"For me, I fear the living more than I do the dead. The living can hurt you, the dead aren't going to," Young said. "No matter what you see on TV, the chances of that happening are so remote. "

He admits that some movies depict EVP as being dangerous and invoking evil but said ghost hunting is simply trying to capture what is already there.

"Doing EVP work you are asking for some communication — but haunting can be residual, just an impression in time that is being picked up," Young said.

Evil spirits and demons are real and can be dangerous, but those incidences are few and far between, he said.

"You really have to go looking for that, like with Ouija boards, but I have never encountered anything like that," Young said.

To celebrate Halloween, members of the ghost hunting class along with Fort Douglas and Unknown Utah, a paranormal investigation organization, will be holding a ghost hunt at the Fort Douglas Museum and cemetery as well as a panel discussion by paranormal experts. Psychics will also be on hand to do mini readings. The cost is $10 per person. For more information, go to unknownutah.com.

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E-mail: terickson@desnews.com