This Ipoh paranormal investigator ain’t afraid of no ghost

Cemeteries after dark, abandoned buildings and unexplained voices in the night – these might send most people running in the opposite direction.

For paranormal investigator Arwin John, they are opportunities to ask questions, gather evidence, and perhaps get a little closer to understanding what happens after death.

“I’m more afraid of the living, that’s for sure,” the 37-year-old told FMT Lifestyle with a laugh.

The Ipoh native founded Malaysian Paranormal Research in 2007, driven by childhood experiences that left him wondering whether death really marked the end of a person’s existence.

“Life is quite short, and I wanted to bridge the gap of knowing what exactly happens at that moment and what happens beyond life,” he explained.

At age eight or nine, Arwin recalls waking to see a glowing, spear-shaped ball of light pass through his closed bedroom door before disappearing. He also remembers hearing faint voices and glimpsing a shadowy figure dart across a room.

In secondary school, Arwin began studying paranormal investigation through the International Ghost Hunters Society (IGHS), a US-based online organisation offering training and accreditation. His late mother supported his interest, even if other members of the family had their reservations.

Arwin is one of only two Malaysians with IGHS accreditation. The other is veteran investigator Augustine Towonsing, a retired teacher from Kedah who became his mentor.

“I would call him almost every day, bugging him,” Arwin recalled with a laugh.

A full-time graphic designer, Arwin conducts paranormal research in his spare time. He has appeared in documentaries and also wrote the now out-of-print “Ghost Research Manual”.

As a solo investigator, he does not simply turn up somewhere spooky after dark. He first scouts locations during the day for potential hazards before returning at night armed with cameras and audio recorders.

“I will talk to the entities and tell them that I will be coming back at night, and I ask them to appear on the camera or make a sound,” he said.

Arwin tends to favour places he believes carry intense emotional histories, such as cemeteries, hospitals and old buildings. In his view, those emotions may contribute to reports of unusual activity.

“We believe that supercharges whatever activities that’s happening there and tends to be a beacon for paranormal activities.”

One of his most memorable recordings came from a Chinese cemetery in Ipoh about a week before Merdeka Day.

Arwin said he told the entities he would return the following week to continue his research – only for a recorded voice to apparently respond: “It’s Merdeka next week!”

On another visit, he nearly stepped into a hole before suddenly feeling himself being pulled backwards. Such physical encounters, he noted, have been exceedingly rare throughout his years of investigation.

And despite spending countless nights searching for things that go bump in the dark, Arwin is quick to reject the idea that every unexplained incident must be sinister.

“Throughout all my years of investigating, there’s not been a single harm, not a single possession,” he said, dismissing the dramatic scenarios often portrayed on television.

Sometimes, the “supernatural” culprit turns out to be decidedly ordinary. In one case, villagers suspected a pontianak was behind mysterious noises in their area.

“When we went to investigate, the culprit turned out to be a cat that had recently given birth!”

That scepticism remains central to the way he works. Even when something appears inexplicable at first, he keeps returning to the evidence in search of more conventional explanations.

“Even to this day, there is certain evidence that I captured that I go back and look at,” he said. “I try to see if there is a possibility that this could be something else.”

His advice to sceptics is equally straightforward. “If you want to know the answers, just go out and do it yourself. Don’t rely on me. Don’t rely on TV shows.”

For all his years spent contemplating death, however, Arwin admits that understanding it intellectually did not make personal loss any easier.

His mother died about three years ago, prompting him to step away from paranormal research for a time while he grieved.

“Even though I told myself that I understood the afterlife more than most people and that accepting it was something I could do easily, it wasn’t easy,” he admitted. “I had my own tough time.”

Perhaps that is why, for Arwin, Halloween is about more than ghosts, demons and things designed to make people jump. He hopes that behind the costumes and spooky fun, people might also spare a thought for those who are no longer here.

“Honouring the dead, remembering those that have passed on, and rejoicing that death is not the end… that is the most important thing,” he said.

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.