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• Feast your eyes: A Halloween round-up

John Goodpaster shows a blast-damaged witness plate in a laboratory at IUPUI. Goodpaster, 34, joined the IUPUI forensic and investigative sciences program as a faculty member in August after spending five years with the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. (Danese Kenon for The Star)

Sure, life in a cubicle can seem a little like an episode of "The Office" -- and that's a bit frightening. Most of us have had a boss or two who bears more than a passing resemblance to Dr. Jekyll or Cruella DeVil (at least in attitude). But no matter how daunting the average modern workplace can seem, it doesn't compare with some jobs.

Try spending your day surrounded by preserved brains, say, or being responsible for securing blood -- lots of blood. What about leading tours of places where things that go bump in the night occasionally bump into you? Or imagine handling volatile explosives or routinely dangling off the side of a multi-story building.

Just how scary do these jobs get -- and who in the world would voluntarily do them?

With Halloween just around the corner, we managed to creep up on these locals and scare them into giving us the eerie details.

Ashley Lichtenbarger -- The Specimen Overseer

Lichtenbarger, 22, works at the Indiana Medical History Museum. What could be scary about that, you ask? Well, the museum is in !a former pathology building on the grounds of the now-closed Central State Hospital. And it includes such displays as an autopsy room and preserved body organs. Sorry, but that's just a little creepy -- or is it?

So we're talking to people with scary jobs...

I don't think there's anything scary about my job at all. I am an intern from the IUPUI public history master's program. I've been working there (Indiana Medical History Museum) since August. It's kind of a smaller institution, so I do a lot as an intern. I give tours. I work doing research for different exhibits that may be coming up. I do some brainstorming.

Who takes your tours?

We have elderly people, we have fourth-graders, we have middle-schoolers. We have people who found us online, and people who have lived in the area for a long time and just haven't made it out (before). A lot of them are doctors or nurses, or their dad was a retired doctor who attended classes in the building. They have a personal tie, a lot of them, to the building. And some of them just think it seems like an interesting place, because they have a general interest in medicine or pathology or something like that.

But don't some of them find a few of the displays just a little weird? !I mean, an autopsy room...

Some of the kids find that creepy. As !a little kid, you always hear about ghost stories and things like that. But at the museum, really, nobody's ever experienced anything like that.

OK, but what about the 'specimens' on display?

We do have the anatomical museum, which was used to observe the organs that they took out of the bodies during autopsies. They were used for medical research. And they still are there. I think the oldest one is from 1910; most of them are from the 1930s. We have brains in jars. We also have a liver and a stomach. But mostly brains, because they were interested in the pathology. Well, that's unique. There's no (other) building like this in the country.

And what do your friends think about your internship?

People think it's interesting, but it's just something that, if they know me, it's something that I would do. It's a museum, and I'm a history major ... For me, it's the educational aspect that's the most interesting. And I also like the chances to learn about the pathology and about the hospital -- things I would never have studied otherwise ... To know that doctors for generations went to school, had classrooms in there, that's really cool.

John Goodpaster -- The Explosives Expert

Goodpaster, 34, joined IUPUI's forensic and investigative sciences program as a faculty member in August, after spending five years with the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. In addition to !his work at IUPUI, Goodpaster continues to work with the ATF on training sessions for bomb-sniffing canines, and he recently led a training session for the Indiana State Police bomb squad.

Why bombs?

At Michigan State University I met Jay (Siegel, current program director of FIS at IUPUI) there and started doing research, and one of the major parts of my research was on explosives analysis. And it sort of just grew from there.

And you're continuing that trend at IUPUI?

My job as a professor is to do class work and run courses in forensic chemistry, but also to do research. And a big part of my research will be involving explosives, not only the canine-detection end, but working on how to do trace-level analysis. That's not your everyday teaching job.

I'm working in an area that not a lot of people work in. Most people don't run toward explosives; they run away. I'm the type that's fascinated by them. I think that it's a really interesting area just scientifically, but obviously the practical application in terms of counterterrorism and public safety is huge.

And this type of work doesn't make you a little, well, nervous?

I remember as a graduate student, when I first started working with explosives, I was working with dilute standard solutions, and I'd get them in, and I was all worried about dropping them. But they were little teeny vials of explosives. And then I worked for ATF, and I was carrying around pounds of explosives and didn't think twice about it. It's one of those things where you get used to it. You have to obviously respect the explosives, because they can be dangerous, but if you know what they're about, actually know what you're doing, they can be relatively safe.

So it's not as drama-filled as an episode of CSI?

I think anybody that actually works in forensic science will tell you about that show. I don't watch it. It just drives me crazy. I just jump off the couch and start yelling and screaming at the TV.

But people must have that in mind when they first find out what you do.

They usually assume that I'm a pathologist, that I do autopsies ... And then I tell them I do explosives; that's my specialty. And then their eyes get all wide. They think that's pretty amazing, that somebody would actually deal with explosives as their main area of interest. Because it's kind of scary. They think of explosives, they think of violent detonations and stuff like that. And that's something that I've done and will continue to do -- blow things up on purpose as a part of my research.

That sounds like the ultimate guy dream job -- blowing stuff up.

I'm not going to lie to you. It's a helluva lot of fun to go blow stuff up. It's a thrill, just to see that much energy released all at once. But I guess the good news is that we're doing it for a good reason, either for training or for figuring out better methods to reconstruct a device.

But your job has to have its scary moments.

Sometimes you have to synthesize your own explosives from scratch. When (people) are doing it illegally, it's extremely dangerous.

The explosives can suddenly detonate or catch fire or whatever. When you do it in a laboratory, and if you're a professional chemist, it's much safer -- but it's still a little nerve-wracking.

What makes the fear factor worth it?

The role that I can play in protecting the public.

Nicole Kobrowski -- The Ghost Hunter

Nicole Kobrowski and her husband, Michael, own unseenpress.com, a business dedicated to providing year-round ghost tours and publishing books on the paranormal. Since 2002, the pair has led curious guests on tours of Downtown Indianapolis, Broad Ripple, Noblesville and Westfield, tracing the ghostly history of local landmarks.

What made you decide this could be a viable business?

My husband and I, first of all, are very interested in history. And we're very interested in the paranormal. And part of Indiana's biggest tourism contribution is heritage and cultural tourism. So when we were looking at possibly doing the ghost tours, we (thought) the history element could really open up a lot of doors.

What sparked your interest in the paranormal angle?

When I was in junior high, I saw my first ghost, and it scared me to death. My sisters had had experiences before I did, (and) I thought, 'Yeah, right, whatever. They're just trying to scare me.' But when I had my own, I tried to learn everything I possibly could about the paranormal, because I was the biggest skeptic ... And it just turned into !a lifelong interest for me.

So what's a typical day like for a ghost hunter?

First of all, we're self-employed, so it's never an eight-to-five job. I spend a lot of time researching. Sometimes it's not easy. You don't just go in and pick up a manuscript and there it is. You have to dig for some of the stuff. And then the evening is when we give the bulk of our tours ... And there are some days when we're off doing investigations in other people's homes, and trying to work with them to see what kind of paranormal happenings they may or may not have.

You must have some great work stories to tell. Anything surprising ever happen during one of your tours?

As far as the tours go, we have had things that have happened to us and to people on the tours. When it happens to people on the tours, sometimes they're excited and freaked out. Sometimes they're just freaked out .... I've been on a tour in Noblesville, and I've been pushed, poked and prodded in one of the cemeteries.

What do family members think about your job?

I have two children from a previous marriage .... My kids are 13 and almost 15, so they think anything we do is not cool anyway. They've gone on all of our tours so many times, God, they don't want to go on them anymore .... (But) there have been some times, when they see somebody go on our tours and (that person) says 'Oh, wow, this is really neat,' whether it's ghosts or history or both, sometimes I think that gives us a little bit of credibility (with the kids).

What about people meeting you, when you're having that 'What do you do for a living?' conversation?

It's kind of mixed sometimes. I'm not shy about telling them what I do. I teach part-time for IUPUI as well, and I say, 'OK, this is what we do, and then I do this as well.' ... (People) aren't as skeptical as (they) used to be, because we've worked so hard to project ourselves as a legitimate business and not just as a hobby or something to do every now and then. We've worked really hard to keep !a professional front ... We try to make it clear that the paranormal beliefs are our own. We totally believe, but ultimately, the tours are for entertainment, and we're not out to necessarily change anybody's opinions or (beliefs).

Jay Ward -- Building Climber

Ever look out your office window and see the window cleaners dangling from ropes, hard at work and seemingly oblivious to their precarious position? Ever think they were crazy? Jay Ward, 37, knows that reaction. His family has been in the window-cleaning business for more than 75 years and entered the Indiana market more than three decades ago.

When did you get started in this?

I started working with my dad when I was about 16 -- started hanging on buildings. I owned my first company at the age of 18.

Was it intimidating?

No, it really wasn't. Watching my dad do it all !my life, I just couldn't wait. I wanted to do it, but (my dad) didn't want to teach it. He wanted us to go into something else; it was too dangerous. We didn't want to do that; we wanted to do what he did. And I wouldn't even do it unless we did the high rise. That's the thrill about it.

So what's it really like?

You're always on your toes. It's an adrenaline rush. In window cleaning, you have to be fast. It takes a long time to learn it. Not anybody can do it. We've !had guys who came from the military who say they can do it and freeze up on us. So it takes a special type.

And people voluntarily sign up for this?

You have to really love it. And there aren't many that do. That's why it's hard to find guys. But if you like to mountain-climb or sky-dive, bungee jumpers -- those are the guys for us.

Ah, so you're all thrill-seekers. Is that the best part of your job -- the excitement?

I would say the freedom. Being up in the air. The views are awesome. I like working out in the field like that. Hanging over the wall, even if there are four guys next to you, you really know that you're alone ... You just enjoy doing it. It's not about washing the windows; it's about loving the climb. And having that peacefulness while you're up there.

But have you ever had any close calls?

Oh, yeah, everyone does. Every window cleaner has a moment of fear, where you forgot to hook your safety or your D-ring comes unclicked. But sometimes guys don't (check). And they'll flip upside down. I fell off of a scaffold once. Landed on a parking pole. Yeah, that hurt a little bit. I was 18 when that happened. I think every window cleaner goes through some kind of spill at one time or the other -- whether he really gets hurt or not, or it just scares the living crap out of him. And you need that from time to time. Some of these guys get way too confident, and that's when the accidents happen ... I have a four-mark system that I go through each time. If I don't do that, I'm liable to mess up.

Doesn't the danger ever get to you?

On average, they say eight window cleaners a year die throughout the United States. So it is one of the most dangerous jobs ... Most of these deaths that happen, it's all human error. They'll use bad ropes, tie off to something they shouldn't, not wear a safety line. That's a big one for window cleaners. Some of these old-timers will use one rope. And if that breaks, he's dead. And usually if he's using one rope, it's because he can't afford the other one. Or he just doesn't want to be bothered with it; it's in his way. And that's just a silly thing to do.

Are people impressed when they find out what you do for a living?

We've had neighbors and friends come down, and they're always amazed. Sometimes we'll take them !to the roof and let them look over to really see what we're doing, and a lot of them don't even want to look over ... We've had people actually schedule a stay at the Westin just so they can watch us climb the building. You'll !see flashes go off inside the rooms and they're taking pictures of you. And they'll call you Spider-Man.

Do you have any kids to keep up the family tradition?

I have four. My son loves it. He wants to do it. And of course, I'm like my dad. I don't want him to do it. 'You can learn the business and let the other guys climb it.' But he wants to try it. The girls, they don't want any part of it. Of course, they worry about Dad. But they also know I've done it forever. It's been a family tradition. We all look out for each other. I've always told the guys, if I'm ever stuck on a building, don't call the fire department ... just call one of my brothers. I've got three brothers that do this. Just call one of them to come and get me.

Laura Ghoulame -- The Blood Gatherer

As donor recruitment manager for the Indiana Blood Center, Laura Ghoulame has the hefty responsibility of ensuring that 550 usable units of blood a day are collected through 14 locations and numerous mobile units throughout the state. If that responsibility isn't scary enough, consider this: That blood has the potential to affect 1,500 Hoosiers each day.

So, 550 units of blood daily. How do you even begin to hit that goal?

I usually get in here about 6.o'clock in the morning every morning. We service over 60 hospitals in Indiana, and I look at yesterday's collections, and I look at what we are forecasting to bring in today.

And then I look at our report from our distribution department saying what the orders are. I kind of marry all that information together, and then I decide how I'm going to direct all our different recruitment departments for the day in making sure that all of the orders are filled and the units are coming in.

But isn't that daunting?

Well, absolutely. People are in an accident and they need blood. ... They're in a surgery, they might need blood. Or they have a disease, such as cancer or leukemia, that they might need blood. And if you step back and look at the big picture, you kind of go, 'Oh, my gosh. How am I going to convince all these people this one day that we need their blood !in order to help save Hoosier lives?' That's why you have to break it down on a daily basis and penetrate different areas throughout the state with our fixed-site locations and then sometimes up to 30 different mobile blood drives a day in order to make it a convenient experience ...

What have you found to be effective in convincing people to donate?

We launched an awareness campaign a little over a year ago, letting people throughout the communities we serve know who the Indiana Blood Center is, what we do and why it's important to support us. We also partner with a lot of different organizations -- businesses, corporations, not-for-profits -- throughout the communities we serve to help spread the word and put together promotional packages that appeal to different age demographics of donors, so we can draw different people in to give blood.

What age group has been best at responding?

The Greatest Generation, the older folks, it seemed to be a regular thing for them. And of course, they're getting older, they're becoming not eligible to donate anymore. Over the last several years, we have seen a decrease overall of donations, based on that generation not being able to donate. What we have launched over the last year is a campaign directly focused to the younger age group, starting at about 16, because that's when you can give with parental consent, up into the early 30s. Some people are squeamish when it comes to blood and needles.

How do they overcome their fears?

Hey, there's only one way to get blood: It's from community members. And it is a responsibility of all of ours to be good community members and help save lives in our community ... A lot of people are afraid. A lot of people don't like to see needles in their arms or even want to have a little bit of pain. But the overall feeling of saving someone's life, I guarantee them, they'll walk out of one of our donation centers and say, 'That was worth it.'

You make a good point. People just assume that blood will be there if they need it. But that's not necessarily the case. Now, that's a scary thought.

People don't understand. They go to the hospital, and they know the doctors are going to be there, the nurses are going to be there, the medicine. But blood isn't something that can be manufactured and purchased.

There's no guarantee it will be there unless someone gives it. Well, thanks to the Indiana Blood Center, they do. But boy, we have to work hard in order to get that to happen on a daily basis.

Julie Cope-Saetre / Star correspondent