Linda Zimmermanc. http://media.photobucket.comManyof you know that my friend and author, DonSmith has just published his epic novel, TheGoffle Road Murders. He introduced me to Linda Zimmerman, a real lifeghost hunter!!Iwas eager to speak with Linda because she experiences a job stress unlike most.Whether you believe in ghosts or not, there is no doubt that someone who dealswith the underworld has their share of stress. I thought it would beinteresting to see how someone who works with the supernatural handles anxiety and fear.HiLinda. Thanks so much for doing this! Don has talked so much about you that Ifeel like I know you.LZ: Hi! Thanks for the opportunity to do this. Youare a ghost hunter. What is that, exactly, and how the heck did you get in toit?LZ: I was writing and lecturing about local history fifteenyears ago, and people started asking about ghost stories. At first, I wouldonly go to a house to interview the owners and take a few pictures. Then Irealized the best way to tell a ghost story is to experience the haunting. Ibegan getting more equipment and setting up full investigations. A ghost huntershould try to gather as much “hard evidence” (photos, video, audio, etc.) aspossible, research the history of the location, and interview as many eyewitnessesas possible. You need to be able to provide as complete of a picture of thehaunting as is possible, and if that means experiencing the paranormal activityfirsthand, so much the better. Iknow I get really creeped out just watching a horror flick. What’s it likeactually communicating with the dead? How do you overcome any initial fear?LZ: I made a decision early on that if I ran every timesomething scary happened I wouldn’t get very far in ghost hunting. For the mostpart, encountering activity is an addictive adrenaline rush. However, when itgets nasty or threatening, that’s when it’s hard to stand your ground. I havenever run from an investigation…although I have walked away rather quickly! Canyou describe a "haunting?" How is it possible to "stand yourground" with a ghost? What sorts of "nasty or threatening"things would make you need to?LZ: A haunting is composed of various paranormal activity whichcan involve sounds, images, sensations, and even being touched. Most are benign,they are like imprints. Others are conscious or interactive, and the nasty onesseem determined to scare or harm you. It may be hard to describe in words, butit’s instantly recognizable in person.Donmentioned that you have to basically “overcome,” your reptilian brain or “turnit off.” Can you talk some about that? I think there are times wheneveryone’s reptilian brain goes into overdrive. It might be useful for us,dealing with the living, to be able to control it better.LZ: Its simply a case of stubbornness and determination. Whetherdealing with ghosts or people, if you have a specific goal you are trying toreach, you have to keep that in mind under all circumstances or you’ll neverreach that goal.Inmy experience, the stress response produced by the reptilian brain is usuallyautomatic, meaning it's very hard to shut it off. Is there a time when youreally struggled with a fight/flight/freeze response?There are many times when I am scared and want to run, and manymore when I freeze for a moment. A lot of people can’t take it, and I don’tblame them. Not to compare what I do to combat, but as an example, why does onesoldier run and another charge ahead? There’s just something that allows somepeople to suppress the primitive fight/flight response. Arethe spirits or dead ever mad that you’ve wakened them?LZ: I don’t know that I would use the term wakened, but I haveoften felt as though they believed I was intruding on “their” turf. And manyget quite angry when you try to persuade them to move on.Canyou communicate with anyone who’s dead?LZ: Not me personally, but there are psychics who seem to havethe ability to communicate with most people who have passed on. And I tend todoubt that everyone who has died is “available for comment.” Hopefully, thosespirits who are completely at peace have moved way beyond our level.Wouldyou say that as you've gained experience, you are less stressed out by it,since you kind of know what to expect and you've sort of already lived throughthe worst?LZ: Absolutely. I was far more skittish in the beginning. Ioften forget how far I’ve come until I see a novice ghost hunter scream or runaway.To read more about Linda's ghost hunts, check out her book Hudson Valley Haunts on Amazon.c. 2012

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