Ready to hear some real ghost tales for Halloween?  Chad Lewis, a paranormal investigator, will be the featured speaker on Mon., Oct. 30, at the Cedar Grove Public Library at 5:15 p.m. and at Lakeview Community Library in Random Lake at 7 p.m.  (The Cedar Grove appearance includes an optional Bada Bing pizza supper offered at 5 p.m.  The cost is $2 per slice and registration is required by Oct. 28).

Lewis, co-author with Terry Fisk of “The Wisconsin Road Guide to Haunted Locations,” will take participants on a ghostly journey to some of the most haunted places in the area.  They have written similar books about Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota and South Dakota.  Topics that Lewis will discuss include being chased by hellhounds, seeing statues come to life, and picking up a vanishing hitchhiker.

Lewis holds a master’s degree in applied psychology from UW-Stout.  He is a paranormal investigator for Unexplained Research, L.L.C., and a research specialist for the Mutual UFO Network.  He hosts both “The Unexplained” public access television series and “The Unexplained” radio talk show.

Lewis has trekked across the world in search of the paranormal.  From tracking vampires in Transylvania and chasing the Chupacabras in Puerto Rico, to searching for the elusive monster at Loch Ness and chasing ghosts in Ireland’s castles, Lewis brings more than 12 years of research experience to his presentations.  The strongest piece of evidence that leads Lewis to believe in the paranormal is eyewitness testimony.  He has encountered dozens of people who have seen the same thing.  “They can’t all be suffering from mental illness,” he says.

Lewis, an Eau Claire resident, has spent the past three years as a professional grant writer.  He enjoys the adventure of being a paranormal investigator.  He likes the possibility of discovering “a little weirdness in your own backyard that you didn’t know existed.”

Lewis also is interested in whether there is life after death and if there is life in other parts of the universe.  “I’m hoping one of these days to get some evidence one way or another,” he says.  There is no charge for Lewis' program (with the exception of the pizza supper at Cedar Grove).  Both libraries are accessible to the disabled.  For more information call the Cedar Grove Public Library 920/668-6834 or Lakeview Community Library 920/994-4825.