Showing posts with label Paranormal Investigation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paranormal Investigation. Show all posts

Sunday, 30 March 2014

Gold Rush Ghosts Chronicles

Gold Rush Ghosts Chronicles: Things Can Get Spooky in Elk Grove

The day started off like any other day. There is rain outside, my dogs Pika and T-Rex are begging for their walk. They don't care if it rains or not. Sigh. But, I had to hold off on their walk. It was time to meet the paranormal group known as Gold Rush Ghosts. I met up with the team of Gold Rush Ghosts at an undisclosed location, where we conducted a meeting in regard to the upcoming investigations today. I said investigations in plural, because there are two investigations that will be conducted today. The first one is a private residence. The occupants and the residence are to remain confidential. I interviewed one of the occupants, a lovely long haired blonde woman with a statuesque pose when she enters the room. As I surveyed the Gold Rush Ghosts team, I did a mental roll call. Present for the investigations today are the following paranormal investigators: Nancy Bradley - Celebrity Psychic; Robert Reppert - Lead Investigator; Chris Grissom; Rodney Roberts; Paul Dale Roberts; Catherine Noble; Maria Muzzy; Danielle Carpenter; Liz Harrison; Millieanne Jackson; Renee Miller and Layne Miller. Wow! A very capable team to accomplish any challenges that we may face this day. Speaking of which... The day today is Sunday, January 27, 2008.
Now to my interview with the blonde haired woman occupant. She tells me that her neighbor across the street lives in a haunted home. The neighbors originally lived in a haunted home in Red Bluff, California. When they brought certain objects over from their old home to their new home, it appeared that the entities followed them to their new home. At times the neighbors from across the street have paid visits with the occupants of the haunted home we are investigating. She tells me that during family events, there has been many pictures taken inside of her home and she never captured any orb pictures. About 3 1/2 months ago, she started capturing orb pictures, which she thought was unusual. Then she tells me the fun began, here is what she relates to me.
1. Her husband makes sure that all of the lights are off in the house, he cannot sleep if even one light is on. One night at 3am, they both woke up, because the kitchen light came on by itself.
2. Her husband while laying in bed, heard a woman's voice shout his name 2 inches from his exposed ear. At the time, his wife was not at home. There was no one else in the house.
3. One of their dogs acts crazy around the house and acts like he is chasing some unknown entity within the house.
4. A mysterious blue light radiated the bedroom for a period of 2 seconds. They could not find the origin of the light source.
5. A pair of shoes was found on the computer room chair. Both of them, do not at anytime leave shoes on the chair. Now here is the interesting part. The shoes were given to them by their neighbors as a gift. These are the neighbors that live in a haunted home across the street from them. The shoes when given to them as a gift, was given to them 3 1/2 months ago, the same time as when the activity started. I was eyeing these pair of shoes and thinking I could sell them on ebay as haunted shoes, going price...hmmmm...$5,000.00. Okay, let me get off my money making schemes and concentrate on the investigation.
As we set up video cameras throughout the house, the orb activity started immediately. We had orbs flying out of the bathroom, through doors. We had a lot of orb activity in the closet. We had orbs that moved right, then left, hover and fly up. We had orbs that seemed to follow certain people. This was all captured on various video cameras. Without digital cameras, we captured many orbs, we even captured 2 dark orbs that seem to cling to the wall and moved 1 foot down, to be captured again on film. We took one picture of Robert Reppert and there seemed to be an orb that sat on his shoulder. Robert captured an odd EVP, which sounded like an unusual rustling noise and there was nothing around to make that rustling noise. All of the evidence from this house investigation will be analyzed and placed on the Gold Rush Ghosts website.
When we left this private residence, we convoyed over to the Elk Grove Brewery. We set up cameras to tape Nancy Bradley's paranormal show and Nancy and I, conducted interviews with the employees. The employees interviewed were: Staci Honey, Nicole Grogan, Heather Loft, Danica Beardsley and Keturah Lowe. Danica and Keturah have only been working at the Brewery for a short period of time and have not experienced anything paranormal yet. The stories that Heather, Staci and Nicole relate are everything from hearing a baby crying. They tell me at times, their chefs have felt presences in the kitchen area. Some patrons who claim the ability of clairvoyance, have detected the presence of entities. One of the employees said she was grabbed at the waist by a ghost with a strong grip, she suspected it was a male entity. In the ladies' room strange creaking noises have been heard. One of the weirdest experiences is when a female patron went into the lady's room, she saw eyes staring at her, when she frantically left the lady's room, the eyes followed her out to the bar. Some employees feel like they are being watched. Some employees say that they have seen moving darting shadowy figures. Nancy using her psychic abilities, picked up on an entity named Margie. Nancy describes the entity as being 5' 5" or 5' 7". Nancy says that she has gray hair and it's tied up into a ball. The entity has a cute round face, eyes that sparkle. The entity is also heavy set or possibly big bone and is wearing an old fashioned apron with pink designs. As Nancy walked around she was picking up on Margie's last name, it starts with a 'C' and could be possibly an Italian last name. As Nancy concentrated, images flashed in her mind. Images of Margie coming to America on a boat. While Margie was on this boat, she was afraid of the water. All of Margie's belongings were placed in a chest. Margie adored the contents of the chest and the chest itself. Margie's intention was to be a hand maid in America, but instead she found herself working in the kitchen. Nancy gathered that Margie came over at the age of 16 and died when she was 54. Margie was planning to settle down with a family in San Francisco, but instead found herself in Sacramento, after the family moved. One of Margie's specialties was skinning snakes and cooking them. The eating of snakes could have been one of her delicacies.
As Nancy picked up on the information on Margie, she later picked up on the energy of a short man that happens to follow one of the cook's around. When Nancy focuses on something with her psychic abilities, her eyes are focused on the unseen object. You can actually follow Nancy's eyes as she sees things that we can't see. As the Gold Rush Ghosts investigative teams were on their assignments, the employees allowed us to investigate the upstairs areas and the basement. The team has so far taken pictures of various orb activity. There is one photograph that shows an orb splitting into two separate orbs. The EVPs have not been fully analyzed yet and I will let Robert Reppert place that information in our FINDINGS and CONCLUSIONS.
One of the investigators had a fully charged camera and the batteries instantly drained. A possible source of this problem is when an entity or entities take the energy from a power source, such as batteries.
We had two great investigations today and I am looking forward to the results of this investigation. This is where I let Robert take it away. Robert?
ROBERT REPPERT'S FINDINGS: When we arrived at the first location, I started to take photographs of the site. First to show the lay out of the site and then to see if any orb activity would appear. To my surprise I was able to catch two Dark Orbs in one room of the residence. A Dark Orb is where the orb absorbs the light of the flash and does not reflect it back to the camera. I was also able to catch some light blue orbs around the shoes that were presented to us. Upon further investigation with Infrared cameras we were able to capture the orb activity moving around the shoes first. We then moved the camera to different places around the home. Upon placing the camera in the master closet, We were able to view a flurry of Orb activity and also abnormally high EMF readings. I was finally lucky enough to catch an EVP around the shoes that we are enhancing as we speak. We then moved on to the Brewery.
My Main Job at the Brewery was to film the interviews with Nancy, Paul, and the staff of the Brewery but I also got to do some filming in the building as well. The Basement: this area of the building has been reported as having the sound of a baby crying. Upon entering the basement I could feel the heavy air hanging around me but I heard no sounds of infants. Our team of investigators were able to get an array of orb photos and a few EVPs. We could not get most of the building dark enough to use our nightshot and infrared cameras. On a technical note, I could indentify that the building looked to be constructed around the late 1800's or the early 1900's and it appeared to have had a store on the main level and possibly rooms for rent on the top floor which is consisitant with that era. The brick building sits in which was the center of old Elk Grove with only one other brick building that sits to the West of it.
ROBERT REPPERT'S CONCLUSION: The fact that several people have heard the infant crying, warrants some deeper research into what this building may have been in the past as well as it's occupants. The main areas of sightings were reported to be the basement, the kitchen, and the Lady's bathroom. With the initial investigation over, I can conclude that the brewery has many reports of activity and deserves further probing into it's activity. The private residence has proven to us to have spirit activity. We have encouraged the occupants to enjoy the energy and that there is nothing to fear about the activity. The evedence shows that there is someone or something that likes to be at this place.
Paul Dale Roberts, HPI and GRG Ghostwriter, Ghosthunter
Paranormal Investigator for Haunted and Paranormal Investigations of Northern California
and Gold Rush Ghosts
Email: JazmaPika@cs.com
www.hpiparanormal.net
http://www.goldrushghosts.com/
http://www.nancybradley.org/
www.ghostgirls.net
www.hauntedamericatours.com
www.jazmaonline.com
http://ghostgirls.net/ghostgirlscast.html
http://www.ghostsandstories.com/paul.html
Paranormal Cellular Hotline: 916 203 7503 (for comments on this story).
Be on the lookout for the:HPI NORTHERN CA PARANORMAL CONFERENCE at the Brookdale Lodge May 16-18th, 2008 and I will be on the new TV series called Ghost Girls at www.GhostGirls.net
And be on the lookout for the NOSCARS Award Ceremony
Feb 14th, 2008 go to: http://www.ghostgirls.net/Noscars.html
If you have a possible investigation call: 1-888-709-4HPI


Source

Tuesday, 8 January 2013

Be a UFO Hunter: 11 Ways to Spot a UFO


There are many mysteries in this world: Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and the abominable snowman. None of these are as popular as UFOs though. Recorded evidence to support their existence are so overwhelming that even the US government had admitted at one point that these unusual things are actually out there. Their official statement made it clear though that they didn’t find them a threat to national security. But don’t take their word for it. If you want to know the truth about UFOs, you should hunt them down yourself. You better get started!

1. Do Some Stargazing
Most UFO sightings happen at night when sunlight does not flood the sky, so do some stargazing. The great thing about this is that even if you don’t get to see a UFO, you can relax under the beautiful starry sky.
2. Look Out for Daylight Discs
UFOs can be seen day or night. Your regular nighttime UFOs are called nocturnal lights while daytime UFOs are called daylight discs. Most nocturnal lights are self-illuminating while most daylight discs are metallic in color. So while you’re walking down the street, look up at the clouds. You may just spot a sparkling daylight disc zipping across the sky.

3. Don’t Mistake Venus for a Martian Spaceship
The night sky is peppered with constellations, planets, and occasional meteors. If you don’t familiarize yourself with it, you’re bound to mistake a star for a UFO. Obtain star charts from the Internet and visit your local planetarium to know which lights are supposed to be there and which should not. This way, you won’t get overexcited when you see blue and red lights twinkling in the sky, and shout out to the neighborhood that an invasion is coming.



4. Volunteer to Become a Weather Spotter
Anything that can help you develop your observation skills is a plus. You’ll get plenty of training in meteorology as a weather spotter. You will learn to identify all kinds of anomalous weather phenomena. Not only will you have more opportunities to see a UFO hiding in fluffy cumulus clouds, but you will get to serve your community as well.
5. Join a Bird Watcher’s Club
Joining a bird watcher’s club is more fun than being a weather spotter, but you get about the same amount of time watching the skies. Don’t tell your club buddies though that you’re in it just for the UFOs.
6. Learn Which is Man-Made and Which is Alien
If you live in the US, the perfect way to do this is to join the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). During the Cold War, CAP volunteers were taught to identify the configurations of different kinds of aircraft. Today, CAP has lessened that kind of training, but they still teach their members some cool observation skills.
7. Go to UFO “Flap” Areas
Researchers have found out that UFOs can be seen in waves of “flaps” that happen every few years. Flaps are generally confined to specific geographic locations and last from several days to a couple of weeks. Travel to these places to increase your chances of spotting a UFO.
8. Pack Your UFO Hunter Bag
Wherever you choose to hunt UFO, make sure that your UFO hunter bag is packed with the right gadgets: a video camera, a telescope, binoculars, star charts, maps, and a laptop for some quick Internet research. For more serious UFO hunters and investigators, night vision and thermal-imaging equipment will also help you search for UFOs and make you look good too.
9. Avoid Densely Populated Areas
It’s not advisable to hunt for UFOs in densely populated areas. The noise may interfere with your concentration and the smog above may also reduce visibility at night. In contrast, you’ll have more peace of mind observing the sky in a sparsely populated area. Absence of light from other sources also makes everything clearer.
10. Don’t Try Too Hard
Accept the fact that you many not be able to see a UFO your whole life. Many people have investigated UFOs for decades, but they are nowhere near solving these UFO mysteries as you are. Don’t try too hard. If you feel too sleepy to watch the skies, postpone your stargazing session for tomorrow. After all, you won’t be able to see any UFO with those droopy eyes.
11. Can’t Spot a Live One? Spot a Recorded One
Hundreds of thousands of hours of film have captured the sky, both at nighttime and daytime. If you really want to see a UFO, go through some of these videos, especially the ones where the sky is always shown. The “rod,” an insect-like UFO, is being investigated by researchers this way. It has appeared in many videos, including one where it appeared near a tornado without minding its powerful winds at all.
UFOs reportedly cause all kinds of strange complications to people when they’re nearby, including: fatigue, headaches, skin burns, and even leukemia. In the very rare chance that you get too lucky and you find yourself too near a UFO, run away from it as fast as you can. Abduction is always a risk in UFO hunting.

Visit Life Hackery to view more interesting articles.

Full Article:  http://paranormalnewscentral.com/ufos/related-topics/243-be-a-ufo-hunter-11-ways-to-spot-a-ufo

Thursday, 22 November 2012

Pakal’s Son Kan Balam Tomb Found in Palenque

A huge archaeology discovery has been found in Palenque, Mexico. After decades of searching, the tomb of Pakal the Great’s son Kan Balam II has been discovered near the Temple of the Foliated Cross.
Has the tomb of King Kan Balam II, the son of Pakal the Great finally been found in Palenque? Although archaeologists have been searching for this tomb for decades now, there has never been anything found of his remains. But now that may have changed. A group of amateur explorers has announced on several TV stations in Mexico that they have found the missing tomb near the Temple of the Foliated Cross (pictured below). What is intriguing is that this building was constructed during the reign of Kan Balam II and was one of the places that archaeologists thought the King could be buried at.


Perhaps the most important thing about this discovery though is that ancient legends speak of the tomb being found only at the end of the 2012 calender cycle. If this tomb has indeed been found then what will this mean to the fate of our world? And does the chamber contain any specific warnings or preparations for us to make for the coming date of December 21, 2012? After all, it was Kan Balam II that founded the order of Chilam Bilam and its nine degrees who were the astronomer-priests that created the 2012 prophecies.
The team has not announced much information about the discovery so far other than a few details which are listed below:
  1. The chamber is fairly large with carved ancient symbols and writing on the walls. (none of the explorers were versed in ancient Maya language so no decoding was able to be performed)
  2. A sarcophagus similar to King Pakal the Great’s (pictured below) is in the chamber. The lid also has highly detailed artwork similar to Pakal’s.

  1. The team was not able to remove the lid but numerous jade and other artifacts were spread outside the sarcophagus.
  2. The chamber appears to have either false doors inside it or at least two sealed doors which the team was not able to open.

3d rendition of the tomb of Kan Balam II.
Asked as to what the team plans on doing about this discovery, they replied that they are currently in the process of acquiring a lawyer to ascertain what their rights are. Unfortunately, Mexican law forbids any archaeological discovery to be claimed by individuals and are solely the property of the national government so the team will most likely not received any compensation for the discovery. The team did say they would reveal the location but only after making sure their rights (if any) were looked at first. As always, stay tuned


Source:  http://scienceray.com/astronomy/pakals-son-kan-balam-tomb-found-in-palenque/

Tuesday, 20 November 2012

Book Review: A Beginner’s Guide to Paranormal Investigations

Written By: Paranormal News

 
 

buy me at amazon.com

Whether you’re interested in cryptozoology, UFOs, or ghosts, if you would like to form a paranormal investigations group and have no idea where to begin, what equipment to use, how to speak with witnesses to paranormal events, or how to avoid wasting precious time chasing false leads, then you might want to check out "A Beginner’s Guide to Paranormal Investigation" written by Mark Rosney, Rob Bethell, & Jebby Robinson. You may have asked yourself, for example: how does one analyze photos to determine if they are fake? How does one decipher an EVP session that was held at a supposedly haunted location? What software do you use? What websites can you visit to help make sense of things? How do you tell if a witness isn’t being truthful? What pitfalls should you look out for to help decipher objective evidence from subjective interpretations? Those are the core questions addressed here. It seeks to give you a starting point--and many times, a starting point is all that is necessary for you to begin to conduct your own investigations.

The authors do not attempt to convince you of any set of beliefs concerning what is truly going on in any of the fringe fields. The bulk of what you will be reading concerns equipment, technique, and having the proper mind set, helping you improve the professionalism of your group, which always leads to future opportunities. They do not, however, attempt to explain how to use a specific, highly focused set of equipment, although it does provide overall guidance on proper methods for using certain technologies. Anyone reading the "Core Concepts and Skills" section should be able to properly choose which cameras, voice recorders, microphones, etc. to buy and which ones to avoid. Whether your group’s budget is $20,000 or $200, reading this portion alone is worth the price itself.

And finally, in addition to the information concerning equipment, the authors also provide a few gem photographs of possible spirits that they have uncovered themselves. I spent quite a bit of time staring at them, trying to work out for myself what they could be, and came up empty. Obviously there is a variety of phenomena out there in the wild just waiting to be discovered and explored, all of which aims to assist us in our ongoing quest for meaning and place in the universe--it is up to you, the paranormal investigator, to help find it. Who are we? Who made us? Where do we come from? Where are we going? What happens after death? As a paranormal investigator embarking on the serious work of obtaining objective answers to these questions, this work will fit in right along side of the rest of the books in your paranormal arsenal.


Source:   http://www.paranormalnews.com/article.aspx?id=1441

Wednesday, 19 September 2012

Top 10 Weird Paranormal Products

Top 10 Weird Paranormal Products

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have in your possession an item of great power?  For centuries, mankind has been searching for rare relics of unknown origin that may hold powers beyond belief.  What would happen if you came across one of these relics; what would you do with it?  There are some strange things out there, but none can be stranger than the following products.  Some of these products may work, but most of them probably don't, otherwise everyone would be using them to their advantage.  Whatever the case may be, please don't be offended by any of the comments as they are just for entertainment purposes only.

10. Crystal Skulls/Balls







Usually made up of quartz-like material, crystal balls or skulls have mystified humans for ages.  Both are known to be connected to the paranormal in some way or another and may even assist in contact with the dead.  Many fictional movies are based on the reports of people using these strange items.  If you have one of these and you're wondering why it doesn't work, then maybe you should try the next item on our list for guaranteed results!  Otherwise, you can purchase both crystal skulls and crystal balls online through various vendors or even E-bay.


9. Magic 8-Ball







A popular toy in the 90s, the Magic 8-Ball did some amazing things for what it cost.  Along with wasting your money, the magic ball could answer questions you already know the answer to, predict things that would never happen, and even give you answers to questions you never asked.  Confusing? Yes. Magical? Don't think so. You might be wondering why I've included this in the list, and all I can say is "Reply Hazy, Please Try Again." 
The Magic 8-Ball would become so popular however, that many versions of the fortune telling toy would be created. Some examples are:
Affirmation Ball (A yellow ball with a smiley face on it that gives twenty random affirmations to the user, such as "You look marvelous" or "Your breath is so minty".)
Sarcasm Ball (The antithesis of the Affirmation Ball, this one provides answers such as "Do I Look Like I Care?" and "Yeah, Right".)
Hannah Montana 8-Ball (Baby blue in color. Based on the Disney live action TV show and pop singer Hannah Montana. Example of answers: "The fans say yes", "I've Got Nerve and I say no", "Sweet Niblets No", and "You got it, Bud.")


8. Miracle Spring Water







Peter Popoff (self-proclaimed miracle healer who was exposed as a fraud) is giving out little packets of tap water he blessed himself as long as you donate money to him.  By consuming the miracle water, users supposedly can expect to receive large sums of money in the mail and be cured of cancer.  You may be asking yourself where you can sign up for your "free" miracle water.  By staying up late at night, you may be able to catch one of his infomercials advertising the magical H2O on TV.  


7. Miracle Manna







From the makers of Miracle Spring Water comes Miracle Manna.  Not only is it just as ineffective as Miracle Spring Water, but it tastes just like stale crackers.  Those who sign up can expect to be bombarded constantly by Peter Popkoff bills for donations.  The release of these types of products has spurred many copycat televangelists to release their own miracle product lines with items such as the "Miracle Handkerchief."


6. Haunted Dolls







Unlike Chucky who is guaranteed to grab the closest kitchen knife and shank you, these dolls are just plain wicked.  Not only do they look scary, but some people report that they actually move and can even cause some strange paranormal activity.   Haunted dolls are based on the theory that a soul of a person resides within the doll.  Certain dolls such as "Robert the Doll," have even inspired the making of top Hollywood movies such as the Chucky series.  You can purchase haunted dolls through various online vendors and even e-bay.   


5. Mind Control Protection Helmet







Tired of getting abducted all the time?  Well, the Mind Control Protection Helmet will prevent any extraterrestrials from reading you mind and controlling you (until they take it off of course).  The helmets are specially designed to resist telepathic messages from getting to your brain which in turn reduce your chance of getting abducted.  There are many versions of the helmet mostly made up of various household materials, and if you look online, you can even purchase some handmade ones or find instructions to make your own.   You can find instructions at (stoptheabductions.com) 


4. Vampire Kit







Want to take your vampire hunting a little more seriously? Then maybe you need a kit like this one from the 1800s which comes with stakes, mirrors, a gun w/silver bullets, a Bible, holy water, candles, and garlic.  This one sold for $14,850 at auction, and you can get your own through various online vendors. 


3. The Telsa Shield 











Nikola Telsa was a genius far ahead of his time, the makers of the "Telsa Shield," weren't however.  The so called "abilities" of the Telsa shield are just absurd, its laughable (protects against radiation, retards aging, increases psychic abilities, increases physical strength and stamina).  Supposedly this device was inspired by Nikola and was based on his personal oscillation invention.  The Telsa Shield isn't cheap however, and can cost anywhere from 100-200 bucks (lifetechnology.org).  Whatever the case may be, there are some who swear it works.  Maybe if the Telsa Shield vibrated, more would agree. 


2. Voodoo Dolls







Not only can you play with Voodoo dolls, but the dolls can also play with you too. The Voodoo doll is used to represent the spirit of a specific person which you can perform certain rituals and spells on that would in return affect the target.  Voodoo goes far beyond just sticking pins in a doll.  There are a wide arrange of voodoo dolls available including spells like a voodoo weight-loss spell, breakup spell, love spell, and even ultimate revenge spells.  Go to http://www.calastrology.com/voodoo.html to purchase some of your own and read the testimonials. 


1. UFO Detector








Over the years, many people who have encountered UFOs have also reported magnetic and electromagnetic disturbances. The UFO Detector is designed to sense these disturbances and will signal their presence by flashing an LED and beeping.  This product has almost 5 stars on Amazon and many swear it is effective at detecting nearby UFOs.  Overall, this seems like a pretty nifty gadget if you're hoping to catch a glimpse of otherworldly crafts.  To purchase one of your own, go to (www.amazon.com/Images-SI-Inc-UFO-02-Detector/dp/B000FVUKKO)


Article Source:   http://paranormalnewscentral.com/phenomena/related-topics/top-lists/508-top-10-weird-paranormal-products

Thursday, 6 September 2012

New Apparition Infrared Photos

New Apparition Infrared PhotoThese photos were taken on an South Jersey Ghost Research investigation on 3/26/08 by Dave Juliano on 2nd floor of the Burlington County Prison Museum pointing toward the stair way to the right of the death row cell. Camera used was a FE100 Olympus digital camera mounted to a Yukon Night Vision Scope Multi-Task 2X24 YK24021 with the infrared illuminator on. This scope and camera were on stationary tripod. So far we have found no natural reason for these photos. They are currently being reviewed by military nightvision experts. Two weeks later on an investigation of a private business, another full body apparition photo was obtained using the same camera rig.

During SJGR's nine year history of investigating the Burlington County Prison Museum, there have been numerous sightings of a male apparition on the stair case in the same area where these photos were obtained. South Jersey Ghost Research was first asked to investigate the museum during its renovation in 1999 because workers were reporting objects moving and relocating to other floors and hearing voices. (
video history of investigations)

Below are 3 photos taken in a row within the same 20 second periodclick on photos to enlarge





8:44pm - Apparition on the left handside of the doorway



8:44pm - Apparition on right hand side of photo with strange light



8:44pm - Everything back to normal. This is what the hallway should look like in each of the photos with the apparitions in them.



Samples of what people and objects look like with this camera/scope set up. The three black spots on the left hand side of some of the photos are "dead spots" on the nightscope's lens that are the result of the lens being exposed to bright light on an investigation.



Here is what the actual set up looks like. The bracket is made specifically to mount a digital camera to a night vision scope. We know that digital cameras can capture infrared light which regular 35mm cameras will not without special film and/or filters. Combining the digital camera along with a nightscope and it's infrared illuminator makes it possible to see things that the human eye cannot naturally see.




This is photo taken in an empty hallway on an investigation just acouple of weeks after the investigation at the Prison Museum.
 
 
 

Paranormal Investigating Equipment 101

Paranormal Investigating Equipment 101

Written By: Noah Voss

 
Not ghost detectors. We’ll save the fact that:

#1. Ghosts have not been universally agreed upon in definition—ever.

#2. No one has ever discovered a scientific piece of equipment that can quantifiably detect ghosts (see #1).

We’ll be saving the above two painfully obvious facts and the myriad of implications all for numerous other editorials. Today we are looking at paranormal investigating equipment as a whole. This will undoubtedly cause us to touch on many other aspects such as investigation procedure, the scientific method, and specialized terminology to name a few. Perhaps the best place to start from with this paranormal investigating equipment topic, is your approach to the general paranormal field of study.

Anyone who is considering picking up a piece of equipment (and in my un-humble opinion nearly everyone who already has) should first ask themselves, "why?" Not that I think equipment is a bad idea. I feel for two reasons this questioning should take place. First and fairly off topic, everyone should self reflect as often as possible. Second, everything you do after you pick up that piece of equipment will be based upon your answer. You will be putting your time, money, and energies into investigating reports of paranormal phenomena. There are countless decisions that you will be making before, during, and after each investigation. As a result we should probably spend some time thinking about what you want to get out of your efforts.

If your answer to "why?" is "to find ghosts" put the equipment back down. I’m not going to lie to you. Not even if it means making a sale. I got into this business many years ago to help advance the understanding of our environment. I do no-one but my pocket book any good by letting you believe you are going to find ghosts by picking up a piece of equipment. It just isn’t that simple. That is to say for clarification sake, using equipment is not that simple, not the "finding ghosts" part (again well save berating the terminology and theory for other editorials, this is the last interruption I promise). So if you are not going to "find a ghost" with equipment then what is the goal?

What you may eventually accomplish with equipment is to compile enough verifiable data, taken under strict scientific protocol, that future investigators could use to help fill in the collective understanding of our environment. This understanding may lead to the discovery of some "thing" that fits closely to our current definition of ghosts or more accurately simply fits closely to our societal beliefs of what affects people perceive as the result of ghosts. Still with me? Let me say it another way, I believe in the possibility of anything however I live in the reality of what we know as truths right now. That reality, whether you subscribe to it or not, is one where ghosts are not a proven fact.

Indeed what is the goal, why are you doing this? Go ahead and ask yourself, right now, out-loud even...if no one is around. Well come back to this self reflection later.

So how exactly can we get answers by applying equipment during investigations? I mean, if we are not looking for a specific reading on our equipment that tells us there is a ghost, then what are we looking for? By using equipment we hope to monitor and document as many known variables in the environment as is possible with the available resources. Should we be left with any data not explained away by known causes, it remains as an anomaly. This anomaly in my opinion is deserving of further research and investigation. What the anomaly is will be very specific to each instance you find one. An anomaly that is, not ghost, not alien, not angel, not demon, not poltergeist, not...well hopefully you are getting the idea. Each specific anomaly should be researched and investigated. Only if new data can be found about the anomaly should their be a theory formed that would speculate the most plausible source of said anomaly. Not just data but quantifiable data, and not just a theory, but a testable theory based upon empirical facts.

That’s about it folks. I think that generally sums up the use of scientific equipment during investigations of reported paranormal phenomena. Just in case you don’t have your head completely around my approach, let me expand on the idea with examples.

For instance, what would we be using the equipment for if not to detect ghosts? Well for starters establishing a base line of environmental readings. This means allot of work and procedurally one I mean to go into greater detail on in a separate editorial. For now, we are talking about taking sample readings in marked and mapped portions of each room, say in a reported haunted house. Readings from every tool in your bag, from electromagnetic field to temperature. Not just taking the readings once and mapping them once. Just as with taking a survey or opinion poll, the more people you question the more telling your final answers may be. If you are able to take readings once every 30 minutes for 10 days, great. Even better would be leaving your equipment onsite, attached to a computer for real time data logging 24/7 for a few weeks before your investigation. Not just leave it onsite in a closet, but an electromagnetic field meter for each room. Not just some single axis light-up kid toy, but electromagnetic field meters capable of monitoring wide range, on all axis’s, DC and AC, something like an array of high-speed digital fluxgate magnetometers. The magnetometers I’m thinking of have a sample rate of 250 times per second, but more on those later. What else? To monitor as many variables as possible such as temperature, humidity, visible light, ultraviolet light, air ions, the list goes on and on. But I’m a realist and I’m really sure that’s not going to happen, at least not every time.

If you can actually get into a location, have the people cooperate with your plans and methods, you are more likely to be able to take readings once an hour from the time you show up until a few hours later when you leave. Still this is perhaps better than nothing, or at least better than the current popular alternative of walking around taking random readings, hoping to stumble into something only to have nothing to compare it back to. You can see with the procedurally heavy approach I prefer, why I feel that investigating reports of paranormal phenomena properly is a huge undertaking.

The paranormal industry has drastically changed in the last half decade. More than two decades ago my view was the more people in, the more likely something new would be discovered. I have slowly moved away from this stance as I have not experienced a marked increase in quality research and investigation. Though in the last two decades the number of people coming into the industry has been huge. In my opinion it seems that the influx of people has more than anything else muddied the waters. More poorly obtained and unqualified data has caused those researchers stringently looking through the growing cache of information to simply have to devote more resources to an otherwise straightforward task. Researching paranormal reports has become an increasingly unnecessarily complex task.

It has been my long term goal to work from an institute. I feel this would help clear the waters back up and allow those doing unbiased scientific work to shine through. An institute like ASPR, but without the apparent corruption and lack of passion. But hey that’s just how I see ASPR from the outside looking in. A properly functioning institute could become a much needed resource to the current fragmented community of investigators that now populates the field.

A resource that could guide and instruct investigators that lack the fundamental training. A funded institute would also be able to address another central shortcoming in the field—required resources. The required resources to properly investigate reports of paranormal phenomena seem to be chiefly time, money, and specific skill sets. An institute setting could help to address major issues currently plaguing an industry in dire need of guidance. My dream career would not be in front of a TV camera pretending to do investigations. I’ve been there and it is not for me. I would much rather remain behind the scenes, intrinsically involved in an institute acquiring and dispersing knowledge. But hey, that’s just my pipe dream.

As far as scientific equipment used to investigate reports of the paranormal, steady and slow seems to be the best approach for now. There are so many directions we could go with our theories. As a result of the aforementioned shortcomings in the paranormal field of study, we are missing the quality data necessary to formulate specific and accurate hypotheses. It is then, with these testable hypotheses in hand we could move forward with additionally focused experimental research and investigation. To perform that research and focused investigation we would then need more specific equipment and tools. With the new equipment would come the need for a certain level of specialized training. This training, for instance could come from just such an institute. The purpose of these new focused experiments should then be to learn. Do not fall into the all to often pit-fall of substantiating belief systems. Logical theories based upon quantifiable data are excellent, just always be open or prepared to find them in need of complete re-working.

Perhaps there are two main points to learn from. One point could be to substantiate our hypotheses with quantifiably empirical data attained through re-creatable experiments following strict scientific methods. The second, to disprove them through the same process. It is in either of these outcomes that lay advancement of understanding. For even when we disprove something, anything, we still hold the opportunity in it to learn.