Orillia has no shortage of ghost stories and supposed haunted buildings. Sara Sophia is on a mission to validate and learn more about the spirits that haunt our town.
The 31-year-old Patrick Fogarty graduate has felt a strong connection with the supernatural since she was a child.
“As a child, I was seeing a lot of spirit, but didn’t realize it was spirit,” she said. “As I got older, I kind of lost touch with it, but about ten years ago it came back, and I started to realize that I was a medium.”
Sophia says she can connect with spirits who have crossed over into the afterlife. She now helps people connect and receive healing from loved ones who have passed on.
“It was very scary at first and I tried to push it away,” she said. “As time went on, I realized this was my purpose and I can’t push it away.”
The 31-year-old has been using paranormal investigative equipment such as a spirit box to connect with the deceased. Recently, Sophia investigated the Orillia Opera House.
“I did bring in another medium and we did have validation,” she said. “She felt a woman, and I felt a male. I did turn on the spirit box and I did have lots of validation come in with spirit.”
Sophia claims some of the ghosts of the Orillia Opera House told her they were both comfortable and OK. Others said they needed help, and Sophia helped them cross over with her psychic-like powers.
Sophia says connecting with spirits is something that is still new to people. She says once people interact with her social media pages, it gives people validation that there really is a spirit world that can be connected with.
The stay-at-home mom is planning on creating a business out of being a medium and a paranormal investigator in the near future.
“I don’t know how to go about it, but it’s definitely in the works,” she said. “I’m big on manifestation and I’ve been manifesting for that.”
Sophia’s goal is to help people have a connection. She also wants to go into people’s homes to help them clear their space and regain their home or business building from spirits.
“I’m there to direct spirit to either move forward or to be comfortable with the person and not scare them,” she said. “I basically want to show people that this exists, and they are here.”
There are a lot of skeptics of Sophia and the entire paranormal investigation industry, which Sophia says she understands.
“You never know until you have your own experience,” she said. “Not everybody has to believe. What matters to me is I believe, I have my proof, I get my validation, and I am happy at the end of the day.”
Sophia says she does not work with anything deemed as demonic as channelling energy can be dangerous. Next on Sophia’s bucket list is the former Huronia Regional Centre.
“I know a lot of people would feel that there is a lot of negative energy in there because of what it was back in the day,” she said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean there is negative energy in there. Maybe there is a spirit who is stuck and needs help, and that’s where I come in.”
Sophia says being a paranormal investigator takes a lot of passion, love, and respect for the other side. Already 1,531 people have followed Sophia’s TikTok page to learn tips and tricks to connect with spirits in their own homes.
“I have been feeling super good on there,” she said. “I feel very passionate and have a lot of nice people messaging me to ask questions.”
Sophia also has a closed Facebook group for folks who believe in the supernatural and are spreading positive energy.
“They love it,” she said. “I’m going to be doing live (postings) soon where people can hear their loved ones through a portal I’m building.”
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