Mulder and Scully have long since vanished from the airwaves, but the next The X-Files film is slated for release in a few short weeks. Back in the real world, meanwhile, the quest for answers remains vibrantly alive. In New York state, one home base for this search can be found at Rochester Paranormal. Confining its focus to spook reports, monster sightings and alien visitations within a comparatively small geographical region, this organization certifies hauntings in such well-known settings as Grand Central Station, tests the acumen of local psychics and takes every opportunity to conduct hands-on investigations into paranormal phenomena. Every encounter is faithfully recorded on the organization's Web site, as is any evidence gathered during their inquiries.

The advance of technology is something of a double-edged sword for anyone seeking to prove the existence of the paranormal. As science becomes ever more discerning, it is easier to be skeptical: If something were indeed out there, one might reason, shouldn't we have found it by now? Blurry photographs of ghosts or Bigfoot—which this site has in abundance, as it happens—remain as unconvincing as they ever were. If a perfect image of an alien craft or a ghost were to turn up, though, it could hardly be any less suspicious in this age of advanced computer graphics.

For skeptics and seekers alike, sites like Rochester Paranormal offer a window into a passionate, perhaps quixotic, pursuit of the unknown. They are also an opportunity for Web surfers to read the case studies themselves, examining the evidence and deciding whether, like Fox Mulder, they might also want to believe.