My name is Valerie Simpson, and I'm a photographer from Carlinville, Illinois, but have lived in West Frankfort, IL for the last eight years. I've been with my husband ten years and we have an eight year old son. I love photography, cooking, and exploring outdoors. I've had an unnatural obsession with cemeteries (the older the better!) since before I was a teen. I have always been interested in the paranormal, and many members of my family, including myself, are what I like to call 'sensitive' to spirits. I have never spoken to a ghost, but I did live with one! When I was a teen we used to 'country cruise' and I would always make my friends stop at the old cemeteries so I could take pictures. I was brought up Catholic by my Italian grandmother, and non-denominational Christian by my parents, but I am not what you would call an active Christian. I do not attend a church regularly, but my faith runs deep. This project is something I've wanted to do for a long time, just not alone. Thank God for friends as strange as I am!
My name is Tina Giorgetti, and my career in Information Technology has lasted me 33+ years and counting. I’m originally from Chicago, Illinois, but moved down state Illinois, where I have resided for the past 3 years. I have two children and 3 grand children. I love animals and volunteer for St. Francis Care no-kill shelter, in Murphysboro, Illinois. I obtained my obsession with the paranormal from my mother. All she had to say was: ‘I had a dream about you last night’, and I made sure I hung on her every word that day. I am what folks like to call an ‘empath’, meaning I feel and absorb what others are feeling. Just like Val, I have not seen spirits, but my children have! Mom taught me how to drive in the cemetery, and it always felt so peaceful to me. I always had so many questions as I passed the grave markers of those who had passed on… My religion of choice is that I am not religious, but what I like to call ‘spiritual’… Living in the ‘bible belt’ it’s hard to be open about this… As far as this project goes, “I can’t wait to get this party started!”
