Paranormal investigator Matt Ferrell has a lengthy list of affiliations after his name. He's been doing investigative work in the northern Florida region for several years, and his stomping grounds have included private homes, lighthouses, jails, battlefields, cemeteries, inns, and more. He's been featured on radio broadcasts, and has worked with TV outlets that include The NBC Today Show, National Geographic, and Turner South, among many others. He helped to found JAGS (the Jacksonville Amateur Ghosthunting Society), and GHOST! Magazine (online and print), a publication into which he is currently re-investing his time and efforts to continue its role as a useful resource for those interested in ghost hunting and the paranormal at large.

I first stumbled across his bio a year or so ago, when I was but a wee writer and first exploring this strange new world of Wow Ghosts Are A Viable Hobby? (They are. Look at TAPS.) I've stalked him on and off since then, and finally worked up the cojones to get in touch with him recently. We have chatted several times since I did so, and I can say with firm authority that not only does Matt seem to know what he's talking about, he's a nifty guy as well. Also he is adorable in pigtails, and will probably never speak to me again for saying so. It's a risk I am willing to take. The public must know!

In the course of our conversations, I asked if there were any cases in particular that stood out in his mind. The answer was immediate: yes indeed there was one such, that took place perhaps three or four years ago. Would I like to take a look at the case writeup? Why yes indeed I would.

So I took a look. What I read was intriguing to me, so I thought I would share with Firefox.org readers. Aren't you lucky?

(The answer is yes, yes you are. There'll be a quiz.)

I will not draw any conclusions from the report or its accompanying audio files; I'm not anything approaching an expert, and it's not my job to tell anyone what to think. We report, you decide, except for the bit where I actually don't try to make you think what I want you to. Give it a read, give it a listen, and go where you will with what's here. The clearest audio files are linked appropriately in the story's text.

Perhaps three or four years ago, an investigative team including Matt Ferrell set up shop one night in a business they had investigated previously (the exact date and location have been withheld due to nondisclosure agreements the team entered into at the time of the investigation. Sorry folks! I tried, but I'll respect the privacy deal they signed). Several hours into the investigation, one of the team members reported to Matt that she was getting tired and wanted to take a break, walk around a little bit, and get her second wind. Matt took over her camera for her. She took a few minutes to recoup herself, and at one point leaned against the wall, and sat down on the floor. Shortly after that, the team member began breathing heavily, and perhaps a minute after that, began to laugh.

Matt reports that the laugh sounded unnatural: it began high-pitched and very rapidly descended into a low register, lower than a girl of her age and stature should be able to produce. It frightened the rest of the team, who took this as their cue to to try to remove the affected team member from the building, and to end the night's investigation. They escorted her downstairs and outside, a process during which the affected member screamed in the same masculine-sounding voice, then they packed up their equipment and left for the evening.

"That case was in 2003," Matt told me at one point while we were discussing the event, "but it still creeps me out hearing that laugh. The cameras only picked up a small bit of what it was like being there. We were on the third floor of the place and had to walk her out. She remembers nothing of it, and once we got her out, she was fine. Was an insane night. None of us slept that night."

Websites treating the paranormal advise that if you wish to go into the field, you should be sure to always be in top condition. Don't be tired; don't be emotionally turbulent; don't be unsure of yourself. Ghost hunting is almost invariably an emotionally charged endeavor, and that fact alone, they advise, leaves you vulnerable for any number of pitfalls, from simple emotional exhaustion to alleged possession by unfriendly entities.

There is a lot of advice out there for investigators going into the field. By and large, it's fairly straightforward, and I think whatever one personally believes of the paranormal and potential risks, it's good advice to heed. Pay attention, Padawan! ...there'll be a quiz.

• Be calm, and don't be afraid. Remember: they're more afraid of you than you are of them! It's true of snakes, spiders, pretty girls/boys and Casper.
• Make sure you're at your peak: be well rested before you begin your investigation, and if you get tired, don't press yourself. Whether or not you believe in the paranormal, that's just good sense: you can't accomplish much of anything in any field if you're tired.
• Don't be under the influence. Basic good sense again. On a purely mundane level, drugs and alcohol impair your judgment and may leave you open to accident or injury. From the standpoint of the paranormal, there is strong belief that they will leave you open to unfriendly influence.
• Be careful about how you invite contact with alleged supernatural entities. Phrases as innocuous as "Can you give me a sign that you are here?" may or may not be effective at drawing out paranormal phenomena, but it may also invite more than you bargained for.
• Be alert and aware of what is going on around you. Any question of noticing paranormal activity aside, chances are you are in an unfamiliar place, at night, probably with minimal or zero lighting. Staying alert minimizes your chances of falling down stairs, tripping over your teammates, or running into walls. Or ghosts.

I'm always on the lookout for the strange, odd, bizarre, bewildering, unexplained and blatantly paranormal. If you've heard about or experienced something that you feel fits those criteria, please feel free to comment here, or drop me a line at weirdoholic@gmail.com. I can't promise fame and fortune, but if your story catches my interest (and offers enough material to appropriately pad a column), I can offer ten seconds of dubious glory here at Firefox.org.

Also: I lied. There is no quiz. Class dismissed!