MIAMI -- Foolish mortals, spooky season is here.
Arguably no one is more excited than Marlins reliever Lake Bachar.
Around five to eight years ago, Bachar began watching countless hours of paranormal videos on YouTube. Though Bachar never dressed up as a Ghostbuster for Halloween, he always found “The Conjuring” and “Poltergeist” movies really scary.
Certain accounts Bachar followed also took time to educate people on the ghost hunting equipment that could be used to check for activity in their own surroundings.
“The more I've watched more of the true paranormal investigations and stuff, it's not as jump-out [scary] as you think and everything,” Bachar said. “It's just that little crack in the house that you're kind of deciding [if something is there].
“There's something that kind of intrigued me. It's something I feel like that we're starting to have, like, unexplained things. It's not a foolproof thing right now. So it's kind of one of those, keep an open mind about [it], but … I guess I appreciate that realm of just new learning and stuff.”
So Bachar decided to buy three items -- a Spirit Box that goes through radio stations to pick up frequencies, an EMF meter with an advanced sensor designed to detect fluctuations in electromagnetic fields and an REM pod to pick up on energy changes that approach its antenna. He found them all on Amazon in July.
Bachar’s equipment arrived a few days later, and he intended to try them out on the Marlins’ trip to Milwaukee from July 25-27, with the club staying at the reportedly haunted Pfister Hotel. But Bachar was unable to do so when he traveled home for the birth of his second child.
“I haven't used them often,” Bachar said. “I haven't really had the opportunity to go somewhere that really needed it. I'm not just going to randomly, I guess, just use it in my room, because that would be a little freaky. It's more out of where I live, that's where I need to use them. So I haven't had too many, but we have some friends at home who enjoy it, and one of my friends actually lives in a haunted house. So we may go investigate a little bit at her house.”
This offseason, when Bachar isn’t training for a follow-up to his successful 2025 campaign that included tying for the most strikeouts among Major League rookie relievers (73), he hopes to properly test out the equipment. His brother-in-law loves paranormal content, plus, there’s the friend back home who lives in a haunted house. Bachar is also supposed to visit New Orleans for a wedding. He plans to pack the gear, which doesn’t take up too much space, into his suitcase. While his wife goes out for a girls’ night, he wants to put the ghost-hunting equipment to use.
While in Louisiana, Bachar would like to visit Ed and Lorraine Warren’s home and the Occult Museum -- where the infamous Annabelle doll can be found -- in the heart of the French Quarter. Comedian Matt Rife and ghost hunter Elton Castee recently purchased the property and plan to offer overnight stays and tours.
“Intrigued,” Bachar said. “I think that there are some bad things out there that you don't want to poke the bear. … That's the place where I would tread lightly in New Orleans.”
Naturally, a belief in the supernatural comes with its skeptics. None of Bachar’s teammates have had an in-depth conversation with him about his interest.
“I just think there's a lot unknown still, and they're just doing their best on trying to get information out there and just collect data and stuff,” Bachar said. “It's just fun. It's just a different part I guess no one really thinks about, that there could be some sort of spiritual realm and all that stuff.”
So what happens if the equipment actually reads paranormal activity? How will Bachar react if he has a close encounter with a ghost or spirit?
“I'd probably run,” Bachar said. “If I saw anything visually to the eye, I would probably run. Yeah, I don't know. My first instinct would not be good.”