Phenomenology Research Professionals (PRP) consists of Jaci and Bill Kousoulas. We are the authors of “Bridging the Tragedy,” a psychological study based upon the 1967 Silver Bridge Disaster in Point Pleasant, West Virginia; Mothman; and post-traumatic growth, a phenomenon that often occurs after tragedy. We are qualitative researchers who seek to better understand the connections between psychology, spirituality, and the paranormal by applying the scientific method.

Bill’s interest in the paranormal began in the late seventies with the original Project UFO television series. In 2003, he was introduced to “The Mothman Prophecies” movie, and it changed his life. Jaci is a retired USPS Postmaster and currently a business owner/operator. She specializes in research, data analytics, and “connecting the dots” between intuition, perception, and reality. She is a first-hand paranormal experiencer, including UFOs, disembodied voices, apparitions, and psychic phenomena.

As of March 1, 2024, we are embarking upon our next study, which will investigate the possible relationship(s) between trauma and paranormal experiences. Like “Bridging the Tragedy,” we will work to determine the good outcomes that our participants have gained by experiencing this combination of phenomena. If you are interested in participating in the study, we welcome you to contact us.

We reside in Sycamore, Illinois – close enough to Chicago to be considered a suburb, but closer to cornfields than skyscrapers.

Conference Presentation

The title of the presentation will be “Mothman, The Silver Bridge Disaster, and Growth After Trauma.”

More Information

For more information on Jaci and Bill Kousoulas, visit PRP Connect, their website.

Vanessa

Lili

Originating as a lighthearted concept between sisters Lili and Vanessa, Haunted Happy Hour Inc. evolved from their shared passion of exploring the history of haunted locations.

Driven by a spirit of community and creativity, they strive to foster connections & ignite passions through their unique offerings.

Their Haunted Happy Hour Podcast is a paranormal podcast dedicated to uncorking chilling conversations about history & hauntings, while also sharing weekly cocktail recipes and drink features.

Join Vanessa and Lili as they navigate the depths of the paranormal, sharing eerie encounters and captivating historical insights.

Conference Presentation

Haunted Happy Hour’s Lili and Vanessa will delve into their explorations of historical sites, recounting personal experiences, life-changing moments, and touching on insights they’ve gained over the years on how to enhance one’s personal preparedness for investigating. Among the locations they’ll discuss are Ashmore Estates, Historic Quarters One, the Rock Island Roadhouse, and DeSoto House Hotel, to name a few.

More Information

Collectively, the Haunted Happy Hour Inc. entity brings you coffee, history, spirits and other spooky goods. Whether indulging in a steaming cup of coffee from the HHH Coffee Co., browsing the merch of their mercantile, or tuning in to the latest episode of the Haunted Happy Hour podcast, guests are invited to embrace the spirit of curiosity that defines Haunted Happy Hour.

Experience it for yourself at www.hauntedhappyhourqc.com

Like many of the investigators with TIP (The Illinois Paranormalists) I have a life-long interest in the paranormal. I grew up reading every book I could find on ghosts, big foot, the Loch ness monster, the Bermuda triangle, etc. I thought my interests would always be satisfied through the pages of books until the show Ghosthunters came on. Then I realized there were others out there like me that were interested in the paranormal and experiencing it. I began a web search and found all kinds of groups and information on ghost hunting. I went on my first overnight 18 years ago in Indianapolis at the Hannah Mansion. While looking for more ghost hunting opportunities I came across other overnight excursions and ghost hunting groups. I began to attend all the meetings I could and went on excursions when offered. I had experiences on the excursions that hooked me even more. Perhaps the best thing I was able to do was go to the Waverly Hills Sanitarium—perhaps the most haunted place in the country. While Waverly was not very active that night the creepiness factor was still 10 out of 10. Ten years ago I formed The Illinois Paranormalists (TIP) and have enjoyed planning where to investigate.

Like many of the TIP investigators I have a life-long interest in the paranormal. I grew up reading every book I could find on ghosts, big foot, the Loch ness monster, the Bermuda triangle, etc. I thought my interests would always be satisfied through the pages of books until the show Ghosthunters came on. Then I realized there were others out there like me that were interested in the paranormal and experiencing it. I began a web search and found all kinds of groups and information on ghost hunting. I went on my first overnight 18 years ago in Indianapolis at the Hannah Mansion. While looking for more ghost hunting opportunities I came across other overnight excursions and ghost hunting groups. I began to attend all the meetings I could and went on excursions when offered. I had experiences on the excursions that hooked me even more. Perhaps the best thing I was able to do was go to the Waverly Hills Sanitarium—perhaps the most haunted place in the country. While Waverly was not very active that night the creepiness factor was still 10 out of 10. Ten years ago I formed The Illinois Paranormalists (TIP) and have enjoyed planning where to investigate.

Conference Presentation

The Illinois Paranormalists (TIP) is a paranormal investigation team located in the Chicago suburbs. They are primarily a ghost hunting club that seeks out evidence of the paranormal in various locations throughout the Midwest including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin. During the evening ghost hunters will share their experiences with investigating ghost sightings and sounds, relate techniques used in an investigation and share a variety of equipment and how it is used. They will discuss how places to investigate are located. TIP will answer whatever questions people may have about ghost hunting.

More Information

The Illinois Paranormlists’ Website

Eve Harker has been studying and working with cleansings for over 30 years. Using different tools from old traditions from around the world, Eve has learned a lot about the different ways for cleansings, protection, and removal of negative energy/spirits have been done.

The Harker’s store has been open for over 6 years and is located in the mid-town district, pulling from our years of study and application to provide a wide variety of tools for different purposes to help promote a safe, clean, and stable environment. The Harkers make their own products as well for those who cannot burn incense/smudge sticks or are allergic as well. They have performed many house cleansings (including our own) over the years too.

Conference Presentation

Eve and her husband Brian Harker own Luna Datura’s Curious Gifts. Eve will be covering the different types of smudge sticks and sprays and the appropriate ways to cleanse and remove energy/spirits.

More Information

Luna Datura’s Curious Gifts Website

Chris Fleming is a spiritual counselor in private practice, a world-renowned paranormal investigator and medium, a fine artist, and a public speaker touring at events, colleges, and universities throughout the United States about paranormal topics and life after death.

Chris grew up in a haunted house as a child and currently lives in one. For over 24 years Fleming has appeared on several paranormal-themed television programs such as Ghost Adventures; Ghost Hunters; Psychic Kids; Portals to Hell; and the award-winning “Curse of Lizzy Borden.” Chris is best known for presenting on the international TV series Help! My House is Haunted; Dead Famous; and his most recent Haunted Scotland and Haunted Ireland.

Conference Presentation

“Lessons from the Dead and an Afterlife”

Chris Fleming shares what he has learned from over 50 years of communicating and dealing with spirits and what he witnessed during his near-death experience.

Amber Kresol (she/her) is a part of Haunted Rockford’s research and tech team. She is a lifelong Rockfordian and a Librarian who has worked at the public library for over 20 years. After getting a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology/Sociology, Amber earned her Master’s Degree in Library & Information Studies at UW-Madison. She spent most of her library career focused on teen services but has recently gone to the “dark side” when she joined the Local History Department in February 2022.

As Kathi Kresol’s daughter, it’s no surprise Amber caught the “History Buff” bug. Growing up with a mom who planned entire road trips around visiting historical places and dead folks, the love of honoring the people who came before us was ingrained in Amber early in life. Her interests involve educating people on Rockford’s history, assisting in research strategies, and participating in exciting community events.

When she’s not sharing her enthusiasm for local history, you can find Amber strolling through cemeteries, cleaning gravestones with 815 Stone Scrubbers, traveling, reading about the death industry, cross stitching macabre designs, or annoying her Wife with morbid facts about body decomposition.

Contact Amber

Email: akresol@gmail.com

Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana confirmed Monday that a 1966 Chevrolet Impala, linked to the 1976 disappearance of Clarence Owens and Everett Hawley, has been pulled from the Pecatonica River. Eyewitness News WTVO WQRF.

See March 12, 2024 interview with Haunted Rockford’s Kathi Kresol:

Kathi Kresol, and others, were featured in an article on the Northwest Quarterly Live website. The article “The Ghosts That Haunt Us,” by Jim Taylor was published October 23, 2023.

“It was 1862, and Robert Hall Tinker was enthralled. The future Rockford mayor was visiting Switzerland and had fallen in love with the country’s architecture. Three years later he began to create a little piece of Switzerland of his own, on a bluff overlooking Kent Creek in Rockford.

“The completed cottage, known today as the Tinker Swiss Cottage, is an architectural gem that combines Swiss, Gothic and Victorian styles. Tinker carried his first wife, Mary, over the threshold in April 1870, then mourned at her funeral in the parlor 31 years later. In 1904 he married Jessie and, four years after that, became a father at 71 to an adopted son. Tinker lived a long and prosperous life, serving as Rockford’s mayor, ushering in the city’s first public library, perfecting his sketches and paintings, and creating a lush landscape around his 27-acre estate. In 1924, at 88 years old, Robert Hall Tinker died in his beloved cottage.

“Some say he never quite left.

“Paranormal places abound in our region. They’re filled with fun stories of spectral sightings that continue to entice our curiosities. Whether or not you believe in ghosts, these spirits still like to make their stories known.”

Read the complete article on Northwest Quarterly Live: Ghosts

As part of their “Behind The Brand” series, Rockford Buzz, a go-to source for finding the latest and greatest happenings in Rockford, Illinois, published an interview with Kathi Kresol on October 31, 2018.

“To uncover what makes local organizations tick , you must go back to their founder. Kathi Kresol is Haunted Rockford. She is the heart of the organization, and everything you see comes from her brain and her passion.

“When I got to sit down with Kathi to discuss how Haunted Rockford came to be, she seemed to have an endless supply of stories to tell. Honestly, I could have sat there all day and listened to everything she had to say. The way she tells these stories with respect to the folks who have passed is admirable. They aren’t just things for her to tell and forget, each one stays with her and you can hear in her delivery that she truly cares. Whether they died of natural causes or were victim to terrible circumstance, it doesn’t change her demeanor. She wants to tell their stories and it allows them to live on.

“If I had only a few words to describe Kathi, they would be – Intelligent, passionate, pleasant, caring, and fun.

“After a close personal experience with the paranormal, Kathi became obsessed. There wasn’t a way to get any answers other than researching it by herself.

“Consumed by a need to tell these stories, Kathi traveled all over the United States – going on ghost tours and teaching her homeschooled children lessons of history by taking them places and telling them the stories she had come to learn.”

Read the full article here: Rockford Buzz: Haunted Rockford

Watch the two-part interview of Kathi Kresol, done by Michael Kleen, Rockford Author and Publisher, November 12, 2017:

Part One:

Part Two: