Dave Francis
I experienced my first encounter with something unknown around the age of ten, and ever since I have had a desire to further explore the reports of hauntings and study all aspects of paranormal research. In my late twenties I began reading various books on the subject and visiting supposed haunted locations through out New England (and one fort in Bermuda that claims to have a ghost). All I had back then was a Minolta 35mm camera and my own senses, but it was that simple jumping off point that helped fuel my interest.
In 2006 I joined Worcester Regional Area Investigation Team - Hauntings (W.R.A.I.T.H.) as an investigator in training, and quickly learned all aspects of paranormal investigation from the now late founder Thomas "TJ" Tucker. TJ had been investigating for some time, and his experience and insights helped me develop the investigative style I use today. I left W.R.A.I.T.H. in 2007 to help another local researcher reinvent her own team. Though with this team briefly, I began to develop my own ideas and how I wanted to approach researching hauntings. I also volunteered my time as a database administrator for the now defunct World Wide Paranormal Reporting Center, a project which was started to let everyday people submit their own experiences to collect data to try and find correlations and help improve the research community.
In 2007 I also helped form the research team Open Mind Paranormal Research and conducted investigations with them until summer of mid-2008 when I decided that my own pursuit to answer the questions I had about the paranormal would take me on my own path. As my journey as an independent paranormal researcher began, I had the privilege of working with various other researchers from New England, as well as some of the most diligent historians I've ever known, fueling my growing interest in New England history.
In my personal life I am a husband and father of five wonderful children. My wife, Katie, has been a tremendous support, and without her I would have undoubtedly never gotten to where I am today. I work in retail merchandising, with past experience in photography and darkroom/photo-finishing for a high-end photographic studio in Worcester, Massachusetts.