PAUL VIDELA/pvidela@bradenton.com Flashlight beams pierce the stifling heat and darkness inside the Bradenton Revival Center as a group of ghost hunters examines the interior of this historical, abandoned building on Manatee Avenue near downtown Bradenton.

The ghost hunters are ultimately searching for signs of psychic and paranormal activity in and around the center, using an array of recording and metering devices, both handheld and positioned at fixed spots throughout the multilevel building. They move slowly, directly observing and recording each other’s physical, emotional and visual experiences from room to room. To be sure, there are no lab coats, clipboards or ivy-covered academic pedigrees in this bunch, which includes among a chef, a medium and a martial arts master. They call themselves the Universal Paranormal Society, and they’re the latest local collective of ghost hunters seeking and soliciting sites for their investigations. The group’s paranormal or psychic findings that occur during their investigations are kept confidential, so, sadly, I cannot actually reveal to you whether or not we saw a ghost or experienced paranormal activity on this particular dark and stormy night in Bradenton. What I can tell you, however, is that I was happy to leave and don’t plan on returning. Think you’ve got some unwelcome and otherworldly house guests roaming about your home in the wee hours of the night? Maybe you can get that confirmation you’ve always been seeking. Visit their Web site at www.universal-paranormal-society.com.