Paranormal Phenomena Research and Investigation (PPRI) aims to bridge the gap between science and the supernatural for Amherst, Nova Scotia, residents.
The team is hosting Exploring the Unknown: Psychiatry & Paranormal, Mediumship, and Real Cases on February 22 at the Travelodge by Wyndham, featuring guest lecturers Jodi Russell, Dr. Craig Gosse, and PPRI president Elliott Van Dusen.
Russell, a medium, will discuss how she reads energy during paranormal investigations and uses spirit communication to gain insights into specific locations. A resident of Beaver Bank, she joined PPRI in 2022 after connecting with Van Dusen through her brother, who is married to Van Dusen’s sister.
“(My sister-in-law) Erin actually recommended that he contact me for a haunting they were scheduled to investigate,” Russell recalled. “It was just a one-time thing, and I’ve been working with (Van Dusen) ever since.”
The 34-year-old said that she picks up on what she calls psychic impressions.
“It could be something that’s happening in an environment, but not necessarily a haunting,” she admitted during a February Zoom conversation. “There might not be a conscious entity but it could be residual or it could be inference from living people sometimes.”
For example, the lingering energy from a heated argument in a room could qualify as an inference from the living. In addition to serving as the team’s medium, Russell works as an investigator, using her sensitivity to complement the team’s research.
She has experienced psychic impressions since childhood and said she has also encountered non-human entities. Her experiences began after her family moved from Stephenville, Newfoundland, to Nova Scotia.
At first, she noticed typical haunted house phenomena — apparitions, knocks, and unexplained noises in the night.
“I truly believed it was just the house until I saw — probably a couple of years into it — my actual grandmother,” she recalled. “That’s when I realized, ‘Oh, it’s not just the things in the house; it’s actual communication with me. That really was the wake-up call that I was connected to something.”
Initially, Russell found these experiences frightening because she had no way to verify them. As a result, she shut them out entirely until she found a supportive community that didn’t require her to preface her experiences with, “I know this is going to sound crazy …”
Van Dusen said the event will explore the connection between psychology and paranormal experiences.
“I think that’s important to educate the public as well,” he wrote in a February email, “sometimes there is a natural explanation for what is occurring.”
Dr. Craig Gosse, who has studied and worked at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Ottawa General Hospital, the University of Toronto, and Harvard Medical School, currently leads the Occupational Psychiatry Department at Homewood Health. He will provide a scientific perspective on how the human mind interprets and interacts with supernatural experiences.
“Our goal is to provide audiences with a balanced and thought-provoking discussion, helping them understand the complexities of these phenomena from multiple perspectives,” Van Dusen added. “Whether they are skeptics, believers, or simply curious, attendees will gain valuable insights into how these topics connect in unexpected ways.”
Amherst is the perfect location for the event, as it is also home to the legend of Esther Cox, an 18-year-old who experienced poltergeist activity in 1878.
Illustration courtesy Elliott Van Dusen