Jeremy Ibarra experienced first-hand some paranormal activity at the Sigma Nu fraternity house on the KU campus during the summer.

Ibarra, a Shawnee sophomore and member of the fraternity, was working in the house alone when it happened.

He was nearing the end of a seven-hour room-painting project when he said he thought he saw someone out of the corner of his eye. Ibarra was expecting someone at the house any minute to relieve him of his duties, but who he saw was not a fraternity member.

“It was a dark-haired girl wearing old-style clothing,” Ibarra said. “After that I was like, ‘I’m cleaning up, I’m done.'”

The paranormal activity Ibarra experienced was supported by the findings that Rob Garcia, founding member of Elite Paranormal of Kansas City, presented to members of Sigma Nu fraternity Sunday afternoon.

About a dozen members gathered in the dimly lit basement of the fraternity house, 1501 Sigma Nu Place, to listen to recordings and testimony from the paranormal investigators, who searched the house July 25.

The house has long been rumored to be haunted by Virginia, the mistress and a servant of Gov. Walter Stubbs, who lived in the house. Stubbs was governor from 1909 to 1913. According to the story, when Mrs. Stubbs found out about the affair, she became jealous, and the mistress hanged herself at the house in 1911.

Garcia played back recordings he took from the night of the investigation. Everyone in the room listened intently to what Garcia called EVPs, or electronic voice phenomena. The recordings, taken from various rooms throughout the house, contained voices Garcia believed said things from “they call me Nathan,” to “rest in hell.” Some of the recordings played back clearly, while others were more difficult, or impossible, to make out.

Throughout the presentation, members of the fraternity shared their own experiences with Garcia and Wendy Garrett, a psychic who was present during July’s investigation.

“There are plenty of spirit energies here to work with,” Garrett said. “This is a great space for experiencing whatever is out there other than what you see in the nine-to-five world.”

As a result of one night’s work, Garcia recorded 19 EVPs, which he said was far greater than the average number.

“I don’t think I’ve ever gotten that many from one little session,” Garcia said.

After more than an hour of presenting findings and discussing experiences, the group in Sigma Nu’s basement disbanded and headed off to resume their normal daily activities. The fraternity members continued to tell one another about their experiences as they walked away.

“When you have an experience, you know,” Garrett said. “There’s no logical explanation for what happened and in trying to explain it, it becomes a stretch. That’s when you know.”