I recently downloaded a "ghost detector" application for my Android phone. I had previously heard of these apps and didn't really think much of them but I downloaded one of the many free ones out of curiosity. After looking into how they work and playing with this one for a little while I've decided that it's probably not a reliable tool for paranormal investigation but it is something to get you thinking and hopefully doing.
The particular app that I downloaded has three features. One is a "ghost radar" that uses an algorithm to process faint sensory data and then tells you where spirits may be around you on a classic radar screen, the ghosts represented as white dots. I've noticed that this feature seems to really love background noise and that seems to be the main way it establishes where spirits may be from my observations. I can't say for certain that it doesn't detect ghosts, just that it seems like it would give a lot of false positives.
This app also has an EMF detector. It utilizes the phone's built-in magnetometer to detect fluctuations in the electromagnetic field around the phone. This functions as a basic metal detector as well as a gauge of EMF levels (and indeed metal detector apps also detect changes in EMF). This may be the coolest part of the whole app in my opinion but I found the readout to be really basic. It will only tell you on an arbitrary scale of one to ten how high the activity is. I much prefer a metal detector app I have that gives you the readout in microteslas with a graph of activity over time. That said, the ghost detector app got me interested in experimenting with EMF and paranormal phenomena.
The third and final feature the app offers is an "EVP" mode which appears to show you random words based on some mysterious algorithm. I think it's supposed to function like a K2 meter but I'm not sure. I'm thinking that it just processes subtle auditory data and then churns out something but I don't really know. I've not played around with this feature very much.
All of this from an app that didn't cost me a thing. Keeping this in mind I would encourage anyone interested to try one of these free ghost detecting apps out if they have the interest. Aside from the novelty factor it's got me wondering about what would happen if an EMF detector was set up during an evocation, or the "ghost radar" for that matter. I also wonder if the EMF detector could be influenced by psychic phenomena such as psychokinesis or could be used to test the claims of SLIders. I mostly just want to see if there really is any correlation between EMF disturbances and the paranormal.
Feel free to comment about your own experiences with these types of apps and how you feel about them in general. I'm thinking that some of the apps that cost money probably have more features of better quality but the free ones are all I'm willing to work with at the moment. Happy hunting!
Showing posts with label ghosts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ghosts. Show all posts
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Ghost Photos
Photographs of ghosts are perhaps the Holy Grail of ghost hunting. That being so, there are lots of attempts to fake ghost photos. There are also a lot of photos that show natural phenomena that has been misidentified as paranormal. Someone with enough experience in this field can usually pick out when a photo has been tampered with or when the "ghost" is just a trick of light and shadows. For skeptics and believers, knowing how to pick out a fake or misidentification makes it a little easier to determine what is the real deal. To that end, I give you the following link:
Photos That AREN'T Paranormal
To give a taste of what real ghost photos may look like there's this:
The Best Ghost Pictures Ever Taken
And finally, if you're the type that likes to find things for yourself:
How To Photograph Ghosts
I've never been much of a photographer and ghost pictures have never really done it for me, but it's a facet of the larger phenomena that I thought should be explored. Hopefully you find these links interesting, even if all you get out of them is learning how to spot hoaxes or misidentified natural phenomena.
Photos That AREN'T Paranormal
To give a taste of what real ghost photos may look like there's this:
The Best Ghost Pictures Ever Taken
And finally, if you're the type that likes to find things for yourself:
How To Photograph Ghosts
I've never been much of a photographer and ghost pictures have never really done it for me, but it's a facet of the larger phenomena that I thought should be explored. Hopefully you find these links interesting, even if all you get out of them is learning how to spot hoaxes or misidentified natural phenomena.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
EVP - Electronic Voice Phenomena
Electronic voice phenomena (EVP) are voices that mysteriously appear on recording media and they have been a staple of ghost hunting for years now. The idea is that by giving the dead a conduit to speak through they can imprint their voices on magnetic recording media. EVP is typically undetectable at the time it is being recorded and is only noticeable upon playback. EVPs are also usually low in volume, whispery, and can sometimes warble in and out of audibility depending on the quality of the EVP. The specific mechanism that allows for EVP is unknown.
The practice as we know it dates back to the 1950s. The key players in popularizing EVP were Attila von Szalay, Raymond Bayless, Friedrich Jurgenson, and Konstantin Raudive. In fact, had it not been for Raudive's book Breakthrough: An Amazing Experiment in Electronic Communication with the Dead being translated into English, the phenomenon may have never made it across the Atlantic. Hard to imagine considering how popular EVP is now.
Naturally there are people skeptical of whether these voices are actually the voices of the deceased. There's no scientifically accepted way that the deceased should be able to communicate through audio tape and natural explanations for EVP abound. However, when has that ever stopped me from writing about something before? I'm of the opinion that if the messages have meaning then the hows or whys are not as important and the phenomenon needs to be investigated. Pushing EVP under the rug because it can be explained away naturally is a cop-out, especially when it's something that can be easily tested by anyone with a tape recorder.
The implications that electronic communication with the dead could have are huge. Being able to communicate with those on the other side of death with no special abilities and very simple equipment could lead us into an era of knowing what's on the other side instead of just blindly believing or inferring it. Imagine what effects that would have on humanity as a species. This would of course require that EVP be accepted by the establishment though, and that may be too tall of an order at this point in time. However, that's no reason we shouldn't try it for ourselves if we have the interest.
I've yet to experiment with EVP but I've been studying the phenomenon and how to do it and I hope to begin trying to pick up voices from the beyond in the next few days. I'd like to say that anything I capture will be put up on this blog but I can't promise that. While I consider myself technically savvy, I just might not have the equipment or expertise to put any EVPs I may get on here. I may, in the future, transcribe sessions or share my experiences if I have any that are relevant but again, I can't promise that. I've avoided putting up some profound experiences I've had on this blog before because I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around them sometimes and, quite frankly, if I read them on some random blog on the Internet I probably wouldn't believe them myself.
I can see myself maybe doing an EVP how-to if I find success with it though, so that might be something to look forward to. Until then I've got some links for you:
Electronic voice phenomena at Wikipedia
Electronic Voice Phenomenon Samples
EVP Samples
Ghost Audio at paranormal.about.com
The practice as we know it dates back to the 1950s. The key players in popularizing EVP were Attila von Szalay, Raymond Bayless, Friedrich Jurgenson, and Konstantin Raudive. In fact, had it not been for Raudive's book Breakthrough: An Amazing Experiment in Electronic Communication with the Dead being translated into English, the phenomenon may have never made it across the Atlantic. Hard to imagine considering how popular EVP is now.
Naturally there are people skeptical of whether these voices are actually the voices of the deceased. There's no scientifically accepted way that the deceased should be able to communicate through audio tape and natural explanations for EVP abound. However, when has that ever stopped me from writing about something before? I'm of the opinion that if the messages have meaning then the hows or whys are not as important and the phenomenon needs to be investigated. Pushing EVP under the rug because it can be explained away naturally is a cop-out, especially when it's something that can be easily tested by anyone with a tape recorder.
The implications that electronic communication with the dead could have are huge. Being able to communicate with those on the other side of death with no special abilities and very simple equipment could lead us into an era of knowing what's on the other side instead of just blindly believing or inferring it. Imagine what effects that would have on humanity as a species. This would of course require that EVP be accepted by the establishment though, and that may be too tall of an order at this point in time. However, that's no reason we shouldn't try it for ourselves if we have the interest.
I've yet to experiment with EVP but I've been studying the phenomenon and how to do it and I hope to begin trying to pick up voices from the beyond in the next few days. I'd like to say that anything I capture will be put up on this blog but I can't promise that. While I consider myself technically savvy, I just might not have the equipment or expertise to put any EVPs I may get on here. I may, in the future, transcribe sessions or share my experiences if I have any that are relevant but again, I can't promise that. I've avoided putting up some profound experiences I've had on this blog before because I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around them sometimes and, quite frankly, if I read them on some random blog on the Internet I probably wouldn't believe them myself.
I can see myself maybe doing an EVP how-to if I find success with it though, so that might be something to look forward to. Until then I've got some links for you:
Electronic voice phenomena at Wikipedia
Electronic Voice Phenomenon Samples
EVP Samples
Ghost Audio at paranormal.about.com
Friday, January 7, 2011
Thailand shows that it is not impossible for the supernatural and the modern world to coexist.
Thais Look to the Supernatural
The Western world typically treats things like astrology and horoscopes as entertainment only. In Thailand, coups have been initiated because of the advice of a fortune teller. Some might argue that this is superstition overriding common sense and reason. The Thais might say that it works for them.
The Western world typically treats things like astrology and horoscopes as entertainment only. In Thailand, coups have been initiated because of the advice of a fortune teller. Some might argue that this is superstition overriding common sense and reason. The Thais might say that it works for them.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Poltergeists: Spirits of the Dead or Uncontrolled Psychokinesis?
Of all ghostly phenomena, poltergeists are the most startling. Objects move, appear and disappear, and the poltergeist may even lash out at people violently. The popular notion of the poltergeist is reflected in the meaning of its name: "noisy spirit." There are some that believe that poltergeist activity may actually come from a living human being. How is that possible? Spontaneous recurrent psychokinesis (RSPK).
The trend in parapsychology in recent years has been to lean toward the RSPK explanation for poltergeist activity. This makes some sense as poltergeist activity is commonly focused on one person, the activity only present in their vicinity. This explanation proposes that some individuals, when under emotional distress, will release that tension through psychokinesis. These people are usually completely unaware that they are causing these strange events and many are terrified of what's happening. This leads to the belief in a noisy spirit haunting the person or place.
This implies that people are capable of amazing feats of psychokinesis when under stress, but they are not in conscious control of what happens. This explanation also requires no idea of an afterlife to explain poltergeist activity. Poltergeist activity, however, is only one small part of the greater realm of ghosts and hauntings.
Then again, maybe both the spirits-of-the-dead and the RSPK theories are accurate. If a deceased person is able to perform the seemingly impossible feats of a poltergeist then why wouldn't a living person be able to do the same? I have no preference, myself. I think that one is just as likely as the other and that they are not mutually exclusive. I am convinced of the human capacity for psychokinesis and I also find it likely that we continue on in some form after death. I hope that future research will shed light on both of these subjects.
If you would like to read more about ghosts, poltergeists, and the quest for answers then please see this article.
The trend in parapsychology in recent years has been to lean toward the RSPK explanation for poltergeist activity. This makes some sense as poltergeist activity is commonly focused on one person, the activity only present in their vicinity. This explanation proposes that some individuals, when under emotional distress, will release that tension through psychokinesis. These people are usually completely unaware that they are causing these strange events and many are terrified of what's happening. This leads to the belief in a noisy spirit haunting the person or place.
This implies that people are capable of amazing feats of psychokinesis when under stress, but they are not in conscious control of what happens. This explanation also requires no idea of an afterlife to explain poltergeist activity. Poltergeist activity, however, is only one small part of the greater realm of ghosts and hauntings.
Then again, maybe both the spirits-of-the-dead and the RSPK theories are accurate. If a deceased person is able to perform the seemingly impossible feats of a poltergeist then why wouldn't a living person be able to do the same? I have no preference, myself. I think that one is just as likely as the other and that they are not mutually exclusive. I am convinced of the human capacity for psychokinesis and I also find it likely that we continue on in some form after death. I hope that future research will shed light on both of these subjects.
If you would like to read more about ghosts, poltergeists, and the quest for answers then please see this article.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Infrasound as an explanation for hauntings?
I've been seeing some opinions lately that infrasound (sound below 20Hz, the "normal" limit of human hearing) is the explanation for cases of hauntings. This whole thing apparently goes back to a paper written by Vic Tandy and Tony R. Lawrence who found that infrasound is capable of causing sensory phenomena suggestive of ghostly activity under certain circumstances. Infrasound is apparently capable of producing feelings of unease or fear in humans and can cause visual anomalies at the right frequency. The concept of infrasound affecting people has been expanded since with less specific emphasis on ghostly phenomena.
It's obvious to me that under certain circumstances just about anything can emulate a genuine haunting. The issue here is that just demonstrating that it's possible has seemed to morph into a kind of "all hauntings are infrasound" attitude among some people. This isn't really accurate and there has been some work that shows no difference between groups that were exposed to infrasound and those that were not, as regards "ghostly" feelings or experiences. That work can be found here. (If you'd rather not read all five parts you can skip to Part 5 which gives an explanation of the results.)
With this in mind, I think it's premature to declare all hauntings and ghostly phenomena as the result of infrasound, especially given the specific conditions required to produce the effect in the first place. If you would like to read more about infrasound, including Vic Tandy's experience, then please see the Wikipedia article on infrasound.
It's obvious to me that under certain circumstances just about anything can emulate a genuine haunting. The issue here is that just demonstrating that it's possible has seemed to morph into a kind of "all hauntings are infrasound" attitude among some people. This isn't really accurate and there has been some work that shows no difference between groups that were exposed to infrasound and those that were not, as regards "ghostly" feelings or experiences. That work can be found here. (If you'd rather not read all five parts you can skip to Part 5 which gives an explanation of the results.)
With this in mind, I think it's premature to declare all hauntings and ghostly phenomena as the result of infrasound, especially given the specific conditions required to produce the effect in the first place. If you would like to read more about infrasound, including Vic Tandy's experience, then please see the Wikipedia article on infrasound.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Hoaxing
If you spend enough time researching the paranormal then you come across a lot of hoaxing. Some of it is very high quality and continues to fool people even after it has been exposed as a hoax. Other hoaxes are easily identifiable as such.
People that present hoaxes as reality are a huge problem to this field, in my opinion. This is perhaps the biggest problem in the realm of UFO research. From my experience, I have to say that I've seen more UFO/alien hoaxes than I have seen hoaxes of anything else in relation to the paranormal, perhaps with the exception of ghosts. The problem of hoaxing is twofold and it really does do the field an enormous injustice.
The first problem with hoaxing is that it takes time and resources to investigate a hoax. If someone were to file a false police report then they would be held accountable for the expenses of that investigation. There are no such laws or rules concerning UFOs or the paranormal, but the fact remains that someone is spending time and resources on looking into this case that was intentionally fabricated to fool people. It takes resources away from looking at actual anomalies.
The second problem with hoaxing is that it hurts the credibility of the field. All it takes is for a few well-made hoaxes to be passed off as real to credulous people and then they get incorporated into the public mind. When eventually exposed as hoaxes they have the effect of making people think that all similar occurrences must be hoaxes. Even with the existence of legitimately anomalous cases, people will often look at the exposed hoaxes as being a nail in the coffin for the field.
I've focused on the example of UFOs, but ghosts might be a very good example as well. There are so many hoaxed ghost videos that it has the same effect of people pushing aside even the legitimate cases. No doubt there is a certain amount of skill and artistry in making videos like that, but the honest thing to do would be to label them for entertainment purposes only.
Perhaps putting a disclaimer at the end wouldn't be enough though. I come across people to this day that still think Paranormal Activity was the real deal. The same thing happened with The Blair Witch Project when it was first released. These were both major movie releases designed to look so real that people actually believed they were recovered footage from real events.
In a perfect world people wouldn't be so dishonest as to pass off a fake as the genuine article. This isn't a perfect world though, so we have to be vigilant and discerning when it comes to evidence that is "too good to be true," especially when we have people intentionally trying to deceive others for profit. Let it be noted that deception isn't confined to just UFOs and ghosts.
Creating fake evidence and passing it off as real is dishonest and really does a disservice to those of us that are looking for genuine answers. Hoaxing evidence is bad enough, but then profiting from deception makes it even worse. I know I'm not the only one that feels this way. Remember to keep a healthy amount of skepticism in your search for the truth.
People that present hoaxes as reality are a huge problem to this field, in my opinion. This is perhaps the biggest problem in the realm of UFO research. From my experience, I have to say that I've seen more UFO/alien hoaxes than I have seen hoaxes of anything else in relation to the paranormal, perhaps with the exception of ghosts. The problem of hoaxing is twofold and it really does do the field an enormous injustice.
The first problem with hoaxing is that it takes time and resources to investigate a hoax. If someone were to file a false police report then they would be held accountable for the expenses of that investigation. There are no such laws or rules concerning UFOs or the paranormal, but the fact remains that someone is spending time and resources on looking into this case that was intentionally fabricated to fool people. It takes resources away from looking at actual anomalies.
The second problem with hoaxing is that it hurts the credibility of the field. All it takes is for a few well-made hoaxes to be passed off as real to credulous people and then they get incorporated into the public mind. When eventually exposed as hoaxes they have the effect of making people think that all similar occurrences must be hoaxes. Even with the existence of legitimately anomalous cases, people will often look at the exposed hoaxes as being a nail in the coffin for the field.
I've focused on the example of UFOs, but ghosts might be a very good example as well. There are so many hoaxed ghost videos that it has the same effect of people pushing aside even the legitimate cases. No doubt there is a certain amount of skill and artistry in making videos like that, but the honest thing to do would be to label them for entertainment purposes only.
Perhaps putting a disclaimer at the end wouldn't be enough though. I come across people to this day that still think Paranormal Activity was the real deal. The same thing happened with The Blair Witch Project when it was first released. These were both major movie releases designed to look so real that people actually believed they were recovered footage from real events.
In a perfect world people wouldn't be so dishonest as to pass off a fake as the genuine article. This isn't a perfect world though, so we have to be vigilant and discerning when it comes to evidence that is "too good to be true," especially when we have people intentionally trying to deceive others for profit. Let it be noted that deception isn't confined to just UFOs and ghosts.
Creating fake evidence and passing it off as real is dishonest and really does a disservice to those of us that are looking for genuine answers. Hoaxing evidence is bad enough, but then profiting from deception makes it even worse. I know I'm not the only one that feels this way. Remember to keep a healthy amount of skepticism in your search for the truth.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
At least I'm not the only one.
Why real-life ghost hunters hate "Ghost Hunters"
I've written about this before and it seems the plethora of ghost hunting shows hasn't gone unnoticed by serious parapsychologists either. It usually is the case that the most popular aspect of any particular subject overshadows and sometimes stigmatizes the whole of the subject. One bad apple spoils the bunch and all that. I still can’t bring myself to watch very much of these shows.
I've written about this before and it seems the plethora of ghost hunting shows hasn't gone unnoticed by serious parapsychologists either. It usually is the case that the most popular aspect of any particular subject overshadows and sometimes stigmatizes the whole of the subject. One bad apple spoils the bunch and all that. I still can’t bring myself to watch very much of these shows.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Does anyone still watch ghost hunting shows?
People must still watch these shows otherwise they wouldn't be on the air, right? There are at least half-a-dozen ghost hunting shows on various networks and I can't stand to watch any of them anymore. I try. I really do. I just can't seem to find them interesting enough to bother with anymore.
Back when Ghost Hunters was a new thing I found it interesting and entertaining. They were all about finding the answers to peoples' problems; even if those problems were just their pipes banging around. When they actually found something strange it was even better and in those days that didn't happen that often. My impression is that over time they started to cater more and more to the people watching the show and writing the checks rather than seeking any kind of answers. I don't watch Ghost Hunters anymore because I find it boring. There have also been allegations of fraud by their own members .
I thought Paranormal State was a cool show for a while. Then I realized that ninety percent of the time it turned out to be a demon and they needed to do a full-on exorcism of the property and/or person. This is exciting the first couple of times it happens but after a while it comes off as contrived and it looks like a desperate grab for ratings. Do I believe that there are really this many people afflicted with demonic hauntings and possessions? No, I don't. That's what makes the entire show absurd to me. Throw in a vampire, a medium, and an "occult specialist" and you've got a regular circus here. Never mind that all of these things ostensibly contradict the Catholicism they employ to banish these nasty spirits. I can't stand to watch this show anymore except to make fun of it.
And then there's Ghost Adventures. The EXTREME answer to all the other shows. Three guys lock themselves in haunted locations with camera gear and proceed to stumble around in the dark injuring themselves and freaking out like high school girls with a Ouija board. They also look like they'd be more at home poolside in Las Vegas. This really has nothing to do with the authenticity of their ghost hunting but it's silly to me to get gelled up and put your Affliction shirt on to run around in the dark. I have to give these guys some credit though; they seem to do everything in their power to piss off the ghosts enough to do something. Is this frat boy posturing? Probably. At least it's funny when they freak out because something actually happened when they challenged the spirits. I've tried watching this show lately but after a while it just gets boring.
The one thing that all of these shows have in common (and there are many more than these three) is that they don't really give any answers. There's no real innovation aside from a new ghost-finding gadget (which has its operational theory based in speculation usually). I don't really see what these people have contributed to the field; they haven't come up with very many real answers. It's just the same reiteration of speculation and superstition that we've heard for years.
If you're someone that is entertained by these shows then that's fine. They ultimately are meant for entertainment. I just wanted to get this off of my chest about the ghost hunting fad on television and I hope that I'm not the only person that has noticed these things.
Back when Ghost Hunters was a new thing I found it interesting and entertaining. They were all about finding the answers to peoples' problems; even if those problems were just their pipes banging around. When they actually found something strange it was even better and in those days that didn't happen that often. My impression is that over time they started to cater more and more to the people watching the show and writing the checks rather than seeking any kind of answers. I don't watch Ghost Hunters anymore because I find it boring. There have also been allegations of fraud by their own members .
I thought Paranormal State was a cool show for a while. Then I realized that ninety percent of the time it turned out to be a demon and they needed to do a full-on exorcism of the property and/or person. This is exciting the first couple of times it happens but after a while it comes off as contrived and it looks like a desperate grab for ratings. Do I believe that there are really this many people afflicted with demonic hauntings and possessions? No, I don't. That's what makes the entire show absurd to me. Throw in a vampire, a medium, and an "occult specialist" and you've got a regular circus here. Never mind that all of these things ostensibly contradict the Catholicism they employ to banish these nasty spirits. I can't stand to watch this show anymore except to make fun of it.
And then there's Ghost Adventures. The EXTREME answer to all the other shows. Three guys lock themselves in haunted locations with camera gear and proceed to stumble around in the dark injuring themselves and freaking out like high school girls with a Ouija board. They also look like they'd be more at home poolside in Las Vegas. This really has nothing to do with the authenticity of their ghost hunting but it's silly to me to get gelled up and put your Affliction shirt on to run around in the dark. I have to give these guys some credit though; they seem to do everything in their power to piss off the ghosts enough to do something. Is this frat boy posturing? Probably. At least it's funny when they freak out because something actually happened when they challenged the spirits. I've tried watching this show lately but after a while it just gets boring.
The one thing that all of these shows have in common (and there are many more than these three) is that they don't really give any answers. There's no real innovation aside from a new ghost-finding gadget (which has its operational theory based in speculation usually). I don't really see what these people have contributed to the field; they haven't come up with very many real answers. It's just the same reiteration of speculation and superstition that we've heard for years.
If you're someone that is entertained by these shows then that's fine. They ultimately are meant for entertainment. I just wanted to get this off of my chest about the ghost hunting fad on television and I hope that I'm not the only person that has noticed these things.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
The Ouija Board
Most of us have heard horror stories about dabbling with a spirit board (more commonly known as a Ouija board). The stories all tell of how the board opens a doorway between our world and another and allows for evil spirits and demons to come through. I've played with a Ouija board a few times and I have no reason to believe that there is any truth to this. I feel that spirit boards are tools similar to divination devices such as Tarot cards and pendulums. Whatever is on your mind is likely to be what you'll get with a Ouija board (if you get anything at all) and the movements seem to come from the ideomotor effect.
I would like to go a little deeper into this though. While the Ouija board may be nothing more than a toy, could it be used to contact spirits? I'm thinking in the same vein as channeling and automatic writing (neither of which do I have any experience in at this time). Let's say that an individual allows themselves to be put into a trance similar to how a channeling or automatic writing session would begin. Could that person then channel a spirit's communications through the board rather than through their own mouth or hand? Obviously this would still depend on the person being the go-between, but it could lend some credence to the idea of the spirit board being a communication tool with the beyond.
Of course, the truth of any of this would lie in the ability to produce verifiable information that the "medium" could not know through normal means, just like in a channeling or automatic writing session. This potential could perhaps be why the Ouija board continues to generate tales of bringing spirits into a home, much to the dismay of the inhabitants. Are these actually spirits though?
What if the individuals merely being open to the idea of channeling spirits from beyond allows them to unlock abilities of their own? I've mentioned in a previous blog how poltergeists are now believed to be recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis. Perhaps occurrences of any strange happenings in a home or presences felt or information spontaneously gained are actually coming from the living person and not an outside entity? Sometimes being open to something is all it takes to allow it to happen.
These are just some ideas I've come up with and I make no claims as to their validity but I try to look at things from several different perspectives. If any of you have any ideas or stories about your own Ouija experiences then let me know in the comments. I might even have to dust off my Ouija board and give it a try again. Also, be sure to check out the new poll on the right.
I would like to go a little deeper into this though. While the Ouija board may be nothing more than a toy, could it be used to contact spirits? I'm thinking in the same vein as channeling and automatic writing (neither of which do I have any experience in at this time). Let's say that an individual allows themselves to be put into a trance similar to how a channeling or automatic writing session would begin. Could that person then channel a spirit's communications through the board rather than through their own mouth or hand? Obviously this would still depend on the person being the go-between, but it could lend some credence to the idea of the spirit board being a communication tool with the beyond.
Of course, the truth of any of this would lie in the ability to produce verifiable information that the "medium" could not know through normal means, just like in a channeling or automatic writing session. This potential could perhaps be why the Ouija board continues to generate tales of bringing spirits into a home, much to the dismay of the inhabitants. Are these actually spirits though?
What if the individuals merely being open to the idea of channeling spirits from beyond allows them to unlock abilities of their own? I've mentioned in a previous blog how poltergeists are now believed to be recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis. Perhaps occurrences of any strange happenings in a home or presences felt or information spontaneously gained are actually coming from the living person and not an outside entity? Sometimes being open to something is all it takes to allow it to happen.
These are just some ideas I've come up with and I make no claims as to their validity but I try to look at things from several different perspectives. If any of you have any ideas or stories about your own Ouija experiences then let me know in the comments. I might even have to dust off my Ouija board and give it a try again. Also, be sure to check out the new poll on the right.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Shifting shadows or "shadow people."
Hang around paranormal circles long enough (or even watch paranormal television shows for longer than ten minutes) and you'll probably hear about "shadow people." Shadow people are exactly what they sound like: They are shadows that look like people that are entities in their own right. There are many theories about shadow people and many explanations of what they are.
Suppose you're just hanging out, doing whatever you would normally be doing at a certain time of day, when you see what appears to be a person standing in your peripheral vision. Your natural inclination is to turn in that direction to see who it is, right? When you turn to catch a glimpse of this person no one is there. No one is even in the vicinity. Sometimes you might even actually see the figure slink away into the shadows or around the corner, never to be discovered. Most people have probably had an experience similar to this before. Personally, I've had a few experiences like this, mostly with smaller shadows though. Shadow "bugs" or shadow "mice." I'll turn to see what it is and there isn't actually anything there.
I fully acknowledge that a lot of these experiences of mine are probably just fatigue, insomnia, and tricks of the eyes. Those of you that read the timestamps on my blogs should find it unsurprising that I'm usually up at the wee hours and this is most often when I have such experiences. I won't go into the scientific reasons why the eyes can trick us in this way; I'll only acknowledge that there are perfectly rational explanations for some "shadow people" experiences.
All of this in mind, I have had one experience that I cannot immediately chalk up to tricks of the eye. The most startling shadow person experience that I have ever had occurred perhaps two years ago. It was late at night, I had just brushed my teeth, and I was about to retire to my room but I was looking back into the rest of the first floor of the house to make sure the lights were off before I went to the stairs. I stood in the darkened living room looking down the night-lighted hallway into the kitchen. As I stood there for those few seconds a shadow suddenly appeared on the lighted hallway wall, a shadow vaguely human shaped and sized. This shadow did not stay still for long, immediately moving along the wall and off into the darkness. This would not have been so startling to me if I hadn't been standing still the entire time, surveying the kitchen to make sure the lights were off. This solidified in my mind that it was not my shadow.
There could be a rational explanation for my encounter but I'm unable to come up with one. This said, I'm also unable to come up with a paranormal conclusion about the experience. I was admittedly tired when this happened, but I have never had a fatigue-induced shadow appear in the center of my field of vision and then move off into the shadows. I do think it should be noted that there have been some somewhat unexplainable occurrences in my house, but I generally attribute most of them to settling, wind, and other natural phenomena as the house is over a century old. There is a door that used to mysteriously come open no matter how well you made sure it was closed (it no longer has this problem). Sometimes there would be a mysterious sound coming from outside that sounded exactly like a ball being bounced on the driveway when no one (and no ball) was there. That particular phenomenon hasn't occurred, to my knowledge, for at least several months. There are countless creaks, groans, moans, and thuds that occur in my home everyday (most notably at night, probably due to it being more noticeable during the quiet hours). I make no claims of living in a haunted house, but strange things do occasionally happen. This shadow person encounter was by far the strangest and most inexplicable.
So, what are shadow people? This often depends on who you ask. A popular theory I see often is that shadow people are supernatural entities that feed on negative energy. I'm not a ghost hunter, just a paranormal researcher. Ghosts and shadow people and other such things are not a primary area of interest to me but I have looked into those subjects a bit. When it comes to shadow people, it seems that anyone is free to come up with just about any explanation they want. I can't claim to know what causes the most drastic cases of shadow people or other shadow phenomena, but I do have some ideas.
I do not think that shadow people are deceased humans, if they are indeed real entities and not just illusions. In my research of encounters with what are ostensibly deceased humans I can't recall a mention of the deceased appearing in a shadow form. When taking a form at all, the deceased seem to always take a form close to the stereotypical vision of the ghost: That of an ethereal, transparent, replica of the person as they were in life. I do acknowledge that I have not examined every case of spirit communication ever though.
I do not think that shadow people are demons, or at the very least, not dangerous demons. I am speaking of demons in the popular sense: A malevolent supernatural entity that preys upon mankind; an evil spirit. I feel that if shadow people are demons they would not make themselves so apparent and would not be so obvious. Shadow people also do not fit with typical tales of demonic activity that I have encountered. Usually, when a malevolent entity is attacking someone, the entity is completely invisible to human eyes. Shadow people, overall, seem to be rather indifferent to human beings, choosing to simply observe from a distance rather than interact. It's not uncommon to see reports of people claiming to be watched by shadow people. I'm unaware of any case of shadow people actually causing harm or attacking anyone. In my opinion, this means that the idea of shadow people being malevolent entities (or at least overtly malevolent entities) is out.
What do I think shadow people are? I think that they (if they exist at all) are probably benign non-human spiritual entities. In my view, they are a natural part of the greater picture similar to the idea of nature spirits. They seem to me to be just as natural as human beings or trees; they are just another part of the world that we inhabit, albeit not as well understood as the other examples. This is, of course, just my opinion. I don't claim to hold the absolute truth about much of anything, especially not something as seemingly unverifiable as the phenomenon of shadow people.
If you have ever experienced shadow people (or shadow critters of any kind) then you probably have your own ideas about what they are. I'm always interested in hearing new ideas so feel free to drop me a comment and let me know what you think. If you're someone better versed in the subject then feel free to correct me on anything I may have wrong here. All I have to go on is my limited experience and what research I've done.
That's all until next time. I won't think less of you if you leave the light on.
Suppose you're just hanging out, doing whatever you would normally be doing at a certain time of day, when you see what appears to be a person standing in your peripheral vision. Your natural inclination is to turn in that direction to see who it is, right? When you turn to catch a glimpse of this person no one is there. No one is even in the vicinity. Sometimes you might even actually see the figure slink away into the shadows or around the corner, never to be discovered. Most people have probably had an experience similar to this before. Personally, I've had a few experiences like this, mostly with smaller shadows though. Shadow "bugs" or shadow "mice." I'll turn to see what it is and there isn't actually anything there.
I fully acknowledge that a lot of these experiences of mine are probably just fatigue, insomnia, and tricks of the eyes. Those of you that read the timestamps on my blogs should find it unsurprising that I'm usually up at the wee hours and this is most often when I have such experiences. I won't go into the scientific reasons why the eyes can trick us in this way; I'll only acknowledge that there are perfectly rational explanations for some "shadow people" experiences.
All of this in mind, I have had one experience that I cannot immediately chalk up to tricks of the eye. The most startling shadow person experience that I have ever had occurred perhaps two years ago. It was late at night, I had just brushed my teeth, and I was about to retire to my room but I was looking back into the rest of the first floor of the house to make sure the lights were off before I went to the stairs. I stood in the darkened living room looking down the night-lighted hallway into the kitchen. As I stood there for those few seconds a shadow suddenly appeared on the lighted hallway wall, a shadow vaguely human shaped and sized. This shadow did not stay still for long, immediately moving along the wall and off into the darkness. This would not have been so startling to me if I hadn't been standing still the entire time, surveying the kitchen to make sure the lights were off. This solidified in my mind that it was not my shadow.
There could be a rational explanation for my encounter but I'm unable to come up with one. This said, I'm also unable to come up with a paranormal conclusion about the experience. I was admittedly tired when this happened, but I have never had a fatigue-induced shadow appear in the center of my field of vision and then move off into the shadows. I do think it should be noted that there have been some somewhat unexplainable occurrences in my house, but I generally attribute most of them to settling, wind, and other natural phenomena as the house is over a century old. There is a door that used to mysteriously come open no matter how well you made sure it was closed (it no longer has this problem). Sometimes there would be a mysterious sound coming from outside that sounded exactly like a ball being bounced on the driveway when no one (and no ball) was there. That particular phenomenon hasn't occurred, to my knowledge, for at least several months. There are countless creaks, groans, moans, and thuds that occur in my home everyday (most notably at night, probably due to it being more noticeable during the quiet hours). I make no claims of living in a haunted house, but strange things do occasionally happen. This shadow person encounter was by far the strangest and most inexplicable.
So, what are shadow people? This often depends on who you ask. A popular theory I see often is that shadow people are supernatural entities that feed on negative energy. I'm not a ghost hunter, just a paranormal researcher. Ghosts and shadow people and other such things are not a primary area of interest to me but I have looked into those subjects a bit. When it comes to shadow people, it seems that anyone is free to come up with just about any explanation they want. I can't claim to know what causes the most drastic cases of shadow people or other shadow phenomena, but I do have some ideas.
I do not think that shadow people are deceased humans, if they are indeed real entities and not just illusions. In my research of encounters with what are ostensibly deceased humans I can't recall a mention of the deceased appearing in a shadow form. When taking a form at all, the deceased seem to always take a form close to the stereotypical vision of the ghost: That of an ethereal, transparent, replica of the person as they were in life. I do acknowledge that I have not examined every case of spirit communication ever though.
I do not think that shadow people are demons, or at the very least, not dangerous demons. I am speaking of demons in the popular sense: A malevolent supernatural entity that preys upon mankind; an evil spirit. I feel that if shadow people are demons they would not make themselves so apparent and would not be so obvious. Shadow people also do not fit with typical tales of demonic activity that I have encountered. Usually, when a malevolent entity is attacking someone, the entity is completely invisible to human eyes. Shadow people, overall, seem to be rather indifferent to human beings, choosing to simply observe from a distance rather than interact. It's not uncommon to see reports of people claiming to be watched by shadow people. I'm unaware of any case of shadow people actually causing harm or attacking anyone. In my opinion, this means that the idea of shadow people being malevolent entities (or at least overtly malevolent entities) is out.
What do I think shadow people are? I think that they (if they exist at all) are probably benign non-human spiritual entities. In my view, they are a natural part of the greater picture similar to the idea of nature spirits. They seem to me to be just as natural as human beings or trees; they are just another part of the world that we inhabit, albeit not as well understood as the other examples. This is, of course, just my opinion. I don't claim to hold the absolute truth about much of anything, especially not something as seemingly unverifiable as the phenomenon of shadow people.
If you have ever experienced shadow people (or shadow critters of any kind) then you probably have your own ideas about what they are. I'm always interested in hearing new ideas so feel free to drop me a comment and let me know what you think. If you're someone better versed in the subject then feel free to correct me on anything I may have wrong here. All I have to go on is my limited experience and what research I've done.
That's all until next time. I won't think less of you if you leave the light on.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
It's that time of year.
It's getting to be close to Halloween and I find this as appropriate a time as any to kick off my new blog. It's the time of year when all of the paranormal documentaries are on the various documentary channels and when the plethora of ghost hunting shows do either live shows or run marathons. And let's not forget all of the vampire media that is out there either. Witches seem to have taken a backseat in recent years as people claiming religious beliefs related to witchcraft traditions have made the idea less spooky and more normal. Witch is no longer a classification of supernatural creature but a title taken by those that practice pagan faiths and work magic.
Personally, I find ghosts and vampires to be the two most trite subjects when it comes to the paranormal. This isn't to say that ghosts don't hold a very important place in the study of the paranormal. Understanding the nature of ghosts and spirits could be one of the most important undertakings of mankind as it could give us some inkling of what to expect when we close our eyes for the final time. I'll get to this later.
Then there are vampires who have come out of the darkness because of a recent novel and film series I won't mention. What many people don't know is that there is a community of real-life "vampires" that are on the verge of bringing their community into a more respected public light. The subject of real vampires, or Human Living Vampires (HLVs), is so broad that I could devote an entire blog to that subject alone. You can probably expect posts specifically devoted to the vampire community on future dates.
Back to ghosts now. I think that the area of parapsychology known as "survival studies" is very important and isn't necessarily given enough respect. As little respect as ESP researchers get, survival researchers probably get even less. This is odd considering that in the days of the founding of the Society for Psychical Research survival of the human being beyond death was a major topic of interest. This said, it was a whole lot easier to investigate claims of spirits communicating secret information between parties then as there were no telephones or other rapid communications such as the Internet. There were no fancy electronic gizmos or even electricity during the age of widespread mediumship and spiritualism.
I think that now serious survival researchers have to deal with all the noise surrounding television ghost hunters and paranormal investigators. It's hard to be taken seriously when the public perception of ghosts, spirits, or survival after death is that of a group of young people, some looking less than professional, running around in abandoned buildings after dark filming themselves being scared. An attempt to validate this vocation by the introduction of electronic devices such as EMF detectors may work for some people but this author doesn't really see the relevance. I suppose my main problem with these types of shows is that the approach doesn't ever seem to gain any answers. These "investigators" may be able to tell you whether your home is haunted in an hour or less, but they provide very few answers about what happens when we die, if ghosts are deceased people or something else, the mechanisms of how ghosts interact with our world, etc. All of this without even going into the accusations of faking evidence for ratings.
I think that the real ground to be gained in this area is in the study of near death experiences, out-of-body experiences, and the similarities between these experiences as related by those experiencing them. I think that the laboratory is where we'll find the answers and while there is value in field investigation of spontaneous occurrences... I think the popularization and trappings that have been attached to field investigation by popular media is detrimental. That's just the opinion of someone that's never done a field investigation of a haunted locale before though, so take it for what it's worth.
I think that the popularization of ghost hunting has also been detrimental to the younger people that have an interest in the paranormal. I'm sure it's no mystery that kids like to watch TV more than they like to read and, when given a choice, I think most people would rather read fiction than nonfiction. My point is that the younger generation is getting all of their information from television ghost hunters and haunted locations documentaries (or fictional teen romances). This means that those of us that have been researching away from the TV have to deal with people taking every creak in their home or shadow in their peripheral vision as a ghost. I'm not saying that it couldn't have been a ghost, but I think that some critical thinking should be used to temper seemingly inexplicable happenings.
I've experienced my fair share of inexplicable things (that's one of the reasons I'm so passionate about the paranormal). However, I make it a point to try not to jump to conclusions about what happened. I try to look at all of the mundane reasons before I cry "Ghost!" (Or whatever else my mind might immediately jump to.) Sometimes there just isn't an obvious rational explanation though. Just as often there isn't enough evidence to say that a deceased human being is hanging around in the attic. I like to find a happy medium in most areas of my life and a little bit of critical thinking is how I do that with my paranormal interests. That's all I ask when dealing with the paranormal if those of us that are serious about the subject ever expect to have the fields of parapsychology and paranormal research taken seriously.
If you've made it this far then thank you for reading my first entry. If you have feedback then please leave a comment!
Personally, I find ghosts and vampires to be the two most trite subjects when it comes to the paranormal. This isn't to say that ghosts don't hold a very important place in the study of the paranormal. Understanding the nature of ghosts and spirits could be one of the most important undertakings of mankind as it could give us some inkling of what to expect when we close our eyes for the final time. I'll get to this later.
Then there are vampires who have come out of the darkness because of a recent novel and film series I won't mention. What many people don't know is that there is a community of real-life "vampires" that are on the verge of bringing their community into a more respected public light. The subject of real vampires, or Human Living Vampires (HLVs), is so broad that I could devote an entire blog to that subject alone. You can probably expect posts specifically devoted to the vampire community on future dates.
Back to ghosts now. I think that the area of parapsychology known as "survival studies" is very important and isn't necessarily given enough respect. As little respect as ESP researchers get, survival researchers probably get even less. This is odd considering that in the days of the founding of the Society for Psychical Research survival of the human being beyond death was a major topic of interest. This said, it was a whole lot easier to investigate claims of spirits communicating secret information between parties then as there were no telephones or other rapid communications such as the Internet. There were no fancy electronic gizmos or even electricity during the age of widespread mediumship and spiritualism.
I think that now serious survival researchers have to deal with all the noise surrounding television ghost hunters and paranormal investigators. It's hard to be taken seriously when the public perception of ghosts, spirits, or survival after death is that of a group of young people, some looking less than professional, running around in abandoned buildings after dark filming themselves being scared. An attempt to validate this vocation by the introduction of electronic devices such as EMF detectors may work for some people but this author doesn't really see the relevance. I suppose my main problem with these types of shows is that the approach doesn't ever seem to gain any answers. These "investigators" may be able to tell you whether your home is haunted in an hour or less, but they provide very few answers about what happens when we die, if ghosts are deceased people or something else, the mechanisms of how ghosts interact with our world, etc. All of this without even going into the accusations of faking evidence for ratings.
I think that the real ground to be gained in this area is in the study of near death experiences, out-of-body experiences, and the similarities between these experiences as related by those experiencing them. I think that the laboratory is where we'll find the answers and while there is value in field investigation of spontaneous occurrences... I think the popularization and trappings that have been attached to field investigation by popular media is detrimental. That's just the opinion of someone that's never done a field investigation of a haunted locale before though, so take it for what it's worth.
I think that the popularization of ghost hunting has also been detrimental to the younger people that have an interest in the paranormal. I'm sure it's no mystery that kids like to watch TV more than they like to read and, when given a choice, I think most people would rather read fiction than nonfiction. My point is that the younger generation is getting all of their information from television ghost hunters and haunted locations documentaries (or fictional teen romances). This means that those of us that have been researching away from the TV have to deal with people taking every creak in their home or shadow in their peripheral vision as a ghost. I'm not saying that it couldn't have been a ghost, but I think that some critical thinking should be used to temper seemingly inexplicable happenings.
I've experienced my fair share of inexplicable things (that's one of the reasons I'm so passionate about the paranormal). However, I make it a point to try not to jump to conclusions about what happened. I try to look at all of the mundane reasons before I cry "Ghost!" (Or whatever else my mind might immediately jump to.) Sometimes there just isn't an obvious rational explanation though. Just as often there isn't enough evidence to say that a deceased human being is hanging around in the attic. I like to find a happy medium in most areas of my life and a little bit of critical thinking is how I do that with my paranormal interests. That's all I ask when dealing with the paranormal if those of us that are serious about the subject ever expect to have the fields of parapsychology and paranormal research taken seriously.
If you've made it this far then thank you for reading my first entry. If you have feedback then please leave a comment!
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