Does the British Ministry of Defense believe in aliens? They're not saying — but yesterday they released the first eight of a promised 160 formerly top secret files on UFO sightings over the United Kingdom between 1978 and 2002.

Officially, the Ministry of Defense tracked sightings in order to check whether the UFOs were actually spy craft from other countries. The files include reports ranging from the crackpot to the very credible, such as a 1985 sighting by three police officers observing a white light descending to Earth just after midnight on Christmas Day. Included are files relating to a series of events at Lakenheath-Bentwaters Royal Air Force base.

The files are available on the National Archives website — download them and judge for yourself. More files will be released in the future.

Eilfie Music is the occult specialist for the Paranormal Research Society.

Emily: What is an occult specialist?

Eilfie: An occult specialist is someone who devotes their time to the study of the occult, basically seeking out that which is unknown or hidden as the word "occult" translates to. There are many branches in the occult from alchemy to tarot reading. The word occult in some ways has become a taboo word that springs to mind dark and sinister images. It is also because it's dealing with things we do not understand or afraid to look into the abyss; something might look back. I personally know I have only scratched the surface of my studies with the occult.

Emily: How often and in what ways does your expertise come in handy for PRS cases?

Eilfie: I have not yet come across a true occult case yet in PRS, I have come across cases that had the potential but I soon found that they were merely rumors. Coming across true cases dealing with the occult is a rarity.

Emily: What is the group dynamic like in the PRS?

Eilfie: I think the group dynamic is strong. Everyone works together because we all find our niche when it comes to investigations.

New York. The Big Apple. The city of five boroughs is an intense and fascinating place, brimming with people, art, marketing, culture and, of course, ghosts. New York City has its share of paranormal phenomena, and when something goes bump in the night, native New Yorkers don't call the Ghostbusters. But they can turn to the members of Paranormal Investigations NYC.

Founded by Dominick Villella in 2003, Paranormal Investigations serves all five boroughs of New York City, from swanky downtown Manhattan to modest neighborhoods in Queens. Dom's interest in the paranormal began in 1998, and his studies in this area naturally led him to the founding of a group devoted to investigation and research. One of Dom's other main goals with the founding of Paranormal Investigation NYC was to help people who might not have a background in the paranormal gain a better understanding of what was going on in their homes when they found themselves unexpectedly confronted with something otherworldly.

You certainly can't classify them as paranormal technology, but they sit at the very top of every paranormal investigator's equipment list. Batteries — lots and lots of batteries — are vital to an investigation. You might say to yourself — duh! How else are you going to work your digital camera, thermal and flashlight — right? It's not that simple. You need to bring at least two extra sets of batteries (or more) for each piece of equipment that requires them.

Here's the theory. In order for a spirit to manifest, it must draw in more energy from its surroundings. Paranormal investigators often claim that when things started to happen during an investigation, various pieces of equipment experienced a sudden draining. For example, a camera that was fully charged one minute shows a low-battery signal the next minute. Then it turns off. Yes, in some instances, it might just be the equipment. This is a common occurrence, however, which has led many paranormal investigators to assume that there is a connection between the battery issue and paranormal phenomenon.

Emily: You celebrated Darkness Radio's second birthday in January — for those who have yet to tune in, what is Darkness Radio and how did it all start?

Dave: Darkness Radio, we're a paranormal radio show that covers every aspect of the paranormal from ghosts to demons to UFOs, Bigfoot, Bermuda Triangle and beyond. We started two years ago at a small radio station in Minnesota. My co-host Tim knew a producer he worked for and said 'they're looking for some contents for a new station, do you have any show ideas?' — I said, "Well, why don't we do a paranormal show?" We put together a show and Jason Hawes was our first guest. Rosemary Ellen Guiley, John Zaffis [and] Annie Wilder all rounded out the first month for us. We were able to come at them with big names like that; they gave us a shot to do the show right away. So we put it out and we've been going strong ever since. We moved to two hours after about a month of being on the air for an hour a week. We moved to a two-hour time slot from 10 to midnight every Sunday night.