Who you gonna call? Janice Gunter!
An eccentric expert in supernatural phenomena is searching the streets of Bay Ridge for proof of the paranormal. In the upcoming comedy series “Janice Gunter: Ghost Hunter” the main character (played by actress and comedian Elizabeth McDonough), hits the streets the moment she clocks out of her day job, with her mother trailing close behind with a camera. Two episodes of the series will get a preview screening at Videology in Williamsburg on July 28.
We chatted with the Bay Ridge character about her ability to see dead people, which has been present since she was a kid.
“Ever since I was a little child I always used to see stuff that other people didn’t see and I just had a sort of ‘Sixth Sense.’ I can definitely relate to the movie,” said Gunter.
But it was another glimpse of the silver screen that shaped Gunter’s ambition for the future — the first two “Ghostbusters” movie, she said.
“Of course that was a huge influence on me as a child. When I actually saw the films, at first I thought they were documentaries but then my aunt explained to me this is actually actors,” said Gunter.
The new series, which is shot by her “Ma,” is an attempt to capture her talents on film, so those without her powers can see the otherworldly for themselves, she said.
“My passion is ghost hunting. Ma has helped me to pursue that and with ghosts you never know what’s going to happen and sometimes I never understand,” said Gunter. “This is one of humanity’s many mysteries but for some reason when you try to explain to people what you’ve seen they just don’t get it. We need some kind of evidence here.”
Gunter — who wears a helmet lined with tin foil while out hunting — mostly navigates Bay Ridge for ghosts, but nearly every Brooklyn neighborhood has its own story to tell, she said.
“Boerum Hill — a lot of weird stuff going on there,” said Gunter. “Prospect Park — a lot of suspicious activity that’s happened there and bodies. One of the swans in the park is possessed by evil spirits — it’s a rumor. I have not been able to pinpoint which one, but I’ve been doing a lot of observation.”
Brooklyn is the best place to be for a ghost hunter, said Gunter, because it is filled with hints of the afterlife.
“I feel so fortunate to live in New York because there are so many people who have died here, almost like a cornucopia of dead people and ghosts,” she said. “I’m already here, I’m already at my Mecca as a ghost hunter, everywhere there’s history and everywhere there’s ghosts.”
“Janice Gunter: Ghost Hunter” at Videology [308 Bedford Ave. at S. First Street in Williamsburg, (718) 782–3468, www.video
