ANSONIA, Conn. (WTNH) — One of Connecticut’s most haunted cities is embracing its scary side. Ansonia is set to host the state’s first paranormal convention this summer.

One of Ansonia’s creepiest locations is the Ansonia Opera House, two stories up in an old building on Main Street. The Opera House has been locked up, unused for the last 50 years. Until that is, a group of paranormal investigators started looking around and discovered that they were not alone.

“I was against the wall by the door that went under the stage and I ended up fainting because the presence was just so evil,” said Tommy Dreivers of East Coast Paranormal Photography.

“I can hear things most people can’t normally pick up on,” said Jeffrey Gerry, who says he has “clairaudience”. He’s the founder of CT PASTS, the Connecticut Paranormal and Supernatural Tracking Society. “This place is pretty damn active. I hear a lot of whispers, chatter.”

They caught some of what they found on video. Things like “phantom lights” floating through the air, and a “chilling hooved entity” up in the balcony.

“It’s not out of the realm of possibility; it’s some sort of creature, but it could also be somebody reliving a day in costume in the theater,” said Gerry, who took the photo and says it’s common to find paranormal activity in theaters. “Theater, in general, in of itself, displays a ton of emotion, for the crew and for the audience themselves. And that kind of sticks around.”

It’s not just the opera house. There are plenty of other haunted places in the Naugatuck Valley and in Ansonia specifically. That is why they are holding the first-ever Paraconn in Ansonia this summer.

“There’s so many people who love the occult and the supernatural and paranormal, and there wasn’t a convention ever in the state,” said Charles Rosenay.

Rosenay has run the Fright Haven haunted house for years. Now, he is one of the main forces behind Paraconn, the paranormal convention. It’s happening at the Ansonia Armory on July 24 and 25. It will be one of the state’s first post-pandemic conventions. The Armory, of course, is also haunted.

“Quite frankly, I mean, this is probably the hot spot for paranormal activity in Connecticut,” said Nick Grossman, a clairvoyant who runs Ghost Storm Investigations. He says others can tap into the supernatural as well.

“People are interested in what it’s like on the other side,” Grossman said. “Quite frankly, that’s what I’m trying to do. My job here is to prove that because, as a clairvoyant, I’ve been seeing this all my life.”

Come to Ansonia this July, and maybe you will see it, too. For more information click here.