The feverish mood of the crowd teeming inside the Thomas Building Thursday evening seemed to indicate an abnormal event was about to take place -- a paranormal one.

An anxious couple from Connecticut spoke excitedly of the chance to see their favorite ghost hunters on Saturday. The familiar tune of Michael Jackson's horror-pop classic "Thriller" greeted the audience over the PA system. And the debut trailer of Paranormal U, an upcoming A&E television show about Penn State students and their paranormal investigations was met with applause.

About 1,200 thrill seekers, paranormal enthusiasts and ghost hunters from all corners of the U.S. descended on State College this weekend for the National Paranormal Conference, the largest event of its kind in the country. The fifth annual conference, organized by the Penn State Paranormal Research Society, spanned four days and is the country's only university-backed paranormal conference.

The events began with a speech by Chris Fleming, host of the Biography Channel's show Dead Famous, which focuses on interacting with the spirits of deceased celebrities.

Fleming spoke of his own experiences with the paranormal throughout his childhood and shared photographs and Electric Voice Phenomena recordings from investigations both on and off the show.

On Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, the day's events were concluded by a ghost hunt in Schwab Auditorium and the Old Botany Building.

The ghost hunts were led by various experts attending the conference.

On Friday night, Fleming led an expedition through Schwab, where he said he sensed a spirit on the balcony. He walked through the aisles with his K-2 meter, a device used for registering spiritual activity, imploring any spirits to "make your presence known."

Earlier Friday evening, many gathered to have their questions answered by a panel of eight experts at the first-ever debate hosted by WKPS 90.7 Darkness Radio.

"I really liked [the debate] because it was based on a lot of scientific evidence, not just hearsay," Ali Jackson (senior-special education) said.

The debate addressed the importance of skepticism in paranormal research and the validity of psychic practices in the field.

"I don't put a lot of faith in psychics, I just don't," A.J. Blosser, 26, founder of Morgantown's West Virginia Paranormal Research Society, said.

Regardless of the uncertainty surrounding their place in paranormal research, renowned Court TV psychic John Oliver and psychic medium C.J. Sellers gave well-received presentations at the conference.

On Saturday, while hordes of students and parents gathered to watch the football game in the HUB-Robeson Center, an even larger audience was gathering upstairs. On the third floor of the HUB, Sellers attempted to contact the spirits of relatives who have "crossed over."

The exhibits took place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and featured seminars by presenters ranging from Wiccan-Occult specialists to psychic vampires.

On Saturday evening the headliners of the weekend, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson of Sci Fi Channel's Ghost Hunters series, returned for their third consecutive year to speak.

Hawes and Wilson showed clips from Ghost Hunters and provided insightful background commentary for the diehard fans in the crowd.

"It's awesome," Wilson said. "The first time there were only 35 people in the audience, and each time it's gotten bigger and bigger."

Alex Subert, 26, and Grant Blume, 27, flew in from Eugene, Ore.

"If you're familiar with the field, the preeminent people in it are all here," Subert said. "There's nothing else like it."