn’t much that scares Lou Bernard these days. He’s seen and heard it all – shadowy figures in an empty museum, kitchen cabinets opening at will, a clock flying off of a wall, and water in the shower going from hot to cold. And no, even though he enjoys a good icy beverage from time to time, these weren’t the effects of adult beverages.

October marks two things for this walking, talking, one-man history and paranormal show: a decade of Lock Haven ghost tours and a decade-and-a-half (because “15” just doesn’t sound all that impressive) of investigating the paranormal with the group Lock Haven Paranormal Seekers.

“This year’s ghost tours will be neat, I’m very excited about these tours,” said Lou. “I discovered new stories and I try to shake it up every year with old classics like Mad Anthony Wayne and the guy who attended his own funeral, and also making some new discoveries to share.”

Fifteen years ago this month the Lock Haven Paranormal Seekers were founded and have achieved the title of Clinton County’s longest-lasting and most reliable ghost hunting team. “We rely on science and we look for measurable, provable, evidence to demonstrate what’s going on when we investigate,” he said. “We stand out as we are looking for answers, not just ghosts, and we are happy to debunk a haunting than prove one.”
But why ghosts? Why has the paranormal interested Lou for so long?

“Recently my son Paul asked me what was my favorite thing to do when I was a kid and I replied with: explore,” said Lou. “I was always exploring and into this stuff even when I was a kid, so things like bigfoot, aliens, and ghosts were what I grew up interested in, so one day I lucked into working in local history in Clinton County and then I connected with the newly forming paranormal team.”

The local ghost tours, which have grown in popularity in past years, are a big highlight for late-October Fall evenings. “When talking about ghosts and hauntings you can definitely now say, “yes there is one,”” said Lou.

“But when I can do is back up what I am saying when telling these stories, by showing others the documentation that someone died on a property, or a legend of an event that occurred there…to an extent I can document everything I say on the tours and none of this is just word of mouth of taken on faith alone.”

Research is what this man does best and where he works, at the Ross Library, is a researcher’s paradise. Seriously – does this guy ever work at all?

“I begin my research with property history, like going to the courthouse and reading through the deeds to see who owned a property, then I can take those names and dig around in the card catalogs at the library, reading obituaries and making connections,” Lou said. “After I have this documentation, if I am doing an investigation, I can then go to the property owner and do an interview with them, set up cameras, recorders, check for temperature differences and electrical, and then begin to look for something scientific, proveable, and shareable.”

Not just Lock Haven, but Clinton County as a whole is a known hotbed of paranormal activity. Lou gives some theories as to why this is.

“Lots of it dates back to the Native American times where some sources say that they believed this area was haunted by bad spirits…their word for this place was Otzinachson, which meant demon’s den,” Lou explained. “So much has happened here over the years, and a lot of properties were built on top of burial grounds; Lock Haven had at least four alone, so there was a lot of fascinating stuff that happened here over the years so no wonder why the place is haunted!”

What makes Lou’s life interesting is his desire to get involved in “interesting things.” “Ever since I was a kid I was looking for some sort of adventure; if things weren’t dangerous when I was a kid, I would try to make them dangerous,” Lou said. “I like to get involved and discover things, and don’t stop asking questions – there is still much to be discovered.”

So the $500,000 question is: does Lou Bernard believe in ghosts?

“People often ask me this question,” he replied, “and I tell them if I did, then I would not have to investigate the paranormal…I want to encourage others to learn about it on a scientific level.”
“The world has everything in the world in it…I dare you to disprove that!”