The real-life ghostbuster

Los Angeles Police Sgt. Miguel Lopez was 11 years old when he met his first ghost, said Christine Pelisek in TheDailyBeast.com. Waking suddenly from a deep sleep, he sensed a sinister presence at the end of his bed. “I saw two glowing eyes,” he recalls. “I could hear breathing in my ear.” Lopez didn’t talk about the incident until, more than 30 years later, his sisters confessed that they too had experienced paranormal encounters at the family home—setting Lopez on a quest to find answers. Today, by day, he is a gang supervisor for the LAPD. But by night, he is a ghost hunter. Armed with night goggles, an electromagnetic sensor, and a flask of holy water, Lopez has investigated over 40 strange occurrences in homes and buildings across Southern California, including a city councilman’s office and a branch of the public library. “I like to help people so they don’t feel like they are crazy. Is it the air conditioning? Is it a wiring or electrical issue?” But sometimes, ghostly activity is the only explanation. He says he’s been punched and grabbed by unseen spirits and seen strange, glowing orbs. In those cases, he’ll cleanse the room with holy water, being careful to douse himself afterward so the entities don’t invade his own body or follow him home. “To say I am not scared is a lie,” he says. “Hopefully it doesn’t kill me.”

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