Just as the team of paranormal investigators wrapped up their pizza dinner in the Old Methodist Meeting House, rain began falling as the sun set.

It was an eerie, but refreshing atmosphere for the Ghosts of the Gateway hunt, sponsored by Spooky Southcoast, a paranormal radio podcast hosted by Wareham's own Tim Weisberg, along with Matt Costa, Matt Moniz, Chris Balzano and Stephanie Burke.

They led the investigation for supernatural activity inside four buildings owned by the Wareham Historical Society: the Old Methodist Meeting House, the Fearing Tavern, the One-Room Schoolhouse and the Union Chapel.

Though the group has investigated the buildings before and encountered some frightening disturbances in the past (i.e. rocks being thrown and voices saying “get out”), this investigation held friendly encounters.

“Most of the time it's just someone wanting to be acknowledged,” said Alicia Mastangelo, a paranormal investigator.

"Everybody seemed to have something going on," said Weisberg after the event. "I think everybody left pretty much impressed."

Christy Parrish, another investigator, spoke to a few entities throughout the night and received information from “them.”

One, she found, was a man who was attached to a bed in the Fearing Tavern. Parrish used dowsing rods to communicate with the entity, who was able to cross the rods when asked to, point to certain people in the room when asked to, and lead her to the bed when asked if he had any attachments in this world.

Dowsing rods are one of many tools used by investigators to “augment their senses,” said Moniz. An investigator for 30 years, Moniz is an analytical chemist and science advisor to Spooky Southcoast.

“Activity happens when it wants to,” he said. “When it happens, your reactions are instantaneous.”

Some of the equipment used on the hunt included the following:

• Dowsing rods: Two L-shaped metal wire rods originally used to find minerals or water which are susceptible to energy waves.
• Ghostbox: a modified portable AM/FM transmitter that continuously scans for white noise and audio remnants from broadcast stations that entities are said to be able to manipulate, creating words and sometimes entire sentences.
• EVP recorder: Electronic voice phenomena (EVP) recorders capture sounds on lower frequencies than are audible by human ears.
• EMF detector: an instrument that reads fluctuations in electromagnetic fields (investigators account for other sources of electromagnetic fields while using this device).
• Ouija boards (also known as talking boards): a board with printed letters, numbers, and other signs to which a movable indicator points

Weisberg laid out some ground rules for the night: when taking a photograph, say “flash”; always speak in a normal speaking voice; keep recorders away from you stomach; when recording, note outside sources of noise.

With all these tools, the investigators set out to any part of the tour on their own, taking breaks whenever they wanted. Since it was a small group with barely any first-timers, the rules for the hunt were very loose.

Burke, a spirit medium, hosted readings at the Old Methodist Meeting House during the investigation.

The ghost tour was created to bring attention to historic buildings in Wareham and the proceeds for the event went to the Wareham Historical Society.

"I think everyone that came out was very excited and supportive of the historical society," he said. "They seemed really focused on trying to help the society."

Weisberg said he will most likely organize another hunt in October. All are welcome to join.