Nevada X-Ray Technician Moonlights as Ghost Hunter

Brian Purdy's colleagues at a Nevada trauma center think his hobby is a little, well, spooky.

The Nevada X-ray technician and surgical assistant works up to 60 hours-a-week helping with medical procedures such as extracting kidney stones and tending to dialysis patients.

But in his downtime Purdy is a ghost hunter.

"They think I'm crazy," said Purdy when asked what his co-workers thought about his side gig. "Some of them believe (in ghosts), some of them don't."

Purdy is the founder of Elite Vegas Paranormal Society, a Nevada-based paranormal investigation team that searches for evidence of ghost activity in buildings and homes.

The investigation team includes his wife, Linda, who serves as one of the lead investigators, and their 19-year old son, David.  He also helps out with the investigations, but is also in charge of purchasing the ghost-hunting equipment.

"We go through every frame, every audio, every video captured," said Brian. "When I'm done reviewing it, David will review it, Linda will review it, and then we'll call in each other to sit down and discuss it."

The Purdys interest in the paranormal began after David, who was then just 5 years-old, claimed his baseball uniform smelled like his recently deceased great grandmother's perfume after a Little League game.

"For a week straight, (the uniform) had the smell of her," said the youngest member of the investigation team, "and then it just disappeared instantly."

The family began doing some research and this, coupled with their innate fascination with the current slate of ghost-hunting reality television shows, led to the creation of their own ghost tracking company in 2008.

The team has all of the necessary ghost-hunting equipment, including night-vision cameras, laser thermometers that read the temperature of the building, and the all-important Ovilus X, a small black device that’s used to talk to ghosts, said Brian.

So how much did all of this stuff cost?

"Right now, probably with the computers at all, about $10,000," said Brian.

And despite the expensive gear, the Purdys don't get paid, at least in real-live dollars, because their services are free.

So far, the Purdys have taken part in about 10 investigations throughout Nevada, New Mexico and California. But as with any family, they're bound to have their fair share of disagreements.

"It’s fun and frustrating," laughed Linda. "You know, it's just like any normal family would be. But once we get down to business, we know our jobs.”

In the meantime, Brian continues to work long hours at the trauma center, in part to help pay for his passion.  As far as getting one of his co-workers to join him on a ghost-hunting mission, well, that's another story.

"I offered every one of them to come out with me on a hunt and they've said 'I can't do that, I just can't do that," said Brain. "I don't think you grow up saying you want to be a ghost hunter, however, I can't imagine not doing it.”