Thu 15 Jan, 2009
The Victorians loved all things that went “bump” in the night, but instead of ghosts, they were more interested in the spirits of loved ones who had died and were coming back for a visit. It was not until the 1920s that serious ghost investigation got underway, first in England and then in the United States.
Today, there are thousands of people around the world who could be called “ghost busters.” Some of these ghost investigators are psychic mediums and others come from a more scientific approach, using scientific equipment over intuitive ability. Then there are those who use both equipment and psychic mediums, as seen on many paranormal TV shows.
I prefer a mix of psychic and science myself. I rely on my psychic senses first and back it up with a few pieces of scientific equipment. I think a good psychic medium can add richness and insight to a ghost investigation that normal equipment cannot. Certain pieces of equipment, however, are a must in ghost investigations to capture physical evidence of ghosts.
EVPs (ghost voices on tape) are certainly well worth noting in paranormal research, so a cassette or digital audio recorder is essential. Cameras are a good source of documentation, but one should not get carried away with things like “orbs,” those balls of light in some investigator’s photos, that are much more controversial and should, in 99% of cases, be dismissed as explainable light refractions. Temperature changes can be registered on a good hand held digital thermometer gun, and certain types of devices to read energy field changes (EMF Meters) also seem to be worth bringing along on a haunt investigation.
The first thing I do when I get to a haunt is to do a walk-through. I ask the owner not to give me any detail of the haunting until I have finished my tour and recorded my psychic feelings on tape. After this I will relate my impressions to the owner, giving them specifics of where I feel the energy and who I sense doing the haunting. After that, I will usually spend a short time meditating in a few spots around the location and putting my psychic senses to work. If one of my technicians is along, we may also lay out some equipment.
If the locale has had enough activity to merit a serious, in-depth look, I will arrange to spend the night or, at least, a few hours to do a thorough investigation. With any ghost investigation, a place is only haunted if the ghost(s) are at home. Ghosts are transient beings and like their living counterparts, thy are usually moving about. This movement may be confined to the premise, or they may actually leave and go elsewhere, only to return at a later time.
We are as ghosts as we were as living beings. Our personalities go with us when we die. Ghosts are souls without bodies. Those souls still have personalities, even without a physical body. Getting to know the ghost is an important part of understanding the haunting. The term “parapsychologist” is very apt for ghost hunting. One needs to know a little human psychology to understand why a ghost has remained “stuck” between the Earth Plane and the Other Side.
Even with all of our meters, gauges, recording devices and psychic probing, we still do not know what ghosts truly are and where exactly they exist. We have lots of theories and I espouse on mine in my books, but no one has definitive proof of why ghosts exist and where exactly they are in relation to us, the living. It could be as simple as just another part of nature we do not yet understand. Only time will tell… or will it? Maybe there are some things meant to be kept from our knowledge. It seems the closer we get to answers, the more questions that arise. Ghost investigation is an intriguing pastime for many. For me it was a childhood fascination that has turned into a part time career! The search continues…
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One Response to “Ghost Investigations”
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junkare says:
I absolutely love the picture of the stairs on this page Craig! LOL, the spookiest set of stairs in Cape May! Martini Beach has a fantastic ghost story.