It's 8 p.m. on Friday night, and 15 people are standing, half-shivering, in a circle in the Pancake Shop parking lot on Summer Ave. One is holding a temperature gauge, several have flashlights, and one is holding a lit white candle. Everyone is listening to Mike, a local paranormal investigator, lay out the details of the night's trip to the Bartlett Ellendale Cemetery.

There are a lot of rules for the night. So many, in fact, that I got an email a few days before the trip detailing a few of them: no reflective clothing, no cologne, no light colored clothing, wear good walking shoes, and come with a clear head, as bad moods attract bad spirits.

But there are more rules. A lot more. First of all, when we get to the cemetery, we are not to call anyone a "ghost". They were people, after all, and they should be thought of as "who", not "what". We aren't to ask anyone to show themselves. Above all, we have to be respectful. The cemetery is the home to some people, who, for whatever reason, hadn't been able to pass on to an afterlife of peace and rest. "What you have to understand," Mike says, "Is that many of these people haven't had visitors in a very long time. We are their visitors. The cemetery isn't a scary place, it's someone's home. Treat our trip like a visit to someone's house. Be polite and say hello."

He reaches into the trunk of his car and passes out some equipment that will hopefully help us record the presence of any spirits. There's a temperature gauge (spirits often affect the temperature of the air around them), audio amplifiers (including one that looks like a wok attached to a microphone), flashlights and cameras.

At the 160 year-old cemetery, we are divided into groups of three. Everyone is given flowers or small toys, trinkets to be placed on the graves of children as gifts. We head off in different directions, looking for signs of spirit life.

I'm paired with a guy named Jeremy and the daughter of one of the paranormal investigators. We wander around, reading the names on graves aloud, leaving toys on headstones and waiting to feel or see or hear something. My hand is cold, but it's because I'm holding one of our group's flashlights.  It's weirdly peaceful (and not at all scary) to be in the cemetery at night.

After an hour, no one in my group has felt or seen anything abnormal. A few people have, though. Plenty of people have photos with bright, solid orbs in them. One girl picked up a distinct, childish giggle after placing a toy on a kid's headstone. I spend the drive home wondering if what others saw were just flukes, or if there are spirits and I'm just too analytical and practical to be open to them.

Mike and the Memphis Paranormal Investigators lead free ghost hunting classes regularly. They also specialize in ghost removal, meaning that they'll come to your house or office and remove any unwanted spirits. To take one of their classes, email the investigators. For examples and evidence from their past investigations, check out their website.