From the earliest days of childhood, Ashley has been influenced by the paranormal realm. At the age of seven, Ashley moved with her family to an historic North Carolina home with reputed paranormal activity. Living with phenomena such as: Lights turning on & off; mysterious sounds of footsteps in her bedroom & on the staircase; doors opening & closing; objects relocating with no explanation and unexplained sounds throughout the house were all regular occurrences. Growing up in these surroundings caused a shift in Ashley’s perspective on the world and inspired her to research paranormal phenomena in order to understand her preternatural environment.

Ashley's research began in the mid 1970s and continues today. This path of research has led to the study in a multitude of areas within the metaphysical, scientific and paranormal contexts. Topics such as: past life regression; holistic healing; demonology; spirit hauntings; reincarnation; mainstream & pagan religious beliefs and rituals, contemporary physics and quantum physics have become second nature. Ashley's approach to the paranormal integrates her knowledge of the above-mentioned topics with the field of anthropology and archaeology.

Several years ago Ashley moved into a home in Northern Atlanta. The Atlanta property had acute negative energy and adverse paranormal activity. As a result, Ashley's personal, paranormal experiences expanded exponentially. Ultimately, this led to a honing of her skills and knowledge in the utilization of both mainstream & pagan ritual practices in order to cleanse and protect her home and family. Living in such an environment, gave Ashley firsthand insight into how life must be for individuals and families that have no paranormal experience or exposure. Thus, she was inspired to use her knowledge and skills to assist those unfortunate people that are unwillingly thrust into the world of the paranormal.

Ashley met her business partner Pamela Nance in 1978. Over time, Ashley and Pam discovered that not only did they share a similar background in early childhood paranormal experiences, they both had years of dedicated research in this area. In 2008, Ashley and Pam formalized their paranormal research team: Spirit Hunters of the South (SHOTS). Since its formation, SHOTS has investigated dozens of private and public locations in NC, SC, GA, FL & MD. Although Ashley and Pam share all roles within SHOTS equally, Ashley's primary roles are occult knowledge; historic research & analysis, and technical support. In addition, Ashley is also a Sensitive which may be derived from her life-long exposure to the paranormal or perhaps she was born with this capability. To maintain control and enhance her "sensitivity," Ashley frequently meditates and practices Vinyasa yoga.

To date, SHOTS has conducted investigations across a multi-state area; presented their investigative techniques & findings at a NC college, filmed A Haunting with the Discovery Channel & New Dominion Pictures; filmed My Ghost Story Caught on Camera with A&E/BIO Channel & MPPT.TV, and presented at the First Forensic Ghost Excavation Congress-Conference in Maryland, in which they highlighted their findings from the Historic Cook-Bingham House, one of the most active sites they have investigated thus far.