About 100 students watched mysterious images of graveyards and translucent spirits projected onto the screen in 102 Forum Saturday.

The presentation by Lou Gentile, a self-professed religious demonologist and paranormal investigator, was part of the four-day Paranormal Conference, organized by Penn State's Paranormal Research Society (PRS).

"The reality is, people are afraid of things that they can't explain," Gentile said.

The audience included curious -- and a few skeptical -- students.

"It was really interesting, but I expected some of the images to be scarier," Michael Sladick (junior-nursing) said.

Gentile's presentation, "The Real Exorcist Comes to Town," featured more than 150 graphic slides highlighting the most frightening experiences of his 10-year career, which he describes as "the study of demons, devils and negative spirits."

Ryan Buell, director of PRS, hopes the conference raised awareness not only about the club but the subject of the paranormal in general.

"I think people really got something substantial out of this," Buell said. "It's not just a scary movie."

Gentile investigates cases of paranormal sightings free of charge because his main focus is "all about helping people," he said.

"It's my job to determine whether these people are going through something that cannot be explained by normal science," he said.

Most of Gentile's work has been in Pennsylvania and nearby states. He said his visit to Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia was one of his most disturbing experiences. The 11-acre abandoned prison site is home to a Halloween spectacular every year, though Gentile said not everything there is make-believe.

After investigating what he called one of the most haunted detainment cells, Gentile said he was violently thrown across the cell due to a paranormal phenomena and sustained several injuries.

He also spoke of the consequences of sensationalism of paranormal phenomena and added that "movies often depict paranormal phenomena as off-the-wall."

Gentile's interest in demonology started at a young age during which he lived in what he believed to be two haunted houses. After hearing "strange knocking noises" at his bedroom window and seeing unexplainable phenomena he deemed as "black shadows," he said he knew he wanted to talk with someone about his experiences.

"There wasn't anyone I could confide in," Gentile said.

His parents took him to a psychologist, and it wasn't until he said his brother had similar haunting experiences that he knew it was more than just an act of his own imagination, he said.

Gentile made sure to keep students laughing throughout his three-hour multimedia presentation.

"I have to remain funny because of the life I lead," he said.