Why
can’t
we hear ghosts, when they can be recorded with equipment?
Many
people think that you can record voices on a cassette tape
or on a video because the ghost’s voice imprints directly
on the magnetic tape inside the cassette. Sometimes people that
are sensitive or psychic can hear the voices, but most times no
one hears the voice until we play back the tape. Another theory
is that ghosts speak at a sound frequency either lower or higher
than we can hear. Kind of like a dog whistle, dogs can hear it
but people can’t. No one knows for sure how it happens,
or why, but I think those are some good ideas.
EVP or Electronic
Voice Phenomena can be recorded using anything that records sound,
there
isn’t a certain machine we use.
But we can take that cassette recording, upload it into the computer,
and try to make it louder or get rid of background noise using
a special software program, some you can get for free on the
internet. You can try recording EVP yourself, it might work better
in a place
that is haunted, but a lot of people have made recordings in
their own house. It doesn’t mean that your house is haunted,
it is just an unexpected voice that is sometimes found on recordings
if you listen very carefully. You just have to make sure that
everyone
in the house is quiet and the TV is off, and especially no whispering!
That way you don’t get false recordings.
Here is a
website that might help you:
http://www.aaevp.com/techniques/techniques_evp9.htm
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What
kind of special light is used to capture ghost images? Also,
are
ghosts “orbs” or
can you actually see their figure?
It
seems that ghosts can be captured in any kind of light.
Some of the most famous photos were taken by accident with
a regular
camera in full daylight.
Here is a
website that shows a lot of famous ghost photos:
http://www.prairieghosts.com/grphotos.html
When we are
doing an investigation, we use infrared illuminators when we
are taking
pictures or video in the dark, because
this is another kind of light we think makes it easier
to see spirits.
This is what you see on TV when they are shooting in
the dark and all of the people look green. A digital camera
can
also
capture this wavelength of light, which is why we like
to use them during
investigations. Some investigators like to use infrared
film in
their cameras, but it is hard to work with because
it is expensive and very sensitive to heat and light.
Ghosts can
be both orbs and full body or partial body spirits. They can
also appear as a mist or dark shadow.
We think they
show up as orbs, or round balls of light, sometimes
because it takes
a lot more energy to form a figure.
But not all
orbs you catch on a camera are ghosts. You can do this experiment
at home if you have a
digital camera, it will
probably
work with film also. Turn the lights off or down
really low,
and then shake a blanket, pillow, or something
that
is
dusty and take
a picture. You will probably see a lot of orbs
because when dust is close to the camera lens (within 4”)
the light from the camera flash will bounce off
the dust, and it will look blurry
because it is so close to the camera. This also
works the same way if you take a picture when it is raining
or snowing.
So we
have to be very careful when we are taking pictures,
or we use a dust cover over the lens of the camera.
We also
have to write
down how the weather is if we are outside.
It is
very hard to tell the difference between what a real orb may
look like, and what is just
a particle
of
dust.
I don’t
think anyone knows for sure. But if we set up equipment
and a meter detects something strange, and someone
feels a cold spot then takes
a picture with an orb in it right where they are
pointing, I would say that is a very good example
of what may be
a spirit.
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What are the ways that paranormal activity manifests itself?
It
can be anything from voices to loud noises to missing items,
seeing shadows, a white cloud, or
balls of light. People
see objects moving, or fall off of shelves. I even recently had someone
tell me that she had "beds being made, clothes being folded, (and)
beds being turned down," among other more disturbing
behavior, like animals that act strangely or scared
and end up in weird places,
like closed drawers. Paranormal activity also seems
to wreak havoc on electrical and/or plumbing equipment.
There have been a few
cases where electrical problems are persistent, and
no matter how many times the electrician or cable man
comes out, they can't explain
why it won't work.
Do you believe paranormal activity is caused by spirits?
What do you think about animal spirits?
I think that
can be a cause of paranormal activity, but not all paranormal
activity is spirits trapped
on earth
unable
to cross
to the other
side. I believe that many hauntings are family members,
who have probably
crossed over, but
are looking out for those they’ve left behind.
I’m
not sure how I feel about demons or spirits that
were never human, but there are
many people
that believe negative spirits exist.
I definitely
believe in animal spirits. I have heard too many
first hand accounts of deceased pet sightings
or sensations
of them curling
up in
bed next to their
previous owners.
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What
is your definition of “paranormal
activity?”
Paranormal
activity is anything that can’t be
explained with a natural cause.
What
was the most unique paranormal experience you had?
Well, this
is unique only to me, but we were at a historical house in
a state park and we were discussing
the owner
and his profession.
We weren’t sure what he did, but someone
said they thought he was a tanner. As if in answer
to
the question I heard a man’s
voice make a sound in the affirmative. It sounded
very close to my ear, but it also seemed to echo
as if coming from a large empty
room. The quality of the sound was just very different
than if someone “living” who was standing
next to me had made it. Then as we were leaving
we walked past the house and heard
the sound of a man coughing, with the same quality.
Another woman walking with me heard it as well,
but there were no men around.
It was very eerie to me because I had never heard
anything like it before. I have heard many good
stories of full apparitions,
or ghosts that appeared as living persons. I have
yet to experience one, but that’s what we’re
looking for. That happened a couple of years into
it, but we see stuff out of the corner of
our eye all of the time that can’t be confirmed.
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How
did your family/friends react when you told them you believed
in ghosts?
Well, some
of them have stories to share, and some think it is just silly.
Others are interested,
but will find
a reason
not
to believe any kind of evidence you present,
no
matter how convincing. My father is Catholic
and heavily
involved with
the church. He
does not believe that ghosts, or former human
souls, exist on the
earth. Any activity is attributed to demons
or can be the work of God or the angels. Now, I
don’t completely discredit what
he says because those legends and stories can
be interesting phenomena in themselves. He
doesn’t
try to tell me what to believe, but I also
listen to what he has to say. I
also have seen
many couples break up, especially when one
partner is a ghost hunter
and the other does not believe. I did not divorce
because of ghost hunting, but my former spouse
was not interested
in the
subject
and it did become a point of contention. When
you become a ghost hunter and your partner
does not share your interest
it can be
hard on the relationship, because ghost hunting
can mean many
hours away from home and possibly travel out
of state. It can be hard
for your partner to understand why this is
so interesting to you and why you need to be
away
for so long. I have
also seen
couples
that seem to work it out just fine, but it
is definitely an issue that should be addressed
up front.
When I
get older, I want to do what you do. How can I
make this a career?
Well, this is something we do on a volunteer
basis. We want to help people that need us, so
we don’t charge anyone when
we go to their house or business to investigate,
it’s not
really a job. Sometimes they buy dinner or snacks,
but that’s
about it. Everybody in our group works full time
at other jobs. My regular job is a Graphic Designer
at an advertising
agency,
that is why I am the one that made the website.
There are
some people that are able to make a living out of this, but usually
they live in
a city that
is really
old and
is known
to be haunted, or a big tourist location, and
they run haunted tours, sometimes year-round.
Like in
New Orleans
they have
tours four times a night all year, and they
get a lot of people to
take them. But usually that is not enough money
to live on, so they
also write books about the paranormal. For
example, Troy Taylor from the American Ghost Society in
Alton Illinois
writes a
lot of books, he owns a publishing company
that also prints other
people’s
books, and he runs tours and group trips to
haunted places in other cities in Illinois
and nearby
states. But there aren’t
many people that can do what he does, so not
many people are able to
have paranormal investigating as a job.
Then
there are the really talented psychics who
charge people a lot of money to come to
their
house, and
to do psychic
readings, but that is also pretty rare.
Another
reason everybody has a day job is because the equipment can
get expensive,
especially
if you want
a setup like on
the TV show Ghost Hunters. You also have
to find someone who knows
electronics
really well, so they can fix things when
they break.
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What
is the most important tool to have when you become a ghosthunter?
The
most important tool you need to ghost hunt is free, you need
to bring an open mind and logical or skeptical attitude. Many
ghost hunters will tell you that the first objective is to
disprove the haunting. All possible logical explanations for
the phenomena
must be analyzed before declaring the location haunted. When
there seems to be no physical explanation for the haunting,
you need to have an open mind to be able to accept the other
possibilities.
And just because you aren’t able to document activity,
it doesn’t mean the location is not haunted. It may require
several visits to document activity, or it may not happen at
all. I like to ask the owner to keep a journal of activity noting
the time, location, persons present, and type of activity. This
may help to determine the best time to come back for a follow-up
visit. As far as electronic equipment goes, most people start
with what they have. This usually means a camera, either 35mm
or digital. This is ok when you are just starting out, but what
really makes compelling evidence is when several pieces of equipment
back up some kind of phenomena occurring at the same time in
the same place.
What
made you decide to become a ghost hunter?
I
have always been interested in ghosts. When I saw a group
in my state that claimed to hunt ghosts, I decided to join
to see
what they were about. After learning what I could from
them, reading a lot of books, and doing a lot of research on
the internet, a
few of us decided to start our own group. You really have
to find a group of people you trust and like hanging out
with. There are
a lot of crazy people out there, and people that aren’t
serious about the paranormal or helping other people. Many
groups are formed
on a hobby basis, they get together to party and drink
alcohol, and call themselves ghost hunters. We like to
meet with people
in other groups in our state and all around the country,
that are serious about the paranormal to talk to them about
what
they believe
and how they operate.
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What
technical gadget would you recommend
to a novice ghost hunter?
Well, after
a camera or video camera, I would recommend a basic EMF meter.
There are
several
low cost models,
for example
a
Gauss Master™, Cellsensor™,
or a Trifield® Natural EM Meter. Now, as with any
electrical equipment, it is important to learn how to
use the equipment
properly by reading the owner’s
manual, if you are not using the equipment properly then
your results are worthless. These meters all work on
the common principal that paranormal
activity is made
up of electromagnetic energy and can cause abnormal fluctuations
in the meter,
and this is exactly why it is important to read the manual
so you recognize natural fluctuations and readings. It
is very easy to get excited about
a reading that
seems paranormal, but may very well be a naturally occuring
field.
What
should the novice ghost hunter expect when he/she first starts
in the
quest to hunt ghosts?
Many, many
boring evenings where no activity takes place. It is very easy
to get discouraged or distracted.
And for all
of that audio
and video recording
of an empty doorway, you have to spend an equal amount of time
trying not to
fall asleep reviewing the footage.
What
does it mean if a person fails to ever have a paranormal experience
even if he
or she is doing all they can?
They just
aren’t in the
right place at the right time yet, or maybe they are trying
too hard. Try not to think about it, but stay aware. Things
happen
when you least expect them. You can also try to focus on
an object and use your peripheral vision, because that is how
most sightings occur,
when you
try to look straight at it, it disappears.
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How
can a novice spot a fake?
I think it
just takes a lot of practice. Many websites are now including
false evidence
to show the difference.
You
can also
experiment on
your own and try
to create “paranormal” activity
on purpose with dust and moisture, camera
straps and bugs. That
way you know what not to look
for.
At
what point do you consider a novice an expert?
I
don’t believe anyone can be an expert in the field
of the paranormal. There are many people who have extensive experience,
or have been researching the
field for 30-50 years, but until it can
be fully understood and documented I don’t see how
anyone can call himself or herself an “expert” in the paranormal.
Do
you do any other kind of research?
I think most
groups don’t do enough research on
the land, structures, previous owners and the history of
the area, all of which I enjoy doing when
I have time. It is very hard because most of the offices (tax assessor,
county registrar, and historical societies for example)
close at 5 p.m. on weekdays
and some aren’t open on the weekend, which makes research very
difficult with those of us holding full time jobs.
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Besides photography, audio and video, what other equipment do you use?
Our other
equipment includes EMF
(Electromagnetic Field) meters which detect electrical fields
like power lines, appliances, etc.; and magnetic fields, which can pick
up underground water and metal deposits. Paranormal researchers
believe that spirit energy may alter or radiate these types of
fields, since some of the more sensitive equipment will pick
up a person walking by. And one of the common occurrences in a haunted
location is malfunctioning electrical equipment.
We
also use non-contact infrared thermometers to measure cold/hot
spots, and we like
to experiment with things like dowsing rods, pendulums, and
intuitive investigators.
Are you busier around Halloween--is there
a busy season for paranormal activity?
Many
of the requests we receive to perform an investigation never
happen. Someone in the house might not agree, the activity may
stop,
or the people may move. We may correspond for a prospective client
for months and then they decide that they don't need an investigation.
It
definitely gets busier around Halloween because it is all over
the media. TV shows and radio stations feature haunted programming
during the entire month. We don't get more requests
for
investigations in October, but more people that are curious
about the paranormal ask a lot of questions and express interest
in joining our group. We also get more requests from the media
to do articles, radio shows, and go on "real" ghost
hunts.
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Without giving away your trade secrets, can you give me some more details on
how you actually conduct your investigations?
They
aren't really trade secrets, almost all of the ghost groups
around the country have a "protocol" or list
of rules and guidelines. I'm not sure who wrote it first,
but it seems that
everyone has copied the same list and modified it to
fit their preferences.
We correspond
by e-mail at first, then follow-up with
a phone call to set up an initial interview. Depending
on how we feel about the person calling (whether
or not we think the request
is legitimate or how far away they are) we'll either
meet for an interview only, or proceed with the initial
investigation. We need
to be comfortable with the person calling, as much
as we want them to be comfortable inviting us into their
home or business.
Then,
we'll get as many of our team members together
as necessary, which is usually five or less and may or may not include
a psychic, to
do a walk-through of the area. After recording
first impressions, we talk to the owner to get a better
idea of where the "hot
spots" may be, or the areas where activity
occurs the most. Then we'll set up equipment and
chairs
in those
areas and wait…and
wait…and wait.
Every
half-hour or so someone will do a walk-around to check on everything, and
we will
try to record EVPs (Electronic
Voice Phenomena). We use a normal audio recorder
and ask questions, pausing in between,
and
hope for an answer when
we play it back. Just recently we were in a warehouse
on the east side and we recorded five to ten
questions.
We immediately rewound
the tape and played it back, I've never seen
three grown men so shocked. We played it again and everyone
agreed
that when he asked "When
did you die?," we heard a small girl's voice
say "I'm
not dead."
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What do you do if you conclude there is paranormal activity?
After
the investigation, we research the history and the property of
the house to try to explain why it
may be haunted,
and who may be haunting it. If we feel like the spirit should move on,
we talk to the owner to find out their opinion. If it is agreed
upon, we contact the appropriate resources to assist with this. Nobody
knows for sure if you can actually get rid of spirits, you
can
ask them not to bother you or stay outside of the house, but no one
can really force them to do something they refuse to do.
Usually, learning more about the paranormal helps people, and being
hurt or attacked by entities is extremely rare.
Many
people end up feeling safer with a spirit there to protect them. And
many times they are named and treated like a part of
the family.
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