Local pair scouts spooky spots and cemeteries on LI

Nothing about Diane Hill and Joseph Flammer stands out as extraordinary. They’re both middle-aged with grown children and a few grandkids, they have full-time jobs and they’re native Long Islanders — she’s from West Hempstead and he’s originally from Oceanside.

But there is something slightly unusual about these two: for a pair of paranormal investigators who lurk in cemeteries at night, they’re extraordinarily down to earth.

Neither Hill nor Flammer claims to have special powers or speak to the dead. Both remain adamant that they’re only interest is to share their experiences with others who might be interested. That is why they’ve published two books (with a third on the way) on their adventures as investigators of the paranormal.

“We’re telling what we find out there, sharing it with Long Islanders,” Flammer recently told the Herald. “And our goal is not to be creepy: our goal is to share real, legitimate information.”

In their most recent book, “Long Island’s Most Haunted Cemeteries,” published on Sept. 28 — just in time for Halloween — the authors tell readers not only where to go, but also how and when to get there. 

“What we’ve done with these books is really to reach people with stories about places where they can go,” Flammer said. “They are not places like the Woolworth Mansion where you have no access behind brick walls. Here you can go — you have directions on how to get there, what you can expect, the best time to go there.”

Hill further explained why the two paired up to embark on this project, which began about a decade ago as a mission to write a book on Long Island’s history. “We decided the best thing to do would be to write a book of places that we’ve been,” Hill said. “These are the most active places that we’ve found and this is what people are looking for; We wanted them to be able to access the places that we’ve gone to.”