In the Field Tonight!

I'm very excited to have the chance to go back with my teammates at SPI to a site we investigated a few weeks ago.

The site is an abandoned firehouse that used to be a private residence before that. There are many stories from fireman of odd happenings there including the ghost of a small girl that answers the telephone when people called! There have been several reports of apparitions including the girl and an old man in overalls.

We were out there a few weeks back since the site is being demolished now that it is unused and has some structural problems. While there we had some very interesting experiences including strange temperature fluctuations, the fact that the house reads with meters like it has electricity but there's no connection to the grid, physical contact, IR lights falling, and at least three EVP's!

Yes, that's three EVP's. Now I should explain, that's 3 EVP's that got by our internal review process whereby we make sure:

1. It's not one of us.
2. It's not some natural noise.
3. It's not tape contamination.
4. What spectrum range the sound is in.
5. Cue it against all other audio and video to verify where everyone was and if any other device caught the anomaly.

Once it passes our review it then gets sent out to the TAPS Family and International Paranormal Investigators (another umbrella group) for further review and analysis. So far, they have passed muster on all accounts! Very exciting!

Now, thanks to a holdup in the demolition of the site we have a last shot at getting some more solid evidence out there. We've got three nights beginning tonight to hit the site with everything we've got!

We did have a case last time of a door opening, but it was caught only on still cameras, not video. So, this time we're hoping our friends will cooperate again and we can get it on video too.

This should be a great investigation tonight and I can't wait to see what happens!

Buck's EMF Experiment - Day 8

If there are any ill effects from the EMF they seem to be lessening now. Another night with nothing unusual to report. During the day have felt fine physically and mentally.

Still On the Job - Ninety Six NHS

For a number of years I had the opportunity to volunteer at Ninety Six National Historic Site in South Carolina. While there I was a Living History Interpreter and also coordinated many of the living history events at the site.

I also had a few interesting experiences at the park along with many staff members, volunteers, and visitors.

Ninety Six received its unusual name in the 18th Century when it began as a trading post at the confluence of the Charleston Road and the Cherokee Path. It was the last outpost before the Indian territories and was located about 96 miles from the Cherokee town of Keowee in what is now Greenville County, SC.

Robert Goudey opened his trading post in the early 1700's supplying necessities to settlers and trading with the Cherokee. By the French and Indian War a small village had sprung up and during the conflict, known locally as "The Cherokee War" the settlement was twice attacked. Goudey fortified his post during this time making the first "Fort Ninety Six". This served as a base of operations for British and Colonial attacks against the Cherokee during the war.

By the time of the American Revolution Ninety Six had become a very prosperous town. In the years just before the war, beginning in 1772, the town boasted one of the first sitting courts. Judges would ride out from Charleston on a "circuit" and hear cases. Interestingly, this system is still employed for superior courts in South Carolina and county courts are staffed by "Circuit Judges" who travel within a set geographic area to hear cases. The town was also the site of the first brick jail in the "back country" which was a formidable three story structure.

At the outbreak of the Revolution Ninety Six was a center for Loyalist and Rebel activity. Early on, Loyalists who had been caught up in the "Powder Plot" were brought to trial in the town and several were hanged. Among those tried was one of my ancestors, although he escaped the hangman's noose.

One of the earliest battles of the Revolution was fought at the fortified town in 1775 and the grave of the first southern casualty is on park property near the site of the fortified barns and outbuildings.
By the time the focus of the war moved south in 1779, Ninety Six had become a Loyalist stronghold. The town was further fortified and a large star shaped redoubt or earthen fort was constructed to protect the town and the Charleston Road. The British sent troops into the area under the command of Lt. Col. Kruger to hold the town. In June of 1781, General Natanael Greene and his mixed corps of militia and Continentals laid siege to the fort and town. This marked the longest siege of the American Revolution. Although the British prevailed when word reached Greene that reinforcements were approaching, the British and Loyalists burned the town and abandoned it, returning to the safety of Charleston.

After the Revolution another town sprang up just a few hundred yards from the old one. This town was known as Cambridge and even had a small college. Unfortunately, an epidemic wiped out most of the townspeople in the early 19th century and Cambridge was also abandoned.

It would not be until the Civil War that Ninety Six would again rebuild. This time the town was located near new train tracks about a mile from the original settlement. This is the town of Ninety Six today while the original town and the "Star Fort" are part of a National Historic Site.

The history of this small patch of land - less than one mile square certainly lends itself to ghosts. The park is littered with graves and stories of suffering and trouble. With a court sitting in the town there were numerous hangings and other punishments meted out in a time when capital punishment and corporal punishment were the preferred methods of correction.

But, is Ninety Six haunted? Certainly, there are plenty of stories to suggest it is. Many visitors to the park report unusual occurrences. Some report feeling like they are being watched from the hill above the creek and old trading post site. A few have reported actually seeing someone dressed as a Native American through the trees. This might be explained by living history events, although none were going on when the reports were made.

Other people have noted the laughter of children near the town site when no children were on the property. A few, claiming psychic abilities have reported seeing a woman and child in the area.

The park has a cabin that dates form the mid-1700's on the site and this is the focus of many of the living history events. Many living history interpreters have stayed in the structure in the past and have reported unusual sounds, knocking and even footsteps.

However, the most active area of the site seems to be newest - the Visitor Center. Most of my personal experiences have taken place in this structure.

The Visitor Center houses a small gift shop, an office, a small museum, and an auditorium where lectures and orientation films are presented. The park rangers and volunteers often report unusual events in this area.

One of the most common has been the sound of whistling which seems to come from thin air about 6 feet off the ground. Often while sitting at the desk volunteers and rangers will hear someone whistle a short somewhat tuneless melody. I've actually experienced it a few times and on at least one occassion run outside to be sure no one was walking near the building. No one was present.

Another frequent event in the visitor center is the sound of the back door closing loudly. This happens even though this door is locked form the inside and when no one else is in the building and exiting. When checked the door is found to be securely shut and locked.

Undoubtedly, whatever entity is present enjoys watching the orientation film. Often the VCR has turned on by itself and begun playing the film. Sometimes when no visitors are present the VCR will be heard to click and upon checking the VCR tape will have been ejected, although it had, at that time, no timer and had already been rewound.

Without doubt, one of the oddest encounters in the Visitor Center happened when I was manning the desk during a meeting of the Park Administration and representatives from NPS and the Department of the Interior. The meeting was to discuss the fate of the cabin on the property. The cabin is not original to the site and was moved there in the mid-1970's when it was rescued from destruction. The DOI and NPS people were of the opinion that the cabin should be removed since it was not original and because of the cost of upkeep.

I had no idea what the discussion was about, just that it was an important meeting. While they were meeting in the auditorium I was startled when an entire row of books fell from the shelf in the gift shop. I walked over and looked at the shelf to see if it was loose but it was securely fastened to the wall. I picked up the books and replaced them.

Just as I returned to my seat I glanced over and saw the books fly from the shelf again. This time they landed in the center of the room some 6 feet or so from the actual shelf. It was almost like someone took their arm and shoved all the books off and as far as they could!

Needless to say, I was a little startled but knowing the odd happenings I simply raised my voice a little and called out, "That's enough, Bob. I'm not picking them up again." After that they stayed put.

You may wonder why I addressed the entity as "Bob". Many people speculate that the ghost in the Visitor Center may be the first superintendent of the site whose first name was Bob. He was extraordinarily dedicated to Ninety Six NHS and worked tirelessly to take the park from a tiny and insignificant site to a showcase for interpretive events and programs. Unfortunately, Bob passed away before he saw the full fruits of his labor and had the chance to retire and pass along the legacy to someone else.

Ninety Six, remains for me, a very special place. Perhaps, Bob, and the other ghosts simply don't want to leave such a beautiful, historic and quiet oasis.

Photo Notes:

Photo 1: A skeleton unearthed during an archeology dig at Ninety Six NHS. It is thought to be James Birmingham, the first casualty in the south of the American Revolution.

Photo 2: Living History Interpreters at an event. Actually, the folks in the background are my military unit, His Majesty's 33rd Regiment of Foot, Light Infantry Company.

Photo 3: That's me in my civilian duds at a special event honoring the new Superintendent for Ninety Six NHS and Cowpens National Battlefield.

EMF Experiment - Day 7

Last night was another rather insomniac night. Although once I fell asleep around 4 a.m. I slept well until awaking at 11:45 a.m.

There were no dreams to report and physically I seem to be fine today, if a little sluggish because of the sleep patterns being off.

New Ghost Hunters Tonight and Theater EMF

Here's a little shout out for the guys at TAPS and Ghost Hunters on Sci-Fi. The new episodes start tonight. Here's the synopsis from Jason:

Episode 410 – “House of Spirits”
Premieres Wednesday, May 28 @ 9 PM

Jason, Grant and the TAPS team head to New England to answer a call from a terrified family plagued by mysterious apparitions. During their investigation, TAPS uncovers some shocking evidence of paranormal activity in the home.

From there, they take on claims at the Palace Theater in Manchester, NH, a former vaudeville stop that hosted performances by performances by Bob Hope, the Marx Brothers, Jimmy Durante and Harry Houdini. Today, staff at this historic playhouse report endless paranormal claims, ranging from apparitions to the sounds of footsteps and slamming doors.

Here's the interesting thing about all those "haunted" theaters that are reported. If the EMF stuff I'm testing has any validity whatsoever most of the activity in these places can be explained fairly easily at least in the ones that are in current use.

I used to work with a local theater company back in South Carolina. I started out running lights for shows and moved from there into design and finally acting and directing. However, one of my favorite spots in the theater was always behind the board.

In that theater, built in the 1920's, there were many stories that the balcony was haunted. This is where the lighting and sound boards were located. It was true that there were many times when I ran lights or was just setting levels before a rehearsal that I'd feel like someone was seated behind me looking over my shoulder. Sometimes people would mention being in the balcony and catching glimpses of a person out of the corner of their eye.


It was a creepy places, especially if you were in the theater alone. But, if the EMF theory holds any weight then there is a very plausible explanation. The lighting board was ancient. This was still a toggle system at the time I worked there and I'm sure it leaked EMF like crazy. Lighting boards, of course have to have power and then send that power out to the lights, so there were large power cables that ran up a post into the ceiling next to the board and across the ceiling to the lights on the stage. This would also create a significant EMF field. Add to that power for the sound board and equipment as well as the usual HVAC system located nearby and you've got a really strong field going in that area.

So, could the many theater hauntings be explained by the types of equipment used in them and the fact that many are old and have been retrofitted for current uses? It's certainly something to think about!

Buck's EMF Experiment - Day 6

Last night there was a bout of insomnia but I'm not sure it was directly related to EMF. Slept for a few hours then awoke around 1 a.m. and was up for about 3 or 4 hours. Around 5 a.m. felt sleepy again so returned to bed and fell asleep until awaking about 11:14 a.m.

There was one dream but I don't really remember any details, I remember a fleeting image of something about by Nephew upon waking but that was all.

Otherwise, feeling fine so far today.

Phoenix Descending

The University of Arizona proudly announced Sunday that their Phoenix Mars Lander had safely descended to the surface of the "Red Planet" and was successfully sending back information.

The Phoenix mission marks a great success for UA and NASA on the heels of the failures in the past to land equipment on the planet and have it transmit data to the Earth.

According to the project website at UA:

Launched in August 2007, the Phoenix Mars Mission is the first in NASA's Scout Program. Phoenix is designed to study the history of water and habitability potential in the Martian arctic's ice-rich soil."

While not paranormal in nature, the project represents the scientific pursuit of the unknown and putting long held ideas about a previously "unknown" environment to the test.

In honor of the University of Arizona's success I am pleased to share a great piece of music from Wishbone Ash: "Phoenix":

EMF Experiment - Day 5

No real ill effects to report today. Slept well last night with only minimal interruptions as I awakened to use the bathroom.

One memorable dream last night. Very fuzzy details upon waking but the bit I remember had to do with being at a gas station/convenience store to get gas or water for the car. The scene was at night and we were in the desert. The bit I remember took place in the back of the station where I was trying to fill water bottles (the small ones) for the car. The clerk was a woman from South Carolina that I know who clerks a convenience store I used to go to there. That was about it.

There was another bit but I'm not sure if it was related to that dream or was a separate one. We were back in my hometown and stopped on one side of the street. The Post Office was on the other (which is odd because where we were was about a 1/2 block from where the Post Office actually sits.) Anyway, for some reason I was going across the street to the Post Office. Again, the dream was taking place at night. That's all I remember, really.

Woke up about 8:30 a.m. and felt fine.

Ghost Gadgets Sale!

This just in from our Tech Manager and inventor extraordinaire, Paul Bradford:

Creepy Hollow Home Page


Due to the great responses by the various teams worldwide who have purchased my Infrared Floodlights Ive been able to acquire the parts needed at a discounted price, so rather then benefit myself I decided to pass the savings onto you.
please go check them out and read some of the reviews.

---

Now playing: Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression - Part 2 (Album Version)

EMF Experiment - Day 4

Went to bed about midnight but slept very restlessly. Eventually woke up around 3 a.m. and decided to just get up and go to the computer.

I'm not sure if it's the EMF effect or that iced White Chocolate Latte I had during Michael's guitar jam that has kept me awake.

At any rate, I may try to lie down again shortly and see if I can grab some sleep.

Otherwise, I seem to be feeling fine. No anxious feelings like the other day and no odd dreams during the short time I slept. Should anything change I'll update this entry.

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Now playing: Wishbone Ash - The Pilgrim
via FoxyTunes

EMF Experiment - Day 3

Today, I again woke early, around 7:45 a.m. However, I did not feel quite so strange. Yesterday, the feelings of anxiousness continued into the night. At times I felt very eerie, almost as though I were in a fog. This was not visual but a mental fog that I couldn't shake.

Finally, before bed last night I decided to have Michael try a Peruvian energy technique and Reiki to see if it made a difference in my mood and feelings. It seemed to help a great deal as I began to feel lighter and less anxious within a few minutes. When I went to bed I slept comfortably with no strange dreams, in fact no memorable dreams at all.

Question: Does "energy work" such as Reiki alleviate the EMF side effects if they are real?

Paranormal Spotlight - Nancy Roberts

I'm going to steal shamelessly from my friend Ken over at "Spooked!" and institute my own version of the "Paranormal Spotlight" from time to time. Hope he doesn't mind... Ken? Oh well, too bad if you do, it's a good idea and I'm stealing it!

As I posted my comment reply to Cullan, a wonderful lady came back to mind. She is Nancy Roberts from North Carolina. Nancy is an author, storyteller and actress who has penned some of the best known collections of folklore and ghost lore in the Carolinas.

Nancy was an early influence for me. When I was growing up my cat was related to her cat. I don't recall all the details but somehow my oldest brother knew one of her friends and our cat was either a sibling of her cat's or maybe her cat's son. I don't really recall which it was now.

Pet relationships aside, I picked up my first Nancy Roberts' book, Ghosts of the Carolinas, when I was about 8 or 9. I read that book with it's stories of haunted places from cover to cover so many times I eventually wore it out. All through my childhood I read any book she wrote and her stories became part of my early influences combining my love of history and a good scare!

When I was in high school I had the opportunity to meet Nancy Roberts at a library event I attended. She proved to be the epitome of a southern lady - charming, intelligent and with a slightly mischievous air. She gladly signed all my copies of her books (of which there were quite a few).

Some years later I worked for About.com and had the chance to see her once more at a speaking engagement. She was inundated with well wishers and those wanting their books autographed so I slipped her a note explaining I'd like to do an article about her for the website. The next day she graciously called me at home and we spoke for over two hours about her work, her life and her beliefs. There aren't many times that you not only get to meet someone who influenced you early in life but they also live up to your expectations. Nancy was one of those rare people.

She continues to write, speak, and tell stories to this day. Nancy, for all those stormy October days reading ghost stories from your books and dreaming of ghosts walking through the cemetery across the street, I thank you.

Maybe I'll spend the afternoon now with "The Hound of Goshen" and "The Phantom Rider of Bush River" as told by Nancy Roberts, the "Custodian of the Twilight Zone".

Bizarre Behavior

For some reason lately it seems that I've been attracting some real bizarre people. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I accepted a request to join a "paranormal social network" sort of like MySpace. You may notice that link is now gone.

I honestly thought it might be a nice way to meet other people interested in the paranormal and share information, stories and research ideas. What I learned is that every nut job on the net had found the site. Out of all the people there I found only a few members of a respected group. The rest were either "ghost tourists" whose idea of a paranormal investigation involved candles, incense, impromptu seances or just taking pictures of dust orbs and uploading them or just jokers spinning wild and fantastic tales for fun.

What's worse though is that these folks seemed to be attracted to me. It's easy just to ignore people when you're just looking around, it becomes harder when they engage you in dialogue.

It began with people wanting to know how to get in touch with TAPS and devolved from there into long diatribes from people with "Doctorates" in Metaphysics who misspelled every third word and couldn't hook a noun and verb together and make it agree under threat of death. Forget punctuation or capitalization, those concepts were utterly foreign. I finally got so tired of one guy's B.S. that I just wrote back: "So, it must have been hard doing that thesis and dissertation when you have such trouble with spelling and grammar."

From the "Doctors" we moved on to the tourist groups. I learned something very interesting though, a lot of people in these groups thinks that all you have to do to become a TAPS Family group is just get a bunch of people together, be fans of Ghost Hunters, and then ask TAPS. So, let me be clear here. No, that's not how it works. You must be an established group with a body of work from previous investigations that can be reviewed. You must apply to the TAPS Family and have your evidence and reports reviewed. If they decide favorably you must serve a probationary period where you are under intense scrutiny. After that, you still must submit information regularly on investigations and share evidence and research publicly with others.

So, that's not for people who just want to show up at sites, snap pictures and go home. It's also not for those people who prey on the fears and insecurities of others to feel self important.

That's a dangerous practice and I found several groups on that site who seemed to do that. They specialized in "Demon Work" and helping people rid their homes of "demons and evil spirits". From reading their posts and profiles it looked like they went into any home they could and then immediately located the resident "demon" then set about a long process of "ridding" the home of said demon. The more I read the more I realized these were fairly socially isolated individuals with some self esteem issues. This was abundantly evident from the fact that each and every one was a "Doctor" of some kind although none ever listed attending a college.

It was the "founder" of one of these groups who contacted me and informed me that a TAPS Family group had severely damaged his client. I was quite shocked from his report and asked him if he had contacted the TAPS Family on behalf of his client to file a complaint. That's another thing, any client can file a complaint with TAPS Family and it will be investigated. Groups can be disciplined and removed from the organization if they are found not adhering to the standards.

The man responded that he had not done that because he didn't want to "make waves". So I asked him if he was sure it was a TAPS Family group. His response was that they had TAPS on their cars and wore TAPS hats. At that point I knew this had to be a fake case. TAPS Family groups use their own logos with a smaller logo for the TAPS Family (sometimes they don't even use that one). They never use the TAPS logo as their logo.

Now, this is a common occurrence anymore because of the TV Show. People think that if they buy the TAPS merchandise and tell people they're from TAPS they can get into homes or sites. Unfortunately, it's often true that they can. Therefore, it is always wise to check the TAPS Family website for verification of a group's status. Besides, TAPS nor the TAPS Family just drive around knocking on doors!

So, another exchange followed after I told this man that I didn't believe it was a real TAPS group and perhaps he should check the TAPS Family website to see if they were listed. I also mentioned that I hoped he would wish to assist his clients in tracking down these people. He responded that the police had been called and major investigation was under way involving federal authorities and all this stuff. I knew then he was lying through his teeth. So, I asked for the name of the group in question so I could pass his information on to TAPS.

At that point he came clean. He, of course, had made the whole thing up. During our first exchanges he had mentioned that his group had "thought about joining TAPS" but had declined because they were much older than TAPS and helped more people. After he came clean about his lie and told me that his purpose was to "bait" members of the TAPS Family (or as he thinks TAPS) to see how they respond to criticism of their groups. It became abundantly clear that what had happened is they had actually applied and been denied membership. My final note to him simply read: "I'm sorry I am unable to correspond with you further. I do hope you realize that should you post any of your 'stories' to a website after you have admitted their falseness to me you will be committing libel."

So, that left a very sour taste in my mouth because I'd picked up some similar feelings from other things on the site - basically that 90% of what was going on was just exaggeration or outright lies. The straw that broke the camel's back however was a plea for help I received from the owner of the website. There was a member who was having "supposedly" a lot of activity at his home. He asked if I could point him to resources in his area.

The good Samaritan that I am, I contacted the man and offered assistance. I gave him the names, addresses and links of his closest TAPS Family groups. In his first response I got a little suspicious, when he said, "Well, I wanted to contact those guys at TAPS but couldn't figure out how I could just talk to them like chatting or something."

Uh, oh. That's become a big problem with TAPS Family groups. We've even had to redo the letter we send prospective clients because we were getting so many who thought it was a way to get on Ghost Hunters or just meet Jason and Grant.

So, I explained to him that even if he contacts TAPS in Rhode Island that they will have their local affiliates contact him and do the investigation and I'd already given him that information. I further explained that Jason and Grant were usually too busy with the show to do residential hauntings much and that the TAPS teams you don't see on TV handles most of those cases.

Usually, that's enough to stop them. We've had a few requests at SPI now that have fallen away once they realized it wasn't their big chance for a TV spot or to meet celebrities. In this case, however, he seemed to think that by convincing me I could convince them. So, the claims got wilder. First he wasn't scared, now he was terrified. First, things were moving around when no one was home, now they were able to watch them move. First, it was a benign haunting, now it was "evil" and kept saying "Get Out!" and making evil laughing noises. Now, mind you, this was in a period of hours that it went from a regular old report to the Amityville Horror revisited.

So, I suggested again he contact the local groups and let them know it was an emergency. If, however, he felt in danger or wanted to do something about the activity his best bet might me to contact his clergyman and ask for a blessing or exorcism. If he was unsure of whom to contact the local TAPS Family group might be able to assist him in finding a spiritual practitioner.

That should be the end of it right? Nope, now we find that he's had an exorcism but it didn't do anything. This "evil spirit" was too strong for even a priest. On and on and on it went with each paragraph getting wilder and wilder in an effort, I suppose, to convince me to phone up Jason and Grant and have them stop by. Note to world: I do NOT have their phone number. I do NOT have their email addresses. I have never even met them and unless I go to a conference, doubt I ever will!

At this point I decided that in the past week I'd probably spent over 8 hours corresponding with people in a sincere effort to help them out only to find that in every case it was a hoax of some type, therefore, it was time to say goodbye to "Supernatural Connections". So, I emailed the site owner and explained what had been going on and told him I simply did not have time for those types of games and mendacity. Then I canceled my account with the site.

I love helping people. It's one of the reasons I got into this field - to help people understand those things that simply seem to have no explanation. However, I won't subject myself to an environment that seems to thrive on taking advantage of the good will of others. I have more than enough to keep me busy at SPI!

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Now playing: Michael Emmanuel - A cup a kiss

EMF Experiment - Day 2

Today's results have been a little different. There were no memorable dreams last night. However, I awoke about 7 a.m. which is rather unusual for me. Upon awaking I went to the computer as usual to catch up on posts from the SPI forums and check email.

I noticed early that I felt rather odd, it's hard to describe really but I seemed to be quite anxious and easily aroused to emotions - mostly negative emotions.

Throughout the morning and early afternoon I realized I was sluggish and bouncing between anxiety and bouts of anger or petulance. I seemed to be overly sensitive to criticism and my attention span seemed to be short. At times I simply didn't feel like doing things that I normally do. I have done very little work today on reports, I've been very hesitant to even interact with people.

After trying to watch "Haunted Honeymoon" I noticed I kept dozing off. I finally decided to take a nap about 3 p.m. and slept until about 6 p.m. which is also rather odd. I used the "EMF fan" during my nap and awoke with the same rather odd feelings.

I have no idea if these "symptoms" are related to the EMF experiment or are strictly psychological and I'm just experiencing some anxiety or depression related to life events, although there have been no real "triggers" for depression in the past 24 hours. In fact, I felt fine last night when going to bed.

Interesting and disconcerting if they are linked to EMF. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

More on EMF Research

This is from a post I made to our research threads at S.P.I.:

Well, making a little headway thanks to the TAPS forums.

Looks like some of this may be based on work done in the 80's by Dr. Michael Parsinger where he used weak electro-magnetic fields applied to the temporal lobes to trigger what he termed "a religious state". The participants often reported feeling an "ethereal presence" in the room.

Anyway, most of his work was highly controversial but at least he did the experiments and wrote papers on the subject.

I did find a website for a parapsychology study that is postulating that natural magnetic fields are responsible for the "ghost sightings" or hallucinations people report at haunted locations. They measure the EMF fluctuations constantly to determine if the natural environment is causing a hallucination. I'm not sure how this applies, though because the assumption at the outset is that an EMF fluctuation cannot be paranormal in nature and any associated report of apparitions or other phenomena would then be hallucinatory in nature. Lots of assumptions in their work. But they write nice reports full of big words.

However, in Sweden in 2004 Parsinger's original experiment was repeated at Uppsala University. They only made one change to his protocol - they used a double blind study so that neither the participants nor the researchers knew who was being tested with the 'live" fields and who was not. The study showed there was no correlation between the EMF and feelings of a presence or other phenomena. In fact, 2 out of 3 reporting "strong" experiences were not exposed to EMF at all while 11 out of 22 reporting "subtle" experiences were not exposed to any EMF.

BTW: the field used was between 3 and 7 microtesla. So, guess someone else thought to test it before I suggested it.

Source Links:
http://www.bioedonline.org/news/news.cfm?art=1424

http://www.apaw71.dsl.pipex.com/MADS/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Persinger

One of our investigators posted a reply dealing with EMF "Sensitivity" which has been another topic of some controversy. Here is my further reply based upon the current articles and work done.

They have studied "sensitivity" and found that it seems to have no real basis as we saw in the studies by WHO. People who even think they are sensitive to fields can't tell the difference.

No, the Swedish study was done perfectly correctly and when you remove the "clues" from the equation then it shows that there is no statistical variance. In other words, people are just as likely to "experience" something when they think they are supposed to as to not.

The findings of the Swedish study are that people who "think" they are supposed to have some experience will report what they believe is correct even though there is no physical reason.

That was the error in Persinger's study back in the 80's. The participants thought they were supposed to experience something and there was no control group to see if the "experience" was related to the EMF or simply the fact that participants were simply suggestive.

Now, I also know what I'm "supposed" to experience with my experiment. Therefore any findings from it could simply be that psychologically I'm responding to what I know I SHOULD feel. Since either way it's psychological it's impossible to differentiate.

Now, if they could craft the study so that participants had no prior knowledge of what they "should" experience and the questionerre was done in such a way that it didn't "clue" people in on the responses expected we might get a better look at this question.

For right now, though, the connection remains extremely tenuous, but at least we've got some data and we can truly say now that it is a "theory" and it is being studied seriously.

And that's the most important part of all.

Buck's EMF Experiment

As I mentioned in a previous post, we've been hard put to find concrete data on the correlation between high EMF and symptoms such as paranoia, feelings of being watched, skin irritation, nausea, and hallucinations or sleep disturbances.

So, I decided to try a little experiment. I have a portable fan that actually registers off the scale using a Sperry 822a EMF meter. I've put it by my bed and the readings I get near my pillow fluctuate between about 4mG and 5.8mG.

For the next couple weeks I'm keeping a journal of dreams and sleep disturbances to see if it has any effect. At the end of the two weeks I will remove it from the equation so that the field around my pillow returns to normal levels. Then I'll note any dreams or sleep disturbances during the next two weeks and compare the results and content of dreams.

While it will still be somewhat anecdotal it should give me some idea whether this is an experiment worth continuing on a larger scale.

So, we began last night and here are the dream results:

First dream dealt with a college campus and a bookstore. I left the bookstore to use a bathroom which had a very narrow door and was very dirty and full of people. I left without using the bathroom.

Second dream: much clearer. I was visiting my uncle's house (Billy) which somehow was transferred from South Carolina to California. Instead of his wife, my Aunt Joan, he was married to a young African American woman. We were riding in a limo with some other members of my family when she told us he was being investigated for some type of construction fraud. Then she told us that she had convinced him to implicate my mother to throw off the police. We made them pull the car over and all my family got out very angry. I stayed behind and tried to talk to her but the discussion became violent and I tried to strangle her before leaping from the limo and running to a house where my family were calling for transportation. Strangely, the house was that of a family friend in Newberry although we were in Beverly Hills or someplace like that. Dream ended there.


Third dream, I was outside on the patio and noticed the clouds above were swirling. At first, I thought it odd then they picked up in speed and seemed to be forming a tornado. I ran inside and tried to shut the patio door but it was shutters instead of glass and the hinge was broken. I finally got it closed and ran through the living room (suddenly my apartment had a different layout and was big). I noticed a TV on a paranormal show and they were saying that Michael's niece (who is not psychic in reality) had caused a panic giving readings someplace forecasting accurately death and destruction. I looked up and could see the sky swirling through the skylights in the room. Outside it started to rain very hard and I went into a hallway (?)... dream ends.

I'll post my journal entry for each day as we continue!

How Do You Get Cool Sites?

"How does your team get to investigate so many cool sites?" That was a question posed to me via message on another website.

There are a lot of ways to answer that question. We do get to investigate some interesting places, but it's taken a long time for that to happen. In the beginning almost everything my group did was residential or "tourist" sites that everyone does at some point.

However, in every case the group gave it everything they had. They were tough on evidence, they were professional in every sense of the word, they respected people and privacy, and most importantly they researched and explained.

Using this process the group became known for top quality work. There were no cases of showing clients pictures of orbs and telling them it was evidence. There was no bringing in the local "psychic" and having him or her "communicate" with spirits and telling the client that was proof. No, in every case the site was investigated fully, claims were examined closely and any non-paranormal causes were presented alongside any evidence gathered.

In fact in at least one case the team, while debunking a claim, found that the dryer vents in a home were completely plugged causing not only a fire hazard but a health hazard as well. Because we were looking for non-paranormal causes for their claims we discovered something that may have saved their lives and homes. We were able to show them why they were experiencing most of the things they reported and they were thrilled at our thoroughness and grateful for our help with their safety issue.


In another case we were able to debunk every single claim because of structural problems with the property. We did not even have to do a full investigation and because of our work and research the homeowners have been able to file suit to recoup their expenses in fixing up their newly built home. Incidentally, they didn't have "ghosts" after the repairs our specialist suggested.

Each time we investigate a site we prepare a full report. This report is typed and bound and includes a full history of the site, associated news stories, complete property records and any other data we can gather including geological surveys. Any evidence collected is also presented to our client.

Because of this extremely hard work and the long hours, our group became highly respected and joined the TAPS family. This also opened up a lot of opportunities since the protocols and philosophy of TAPS are well respected. The TV show doesn't hurt either!

Now, our group is called upon to investigate many interesting places. We are allowed access to sites that the public and many other groups would never be allowed to enter. We are even called in by government agencies.

Yet, we still investigate private homes. That remains the most common investigation we do because when you come right down to it, we are here to help people. When someone is frightened in their home our job is to help them figure out what is going on and why. If it is paranormal then we can help them decide what they wish to do about it. On the other hand, and this is often the case, we can help them allay their fears by discovering what natural things might be frightening them and helping them correct their environment to remove those influences. Regardless of where we are, people are our first priority.

Many people want to start a paranormal group and do investigations. In fact, one of the folks I received the question from had a group that consisted of some friends. I asked him about their equipment and they had a few portable cams, digital cams, recorders, etc. That's a great start. Then I asked who did their reviews. Unfortunately, like many that part had failed to interest them.

Reviews are one of the most important aspects of the investigation. For every hour you're at a site that's an hour of film footage, audio, and a bunch of pictures to review. Multiply that by the number of cameras, recorders, etc. and you multiply the number of hours you'll be working once you go home. Recently, I spent 12 hours on video and 8 and half hours on audio. That's a big chunk of time when you don't get paid for it. So, it's easy to let it slide if you aren't dedicated to the process.

Someone once asked me if we didn't just "fast forward" the video so we didn't have to sit there. The answer is "no". If you fast forward it's likely you'll miss something. There are no shortcuts. You just have to sit there and watch or listen.

Of course, after that comes the process of vetting information. You might think you've got two or three interesting things to show. So you give it to the group then sit back and watch your "really cool" EVP get debunked as someone's voice you didn't recognize, or outside noise, or even crickets! Or you think you've got a cord moving between two photographs only to submit it and have someone say, "Oh yeah, I remember stepping on that when I came in." Out it goes.

So many groups take shortcuts on that type of work. But, honestly, that's what separates professionals from the ghost tourists and that's how you gain respect.

So, how do we get to investigate so many cool sites? Simple. Hard work, dedication, professionalism and a serious approach to the scientific process.

Believer Vs. Non-Believer

The term "believer" has become a badge of honor among certain people it seems. Often when viewing websites I will see someone state that they are a "believer." But what does that mean?

I believe in the existence of paranormal phenomena. I have experienced it personally. However, I am often called a "Non-Believer" because I seek rational and natural explanations first before I make the call that something is "unexplained" or "paranormal".

Recently, I was asked to review a photograph for a woman. It was obvious from the most cursory view that the photograph was snow falling from her roof. In ordinary circumstances it would have been a lovely photo for her scrapbook. However, this woman called herself a "true believer" and although every serious researcher called the photograph for what it was she was not convinced. She decided that we were "Non-Believers" whose only purpose was to deny the existence of spirits and the paranormal.

Nothing could be further from the truth. We seek nothing more than to advance the study and understanding of phenomena. Most of us have had a few if not many experiences ourselves. We've seen truly unexplained photographs, videos, and audio. We've had personal encounters with unseen entities.

The difference, however, is that we use our critical thinking skills, knowledge, and experience to separate ordinary events from extraordinary events. By looking first for any natural causes we can move on to exploring truly unusual and interesting phenomena.

So many of these people don't realize that to bring paranormal studies into the realm of a serious scientific endeavor we must necessarily discard those false positives and concentrate on truly unexplained happenings. This is not a case of "not believing" but rather part of the scientific process.

In paranormal studies we often employ a principle called "Occam's Razor":

Occam's razor (sometimes spelled Ockham's razor) is a principle attributed to the 14th-century English logician and Franciscan friar William of Ockham. The principle states that the explanation of any phenomenon should make as few assumptions as possible, eliminating those that make no difference in the observable predictions of the explanatory hypothesis or theory. The principle is often expressed in Latin as the lex parsimoniae ("law of parsimony" or "law of succinctness"): "entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem", or "entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity".

This is often paraphrased as "All other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best." In other words, when multiple competing theories are equal in other respects, the principle recommends selecting the theory that introduces the fewest assumptions and postulates the fewest entities. It is in this sense that Occam's razor is usually understood.

Originally a tenet of the reductionist philosophy of nominalism, it is more often taken today as a heuristic maxim (rule of thumb) that advises economy, parsimony, or simplicity, often or especially in scientific theories.

In simple terms this means that when we assess evidence if there is a reasonable explanation for the event that is most likely the true cause and therefore we must consider this the most plausible explanation.

Recently, I wrote about the new orbs book. If we apply Occam's Razor to a photograph taken in an old building with dust and debris present and catch "orbs" in the photographs then the call is most responsibly made based on the environment that the "orb" is simply dust or debris particles.

This is not a case of "not believing" in paranormal activity, but rather a case of the simplest explanation being the most plausible. However, let us consider that in this same environment we take the photograph and instead of orbs we see the figure of a person who was not present. In this case, since there would be no plausible explanation beyond a paranormal event, we would make the call that we have captured something that is anomalous and therefore possibly paranormal.

Every investigator has made a call using this principle that he or she wishes could have gone the other way and most of us would be thrilled to find out with further study or analysis that we were wrong.

Perhaps that is the difference though, while we hold open the possibility that a call we've made could with further data be reversed, those on the other side of the issue often refuse to acknowledge that their belief in a paranormal cause for every anomaly could be incorrect as well.

As for me, if I must set aside my critical thinking skills and accept anything as "paranormal" regardless of the weight of evidence against that assessment in order to be called a "believer" then I will gladly accept the "non-believer" moniker despite it's implied insult.

Orbs or How to Suceed in Business

Just when you think it's safe to go back in the dusty haunted house, along comes a new book saying that all the dust, pollen and bugs caught on film are really.... "plasmodic luminosities". I sh*t you not, that is what two "physicists" are telling us in a new book, "The Orb Project".

According to the writeup the authors are Dr. Miceal Ledwith, L.Ph., L.D., D.D., LL.D and Dr. Klaus Heinemann, Ph.D.

Now, you might have noticed something about the names of these "esteemed" physicists. Bet Ledwith sounds familiar if you've watched any of the "What The Bleep" movies. He's been on a couple of those with metaphysics and theology. However, if you look closely at the alphabet soup behind his name you'll notice that there are a whole bunch of "doctorates" that don't look too familiar. Let me 'splain, Lucy. L.Ph. is Licentiate in Philosophy; L.D. is Law Degree; D.D. is Doctor of Divinity; LL.D. is Doctor of Laws. Not a science degree among them.

So, maybe this guy is just the writer and Heinemann does the heavy theoretical lifting, after all he does have a Doctorate and used to be at Stanford. That would be great, except Heinemann's work was in materials NOT theoretical physics. In fact his Bachelor's and Master's degrees are in applied physics not theoretical physics. So, Heinemann's expertise really doesn't apply to a theoretical paper on the nature of "plasmodic luminosities".

Why give them such a build up then? Because the folks who publish this book know that 75% of the people buying it won't have a clue what the alphabet soup is or that applied physics is a long way from theoretical physics.

In other words, these guys have realized there are a lot of people out there who really, really, really want that dust orb to be a ghost. So, they write a book full of cute and impressive phrases and sell it to them. They make money, the dust orb people feel like they have some sort of basis for their belief and everyone is happy. Right?

Wrong. This is the worst kind of pandering. It actually could set back research since serious researchers will now have to spend even more time trying get past the millions of "orb photos" so they can tackle legitimate photos that might be paranormal in nature.

If they had decided to do a serious book that looked at the possible existence of the visual energy that is often reported (vastly different from photo orbs) then it might have been worth the money to read. However, when they contend that every fleck of dust, every piece of pollen and every bug is really "plasmodic" energy caught on film or disc, then they are simply charlatans out for a quick buck.

Get ready folks... the orbies will be back and waving this as their new Bible.

Oh Sh*t!

Sometimes things go a little wrong on an investigation. Here you'll see David Delgado checking out a camera when Paul Bradford, our Tech Manager returns from getting something outside.

David is caught a little off guard when he turns around to find Paul standing beside him!

The sad part is Paul stopped the video clip just a moment before you hear Brian Cowley, one of our investigators say very sarcastically, "Reaaal Professional, Guys!"

Ahhh, the moments we live for - well besides a full body apparition.

The Disingenuous Ryan Buell

I do read Ryan Buell's blog. I'm not sure why I read it, but I do. Today he had a post discussing "where we go from here" in the Paranormal Community. It began as a legitimate discussion of groups forming large organizations to share information and assistance but quickly dipped once again to his normal theme in almost every post: justifying the rank religiosity of his group and their show.

Let me be frank and say that I find much of "Paranormal State" to be unpalatable. The pandering to religious beliefs and the reliance on religion first and science second really raises my ire. Beyond this they are one of those groups that always seems to find some horrible negative entity somewhere to validate their own religious beliefs.

Ryan makes a big deal that he has a Pagan on his team as though this will convince us all that his group is not basically a religious rather than scientific organization.

But what always gets me is that he goes back to this argument or rather whine:

It’s somewhat ironic that investigators who spend time trying to document proof of the afterlife, spirits, poltergeists and the demonic are so quick to dismiss spiritual/religious tones. But the bottom line is that there are just as many groups out there who strongly believe that spirituality and paranormal investigation go hand-in-hand."

And of course, that's where the problem lies. Paranormal investigation, if you are seeking to advance the base of knowledge is inherently scientific. This means that you are working from theories and seeking to test those theories to gather data. If you are coming at the whole process with the notion that what you learned in church must be the truth then you begin with a false premise and are seeking only evidence that reinforces that belief. A theory if proved wrong is easily discarded but a religious belief is a bit harder to throw aside even when the evidence may scream otherwise.

An example would be Ryan's group who seems to have a propensity to find "demons". They take no time to consider that if the phenomenon is valid what besides "demons" might account for it. Are there other types of spiritual activity that have yet to be studied? Could demons be something else entirely? Are demons the mythical creatures of Bible fame or is this a misinterpretation of another type of entity? What evidence are they using to even classify something as a demon? Is the Rituale Romanum the basis and if so, what corroborating evidence is there that it is even correct?

When you begin your study with a concrete belief in how the world and paranormal works then it's like starting a race with your shoes untied. You might make it to the finish line but the smart money says you're going to get tripped up.

There is certainly room for religious or spiritual practice within the field of Client Relations as it concerns groups. Clients who wish some type of comfort or cleansing look to spiritual practices for these things. Likewise, groups must always be sensitive to the beliefs of their clients. Therefore, it is necessary to have members who are well versed in various religious beliefs and practices to better understand the client and work with them.

Now, contrary to Mr. Buell, I don't consider this an argument to break out the rosary and crucifix during an investigation. Clients who are frightened of activity seek relief within the idiom of their own beliefs. A Catholic might request an exorcism or blessing, a New Age spiritualist might request a cleansing. Regardless, this is not an investigative process but one to help the client psychologically deal with their environment. That is the role of religion and has been since the beginning of time. Furthermore, this process of post-investigative and more a social services function than a scientific one.


However, when Ryan makes his argument about this he forgets one thing: a good paranormal group can often find natural explanations for events and give a family or client relief by helping them to correct the physical environment that might be causing their distress.

I certainly understand where some Ryan's dis-ease comes from. In his article he takes a couple swipes at TAPS calling them "Ghost Busters" and hinting that the reason the TAPS Family exists is because we all want to be on TV too. Let's face it, Ghost Hunters, is one of the top cable shows out there and has advanced the field by bringing in talented and level headed people within an umbrella organization that is now worldwide to share and review evidence. On the other hand Paranormal State remains in the lower ratings tier although cash flushed from it's network and therefore has been accused repeatedly of sensationalism.

Perhaps that's the real gist of his article.

Look Ma, It's a Lizard!

I don't usually delve into cryptozoology here, but a recent item caught my attention. It seems that back in my old haunts in South Carolina, the Lizard Man may have returned.

In Lee County, South Carolina a number of years ago people began reporting strange encounters with a half man-half lizard being. For a long time it was all the rage. Cryptozoology buffs were all over the place and slogging through the swamps and low lying areas. Of course, everyone seemed to miss one little item - the people who saw it were normally walking down the back roads in the early morning on Saturday or Sunday. By early morning I mean 2 or 3 a.m. Now to fully grasp the importance of that you have to know that South Carolina stops serving alcohol at 2 a.m. Which means if you're leaving the honky tonks on foot because you can't drive you'll be walking down back roads between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. stoned out of your mind.

Anyway, it was all the rage and then suddenly it was gone for almost 20 years. Then a few months ago a woman says her car was attacked by the "Lizard Man" who tore the front end all up. Luckily, there was blood. Quite a coup since no one has ever, to my knowledge, gotten a specimen of any other crypto species!

Off the blood went to the DNA labs and this week back came the results. Lactera Homosapiens? No, try Canis Familiaris. That's right, what "tore up" this woman's car was a dog. Well, at least the DNA is Canine, they can't tell breed from the blood sample.

According to people who saw the damage they had assumed it was a dog but the woman insisted it had to be something else because: "The whole front half of our van is chewed up. There are bite marks right through the front grill. Both sides of the van above the wheel wells were bitten and the metal is bent like a piece of paper."

That might be impressive, except it's a new Dodge minivan and the places she's talking about aren't metal at all but fiberglass. A Rotti or large Pit could do it with no problem, especially one that was pissed.

Another interesting piece of evidence for a mean dog was the fact that her cats were missing and their sleeping box was shredded along with the bedding.

Alas though, even science shall not deter the dedicated crypto fans. Poo-pooing the findings of the DNA labs one cryptophile suggested that they might have the DNA right but interpreted it wrongly. "I'm telling ya, what you got is a swamp ape," said Bigfoot hunter Tom Biscardi.

I'm not sure how DNA of a primate would be mistaken for DNA of a canine. But then, why let facts get in the way of a good theory?

Lizard Man Stories:

• WIS goes in search of the Lizard Man
• California crew thinks "Lizard Man" may be "Bigfoot"
• "Lizard Man" returns?
• Dead cow, coyote found near site of "Lizard Man" mystery
• 'Lizard Man' festival won't happen

Ouija Schmeejah

There's a new site that I joined called "Supernatural Connections". It was presented to me as sort of MySpace for the paranormal crowd. Unfortunately, the longer I'm there the more I wonder about the sanity of the people who are members.

OK, so most of us rational folks think the "orb photograph" has been pretty much debunked by now. So, I tried a poll over there asking whether people thought orb photos were dust or bugs, energy balls, spirits, or angels. Here's the breakdown so far: Bugs, etc. 33%, Angels 7%, Spirits 7%, Balls of Energy 53%. Amazing and their "gallery" is full of dust orb photos submitted by people as "proof" of hauntings. Oh well.

But now a new poll popped up over there on Ouija Boards. Actually quite a few have popped up because, lets face it, folks who love dust as proof of the paranormal are going to love a Ouija Board! Interestingly, though, people who seem to be that gullible also seem to have watched the Exorcist one too many times. Yes, they believe that a Ouija Board is going to open up the gates of Hell and let good old Satan escape. Or at least seriously mess up your life with some minor demons or spirits. 60% of the respondents have so far classed Ouija Boards as "dangerous"!

Yet, these same folks don't seem to know how they work. In another poll asking for theories on how they worked the only respondents have been those who believe the Ouija Board doesn't work and also consider them harmless. The folks terrified of them can't seem to come up with a theory as to how they work nor what makes them dangerous.

So, are people just repeating what they've heard? Most likely. Beyond popular literature like Blatty's novel, the Internet is full of stories of Ouija gone bad. A quick Google search turns up hundreds of stories of Ouija users loosing the hounds of hell upon their own heads. But, can we believe those stories? Most, I'm sure would fall away quickly under even the most minor scrutiny.
I've met many people in my life who were incredibly superstitious. They thrive on stories of devils being released by innocent people playing with a piece of cardboard and plastic. I'm sure there's some deep psychological meaning to it all, but honestly, I don't have time to consider it. The Internet with it's ability to disseminate bad information like never before has been a boon for these folks. It's easy to "hear" stories now from all over the world and even easier to accept every one as fact. That's another trait of the superstitious crowd - they don't seem to have a keen sense of skepticism of objective proof. As long as its sensational then it's accepted.

So, why do investigators sometimes ask clients about Ouija board use? Many people think it's because the use of a board may have loosed some entity into the home so we're looking for how a ghost or demon got into the house. Actually, we're looking at the spiritual and occult practices of a client. Things like that can tell us a lot about the psychology of the client and how they are approaching the situation.

Now, I know I'll have the requisite demon tales posted in comments warning us all that the Ouija board is the trap door in Satan's attic so he can get up here and scare us all. To that I will leave you with a great quote I saw on the TAPS boards recently. This comes to us from a great lady in Oklahoma:

Christ on a cracker. It's a piece of f**king CARDBOARD. You can burn it, piss on it, chop it into millions of pieces or call it Oprah, NOTHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO YOU. If you believe otherwise, you are either extremely gullable or borderline retarded.

Couldn't have said it better myself!

Like the new look?

You might have noticed a new header for the blog which features the lovely Saguaro Cactus as well as the mission San Xavier. The beautiful new look is thanks to Graphic Designer Cullan Hudson who blogs on the paranormal at Strange State. His blog focuses on happenings and events related to Oklahoma for the most part but he also branches out into other areas of exploration as well.

Cullan also designs graphics for websites, groups, and even shirts and clothing. He has also authored a book entitled "Strange State" and is currently working on a novel. He's a great guy and frequent visitor to this site and I'm pleased to have gotten to know him over the past couple of months.

Here's his bio:

Cullan Hudson is a freelance graphic designer, writer, and author of Strange State: Mysteries and Legends of Oklahoma, a nonfiction collection of strange-but-true tales from the Sooner State. His short story, "The Iron Door: Curse of the Sierra Jumanos" was included in the 2005 Red Dirt Anthology and his op-ed pieces have been read on several websites. Currently, Hudson is working on the supernatural thriller, The Mound, a novel set in Eastern Oklahoma.

Thanks Cullan! And please, if you need any design work, check him out!

E.T. Goes to Mass

This just in from the Vatican...

Believing that the universe may contain alien life does not contradict a faith in God, the Vatican's chief astronomer said in an interview published Tuesday.

The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, which operates a telescope in southeast Arizona, was quoted as saying the vastness of the universe means it is possible there could be other forms of life outside Earth, even intelligent ones.

"How can we rule out that life may have developed elsewhere?" Funes said. "Just as we consider earthly creatures as 'a brother,' and 'sister,' why should we not talk about an 'extraterrestrial brother'? It would still be part of creation."

So, if E.T. is just one of God's Children, and Roman Catholicism is the only true faith, does that mean that E.T. has to go to mass and accept the Pope? Hmmm....

A Touching Encounter...

On an investigation recently I had my first physical encounter with something paranormal. While I've seen odd things in my life, I have never experienced direct physical contact in the form of a touch or sensation, at least one that I couldn't immediately put down to some other cause.

However, recently as we were about ready to wrap up a rather sedate investigation one of my fellow investigators seemed to hit on the right series of questions to get some responses. Sure enough within a few minutes she reported some odd feelings. After a few moments of the sensation moving around her she asked if it would touch someone else in the room.

Almost before she had the words out of her mouth I had the oddest sensation on my right leg. It began on the back of my leg at my calf and can only be described as a tingling numbness. It was quite different from the sensation of your leg "falling asleep". Besides, my leg wasn't falling asleep because I was sitting in a rocker. As a Southern boy that makes it impossible for me not to flex those muscles to rock just a little bit!

The closet sensation I can compare it to is the one I sometimes get when getting a haircut and the barber or stylist shaves the back of my neck.

At any rate, after a moment it seemed to travel up my leg to my thigh and finally settle near my right hip. It was almost as though something had crawled up in my lap, except there was no feeling of weight - just the odd sensation. As it moved the previous area returned to normal sensation.

Suddenly, the sensation stopped entirely on my right side and I felt it on my left calf and it remained there for a moment then moved briefly under my right calf. During this time I was asking that it go over and touch the other member of our group who was to my right across the room.

Sure enough it stopped completely for me at the point and a few moments later she reported a strange feeling on her leg as well. It also traveled up her leg to her thigh then down again at which point it stopped completely.

So, what was it? Who knows. I can only say that I've never felt something quite like it before. But, the sensation was not startling and in fact I was totally intrigued by the experience.

Now the funny part... we were talking about animals at the time and our first investigator in jest asked if the entity might be a dog or animal!

Fido the ghost?!

Your Haunted Places

So, you're having weird experiences at your work or you went on vacation and had some odd things happen at the hotel or you know of some great "haunted sites" in your town or city - why not share them with us?

If you've got some interesting personal experiences or just think a place would make an interesting site because of stories you've heard, give us a yell and let us know. I'll be posting reader stories and suggestions from time to time in a special series on the site.

Here are the ground rules:

The site should be a public or commercial location. If you think your house or someone else's residence is haunted your best bet is to contact a group directly and request an investigation. You probably don't want your house listed as "haunted" on the Internet just to avoid the hassle of people constantly calling you or showing up at your door!

Let me know if you'd like your name kept private. I'm happy to leave off who sent the story, just ask.

Keep it short. We don't need a 30 page report, just the experiences, any history you might know about the site and other details.

If you have a photograph feel free to share. Please, however, don't submit your "ghost" photos. That's best submitted to a professional group for review.

Remember, we reserve the right to edit for length, content, language and readability.

That's it. I'm always looking for places off the beaten path with stories or history of paranormal activity so I'm very interested in hearing what you've discovered in your wanderings!

We'll consider stories from all locations but priority will be given for publication to those in AZ, then the Southwest and finally the rest of the USA. Foreign locations will also be considered for publication.

Ready? Just drop me an EMAIL with "My Ghost Story - (location)" in the subject line.

Thanks!

Tagging Along

Well, normally I don't do this on this blog, but my friend Ken over at Spooked! tagged me to play a little game so I'll indulge in a moment's frivolity. After all, what's a ghost hunter without a sense of humor.

It's pretty simple really...

Here are the rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book (at least 123 pages).
2. Turn to page 123.
3. Find the 5th sentence
4. Post the 5th sentence.
5. Tag 5 people.

So, here's what we get:

My nearest book is the Ghost Hunter's Guidebook by Troy Taylor. We turn to page 123 and locate the 5th sentence and get:

"Paranormal photographs are taken in the same way that standard photographs are, but many of them show extra images that were not visible when the photographs were taken."

Now, we're lucky to be on target since that book was on the top of the pile by my desk and the next one down is a history of criminal justice in the 18th Century titled "The London Hanged".

So, tag time... let's do:

Michael's Music and Art
Bill & Kent's Place
SPI Sandy
SPI Nick
and
Brian

Neighborhood of the Dead

A story in the Tucson Citizen today, relates the fact that a large neighborhood south of downtown sits on a huge cemetery and many of its residents are still there...

Moses and Kelly Thompson weren't the first to find human bones buried in their Dunbar/Spring neighborhood yard.
And they won't be the last, given that the 16 blocks south of Speedway and between Main and Stone avenues once were the Court Street Cemetery before its closure in 1909.

But the Thompsons were the first to erect a shrine to honor the dead - perhaps as many as 6,000 - resting beneath the neighborhood.

"A part of me was feeling there might have been an injustice to the family," said Moses Thompson, who has lived in the neighborhood for 2 1/2 years.

The cemetery disappeared in 1915 - on the surface, at least - and homes started going up in 1916, one as early as 1914, according to city records.

The remains of 14 documented bodies have "surfaced" and have been reburied elsewhere or remain at the Arizona State Museum, the official administrator of the state's burial protection laws. An unknown number of bodies were removed in 1915, but archaeologist Homer Thiel believes up to 95 percent of the people buried at Court Street Cemetery from 1875 to 1909 still rest there.

"It's not a big deal unless you decide to build something or dig a utility trench," said Thiel, a research archaeologist at Desert Archaeology. "Then it becomes a big deal."

That could become a big deal if the One West Holdings luxury condo development at Speedway and Stone ever starts moving dirt. That project, which has faced stiff neighborhood resistance for a couple years, awaits whether tax credits will be awarded for the affordable housings units.

No archaeological work has been done at Speedway and Stone, but Thiel thinks there could be fewer graves there because that corner is farthest from what was the cemetery's main entrance. Or there could be nearly 300 remains on that property because at least 4,638 people were interred in the Catholic half of the cemetery, Thiel said. (full story)

Fortunate One

With apologies to Creedence Clearwater Revival, I am the Fortunate One when it comes to working with a top notch paranormal group.

Last night I had the opportunity to do a private residence with just three other members of our team. It was a small space and because of special considerations for a handicapped resident it was necessary to take only a few people and less equipment than normal. Therefore the SPISearch team, of which I'm a member, was chosen for the honor.
Our team leader, Sandy, has to be one of the most caring people you'd ever want to meet. She put the homeowners at ease immediately and established a great working rapport. The night went without a hitch and we stayed on task at all times.

I couldn't have asked for a better investigation and the level of professionalism, dedication, and kindness exhibited by SPI in all dealings with clients during investigations simply can't be topped.

This might be a little self-serving, but I have to give a public shout out to my colleagues at SPI for the great way our group approaches every challenge! I'm honored to be a member.

Please check out the SPI Website and if you're interested in the paranormal or belong to a group, join the Forums to exchange ideas and network. We're tough on evidence and there's not a person among the group without exceptional critical thinking skills so you won't be disappointed by what you learn!

Mind Boggling

There are things in this world that I truly don't understand. One of those things is the fascination with "orbs". Just when I think the world is becoming resigned to the fact that photographic orbs are just dust, pollen, moisture or bugs I run across a whole site just chock full of the "Ghost Orbs".

Recently, I was sent an invitation to join Supernatural Connections. It's sort of like MySpace but centered on people who enjoy paranormal stuff. So, I joined and have met a couple interesting folks there. Today I was browsing the "gallery" section of the site and came across photo after photo after photo of "orbs". Each and every one of them either dust or pollen. Sure they were pretty, but they're still dust or pollen.

I guess people want desperately to catch something, anything when they're looking for ghosts. After all, you can spend hours and hours and come away with nothing. "Orbs" make a nice excuse to stop looking for real evidence and make the "It's haunted" pronouncement.

After all, I could have saved about 10 hours last weekend at Tombstone if I and my team had accepted this photograph as "paranormal" then pronounced the "orbs" as evidence and gone back home at 8pm instead of 3am!


Here's the deal people: If you can see it with your eyes and it glows and moves around. Take a picture! You've got something. If, on the other hand, you're taking pictures of anything and everything and when you look at the photo you see little round objects that "glow" in photos or "move" on video you've captured dust, pollen, water, or bugs. It's not a ghost, it's not an "energy ball", it's not a "portal" - it's dust, pollen, bugs, or water! That's it. That's all.

Enough with the "orbs". Please...

Out & Proud

So, my new friend Ken from Spooked! and I were talking about being gay and a ghost hunter recently. He's considering a book on gay ghosts and hauntings. Over the past few weeks we've discussed the challenges of being out and gay in the field of Paranormal Research. I've been very lucky to work with a mature and accepting group.

However, for some people in the field it's difficult to "come out" to their colleagues. They fear ostracization or ridicule because, unfortunately, there are more than a few religious zealots in the field.

So, we've been toying with the idea of a Gay Ghost Hunter Alliance that would promote diversity, help newcomers to the field who are gay become comfortable with speaking openly and honsetly about their orientation and generally providing a way to let people know that just as in all fields, gay men and women are Ghost Hunters too!

However, just as importantly, we hope to give potential gay clients a way to find investigators and groups who will treat them respectfully and compassionately.

So, we've been thinking of using the acronym PROUD which would stand for Paranormal Researchers Out and United for Diversity.

I've even come up with a prototype logo:


And here's a "Gay Ghost" that Ken made a while back. Which do you prefer?
And here's one by Cullan Hudson!

What do you think? If you're gay and a ghost hunter, would you be interested in joining such an organization? What do you think the potential would be for promoting diversity within the field?

Give us your feedback with a comment.

Crosseth Thou Not Thy Streams!