A few years ago when I heard the Sci-Fi Channel was doing a show following a paranormal team, my first thought was, “How is that going to work?” There is just not much which happens on a typical paranormal investigation; especially not enough to make a weekly TV show about it. Usually everything that happens is personal experience and those cannot be recorded nor do they translate to an exciting watch for viewers. I watch the show now going on three years and think they do a great job trying to cipher the real from the fabrication. However, this season has been different.
This week on Ghost Hunters I saw something very disturbing and I want to get everyone’s opinion about it. If you did not see the episode, they were using a FLIR thermal imaging camera and captured a supposed ghost while investigating Fort Delaware. They captured a heat image of a human figure through a hallway and then it quickly walked behind the door frame and disappeared. They ran down but did not see anyone there. So they put the FLIR on a tripod, shooting into the room and left the camera. Later, during the reveal they saw the same heat signature peering around the door frame. I have much respect for the Ghost Hunters investigative team, especially Jason and Grant but I have to admit those two images with the FLIR looked faked to me; like a person was standing there.
First of all, I have a problem with the science behind using a FLIR in a paranormal investigation. My team doesn’t have one, not because we don’t trust it, but because we can’t afford it. Even if we could afford it, I would be very skeptical of the images it captured. You see, it is very easy for heat from someone to be absorbed into anything you accidentally touch. If you are leaning against a wall or touching a counter top, and then step away, the FLIR will capture something “paranormal.”
During an investigation, it is very hard to keep track of a small group like I have; much less a large group like the Ghost Hunters team usually has with them. They have their investigative team but then they probably have several more people recording the show. So using a FLIR you have to know where everybody is at all times and everyone must be very cognizant of their actions and whereabouts or the images you record are worthless.
My second problem with the FLIR is I don’t believe a ghost would appear on a FLIR as a heat image. Since 1999 I have been using an IR thermometer looking for cold spots, not heat. So the ghosts should appear as human figures radiating cold spots not heat.
In my group if someone has a personal experience, it doesn’t count unless they have some other corroborating evidence, such as. an EMF spike, a sharp temperature drop, or a photo of something (orbs don’t count). Knowing this and applying our knowledge of spirits appearing with temperature drops, I believe that situation might have been faked. So using the FLIR, if you record an image of a person but it is a heat source it is probably human, but if it a cold source then it is probably a spirit. Again, I would like for readers to leave their opinion, even if you did not see the episode; leave an opinion what you think about my FLIR hypothesis.
This is not the first time I felt The Ghost Hunters show faked something this season. Last week Jason’s pants were tugged by an invisible spirit. I am over six foot four inches tall and I am not very easily frightened but if my pants were grabbed in the dark it would startle me. Jason acted like it was no big deal and didn’t even flinch. If you are walking in complete darkness and you are grabbed, you will flinch. His reaction is hard for me to believe because I have been in multiple situations like that. I’ve never been grabbed but I would at least flinch if it happened.
Jason and Grant must be under excruciating pressure to produce something during their investigations. So far this season has been very uneventful, so the pressure from the producers must be incredible. Thoughts?
NOTE: I apologize for not responding to the comments on this blog. I didn’t realize until tonight that I had any comments. In the future, I will be more diligent in my response times.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Investigations within a Demon Haunted World Conclusion
A multipart essay on paranormal investigations
Parts 5&6-EVPs and Psychics
When people discover I am a paranormal investigator, one of the first questions they ask me is if I believe in ghosts. Throughout my investigative career I have answered that question within a range of “definitely yes” to “absolutely not.” However, I now have an answer which I believe to be the most truthful, which is, “I don’t know.”
When I drill down to my reasoning behind my investigations, other than to help people, it is to find evidence of life after death. If I can find physical, scientific evidence of a ghost then what I have actually found is proof of life after death. This is the reason I adhere to strict scientific methodologies for my investigations. If life after death can be discovered and the scientific community cannot dispute your findings, then you will actually have unmitigated proof of life after death.
Although I hope proof of life after death is iscovered, it doesn’t matter to me one way or the other. Some investigators have an emotional investment in finding proof of life after death because they either have lost a loved one, or they just need this proof to support their own justifications of life or they just need to know their death is not going to be the end. I really don’t care if life is the end. If it is the end then I get one hell of a long nap, which I could use. So either way I don’t really care.
I started writing this multipart essay NOT to declare my complete skepticism of paranormal events but to declare that many investigators are using bogus reasoning and bogus proof to substantiate evidence of paranormal activity; some knowing and some unknowing. Instead of furthering the ideas of the paranormal and gaining scientific awareness and approval, they are actually hurting the credibility of this relatively new science.
It is paramount that a credible investigator learns scientific methodologies and applies them to their research. It is also important that credible investigators learn the basics of physics, the basic laws of the universe, to distinguish the truth from the fabrication. Keep in mind, during an investigation if what are witnessing is breaking the laws of physics then your senses have deceived you.
Another very important rule which I use is NEVER to accept money from a client. The minute you accept money or some form of payment for your investigations, your perceptions change and you are now in it for profit. Money often influences your opinions and discoveries. I have witnessed this from investigators which parley their knowledge into ghostly tours and they transform from skeptical investigator to hardcore faith-based believers in ghosts because ghosts now pay the bills.
Part 5-EVPs
With that being said lets look at EVPs with using a scientific approach. For those of you who are new to this, EVPs are Electronic Voice Phenomenon; some investigators believe they have recorded the disembodied voices of spirits. These recordings are known as EVPs.
First of all, in order for an EVP to be accepted as a potential disembodied voice, there must be no filters used in the production. If you hear any EVPs which are filtered white noise and then either slowed down or sped up or something else was done to them, know that these are fabricated pieces of crap. These EVPs are produced with the same rationality as finding Jesus Christ in a potato chip. If you take raw sound and continuously manipulate it, eventually you’ll find something recognizable.
So this brings us to the second kind of EVPs, which are the best; when a microphone just captures something unexplainable. I admit when I hear these, they often send chills down my spine. Just because they sound real, doesn’t mean they are real disembodied voices. I always chuckle to myself when somebody hears an EVP and says, “WOW!! It’s Uncle Fred!!!”
Biology proves that what gives a voice its unique fingerprint is our own individual body parts. Specifically the voice box and its relationship to the size of the throat, the nose and the amount of air we push through these parts. When people have surgery due to injury or disease, or these parts get injured, it can often change or destroy their voice. So if it is a disembodied voice, how can it possibly sound like Uncle Fred? Even if his spirit is able to produce sound, it would sound nothing like him because his lungs, his voice box, his throat and his nose are non-existent. This is just basic biology. This same reasoning proves that a spirit cannot talk.
If a spirit does exist and even if it can manifest, it would still be impossible for it to talk. Lacking a voice box, a throat, lungs and a nose, it is physically impossible. It would have to somehow gather enough oxygen and then somehow manipulate it through an artificially created throat. People that are alive but injured cannot even do this without an artificial voice box; and even then they sound like some creepy robot.
I admit, I really like to record with my digital voice recorder but I give very little credibility to the random noises it catches and my brain interprets as voices. EVPs are definitely our senses playing tricks on us. Without the proper biological parts it is impossible to produce a voice, much less a voice sounding like Uncle Fred.
Part 6-Psychics
Psychics are the most difficult for me to write about. I admit in my past I have had visions and smelled things and felt emotions which I thought were from a spirit but I cannot use those as evidence of a haunting. Personal experiences, while they are awesome, should never be used as evidence. When investigators are walking around in the dark trying to find spirits both malevolent and benign, it is plausible to get creeped out sometimes; so personal experiences can be nothing more than a hypersensitive investigator who got the creeps.
I have friends who are psychic and, although I resist and hate being read, when they have read me they were incredibly accurate with their findings. A mother of one of my best friends used to be so good at predictions, she scared everybody around her. My friend, who is a total skeptic and believes in nothing he cannot touch, see or feel, tells me stories about her which will make a great book one day.
I think some people are just very good at seeing other people and reading them. There is nothing supernatural about it, they can just look at a person and tell you many things about them based on their clothes, their jewelry (or lack of) and the way they walk and talk. Even the best psychics are probably accurate only some of the time.
I listen to Howard Stern who had a notable psychic on his show and had one of his interns pretend to be somebody he was not. This totally fooled the psychic and she gave a false reading based upon this fictional character. This proved to me that most psychics use the answers to their probing questions as the basis for their “psychic” ability. I do not believe there is a spirit in the universe who speaks to people because I have no evidence of its existence.
I read James Randi who debunked Uri Geller, one of the most notable psychics in history. The book he wrote is powerful evidence of how psychics fool people. Psychics also have a financial investment in their abilities because many of them charge money for their services. This financial gain is often predatory in nature and leads to many innocent people being taken advantage of by certain charlatans posing as psychics. I don’t know if psychic abilities are real or fabricated but until I find some respectable evidence I have to assume this is another example of wishful thinking or our senses playing tricks on us.
Conclusion
I hope everybody gained something from this essay. In the future I plan to add more to this essay and possible release it in some professional publication. Again, my goal was not to hurt anybody’s feeling but to get to the truth in this industry amid the mountain of bullshit. I believe the more popular this topic becomes and the more mainstream paranormal investigating becomes, the more bullshit will be added to the pile.
Parts 5&6-EVPs and Psychics
When people discover I am a paranormal investigator, one of the first questions they ask me is if I believe in ghosts. Throughout my investigative career I have answered that question within a range of “definitely yes” to “absolutely not.” However, I now have an answer which I believe to be the most truthful, which is, “I don’t know.”
When I drill down to my reasoning behind my investigations, other than to help people, it is to find evidence of life after death. If I can find physical, scientific evidence of a ghost then what I have actually found is proof of life after death. This is the reason I adhere to strict scientific methodologies for my investigations. If life after death can be discovered and the scientific community cannot dispute your findings, then you will actually have unmitigated proof of life after death.
Although I hope proof of life after death is iscovered, it doesn’t matter to me one way or the other. Some investigators have an emotional investment in finding proof of life after death because they either have lost a loved one, or they just need this proof to support their own justifications of life or they just need to know their death is not going to be the end. I really don’t care if life is the end. If it is the end then I get one hell of a long nap, which I could use. So either way I don’t really care.
I started writing this multipart essay NOT to declare my complete skepticism of paranormal events but to declare that many investigators are using bogus reasoning and bogus proof to substantiate evidence of paranormal activity; some knowing and some unknowing. Instead of furthering the ideas of the paranormal and gaining scientific awareness and approval, they are actually hurting the credibility of this relatively new science.
It is paramount that a credible investigator learns scientific methodologies and applies them to their research. It is also important that credible investigators learn the basics of physics, the basic laws of the universe, to distinguish the truth from the fabrication. Keep in mind, during an investigation if what are witnessing is breaking the laws of physics then your senses have deceived you.
Another very important rule which I use is NEVER to accept money from a client. The minute you accept money or some form of payment for your investigations, your perceptions change and you are now in it for profit. Money often influences your opinions and discoveries. I have witnessed this from investigators which parley their knowledge into ghostly tours and they transform from skeptical investigator to hardcore faith-based believers in ghosts because ghosts now pay the bills.
Part 5-EVPs
With that being said lets look at EVPs with using a scientific approach. For those of you who are new to this, EVPs are Electronic Voice Phenomenon; some investigators believe they have recorded the disembodied voices of spirits. These recordings are known as EVPs.
First of all, in order for an EVP to be accepted as a potential disembodied voice, there must be no filters used in the production. If you hear any EVPs which are filtered white noise and then either slowed down or sped up or something else was done to them, know that these are fabricated pieces of crap. These EVPs are produced with the same rationality as finding Jesus Christ in a potato chip. If you take raw sound and continuously manipulate it, eventually you’ll find something recognizable.
So this brings us to the second kind of EVPs, which are the best; when a microphone just captures something unexplainable. I admit when I hear these, they often send chills down my spine. Just because they sound real, doesn’t mean they are real disembodied voices. I always chuckle to myself when somebody hears an EVP and says, “WOW!! It’s Uncle Fred!!!”
Biology proves that what gives a voice its unique fingerprint is our own individual body parts. Specifically the voice box and its relationship to the size of the throat, the nose and the amount of air we push through these parts. When people have surgery due to injury or disease, or these parts get injured, it can often change or destroy their voice. So if it is a disembodied voice, how can it possibly sound like Uncle Fred? Even if his spirit is able to produce sound, it would sound nothing like him because his lungs, his voice box, his throat and his nose are non-existent. This is just basic biology. This same reasoning proves that a spirit cannot talk.
If a spirit does exist and even if it can manifest, it would still be impossible for it to talk. Lacking a voice box, a throat, lungs and a nose, it is physically impossible. It would have to somehow gather enough oxygen and then somehow manipulate it through an artificially created throat. People that are alive but injured cannot even do this without an artificial voice box; and even then they sound like some creepy robot.
I admit, I really like to record with my digital voice recorder but I give very little credibility to the random noises it catches and my brain interprets as voices. EVPs are definitely our senses playing tricks on us. Without the proper biological parts it is impossible to produce a voice, much less a voice sounding like Uncle Fred.
Part 6-Psychics
Psychics are the most difficult for me to write about. I admit in my past I have had visions and smelled things and felt emotions which I thought were from a spirit but I cannot use those as evidence of a haunting. Personal experiences, while they are awesome, should never be used as evidence. When investigators are walking around in the dark trying to find spirits both malevolent and benign, it is plausible to get creeped out sometimes; so personal experiences can be nothing more than a hypersensitive investigator who got the creeps.
I have friends who are psychic and, although I resist and hate being read, when they have read me they were incredibly accurate with their findings. A mother of one of my best friends used to be so good at predictions, she scared everybody around her. My friend, who is a total skeptic and believes in nothing he cannot touch, see or feel, tells me stories about her which will make a great book one day.
I think some people are just very good at seeing other people and reading them. There is nothing supernatural about it, they can just look at a person and tell you many things about them based on their clothes, their jewelry (or lack of) and the way they walk and talk. Even the best psychics are probably accurate only some of the time.
I listen to Howard Stern who had a notable psychic on his show and had one of his interns pretend to be somebody he was not. This totally fooled the psychic and she gave a false reading based upon this fictional character. This proved to me that most psychics use the answers to their probing questions as the basis for their “psychic” ability. I do not believe there is a spirit in the universe who speaks to people because I have no evidence of its existence.
I read James Randi who debunked Uri Geller, one of the most notable psychics in history. The book he wrote is powerful evidence of how psychics fool people. Psychics also have a financial investment in their abilities because many of them charge money for their services. This financial gain is often predatory in nature and leads to many innocent people being taken advantage of by certain charlatans posing as psychics. I don’t know if psychic abilities are real or fabricated but until I find some respectable evidence I have to assume this is another example of wishful thinking or our senses playing tricks on us.
Conclusion
I hope everybody gained something from this essay. In the future I plan to add more to this essay and possible release it in some professional publication. Again, my goal was not to hurt anybody’s feeling but to get to the truth in this industry amid the mountain of bullshit. I believe the more popular this topic becomes and the more mainstream paranormal investigating becomes, the more bullshit will be added to the pile.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Paranormal Investigations within a Demon Haunted World Part 4
A multipart essay on paranormal investigations
Part 4: Demons and/or Inhuman Spirits
Before I continue with this essay I want you to know a few things about my past so you know where I came from. Now, when I tell you were I am at in my life, you can see the paradigm shift.
My earliest childhood memories were of creatures coming to get me at night in the dark. At a teenager when I saw the efreeti on the cover of the old Dungeon Master Handbook (D&D reference book), I remembered seeing that in my room when I was a boy. This is reason for my long time interest in the paranormal. When I learned about the devil, I thought those early night terrors were demons after me (give me a break, I was 2 years old).
All through grade school I was active in the church. I was an altar boy, I sang in the choir, I did the readings every Sunday; I went to church six days a week back then. The priests and the nuns tried to guide me into joining the seminary. I was actually thinking about becoming a priest until I hit puberty and discovered an ancient form of torture still performed today; celibacy. I thought celibacy was ridiculous so I changed my mind about any seminary possibilities. Now back to the essay.
There is nothing on Earth I would rather be doing than conducting a paranormal investigation. Whether it is a notorious location in history, an old cemetery or a family that calls me in need of some help; I enjoy it and I will always enjoy it.
I believe number one on the agenda of a paranormal team is to prove the existence of spirits. We must remain objective and find the existence of spirits through the evidence we collect. As I have written earlier, we must use scientific methodologies. Anything else just doesn’t mean anything. Remaining a skeptic is paramount during the investigation; stay out of the halleluiah booth.
While meeting other paranormal teams, I discovered some of the investigative techniques are horribly faith-based. These faith-based teams aren’t interested in proving the existence of spirits because they are convinced they do exist. They encounter demons as frequently as you and I encounter rude cashiers at the deli. The evidence they base their claims of demonic possession and inhabitation are flimsy at best. Evidence they might use as proof of a demonic haunting could be: a cross falls from the wall, somebody smells a stench, had a nightmare about the location, a pet acting weird.
First of all what are demons? They are ultra intelligent beings, evil incarnate. They are in allegiance with satan or might even be satan himself. If you remember the bible, satan is the angel that god kicked out of heaven. He is currently building an army to fight a war he cannot win. The demons are satan’s generals in this soon to be lost war. These demons are so evil they might show up at your house and knock your cross from your wall or create a really bad smell, worse than a dog fart.
Let’s try for one moment to put ourselves in the mind of a demon. If we were a demon and we had all of this power, would we spend our time knocking crucifixes from walls, creating stenches, influencing pets and possessing people? Hell no!! We’d kick some ass!! A truly evil being would do worse than that. Even old girlfriends of mine did worse than that to me. Old girlfriends would slash my tires, key my car, steal all of my checks and empty out my bank account, screw all of my friends; now that is evil stuff.
A demon would rip your dog or cat into shreds. If these creatures were as evil as we think they would remove your eye lids so you could watch them hang and disembowel your loved ones. Then they would remove your crucifix from your wall and plunge it into your testicles. Think about it. These docile activities we credit to a demon are nothing compared to true evil. If we actually encountered a powerful evil spirit we would truly suffer. If they do exist, I doubt seriously anyone has ever been in the presence of one and lived to tell about it. In these supposed inhumanly infested locations no one ever gets hurt. Nothing truly horrible happens but a bunch of screaming and crying.
Another weird observation about these faith-based paranormal teams is their investigations usually involve some type of prayer and end in some type of religious ritual resembling an exorcism. I guess we assume all of these demons are Christian? Do we actually think reading from a book or burning some grass can purge these demigods from a house? The whole thing is absurd.
I am not sure if demons exist because I have never met one and I hope I never do. The books I have read and the programs I have watched do not provide evidence of anything. For paranormal investigators that have supposedly encountered a demon; give me a break. If you believe them, then you should also believe that I saw superman flying through the St. Louis Arch last Friday. I tried to photograph him but I only captured an orb. But that is still proof, right? I also defeated the green goblin by burning sweet grass and reading Shakespeare.
Do demons exist? I have pondered this question for years and if I base my answer on the evidence, then I have to say probably not.
Stay Tuned for Part 5-EVP
Part 4: Demons and/or Inhuman Spirits
Before I continue with this essay I want you to know a few things about my past so you know where I came from. Now, when I tell you were I am at in my life, you can see the paradigm shift.
My earliest childhood memories were of creatures coming to get me at night in the dark. At a teenager when I saw the efreeti on the cover of the old Dungeon Master Handbook (D&D reference book), I remembered seeing that in my room when I was a boy. This is reason for my long time interest in the paranormal. When I learned about the devil, I thought those early night terrors were demons after me (give me a break, I was 2 years old).
All through grade school I was active in the church. I was an altar boy, I sang in the choir, I did the readings every Sunday; I went to church six days a week back then. The priests and the nuns tried to guide me into joining the seminary. I was actually thinking about becoming a priest until I hit puberty and discovered an ancient form of torture still performed today; celibacy. I thought celibacy was ridiculous so I changed my mind about any seminary possibilities. Now back to the essay.
There is nothing on Earth I would rather be doing than conducting a paranormal investigation. Whether it is a notorious location in history, an old cemetery or a family that calls me in need of some help; I enjoy it and I will always enjoy it.
I believe number one on the agenda of a paranormal team is to prove the existence of spirits. We must remain objective and find the existence of spirits through the evidence we collect. As I have written earlier, we must use scientific methodologies. Anything else just doesn’t mean anything. Remaining a skeptic is paramount during the investigation; stay out of the halleluiah booth.
While meeting other paranormal teams, I discovered some of the investigative techniques are horribly faith-based. These faith-based teams aren’t interested in proving the existence of spirits because they are convinced they do exist. They encounter demons as frequently as you and I encounter rude cashiers at the deli. The evidence they base their claims of demonic possession and inhabitation are flimsy at best. Evidence they might use as proof of a demonic haunting could be: a cross falls from the wall, somebody smells a stench, had a nightmare about the location, a pet acting weird.
First of all what are demons? They are ultra intelligent beings, evil incarnate. They are in allegiance with satan or might even be satan himself. If you remember the bible, satan is the angel that god kicked out of heaven. He is currently building an army to fight a war he cannot win. The demons are satan’s generals in this soon to be lost war. These demons are so evil they might show up at your house and knock your cross from your wall or create a really bad smell, worse than a dog fart.
Let’s try for one moment to put ourselves in the mind of a demon. If we were a demon and we had all of this power, would we spend our time knocking crucifixes from walls, creating stenches, influencing pets and possessing people? Hell no!! We’d kick some ass!! A truly evil being would do worse than that. Even old girlfriends of mine did worse than that to me. Old girlfriends would slash my tires, key my car, steal all of my checks and empty out my bank account, screw all of my friends; now that is evil stuff.
A demon would rip your dog or cat into shreds. If these creatures were as evil as we think they would remove your eye lids so you could watch them hang and disembowel your loved ones. Then they would remove your crucifix from your wall and plunge it into your testicles. Think about it. These docile activities we credit to a demon are nothing compared to true evil. If we actually encountered a powerful evil spirit we would truly suffer. If they do exist, I doubt seriously anyone has ever been in the presence of one and lived to tell about it. In these supposed inhumanly infested locations no one ever gets hurt. Nothing truly horrible happens but a bunch of screaming and crying.
Another weird observation about these faith-based paranormal teams is their investigations usually involve some type of prayer and end in some type of religious ritual resembling an exorcism. I guess we assume all of these demons are Christian? Do we actually think reading from a book or burning some grass can purge these demigods from a house? The whole thing is absurd.
I am not sure if demons exist because I have never met one and I hope I never do. The books I have read and the programs I have watched do not provide evidence of anything. For paranormal investigators that have supposedly encountered a demon; give me a break. If you believe them, then you should also believe that I saw superman flying through the St. Louis Arch last Friday. I tried to photograph him but I only captured an orb. But that is still proof, right? I also defeated the green goblin by burning sweet grass and reading Shakespeare.
Do demons exist? I have pondered this question for years and if I base my answer on the evidence, then I have to say probably not.
Stay Tuned for Part 5-EVP
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Paranormal Investigations within a Demon Haunted World-Part 3
A multipart essay on paranormal investigations
Part 3-The Role of Electric and Magnetic Fields (EMF)
Electric and magnetic fields (EMFs) are areas of energy that surround electrical devices. Power lines, electrical wiring, and appliances produce EMFs which may reduce heart rate and interfere with brain activity. This interference with the brain can cause hallucinations, nightmares, feelings of being touched and produce unusual cold spots.
About two years ago I purchased a Van De graaph electrostatic charger capable of charging up to 325,000 volts of energy. My thinking was if spirits needed energy to operate then I was going to give them as much energy as they needed. So I used it on investigations hoping this would enhance my chance of communicating in some way with spirits. Instead of having that effect it changed my thought process regarding paranormal events.
We had been using an EMF gauge for a long time and we noticed many haunted locations had an unusually high rate of EMF. I also thought the spirits were using the energy but it never occurred to me the energy itself might be causing these disturbances until my experiments with the Van De graph. When there is an unusually high pocket of EMF within a location strange things begin to occur. These strange things have little to do with sprits but everything to do with the high levels EMF.
EMF will produce cold spots. It gives the sensation of being touched; it actually feels like someone is touching you but it is the energy. When I use the Van De graph and get enough energy charged, it feels the entire room changes mood. It is hard to describe unless you experience it first hand.
So how do you explain EMF within an area which has no power?
Granite buildings have an unusually high EMF rating because of the granite. As granite settles the small granules begin to rub against each other acting like a giant Van De Graaph, generating a lot of energy. The Earth itself also generates EMF. Prolonged exposure to these pockets of energy generated by the Earths’ crust or the granite buildings or whatever else produced it can lead to feelings of spiritual activity, when it is nothing more than the EMF.
We investigated one home where the owner and her kids were terrified. They were sleeping in the same room and were not a peace within the home. Most of the activity occurred within a staircase which ran through the center of the house. When I used the EMF gauge I noticed a very high EMF coming from a ceiling fan on the third floor. The kid’s room was a few feet from the fan; it was at the top of the staircase. I told the owner to buy a new ceiling fan which she wanted to do anyway because it was old. Within a few days of installing the new fan all of the paranormal activity stopped.
The owner and her kids were living with this very high EMF within their home and it was affecting their minds. This is just one case but there have been several where the cause of the paranormal activities was EMF poisoning. If I was in the hallelujah booth I would have summoned a demonologist or a priest to perform an exorcism; which would have further traumatized the owner and her kids.
Stay tuned for Part 4: Demons and/or Inhuman Spirits.
Part 3-The Role of Electric and Magnetic Fields (EMF)
Electric and magnetic fields (EMFs) are areas of energy that surround electrical devices. Power lines, electrical wiring, and appliances produce EMFs which may reduce heart rate and interfere with brain activity. This interference with the brain can cause hallucinations, nightmares, feelings of being touched and produce unusual cold spots.
About two years ago I purchased a Van De graaph electrostatic charger capable of charging up to 325,000 volts of energy. My thinking was if spirits needed energy to operate then I was going to give them as much energy as they needed. So I used it on investigations hoping this would enhance my chance of communicating in some way with spirits. Instead of having that effect it changed my thought process regarding paranormal events.
We had been using an EMF gauge for a long time and we noticed many haunted locations had an unusually high rate of EMF. I also thought the spirits were using the energy but it never occurred to me the energy itself might be causing these disturbances until my experiments with the Van De graph. When there is an unusually high pocket of EMF within a location strange things begin to occur. These strange things have little to do with sprits but everything to do with the high levels EMF.
EMF will produce cold spots. It gives the sensation of being touched; it actually feels like someone is touching you but it is the energy. When I use the Van De graph and get enough energy charged, it feels the entire room changes mood. It is hard to describe unless you experience it first hand.
So how do you explain EMF within an area which has no power?
Granite buildings have an unusually high EMF rating because of the granite. As granite settles the small granules begin to rub against each other acting like a giant Van De Graaph, generating a lot of energy. The Earth itself also generates EMF. Prolonged exposure to these pockets of energy generated by the Earths’ crust or the granite buildings or whatever else produced it can lead to feelings of spiritual activity, when it is nothing more than the EMF.
We investigated one home where the owner and her kids were terrified. They were sleeping in the same room and were not a peace within the home. Most of the activity occurred within a staircase which ran through the center of the house. When I used the EMF gauge I noticed a very high EMF coming from a ceiling fan on the third floor. The kid’s room was a few feet from the fan; it was at the top of the staircase. I told the owner to buy a new ceiling fan which she wanted to do anyway because it was old. Within a few days of installing the new fan all of the paranormal activity stopped.
The owner and her kids were living with this very high EMF within their home and it was affecting their minds. This is just one case but there have been several where the cause of the paranormal activities was EMF poisoning. If I was in the hallelujah booth I would have summoned a demonologist or a priest to perform an exorcism; which would have further traumatized the owner and her kids.
Stay tuned for Part 4: Demons and/or Inhuman Spirits.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Paranormal Investigations within a Demon Haunted World-Part 2
A multipart essay on paranormal investigations
Part 2-What Causes Hauntings? (please read part one before reading part two)
Do we really know why places become paranormal playgrounds? Absolutely not, so why do people make up reasons based upon absolutely no evidence? I don't know the answer to either of those questions but I don't make up nonsense to clients who call me to investigate their house. Instead I prefer to tell people no can really know the reasons behind this phenomenon and I prefer not to speculate until I understand more about this particular situation. Based upon my research these are the top explanations given for hauntings:
1. Much death and suffering in one area led to spiritual activity.
2. Person died with unfinished business.
3. Many are residual hauntings. Like a snapshot of something in the past which constantly replays.
I have always found it fascinating the explanations people give for the reasons places are haunted. There are more but these are the most common. Let's look at each one to see if they make logical and scientific sense.
Much death and suffering in one area led to spiritual activity
I briefly investigated the Villisca Axe murder house last summer. The reason given for this haunting was the eight inhabitants were butchered in their sleep by an unknown assailant with an axe. It was a horrible crime; an entire family massacred. Can eight people murdered be so horrific as to cause a haunting? Let's compare that with other massacres throughout Earth's history.
I was in Los Angeles a few years ago visiting the La brea Tar Pits. Hundreds of thousands of animals died a horrible death in what amounted to a torture chamber for these creatures. So why no reports of ghosts of woolly mammoths or saber tooth tigers? Living in the Jurassic period must have been horrific, as creatures were massacred by the thousands on a daily basis. So why no reports of anyone seeing ghosts of dinosaurs?
Prehistoric man had it much more difficult that today's modern societies. Rival tribes would attack neighboring villages. Men, women and children were massacred, raped and tortured constantly. So why no reports of seeing ghosts of prehistoric man?
The Aztec and Inca nations would ritually murder thousands of people as sacrifices to their gods. I don't remember ever reading one report of anybody seeing the ghost of an Inca or an Aztec victim. If reason number one is valid then we should see ghosts of dinosaurs, woolly mammoths, prehistoric man, and Indians as hundred of thousands of these creatures met untimely, horrific deaths. The fact that we don't should prove reason number one as complete fabrication.
This proves that people only see ghosts based upon clothing, situations and other people they have seen and can comprehend. I think this is very important to realize if you are a paranormal investigator. We have all seen photos of previous generations but no one actually knows what a dinosaur looked like or even what a prehistoric person used to look like. We can speculate but we will never know. This is why I believe our sightings of ghosts only contain images we are certain to have existed.
Person died with unfinished business
Physics and mathematics proves that energy cannot be destroyed; it can only be changed from one form to another. So when a person dies their energy changes form and lives on but memories cannot exist without the brain. Memories are nothing more than a collection of brain cells, much like a hard drive within a computer. When the brain is destroyed it is impossible to access that information. Even if the energy within our body still remains, it would be a mindless mass of energy much like a lightning ball with no intelligence. This energy would be just a floating mass of energy.
Lightning has never struck somebody or something out of envy. Electricity has never leaped from the socket and electrocuted somebody because of vengeance. I don't think either of these situations will ever happen either. Energy has no conscious and it has no memories.
If you believe energy has a conscious and a memory then you have to prove it using scientific methodologies. The laws of physics don’t allow for this so the burden of proof is on you. Science does not accept blind faith as evidence so you have to prove it through mathematics, physics or physical evidence. If you can’t prove it then you can’t proclaim this as a fact.
Many are residual hauntings. Like a snapshot of something in the past which constantly replays
If this is true then the Earth should be littered with these residual hauntings. We should see dinosaurs hunting and killing prey. We should see villages of prehistoric men killing rivaling villages. We should be able to see the daily human sacrifices of the Inca nations. We should still see reenactments of past wars without the aid of actors. The fact that we don't should easily debunk this explanation.
I am trying to reform the way we investigate hauntings. We will only be able to prove the existence of ghosts and other spirits by using scientific methodology. Blind faith and spirituality is empty unless it is backed with proper physical evidence. I think we hurt our credibility when we invent explanations. We are much more credible when we just admit we don't know but let our clients know we thirst for the truth. That is why we are paranormal investigators. We seek the truth wherever it leads us.
The truth is we do not know why places are haunted, nor do we even understand exactly if it is a spirit that is responsible for the situation. There is still so much unknown to us. But we can only begin to learn if we accept our lack of knowledge. Just like religion limits our intellect and closes our mind, these false beliefs hide the truth.
Stay tuned for part 3-The Role of EMF.
Part 2-What Causes Hauntings? (please read part one before reading part two)
Do we really know why places become paranormal playgrounds? Absolutely not, so why do people make up reasons based upon absolutely no evidence? I don't know the answer to either of those questions but I don't make up nonsense to clients who call me to investigate their house. Instead I prefer to tell people no can really know the reasons behind this phenomenon and I prefer not to speculate until I understand more about this particular situation. Based upon my research these are the top explanations given for hauntings:
1. Much death and suffering in one area led to spiritual activity.
2. Person died with unfinished business.
3. Many are residual hauntings. Like a snapshot of something in the past which constantly replays.
I have always found it fascinating the explanations people give for the reasons places are haunted. There are more but these are the most common. Let's look at each one to see if they make logical and scientific sense.
Much death and suffering in one area led to spiritual activity
I briefly investigated the Villisca Axe murder house last summer. The reason given for this haunting was the eight inhabitants were butchered in their sleep by an unknown assailant with an axe. It was a horrible crime; an entire family massacred. Can eight people murdered be so horrific as to cause a haunting? Let's compare that with other massacres throughout Earth's history.
I was in Los Angeles a few years ago visiting the La brea Tar Pits. Hundreds of thousands of animals died a horrible death in what amounted to a torture chamber for these creatures. So why no reports of ghosts of woolly mammoths or saber tooth tigers? Living in the Jurassic period must have been horrific, as creatures were massacred by the thousands on a daily basis. So why no reports of anyone seeing ghosts of dinosaurs?
Prehistoric man had it much more difficult that today's modern societies. Rival tribes would attack neighboring villages. Men, women and children were massacred, raped and tortured constantly. So why no reports of seeing ghosts of prehistoric man?
The Aztec and Inca nations would ritually murder thousands of people as sacrifices to their gods. I don't remember ever reading one report of anybody seeing the ghost of an Inca or an Aztec victim. If reason number one is valid then we should see ghosts of dinosaurs, woolly mammoths, prehistoric man, and Indians as hundred of thousands of these creatures met untimely, horrific deaths. The fact that we don't should prove reason number one as complete fabrication.
This proves that people only see ghosts based upon clothing, situations and other people they have seen and can comprehend. I think this is very important to realize if you are a paranormal investigator. We have all seen photos of previous generations but no one actually knows what a dinosaur looked like or even what a prehistoric person used to look like. We can speculate but we will never know. This is why I believe our sightings of ghosts only contain images we are certain to have existed.
Person died with unfinished business
Physics and mathematics proves that energy cannot be destroyed; it can only be changed from one form to another. So when a person dies their energy changes form and lives on but memories cannot exist without the brain. Memories are nothing more than a collection of brain cells, much like a hard drive within a computer. When the brain is destroyed it is impossible to access that information. Even if the energy within our body still remains, it would be a mindless mass of energy much like a lightning ball with no intelligence. This energy would be just a floating mass of energy.
Lightning has never struck somebody or something out of envy. Electricity has never leaped from the socket and electrocuted somebody because of vengeance. I don't think either of these situations will ever happen either. Energy has no conscious and it has no memories.
If you believe energy has a conscious and a memory then you have to prove it using scientific methodologies. The laws of physics don’t allow for this so the burden of proof is on you. Science does not accept blind faith as evidence so you have to prove it through mathematics, physics or physical evidence. If you can’t prove it then you can’t proclaim this as a fact.
Many are residual hauntings. Like a snapshot of something in the past which constantly replays
If this is true then the Earth should be littered with these residual hauntings. We should see dinosaurs hunting and killing prey. We should see villages of prehistoric men killing rivaling villages. We should be able to see the daily human sacrifices of the Inca nations. We should still see reenactments of past wars without the aid of actors. The fact that we don't should easily debunk this explanation.
I am trying to reform the way we investigate hauntings. We will only be able to prove the existence of ghosts and other spirits by using scientific methodology. Blind faith and spirituality is empty unless it is backed with proper physical evidence. I think we hurt our credibility when we invent explanations. We are much more credible when we just admit we don't know but let our clients know we thirst for the truth. That is why we are paranormal investigators. We seek the truth wherever it leads us.
The truth is we do not know why places are haunted, nor do we even understand exactly if it is a spirit that is responsible for the situation. There is still so much unknown to us. But we can only begin to learn if we accept our lack of knowledge. Just like religion limits our intellect and closes our mind, these false beliefs hide the truth.
Stay tuned for part 3-The Role of EMF.
Paranormal Investigations within a Demon Haunted World-Part 1
A multipart essay on paranormal investigations
After immersing myself with paranormal literature and investigations for the past several years, I have recently changed my beliefs regarding hauntings. This essay is a brief summation of my findings. My intention is not to dismiss claims made by witnesses or to debunk psychics but to identify a more logical and even scientific process to explain the events. We can only be taken seriously if we gather evidence properly and learn the laws of physics which control our universe.
Part 1: The Escape from the Halleluiah Booth
In my opinion, the television show Paranormal State is the worst way to investigate a haunting. These guys claimed to be stalked by demons like Paris Hilton is stalked by paparazzi. Every episode the demon gets closer, the leader must even "protect" the young girls by sending them home, thus protecting them from this vicious demon. I have yet to see demons in any place I've been, I have also not seen any demons appearing on this show but I laugh out at the way they conduct themselves.
The danger in the way they conduct investigations is too many people are bringing their religion into the field and that is dangerous. I prefer to use science and scientific methodology when I conduct investigations. When you get to the point in an investigation like Ryan, their leader, where you start having nightmares and thinking the nightmares should be used as evidence in your investigations; you need a break. At his point you're very scary and dangerous, and should see a psychiatrist.
The team in Paranormal State is not alone in their demon claims. People like to blame demons on unexplainable events. These people are what I call, operating within the halleluiah booth. First let me explain the phrase "halleluiah booth."
I cannot claim credit for the phrase but it evolved from a conversation with a friend of mine on the subject of paranormal activity. It comes from these morons on religious television programs who claim to be possessed by the holy spirit. They flail their arms in the air, their eyes roll back in their heads, their body's shake violently, all the while repeatedly screaming, "halleluiah!" Then for the safety of the unpossessed, they are ushered to a quarantined area roped off from your average minion by one of the cleric's henchman. Within this religious mosh pit they writhe and scream halleluiahs with other possessed religious zealots. This booth I refer to as the halleluiah booth.
It is meant to be an antedote describing people who are complete believers, at an emotional level. When you are within the confines of the halleluiah booth, you are unaware of normality, completely "possessed" by blind faith to the point where you have become irrational. At this point all logic, all rules of physics, all common sense is forever lost. You are nothing more than a ditto head flailing uncontrollably, while screaming halleluiah. As a scientist or even as someone trying to prove a theory, the halleluiah booth is a dangerous place to dwell.
I must confess to briefly dwelling within the halleluiah booth in my past. I try to avoid it at all costs, preferring to remain conscious of logic and the rules of physics. I know there are rules within the universe which cannot be compromised regardless of what we think we see or feel. For example, light cannot pass through non physical objects; there must be a physical mass to deflect light. So ghosts, being pure energy, cannot cast shadows. There is no exception to this law.
The moment we try to dismiss known laws of physics, we are entering the halleluiah booth. We must always remain cognoscente of the basic laws of the universe if we are to prove anything. We must also be able to distinguish good evidence from bad. Good evidence can only be physical. Keep in mind, a creepy feeling or an eyewitness account is the worst evidence. If you give credibility to these two types of evidence then you are operating with the halleluiah booth; thus you are no longer an investigator.
It is very easy for the emotions of the moment to cloud your judgment. A credible paranormal investigator will not let emotions, religion or blind faith interfere with the facts. Be cognoscente of your surroundings; learn everything about your eyewitnesses and, again, don't let your emotions get the best of you. There is no evidence to support the theory that ghosts need darkness to operate. Thus, there is no reason to run around in the dark other than to create a creepy atmosphere. Light is better for your photographs and better for your psyche.
I have not found any credible experts on the subject of the paranormal. Most people are either too religious or have been investigating so long they are now completely within the halleluiah booth. This is true of seasoned investigators, who become too emotionally vested to make solid scientific judgments. They are convinced ghosts are real and they have all the answers. Their ego is now standing in the way of any authentic hauntings they might accidentally find. So they begin to create fantasy worlds where demons stalk them and only they can save the world.
I don't claim to have all the answers. I'm still building a list of all of the proper questions to ask. But I want to find the truth wherever it takes me. The truth might not be what we are hoping it to be, but it is still better than operating within the halleluiah booth.
Stay tuned for Part 2-What Causes Hauntings?
After immersing myself with paranormal literature and investigations for the past several years, I have recently changed my beliefs regarding hauntings. This essay is a brief summation of my findings. My intention is not to dismiss claims made by witnesses or to debunk psychics but to identify a more logical and even scientific process to explain the events. We can only be taken seriously if we gather evidence properly and learn the laws of physics which control our universe.
Part 1: The Escape from the Halleluiah Booth
In my opinion, the television show Paranormal State is the worst way to investigate a haunting. These guys claimed to be stalked by demons like Paris Hilton is stalked by paparazzi. Every episode the demon gets closer, the leader must even "protect" the young girls by sending them home, thus protecting them from this vicious demon. I have yet to see demons in any place I've been, I have also not seen any demons appearing on this show but I laugh out at the way they conduct themselves.
The danger in the way they conduct investigations is too many people are bringing their religion into the field and that is dangerous. I prefer to use science and scientific methodology when I conduct investigations. When you get to the point in an investigation like Ryan, their leader, where you start having nightmares and thinking the nightmares should be used as evidence in your investigations; you need a break. At his point you're very scary and dangerous, and should see a psychiatrist.
The team in Paranormal State is not alone in their demon claims. People like to blame demons on unexplainable events. These people are what I call, operating within the halleluiah booth. First let me explain the phrase "halleluiah booth."
I cannot claim credit for the phrase but it evolved from a conversation with a friend of mine on the subject of paranormal activity. It comes from these morons on religious television programs who claim to be possessed by the holy spirit. They flail their arms in the air, their eyes roll back in their heads, their body's shake violently, all the while repeatedly screaming, "halleluiah!" Then for the safety of the unpossessed, they are ushered to a quarantined area roped off from your average minion by one of the cleric's henchman. Within this religious mosh pit they writhe and scream halleluiahs with other possessed religious zealots. This booth I refer to as the halleluiah booth.
It is meant to be an antedote describing people who are complete believers, at an emotional level. When you are within the confines of the halleluiah booth, you are unaware of normality, completely "possessed" by blind faith to the point where you have become irrational. At this point all logic, all rules of physics, all common sense is forever lost. You are nothing more than a ditto head flailing uncontrollably, while screaming halleluiah. As a scientist or even as someone trying to prove a theory, the halleluiah booth is a dangerous place to dwell.
I must confess to briefly dwelling within the halleluiah booth in my past. I try to avoid it at all costs, preferring to remain conscious of logic and the rules of physics. I know there are rules within the universe which cannot be compromised regardless of what we think we see or feel. For example, light cannot pass through non physical objects; there must be a physical mass to deflect light. So ghosts, being pure energy, cannot cast shadows. There is no exception to this law.
The moment we try to dismiss known laws of physics, we are entering the halleluiah booth. We must always remain cognoscente of the basic laws of the universe if we are to prove anything. We must also be able to distinguish good evidence from bad. Good evidence can only be physical. Keep in mind, a creepy feeling or an eyewitness account is the worst evidence. If you give credibility to these two types of evidence then you are operating with the halleluiah booth; thus you are no longer an investigator.
It is very easy for the emotions of the moment to cloud your judgment. A credible paranormal investigator will not let emotions, religion or blind faith interfere with the facts. Be cognoscente of your surroundings; learn everything about your eyewitnesses and, again, don't let your emotions get the best of you. There is no evidence to support the theory that ghosts need darkness to operate. Thus, there is no reason to run around in the dark other than to create a creepy atmosphere. Light is better for your photographs and better for your psyche.
I have not found any credible experts on the subject of the paranormal. Most people are either too religious or have been investigating so long they are now completely within the halleluiah booth. This is true of seasoned investigators, who become too emotionally vested to make solid scientific judgments. They are convinced ghosts are real and they have all the answers. Their ego is now standing in the way of any authentic hauntings they might accidentally find. So they begin to create fantasy worlds where demons stalk them and only they can save the world.
I don't claim to have all the answers. I'm still building a list of all of the proper questions to ask. But I want to find the truth wherever it takes me. The truth might not be what we are hoping it to be, but it is still better than operating within the halleluiah booth.
Stay tuned for Part 2-What Causes Hauntings?
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