ROSLYN -- It's a chill on the back of your neck. Or maybe it's a set of misplaced keys. Perhaps it's an appliance that seems to have a mind of its own or a sound in an empty attic.

It could all be in your head. Or maybe it's an electrical short.

But one West Side group says sometimes those bumps, chills and power surges aren't an accident.

"A lot of things happen that we aren't aware of. Things like cold chills. Or those keys you knew you placed on the coffee table that aren't there. You just dismiss it," said Washington State Paranormal Investigations and Research president Darren Thompson.

In an effort to find places ripe with paranormal activity, Thompson's group hopes to spend a few evenings at the Roslyn Cemetery, where about 5,000 people are estimated to be buried. The group recently asked the Roslyn City Council for after-hours access.

"I love it," said Mayor Jeri Porter. "Maybe they'll get up there and talk to my grandparents," she said.

Before the next council meeting on Sept. 13, city officials will go to the cemetery and talk with those who run it. Porter said it's likely the council will approve the group's request. Thompson said Roslyn's cemetery is a perfect place to look for activity.

"The older the history, the better the chance for paranormal research. Most people don't realize the cemetery is there and the history of that town. Anyone who's seen it would understand."

The group's already been to Roslyn a few times, finding what they claim to be evidence of paranormal activity near a mine shaft. Members even posted an audio sample of what they found in Roslyn at www.wspir.com/evps_and_videos.htm.

Nine people went to Roslyn in April. They split into groups, with some going to the cemetery during the day and one going to a mine shaft. Thompson said one member of the group who is particularly sensitive to paranormal activity had to leave the mine shaft because it was simply "overwhelming."

The group who went to the cemetery got a few EVP sound bites, also known as electronic voice phenomenons, according to Thompson.

"We picked up several EVPs. One was in French, near the African American section," he said.

For those who are skeptical about Roslyn's paranormal activity, just talk to museum volunteer Kathryn Brassington.

"Roslyn's filled with paranormals," she said.

Brassington said even her own house is visited by the occasional spirit. Built in 1895, her home on the corner of Arizona Avenue and B Street gives her the willies from time to time.

"When I get up in the middle of the night, I never look down into my living room," she admitted. "I don't want to see anyone sitting on my sofa."

Thompson acknowledged that many don't believe in ghosts, but he said those who are skeptical are more than welcome to watch the group in action. Their minds may be changed after a night with them, he said.

But he also admitted there are some who attribute every bump and creak to ghosts.

"Just because it's weird doesn't mean it's paranormal," he said. "I try to demystify it."

Should the group get access to Roslyn's cemetery, they likely will bring equipment for recording sound and visuals along with technology that picks up electromagnetic frequencies, or EMFs as those in the paranormal circles call it.

"We may see something in the picture ... an orb-like glowing ball or a smoky aberration," Thomspon said.

EMFs are what paranormal research claim to be electrical bursts of energy. Many believe a human's energy continues once they die, and EMFs are proof of that energy, Thompson said.

"We're all electrical energy. When we die, that energy can never be destroyed. Energy must go somewhere. I believe that the spirit exists after we pass on," he said.

The group will set up in early evening and stay for a few hours, but not overnight. They will agree on a spot they believe to be most active with energy and go back several times.

Thompson stressed no harm will be done to the cemetery and said the group is extremely careful while at grave sites.

"I believe greatly in the respect of those interred there," he said.

The group has studied other cemeteries, including ones in Buckley and Enumclaw.

The town of Buckley granted the group permission to study in May. No one from the city went along to watch, Thompson said. The group is also waiting for permission to study the cemetery in Black Diamond.

Thompson, a Sammamish resident, has been involved in paranormal research groups for five years, but has studied it his whole life.

"It started from the first ghost book I picked up as a kid. Maybe I liked being scared, or maybe it was the written word."

The group, at www.wspir.com, investigates homes for owners who believe they are haunted. All their services are free.