The Hawk

Issue date: 4/2/08 Section: Features

SJGR members pose with a display of their ghost hunting equipment at the organizations' annual seminar/fundraiser.

Three-year-old Dave Juliano was sleeping peacefully in his bedroom when one night, something woke him up.

When Juliano opened his eyes and peered into the darkness, he saw a little boy.

He should have been alone. He had no brothers. No friends or cousins were in the house at the time.

The visitor was about two feet tall and had the features of a small child, but his head was swollen well beyond normal size. He was wearing a blue gown so long his hands were invisible, and he was surrounded by a glowing haze. He spoke in gibberish.

Frightened, Juliano ran to his parents' bedroom. He woke his father but was told to go back to sleep.

Juliano returned to his room to find the boy now standing on his bed. Juliano covered his small face with a pillow and leapt onto the bed. The boy disappeared.

Now 35, Juliano still remembers vividly that first encounter with the boy-ghost, who would continue to haunt him for the next 26 years.

"I lived the next 15 years in fear of what was going on and looking for answers," said Juliano, now a stocky middle-aged man who sits at a small table at the Blackwood Rotary Library in Blackwood, N.J. His hair is closely shaven and his features hint at his Italian heritage. "I had nowhere to turn to ask the questions that people have now, that we answer."

The "We" he refers to are the 25 members of the South Jersey Ghost Research (SJGR) organization, a practicing paranormal research group based in South Jersey and supporting all of New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, and the New York City area since 1998. They are retired police officers, computer analysts, Web designers, health professionals, real estate agents, and executive assistants. They work in engineering, finance, and mechanics. Some own and operate their own businesses. Some are practicing mediums and reiki masters who "channel life energy" to heal.

To many people outside the group, they are the charlatans or loose screws of society.

But to others, they are saviors of sanity who confirm that what is happening is not just a figment of their own minds.

Sitting beside Juliano is SGJR's co-director, Jaime Eachus, 29, a practicing medium, angel therapy practitioner, and reiki master. Eachus also owns a private practice, The Ancient Healing Center.

Continued...

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