Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, stars of the Sci-Fi channel's series Ghost Hunters, spoke to an enthusiastic audience Saturday night about their work in the paranormal field.

More than 100 people, some who came decked out in Halloween apparel, filed into 100 Thomas to hear the two men speak about their encounters with the paranormal.

The event was hosted by The Penn State Paranormal Research Society (PRS) and was part of their third annual paranormal conference.

The weekend-long conference included workshops that were hosted by Hawes and Wilson and dealt with various paranormal topics.

It also featured lectures by parapsychologists Nelson Abreu, David Lindsay and Dean Radin Friday night, and a séance hosted by Carla Baron, star of Court TV's Psychic Detectives, last night.

PRS members were excited to have well-known individuals speak at the conference.

"[Hawes and Wilson's] show is a big hit," PRS associate director Matthew Ritsko said. "We really expect their presentations to top all of our lectures that we've held here."

Hawes and Wilson shared some of their scariest experiences with their audience.

"The scariest thing is when furniture and objects move by themselves. You never know where they're going," Hawes said.

Wilson added that he does not usually get scared, but he is often shocked by what they find.

Hawes and Wilson said they were both glad to report they have never had a spirit follow them home.

The speakers also commented on the way Hollywood usually portrays ghosts and the paranormal.

"Ghostbusters is a great movie, but man, did it put us back a little bit," Wilson said.

Currently, however, representation of the supernatural is improving because today's depictions are more sensitive, Wilson said.

Hawes and Wilson, also members of The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS), discussed different elements of paranormal research, including stories of specific cases as well as some of the technology they use on ghost hunts.

Hawes said he and Wilson became involved with paranormal research after they each had personal experiences with the supernatural.

Before that, they originally worked as plumbers.

"Never in our wildest dreams did we expect TAPS to be this big," Wilson said.

"It's interesting that so many people believe in the paranormal but won't admit it," he added.

Hawes added that TAPS maintains a steady business on a daily basis.

"Last year alone, we covered 1,200 cases, and we get hundreds of thousands of hits on our Web site each day," he said.

Students who attended the lectures and workshops said they were pleased with what they learned.

Sergey Poberezhny (junior-finance), a new member in PRS, said he enjoyed the workshop class titled "Equipment and Uses," which taught its attendees about how to use digital photography to capture supernatural elements.

"I think the digital photography was the most interesting," Poberezhny said.

"I learned a lot and find the entire field exciting," he added.

Another PRS member, Chris Magliato (senior-mechanical engineering), also said that he enjoyed hearing Hawes and Wilson speak.

"They're good at what they do. I respect them as colleagues and enjoy their work," he said.

Wilson said the most rewarding aspect of their job is helping people.

"We're normal guys," he said. "We see abnormal things, and we're just trying to find out why."