Bob Torgersen and John Salas, members of Spirit Seekers.

Fall is here, the leaves are changing, football each weekend, and of course Halloween.

For John Salas and Bob Torgersen fall represents something else, a great time for ghost hunting.

They call themselves Spirit Seekers, paranormal investigators. Since May the duo have been visiting and investigating places that reportedly are haunted. They realize that many people may look at their work with skepticism, so they are relying on science to prove the existence of ghosts. "We use scientific equipment and methods to try and prove the existence of ghosts," says John Salas, founder and veteran ghost hunter.

Co-founder and lead investigator Bob "Graveyard" Torgersen adds, "Ghost hunting is in a way like fishing, sometimes you catch a lot of evidence, sometimes little or nothing, although we have been very successful with the investigations here in Southwest virginia, each locale yielded some interesting evidence of paranormal activity."

Some of the things the two have encountered include, hearing footsteps, seeing strange mists, capturing photos of orbs and a photo of an apparent ghostly figure. They post their evidence on the internet for other paranormal groups to view and has attracted the attention from as far away as England and Ireland. "It excites us to know that we are being noticed by other paranormal groups and consider our evidence as credible and authentic, we have been invited to both England and Ireland to participate in some upcoming investigations, we will be going but in all likelihood in the spring, we will be be here in Virginia for the month of October, then in November we will be heading down to Savannah, Georgia, for a long weekend," say the duo.

They recently have a web site under construction, www.spiritseekersofsouthwestVirginia.com. This year Halloween falls on a Saturday, which is ideal; late night investigations makes it difficult for next day work. Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain. The ancient Celts believed that on Oct. 31st the veil or boundary between the living and the dead dissolves and that the spirit world and material world coincide.

For Spirit Seekers that's a perfect time for a ghost hunt. "We have several options for Halloween night this year, but it really does not matter, wherever we go we'll have fun, this is a great hobby, and getting better all the time, we are in a place with so many opportunities, we both believe in ghosts and hauntings, some people do not, but there is something that we all want, that is nothing less than the truth, that is what Spirit Seekers is all about, proving the truth about ghosts," say the two. Have a safe and Happy Halloween everyone.

Submitted by John Salas

For more information about Spirit Seekers, visit The Notebook on swo-co.com.

Miranda Adkins | SWoCo

From left, Harvey and Nell Wilbourne, Louise and George Zirkle.

Courtesy of Susan Gardiner

The twins at their party.

90-year-old twins mark birthday and anniversaries

Sixty-five years ago this September, in 1944, two twin sisters, Nell Wilbourne and Louise Zirkle, were married in the span of two weeks.

Harvey Wilbourne was flying "the hump" in a P-51 in India, and he'd "knocked down enough airplanes," according to his sister-in-law, for two weeks of unexpected leave in September of 1944. He used that time to come home and wed his fiancee, Nell Hall, in a quickly planned wedding, that she just happened to borrow a perfectly fitting dress for.

Back in those days, they said, you didn't call or text or email that you were coming home, you just showed up. And so he did, at Longwood College where the twins were attending.

Nell's twin sister, Louise, and her betrothed, George Zirkle, had a long-planned wedding in the works, set for Sept. 24. Their mother had completed Louise's dress, and Harvey and Nell were wed on Sept. 9.

"When our pictures appeared in the paper, somebody said 'oh, your dresses look identical,'" Louise said.

The foursome celebrated their 65th anniversaries Friday through Sunday, Sept. 4 through 6. Harvey and Nell, who once had their home right on the seventh hole at the Hidden Valley Country Club, now live in Brandon Oaks. That's where the celebration started.

Nell and Louise and George also celebrated their 90th birthdays. At 89, Harvey is "the baby of the bunch," Louise said jokingly.

Throughout the years, the two couples have celebrated their anniversaries, birthdays, and holidays together, and they've also gone on many a vacation together.

"We always felt like we had two sets of parents," said Susan Gardiner, Harvey and Nell's daughter.

The Wilbournes have two children, six grandchildren, and two daughters.

The Zirkles have four grandchildren and three children.

The whole family, plus cousins and family friends, came into town for the celebration.

On Saturday, since the octogenarian and three nonagenarians have been involved and interested in politics, the younger members of the group dressed up in political costume and held a parade in honor of their elders. That Sunday, the group all had brunch at Hidden Valley Country Club.

-- Miranda Adkins