Haunting history; `Ghost Hunters' takes a look at old home.

Byline: Ellie Oleson

OXFORD - There was a chill in the air at the historic old house at 326 Main St., where strange noises and banging sounds could be heard, lights switched on and off for no apparent reason, vases dropped from tables, and doors and windows slammed closed with no one near.

The basement seemed to harbor eerie secrets, and a small upstairs passageway so frightened one local woman that she refused to enter it.

Instead, she called "Ghost Hunters," who not only entered the darkest corners of the house, but spent two nights filming there. The program will air March 9 on the SyFy channel.

Jennifer L. Hubbell, 25, of East Brookfield, said the house was owned by her grandparents, Raymond and Mary C. Voas, while she was growing up. In 2008, Ms. Hubbell's parents, David M. and Deanne J. Voas, bought the house.

"I cried. I really didn't want them to buy it. I always thought the house was creepy. There was one spot we weren't even allowed in - a small, top-floor closet that leads to a hallway and a little room with a staircase to a bedroom downstairs. It was so creepy! But once my parents moved in, I felt comfortable there. Strange things still happen, but I no longer think they are scary, just kind of strange," Ms. Hubbell said.

Looking for answers, she talked to a beloved family friend, Renee Martinelli, who came for a visit and said she heard a little boy named "Robbie" in the basement and "Harold came and went," Ms. Hubbell said.

"Renee introduced me to the idea of calling `Ghost Hunters.' She believed me about our house and felt her own house was haunted."

Ms. Martinelli died in 2009, shortly after moving to Rhode Island. She was 37 years old.

Ms. Hubbell said Ms. Martinelli had introduced her to The Atlantic Paranormal Society, known as TAPS, which is headed by paranormal researchers Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, a pair of plumbers who lead the investigations featured on "Ghost Hunters."

"I watch `Ghost Hunters' all the time. I went on the TAPS website and wrote them, but I never dreamed they'd call me. It's been great for me and my parents. Maybe now my friends won't think I'm so crazy," Ms. Hubbell said.

The "Ghost Hunters" team spoke with the family, then put them up in an Auburn hotel for two nights in November, during which the team stayed in the house overnight, investigating and filming. The results are being kept under wraps until the show airs.

"They didn't just look for ghosts, they did back history. They really try to...