Brandy Stark started her foray into the paranormal world in 1997 as an undergraduate at the University of South Florida. She wrote her first paper exploring the role of ghosts in ancient Greek writings. She started to research paranormal investigation and joined email list groups with other paranormalists who mentored her in doing field research. She did several investigations on her own but it was after she gave a talk on local lore and legends that she met others interested in field research. In 2000, this small group united to form the SPIRITS of St. Petersburg. Since that time, the group has evolved and changed. Stark, herself, has done approximately 400 cases over the past 21 years and continues to write academic papers on the role of ghosts in culture, including two academic thesis papers/projects featuring the Role of Ghosts in Roman Religion and the Dance Macabres des Femmes as a Form of Protofeminism. She continues to present on local ghost stories and legends, and even hosts a few pop up ghost tours. In 2015, she released a book called “Shadows in the Sunshine: The Lesser Known Haunts of Pinellas County” based upon years of research on three local sites.

Much of her creativity intertwines with her educational endeavors. Her undergraduate studies produced a double major in History and Classics from the University of South Florida. She holds a graduate degree in Religious Studies, also from the University of South Florida, and a second graduate degree in Humanities from Tiffin University, Ohio. She obtained a doctorate in Leadership and Education from Barry University in 2010. In December of 2017 she obtained a third graduate degree in Liberal Studies from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. She won two National Endowment of the Humanities grants to further her research; Transcendentalism (Concord, Massachusetts, 2009) and Georgia O’Keefe (Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2012).

She is a full time faculty member at St. Petersburg College in the Fine Arts and Humanities Department. She teaches Religious Studies and Humanities courses at the Downtown and St. Petersburg campuses, including subjects in the Honors College, Study Abroad, and Interdisciplinary Studies programs. In her effort to increase student-artist interaction, and to provide a free location for artists to share their works, she secured supplies and funding for art display areas at the Downtown and Allstate Center campuses. Local artists and art groups are invited to show in these spaces, and to do short talks sharing information on the creative process, experiences as artists, and inspiring students to learn more about the arts.