Is Bay icon haunted? Hawkes Bay Today  – By Kim De Leijer

It’s a Hawke’s Bay icon that’s rumoured to be haunted and it’s got Clinton Lawson and his team excited. The Hawke’s Bay Opera House will be under investigation tonight by members of Phoen-X Paranormal Research and Investigation (Phoen-X P R I).
While not ghostbusters, the eight-strong team will take photos, record footage and get electro magnetic field (EMF) readings, looking for any signs of paranormal activity.
Mr Lawson, founder of Phoen-X P R I, said the team was looking forward to investigating the 94-year-old theatre, rumoured to be haunted by three ghosts.
“I’m quite confident that something will come up,’ he said. While he has read a bit about the reported unexplained phenomena, he is not coming to any early conclusions.
“It’s best to go in with a completely clear mind. You can’t expect the same thing to happen twice,’ Mr Lawson said.
The team of “seasoned investigators’ is using a range of audio, visual and magnetic equipment worth more than $4000 to measure activity levels and collect footage for analysing.
“We’re giving this one the full job,’ he said.
Opera house community events and venue manager Andrea Taaffe, used to consider herself a cynic, but said over the years several inexplicable things had occurred there.
“There’s definitely some history there,’ she said.
“A place this old with this sort of environment absolutely lends itself to the odd bump in the night.’
Miss Taaffe said the staff were “curious’ to see if the investigation produced any findings.
Earlier this year Mr Lawson lead an investigation into the old Napier prison which produced high EMF readings – an indication of paranormal activity.
Investigators also reported hearing a girl’s giggling voice in a corridor.
Mr Lawson said the group were not “ghostbusters’ or “exorcists’. Instead they tried to disprove people’s fears about paranormal activity and only turned to illogical’ reasons when there was no logical explanation.