Arts & Entertainment

VIDEO: Ghostbuster Comes To Lake Elsinore

Jennifer Mauricio said she's felt the spirit of rock legend Janis Joplin at the Landmark Hotel in Hollywood, and she's communicated with poltergeists on the Queen Mary in Long Beach.

Are spirits keeping you up at night? Jennifer Mauricio of Golden State Paranormal Research Society may be able to help.

Mauricio, 37, was on hand Tuesday night at the Lake Elsinore Library to talk about ghosts that, she believes, linger among the living.

About a dozen people turned out to hear Mauricio, a Highland resident, give firsthand accounts of chasing haunts with other members of Golden State Paranormal Research Society. A team of about 15 GSPRS ghostbusters has been investigating specters throughout California – free of charge – since 2007, Mauricio explained.

Find out what's happening in Lake Elsinore-Wildomarwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A pharmacist and mom by day, Mauricio said she’s felt the spirit of rock legend Janis Joplin at the Landmark Hotel in Hollywood, and she’s communicated with poltergeists on the Queen Mary in Long Beach.

She and fellow ghostbusters also makes personal house calls.

Find out what's happening in Lake Elsinore-Wildomarwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“We’ve helped a lot of wonderful people,” she said.

[Watch the attached video of Mauricio recounting a family's struggle after their son passed but his ghost remained.]

Mauricio herself has a home full of haunts.

“Noisy, annoying family members,” she explained. “They’ve been dead for 30 years,” confiding that her grandfather’s spirit ranks among the most pesky with his habit of opening and closing kitchen cabinets in the middle of the night.

“He wants to know why I’m chasing the dead when I’m among the living,” she said.

Mauricio admits there is no surefire evidence that ghosts exist.

“You set the boundaries of what you want to accept,” she explained, noting that she’s not physic but rather relies on what she feels.

The intrigue of the other side came to Mauricio during adolescence, after reading Richard Peck’s 1987 book, “Ghosts I Have Been,” about a girl who has a vision of the Titanic’s sinking.

Lake Elsinore resident Jessica Reid relates to the attraction of otherworldly. The 31-year-old was on hand Tuesday night and said she’s felt the presence of spirits throughout her life, although she’s never seen one.

Reid's friend Roxana Ortiz, 26, also of Lake Elsinore, has had a different experience: She claims to have seen a bloodied male ghost on the Ortega Highway.

“Oh I imagine the Ortega Highway at night is quite an interesting walk,” Mauricio remarked, recalling the many tragedies on the notorious roadway.

But not all ghosts are quite so ominous or menacing.

Lake Elsinore Library’s Ronda Kirkbride said she has two very friendly spooks in her home: a pair of dearly departed cats.

Interested in joining up with Jennifer Mauricio as a ghostbuster? Or maybe you want to utilize Golden State Paranormal’s investigative services? Contact Mauricio at: gsprs.jen@gmail.com


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