Ever heard footsteps, turned around and no one was there? Or, sat dozing off on the couch, when suddenly the television started changing channels and the remote was on the coffee table and the cat comfortably curled at your feet?

The newly formed, Covington-based Central Georgia Paranormal Society sets out to find the logical explanations to these occurrences, but sometimes evidence points to the metaphysical.

"We go in with an attitude of trying to disprove what ever is going on, trying to explain it logically," said CGPS member Phil Langford. "Sometimes you can, and sometimes you can't."

Many would say the existence of ghosts can't be proven, but CGPS members say spirits' existence can't be disproved either.

CGPS Founder Kathy Porter has always had an interest in the supernatural.

"When I was a teenager growing up in New York, our house had lots of activity," Porter said.

She said all the unexplained phenomena that occurred in the house lead her to believe a poltergeist might be present - not a malicious one like in horror films, just a noisy one, maybe even a lonely one.

 Porter began to research poltergeist case studies and found they usually center on a teenager, possibly feeding on hormonal angst, and then disappear as the teen grows into an adult.

Her parents' house is now quiet - doors haven't opened on their own in years.

Porter eventually found about eight people who also had an interest in things that go bump in the night.

They decided to model their investigations from the popular Sci-Fi Channel show "Ghost Hunters," which features the work of The Atlantic Paranormal Society, or TAPS.

The pastor of a local church called Porter for CGPS's first investigation after he continued to hear footsteps in the sanctuary long after he had stopped walking.

Armed with video recorders, voice recorders, cameras and electromagnetic susceptibility gauges, the team went into the dark church to try to find the answer to the mysterious footsteps and possibly capture an image of an apparition.

Porter said EMS gauges are used to detect the possible presence of ghosts, but at the church the only spikes were recorded around electrical outlets or power boxes.

"There were personal experiences of people feeling touched or cold in spots," Porter said.

The group also took a photograph they want to send to TAPS for more expert analysis.

"You get dust particles a lot in the lens, but something in this picture is more luminous," Porter said.

CGPS members plan to do more investigations after the holidays and are working on creating a Web site for the group.

"We want to be able to help whoever wants us to help them," Porter said.

She added members of CGPS are normal people who wanted to learn more about the transcendental.

Langford described the group a bit differently.

"We're just a bunch of freaks," Langford joked

To schedule a CGPS investigation or join, e-mail Kathy Porter at kpo1925@bellsouth.net.