Rob McConnell Interviews - BRANDY STARK- The Spirits of St. Petersburg

Brandy Stark started the SPIRITS of St. Petersburg in 1997, when she first started her academic research into the role of the luminal. She took her research to conferences and expanded into studying the lore and legends of Tampa Bay. She was able to utilize her connections at the University of South Florida to do her first official ghost hunt in 1999, which she later wrote up as an article for the USFSP student paper, The Crow’s Nest. From there, she did talks in the local community and met other individuals curious about the supernatural. The SPIRITS of St. Petersburg team did the group investigations starting in 2000. Over the years, she has done approximately 400 investigations on her own and with her team locally, nationally, and even internationally. Stark’s goal is to involve the community in the research so that others can distinguish natural causes from those of more questionable origin. She has worked to create a reasonable and compassionate view of the supernatural world by integrating ideas of symbolism, cultural interpretation, and respect for others (dead or living).