~Written By Danielle Lee~    

Just like living humans, ghosts maintain their unique individual personalities and traits. From the friendly, curious and playful to the grumpy and reclusive, we must respect and be mindful of these foreign fourth dimensional citizens.

Being that there are many character and personality traits within the spirit community, there are also a considerable amount of different forms or species of ghosts, entities or spirits. Each varying in composition and origin. For instance, the average human ghost is most often simply the spiritual energy and essence that remains after the dense earthbound human shell is shed. On average, the intelligent free roaming spirit that resides at a location, rarely interacting or bothering the living, is of the fourth dimension. Those living on earth reside in the third dimension.

Generally, these fourth dimension spirits vibrate at a higher frequency than human beings. Just like the nearly invisible wings of a hummingbird, some ghosts retain a higher consciousness that vibrates at a much faster pace, propelling their physical state into that of translucent existence. The vast majority of these beings are those of recent deceased relatives and those who have a personal and peaceful agenda to complete on earth. Usually they are interested in checking in on their loved ones or offering spiritual comfort to those in need. They basically go about their own business, occasionally bumping into the odd living person, creating a mystery.

When these beings wish to communicate with us living, they must reduce their vibration frequency and we must attempt to raise our own. When conditions are favorable, such as available energy for the spirit to draw from for manifestation and the living participant is able to transcend it’s consciousness to a higher plane, communication can be possible.

It is interesting to note that most ghosts are seen wearing clothes. When a person crosses over, they still maintain much of their previous self. That includes their fashion tastes, morals and dignity. The image that they represent on the other side is often that of who they were on earth, now blended with their spiritual self.

Even ghosts who experience trauma at death will sometimes retain the form in which they were last cognizant of themselves as alive. Ann Boleyn’s ghost was often seen wandering the castle carrying her head under her arm due to her beheading.

A spirit that has been roaming the afterworld for a while, will present themselves to others as what they decide is appropriate. A grandmother that appears to her granddaughter, will appear as an old woman, but may resume a younger image of herself afterwards while exploring the afterlife.

Redundant ghosts are blips in the fabric and flow of time. Explanations of time theories suggest that time is irrelevant, that we all simply exist in this one moment. If this is true, all eras and time frames are loosely stacked upon one another and can occasionally intersect.

Some ghostly activity seems strangely repetitive. Toilets flushing, pacing in hallways and doors opening and closing for no reason, suggest a residual redundant haunting. An overlapping incident that occurred in some other moment, forever replaying like a broken record. These are not self aware entities, just imprinted recordings, so they are not available for comment.

The next type of spirit is the poltergeist. This is a very complex creature that feeds off of the human energy fields. It can literally be a entity merged with mixture of many strong emotions that emanates from one or more human beings. Because anger, hatred and fear are some of the strongest emotions that a human can portray, this entity can literally feed off of the potentially toxic core energy of a humans aura.

Many poltergeists begin as a small, harmless and pesky ghost imps. Never existing as a human or having been from flesh, this entity can be best described as a leech. The more blood a leech drains from its host, the stronger and bigger it becomes.

The entity utilizes intense negative energy and because paranormal activity can cause even more stress to an already toxic or tense environment, the poltergeist can grow stronger and more destructive with each passing day. Studies have shown that homes containing one or more teenagers, particularly girls, can be a perfect breeding ground for the poltergeist due to the intense hormone fluctuation and mood swings.

This irritating and frightening spirit is often misdiagnosed and mislabeled as a demon, but most times it’s just very effectively manipulating those around it. They find particular joy in mentally and emotionally torturing the living. Unfortunately, these beings cannot not be reasoned with rationally. They exist only to taunt and provoke, not to mention they vibrate at much lower frequency than humans, allowing them to manipulate solid objects. They seem very proficient at throwing items of all sizes and shapes at their seemingly defenseless homeowners.

Mythology maintains a dark overlord with vast and powerful minions. As an ever evolving and spiritually maturing species, we are slowly becoming aware that what the mass consciousness believes, the universe will manifest. As we become more aware of the power of intention and consequences of our conscious thoughts, we can begin to comprehend how our own diverse energies can affect our environment.

Exorcisms or objects of religious faith seem to be effective in taming the feral poltergeist, but these divine acts and items are merely a means to a hopeful end. It is the shift from negative to positive consciousness that this act and these items portray. A cross, holy water and the bible are all symbols of intense positive thought and energy therefore creating the homeowners to subconsciously alter the apparently evil charge of the house to peaceful.

The very best and most effective way to tame and rid your home of these paranormal residential vermin is to literally positively charge the environment. Meditation, intentional positive reinforcement and conscious spiritual cleansing causes the acidic environment to return to balance, therefore retarding the poltergeist’s efforts. Eventually, because they cannot feed on their preferred energy source in that home, they move on.

Remember, energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only altered. These creatures cannot be destroyed, just denied. If you deny it the destructive negative food it seeks, it cannot sustain it’s tantrums. If you fear and condemn it, you feed it and give it authority. Yet if you take the power from it by inducing powerful positive thoughts and actions, it is demeaned and will quickly tire of the game. Like a toddler throwing a tantrum, ignore them, don’t give in to them.

As with every rule, there seems to be exceptions. In rare cases, violent, malevolent and evil based entities can be particularly dangerous. Drugs, alcohol and any mind altering agents can induce these creatures to terrifying status. As well as highly abusive and toxic environments. Paranormal professionals that can better deal with these intruders should be contacted.

In the rarest of events, negative entities with extreme energy and self awareness can penetrate a weakened human’s aura. When a human is worn down to mere inches of their self awareness, they can be manipulated by these evil beings. The human soul is untouched, but the physical nature of the human’s fragile state compromises its actions. When there is weakness within the aura, caused by many, many factors such as drugs, alcohol, abuse or depression, there is a porous hole left in the aura’s field of energy. The entity, being that it is a energy parasite, can latch on to the host causing it to be temporarily incapacitated.

This event over history is what is deemed as being possessed. The soul, however, is impenetrable, no harm can be done to it. The physical self however, needs spiritual, physical and emotional attention. There are several ways this can be done. All require time, effort and the willingness to cleanse oneself of this ailment. Trusted advisors must be sought out, for counsel as well as medically discounting any mental ailment that may be affecting judgment.

On occasion, a deceased human energy, suffering a traumatic or violent death can become trapped within a confusing state of conflicting vibration. Because they are confused and angry with certain circumstances of their death, they ignore or choose not to move on to the higher vibration dimensions. It can be tricky dealing with these spirits as some of them don’t realize they are dead or are angry that their life is over or was taken from them. Patience and extreme care must be taken for these people. It may take a very long time for them to come to the realization that there are better places for them to be.

Due to their molecular instability, they can continually jump back and forth through realms, causing a ruckus for the living and creating even more confusion for themselves. Often, they are convinced that you and your family are the intruders and attempt to rid themselves of you. Don’t take it personally, only try to understand their discomfort and attempt to resolve the misunderstanding. Compassionately treat them as though they were the victims of Alzheimer’s or amnesia, then we may not be so inclined to be impatient or frightened with our unseen houseguests.

The very best way to deal with these spirits is to calmly and patiently communicate to them often that they are deceased and need to go home. All of us remember home at some point, some while living, some a while after they are dead. Keep reminding them and eventually they will leave.

Without evil, we would not understand good, without the negative, we would not appreciate the positive. 

~Written By Bill Stone~    

Are you an armchair ghost hunter? Do television shows like Paranormal State, Most Haunted, or even Ghost Hunters inspire you to go out there, and be better than all the others? Are you ready to make it happen for fame and glory? If you answered ‘yes’ to all of those questions, THIS is the guide you’ve been waiting for!

Since the spawn of the television shows mentioned above, there have been a million new websites created, and just as many new ghost hunting teams have been born to emulate them. Most of them are teams that will never have an impact on anything, or websites with useless fluff written by people who know NOTHING about the paranormal. Don’t worry. You’re better than that! You’re an expert, and here’s how to do it bigger, and better than everyone else while at the same time showing everyone how great you are!

Step 1: Start A Website
The first thing you want to take care of is a home base on the world wide web. You NEED a website. Keep in mind that you don’t have to go crazy here. As a matter of fact, you want to show the world how dedicated you really are, so it’s best that you sign up for one of the multiple free web hosts out there. Nothing says ‘I’m in it for the long haul’ like a Geocities, or an Angelfire website.

Step 2: Recruit Members For Your Team
This is an easy one. If you’re married, it’s a common thing for married people to control a team together. Usually one spouse is in charge while the other is second in command. Don’t worry about favoritism. If any other members don’t like it, they can leave. If you look around, you’ll see a lot of teams that have this exact same sort of setup and philosophy. What’s so great is that the 2 leaders are often BOTH ’sensitive’ or ‘psychic’. This fact kills two birds with one stone. It is wise to recruit as many ’sensitive’ or ‘psychic’ members as possible. This way, when your scientific gadgets and gizmos come up with nothing, you have a backup to find the ghosts that you KNOW are there! Don’t worry. ‘Sensitives’ and ‘psychics’ are EASY to find if you’re looking for them in the paranormal community. Just throw a rock, and you’ll certainly hit one. Also, it’s not mandatory, but it IS recommended that you recruit at least ONE member with a mullet.

Step 3: Make an Acronym
This one’s HUGE. It’s elementary. You need a name for your group that really rolls off the tongue, but it also needs to actually mean something. MOST groups use an acronym. It’s best to think of the word you want to use BEFORE deciding on what you want the letters to stand for. Also, the word should be something cool and spooky. Pick something that sounds like it should be the name of a rock band or super hero team. For example you could use something like ‘CREEPS’ or ‘KRABS’. You can use any word you want if you’re creative. You MAY want to pick something that contains certain letters that stand for words commonly used in the community, or letters that stand for the location of your group.

Here are a few examples of words commonly used in acronyms in the community today.
Certified, Paranormal, Research, Ghost, Hauntings, Hunting, Hunters, Investigation, Society

That should give you an idea. Let’s say you’re from Kentucky. You can become P.R.I.C.K. Paranormal Researchers & Investigators Canvassing Kentucky. Like that? I added the word ‘canvassing’ to the mix. Don’t worry. It doesn’t really HAVE to make sense. That’s the beauty of it. If you look at all the other groups in the field, you’ll see that MOST acronyms are either stretching the words to the limit, or barely make any sense at all. Don’t worry. You’re all set.

Step 4: Decorate Your Website
Having a stylish, and flashy website is one of the most important things that you can do when you get involved with the paranormal community. you MUST make it POP and catch the eye. You’re in luck. Most of the images and artwork that you need already exist, and are waiting for you on the web. All you have to do is search for them.

Skulls.

You need skulls that are moving or doing something. Flaming skulls are great for bonus points. You can also get other types of animated gif files to spice things up. Ghost images are good too. Animated boarders like the bleeding one above separating your content will do wonders for your site, or your groups credibility.

When you make a logo for your site or group, it’s probably wise to incorporate a skull or two for good measure there as well.

Step 5: Music
When people visit your site they NEED to know that they’ve entered a whole new realm of glory and spookiness. You need to announce your presence with authority. The best way to do that is to add loud music to each of your pages on your site. It MUST be something that sets the mood, and is spooky. Also, make sure that your visitors have no way to turn it off. Did I mention that it should be LOUD? A Good idea for music is anything that sounds like it was composed on an old organ. Another good idea, is to use midi versions of the ‘Halloween Theme’ or ‘Tubular Bells’.(That’s ‘The Exorcist Theme’ to you.) Yeah, that’ll show everyone that you mean business!

Step 6: Conduct Big Investigations
All cemeteries and graveyards are haunted! This is great because they’re everywhere. Make sure you spend the night in as many cemeteries as possible for a few months. It’s also a good idea to bring your psychics and cameras along with you. Psychics ALWAYS know where the ghosts are, so ask them about what direction you should point your camera. Take as many pictures as possible because you’ll need some images for the website. Not only that, if you’re using a decent digital camera, you’ll definitely get the orbs you need to prove your haunting to all the skeptics.

Step 7: Add Compelling Content
ORBS! I cannot stress this enough. Never underestimate the value of orb pictures. Get some orbs, lots of them! You should have pictures of orbs all over your website. You need big orbs,white orbs, green orbs,glowing orbs, videos of orbs, orbs in the attic, orbs in the rain, orbs in the basement, and even on a sunny day. If you don’t have orbs, you have no credibility, and don’t deserve to be in the field. Forget about calling yourself an expert!

While your at it, you need to add E.V.P.’s to your site, but when you let your visitors listen to the file, make sure that you first tell them exactly what to hear. We don’t want them walking away thinking that they only heard only a couple noises. No, you want to make sure that they hear what you hear. Tell them what to listen for.

The same thing goes for your ghostly images. Get skilled at photoshop or another image editing program. Alter your ghost pictures to make the ghosts easier for people to recognize, and let them know what to look for.

The truth is, people will see or hear anything that you tell them to. They do this because they’re morons. Don’t get me wrong. Morons are good. You need morons. Otherwise we’ll have people running around in the community with no direction at all, or even worse, thinking for themselves. No, it’s best to just tell them what you want them to believe, and watch them fall in line.

Step 8: Promote Yourself & Site
Do the rounds on other websites to promote your team and website. IF a website has a forum, you should register, and join in on the conversations. Don’t worry about getting to know these people. After all, they’re not anyone that will be important to you. They’re just words on a computer screen that can help you get to your ultimate goal of fame and fortune in the paranormal community.

You’ll want to show them some of the great paranormal evidence that you’ve collected to show off how professional, and credible your team is. You will most likely get some resistance there. There are always a few skeptics that will attempt to shoot your orbs down, or discredit them somehow. They’re most likely jealous that they were unable to capture such a great piece of evidence, and will refuse to admit that you have one up on them. They’ll try to make it sound good, and use big words like ‘matrixing’, but in reality, it all boils down to cynicism and jealousy.

Pay these people no mind. YOU’RE the professionals. They’re the nobodies. Besides, you have skulls on your site.

Step 9: Align With Winners
This is an important aspect of the field that many of us forget to do. You have to connect yourself with those that have already made a name for themselves in the field, good or bad. It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not. Tell people that your friends with members of TAPS, Lorraine Warren, or some other famous investigator. By association, you will immediately be respected, and seen as someone that is already in the ‘inner circle’ of paranormal experts. Everyone will KNOW that you possess knowledge that goes beyond this physical realm, and far into the beyond. You’ve finally made it.

Step 10: Take Out The Competition
Lastly, you MUST find out about other groups in your local area, and do whatever you can to discredit them. Let the rest of the paranormal community know that YOU are the top dogs in your territory. All other paranormal groups in your area are the enemy, and are trying to take your slice of the pie. They will get to the good hauntings first and make a name for themselves. Don’t you let them do it.

That’s about it. If you follow these 10 simple steps, you and your team will be at the top of the proverbial paranormal food chain in no time. You will be respected, honored, and think about this…

Step 9 dictates that you should ally yourselves with other famous investigators. Pretty soon, some new team will be lying to their friends about how well they know YOU.

Ain’t that somethin’? If you’re smart, you’ll start a paranormal certification course, and charge some cash to teach your craft. You’ll make a fortune off of them!

~Written By Danielle Lee~    

Transparent apparitions of delicate pasts tell tales of heartache, woes and sorrows. Aimlessly pacing an endless hall of regret and earthly desires. Ghosts penetrate our oblivious and simple understanding of the normal realm. Causing confusion, fear and unrest, these creatures of the paranormal world infiltrate our natural concepts of conscious comfort with their disquiet disruption of earthly logic.

When entering the ranks of a professional ghost hunter, one must attempt to reconcile fears and preconceived notions of the paranormal. Enter into the domain of the supernatural with a clean slate of expectation. Every experience with the unnatural will be as unique as meeting a new acquaintance at a party. Individuality is just as vast on the other side as it is here in the living world.

Just as we would be cautious of the spirits’ intentions in the haunted home, we must be cautious of who we invite along on the quest. Your paranormal team members must be chosen with the implicit expectation of honesty and integrity. Choose wisely when interviewing members of your investigative posse, unfortunately there are many unsavory characters in the living realm that may cause more upset in a client’s home than the unwanted invisible guest.

Stealing, damaging or disrespectful tendencies must be vehemently avoided when forming a quality paranormal team. Formal background checks with police officials is highly recommended when considering any new investigator. Having the new recruit sign an official bond agreement stating personal responsibility of obligation would be advised.

Beyond the tedious, but necessary, paperwork and formalities, the selected newbie should be extensively trained in the safety, technology and protocol requirements. Establish basic parameters and guidelines for basic ghost hunting procedures. Mental and emotional stability should be factored into an initial interview, someone who has a history of paranoid schizophrenia or anxiety attacks may want to rethink their paranormal investigative intentions.

Taping down equipment wiring throughout the house and performing an extensive tour of the home’s geography are both essential safety factors.

Be sure to inform your newest detective in the basic knowledge of your chosen equipment. It would be a shame to have been in the midst of a visual paranormal breakthrough and have had the camera’s lens cap on. Run through the usage, storage and maintenance of your equipment.

Establish an organized guideline of your investigative procedures. It’s embarrassing and time consuming to simply wander into a home and not know what to do next. Have specific goals and efficient plans for your ghost hunt, proficiency may be the key to your success.

Additional insurance in case of accidental damage by you or your team should definitely be considered as well as coverage for team members in case of injury.

Dishing out cash for vast quantities of batteries is a simple reality you must face, it may be prudent to suggest that there be a monthly contribution from all members to compensate for these and other necessary costs. Wholesale stores may sell batteries in bulk for less.

Other considerations while stealthily hunting the elusive entity in closed quarters would be noise control of the team. It may be wise to suggest team mates wear slippers rather than shoes that click or squeak, causing unnecessary noise pollution. Any accessories, such as jewelry, should be removed if they have a tendency to produce a jingle. Check clothing before progressing through the home for audible friction, some fabrics when rubbed together can cause quite the disruption, so no eighties windbreakers, sexy leather pants or funky corduroy please. Stay in the investigative fashion with good old breathable and quiet cotton.

Outside attire should be considered if scouting the grounds will be necessary. Warm jackets and gloves will hopefully prevent any teeth chattering that can override catching any of the all important EVP (electronic voice phenomena).

Brimmed hats should go due to the visual impediment they may cause. One’s line of sight is considerably reduced by the need to hide one’s bad hair day. Often times, there are reflective buttons and clasps as well that may cause confusion when light is reflected, allowing members to inadvertently assume an orb was captured. Keep this in mind as well with clothing choice, the less reflective items visually, the better.

An important point to consider, make sure all of your team members have had sufficient food, water and rest. Low blood sugar, dehydration or excessive fatigue can lead to the discouraging failure of a ghost hunt. The last thing you need is someone fainting from hunger or having mild hallucinations from exhaustion when trying to prove yourself professional paranormal scientists. It goes without saying that any member that arrives at the location intoxicated or under the influence of drugs should be escorted home.

Possibly having the homeowner convey discretely to the neighbors that there will be strangers parading in the dark with flashlights in their home at an odd hour would be a definite consideration, unless you would like a minor visitation from the boys in blue.

Politely asking your client to find a babysitter for their pets while you are conducting an investigation would be wise. The less disruption in the home, the better. You wouldn’t want Casper the friendly feline being responsible for ominous shadow in the basement nor would you want him jumping out of a closet and causing near heart failure for your poor team members.

All in all, your ghost hunt should contain elements of intelligent investigative skills, respectful scientific approach and an open mind willing to spelunk the mysterious caves of the paranormal.

Copyright 2008 Danielle Lee All Rights Reserved

~Written By Danielle Lee~    

With so many questions pertaining to the paranormal, it’s hard to grasp what the truth really is. The mystery of the glowing orbs in photos, the ominous electronic voice phenomena, why ghosts are seen wearing clothes and the ultimate question of why on earth do these deceased earthly patrons cling to the mortal realm. It’s easy to understand why so many living individuals are frightened, and sometimes petrified, by these anonymous unknowns.

For the majority of the population, the question of whether or not these mysterious anomalies actually exist is still up for debate. But for most ghost hunters, we’re pretty convinced they exist. Too many unexplained experiences occur for us to simply cast them aside as imagination or coincidence. Far too many eerie and bizarre events have happened that we inevitably cannot logically explain with rational and scientific probabilities.

Passionately, we ghost hunters march forward into dark and unknown territory. With flashlights blazing and sweaty palms clutching our recorders, we stumble through poorly lit domains. Hearts pounding, eyes scanning the environment diligently and ears set to sensitive. All senses are heightened and ready to catch that all important and desired moment of glory. We brave cold weather, long nights, cramped closets and damp basements, all in the name of paranormal science.

Then, in the darkness, a light of hope emerges. There is movement, there is an ominous figure standing just a few feet away. We cling to our camera, we call to our crew, we reach for the recorder to catch any unearthly whispers of EVP (electronic voice phenomena). It’s just hovering there, waiting.

Question is…now what? The moment you’ve been waiting for all your paranormal investigating life and you don’t have a clue what to do or say.

This is where science and the paranormal may clash a little. True, you could ask questions and hope that the electronic voice phenomena with capture the secrets of the dead. You could attempt to speak to the apparition verbally and hope that the lines of communication have good reception that day and they will be able to be heard audibly. But the most effective way to communicate is through telepathy.

I know, that sounds like unscientific mumbo jumbo, but we are not dealing with an exact science here are we? This is where your intuition, your dusty, rarely used sixth sense is going to have to kick into gear.

There are a few ways that ghosts communicate at a telepathic level. They can verbalize words through thoughts. Just like a radio wave, they send out the thought and the intuitive part of your brain can ‘hear’ it. It is a very primitive form of telepathy, but yes, you have it. We all do, most of us just never use it. The challenge with this form of communication is that it is difficult to determine what is imagination, your own thoughts or the actual spirit’s words. Quite honestly, the spirits voice and thoughts are vastly different from your own, so it’s not as difficult to distinguish once you recognize the difference.

Another way that they may communicate is by sending waves of pictures into your consciousness. Flashes of places, people and events may involuntarily dance into your thoughts. Don’t ignore these, trust your rusty sixth sense. These images may hold clues as to what the spirit wants from you or to tell you. They are on this realm for a reason, usually to right a wrong that occurred in life, they are trying to help you to understand what they need to say.

Thirdly, communication can occur with intense sensations. They can impress physical sensation onto you possibly explaining what caused their death. This can be unpleasant, but not intolerable. You may just feel a tingling or light pain where the ghost incurred injury in life.

So this is how they may communicate with you, how do you communicate in return?

Oddly enough, speaking out loud can be effective, but even more effective is writing out what you are speaking. When writing, a subconscious area of the brain is activated and can enable the spirit to better interpret what you are attempting to articulate. Ouija boards work in the same way, while concentrating on the board, you are essentially keeping the conscious part of your brain occupied therefore allowing your subconscious to explore more efficiently.

Considering that spirits can utilize EVP recordings to their advantage, one might hypothesize that the reverse would also be effective. If one could adjust the frequency to the opposite end of the spectrum of what the ghost uses to imprint their voice, we may be able to have a two way radio effect with the other side.

Controlling one’s fears and apprehensions are crucial when attempting communication. Spirits are essentially concentrated psychic emotion. Every minor or major emotion that courses through you, they are acutely aware of. Their realm differs than ours in that respect because without a dense and all-encumbering human body, they are pure thought energy. They have no concern with hot, cold, tired or sick. They simply exist in an element of pure intuition.

Considering all of these aspects, there is still one last task to complete once you have your correspondence cleared up. The puzzle of what they desire. They would not attempt communication if they truly didn’t desire a resolution of some sort and being the good paranormal citizen that you are, you of course wish to help.

Don’t be afraid to return to a location several times if you feel that help is needed and it may take several tries to develop an understanding of what the entity needs. There is a place of better rest and joy for them once they feel they have succeeded in tending to their earthly concerns.

Copyright Danielle Lee 2008 All Rights Reserved

~Written By Pattyhap1863~    

We are told that ghosts are the souls of the dead that have not moved on for various reasons. The classic reasons include unfinished business, retaliation, or attachment to loved ones, homes or objects in a home. They roam the earth or the places they used to live in - unable to cross over, unable to truly communicate with the living. They deliver messages to loved ones before parting. Messages of doom, of sorrow, of future events.
However, when we take a look at ghosts and hauntings nowadays, we come up with less romantic details in an actual haunting. Suddenly, ghosts are not as romantic or as frightening as they once were and they do not deliver messages with the frequency that they used to in the past. They turn into fleeting shadows or voices on a recorder. They do not appear at the anniversary of their deaths. Why is it that ghosts today are so different from the ghosts that used to haunt places centuries ago?

A lot of the differences could be the way they are haunted these days as opposed to the way people referred to ghosts and hauntings in the past. One moment here to ponder on this enormous change in the way hauntings are studied today and we can come up with a pretty accurate answer. For example, nowadays, we don’t fear, we approach, we study, we research. We try to find answers in natural explanations before attributing what is happening to anything ghostly in nature. We use electrical gadgets to record our findings, if any, and to try to prove or disprove a haunting. So suddenly, a ghost is stripped from the mystery that once surrounded it and viewed in a new light. We try to delve into the mystery and come up empty-handed most of the times. So this poses another question: why is it that ghosts don’t manifest with the frequency that they used to? Could it be that the very same instruments we are using to try to prove their existence are the very same that are (excuse the pun) scaring them away?

Let’s think about the photographs out there, for example. The vast majority of them are hoaxes or camera faults. We start to analyze and come up with shutter speeds, and flash anomalies. What is worse is that with all the photo software that exists nowadays, it becomes easy to manufacture a ghostly photograph. So easy, that these are the photos that we see all over the net. Even sadder are the cases where seemingly reputable paranormal teams hoax their photographs and these are seen as genuine examples of the spirits we wish to see. Hoaxes like these, and we are back to square one. We become even more ridiculed for believing in the afterlife; while the skeptics point out that there is not one photograph of a ghost on earth for them to believe in proof of the beyond. If even the paranormal groups hoax pictures to give themselves a name and become famous, then the paranormal world is doomed to a certain non-existence.

Then of course there are the groups who scream ghost at every single orb or mist that appears on their photographs, giving no thought to what else might have caused them. They close their minds to common sense and refuse to accept that they are anything other than a manifestation, totally overlooking the perfectly explainable facts that have been offered by those who have taken the time to analyze these anomalies. They ignore the fact that breath showing up in the night air and illuminated by the camera flash will cause what they call ‘ecto’. And that the ghostly vortex that appears in a photograph might be a hair, camera strap or a spider’s web. They refuse to see the obvious. Ironically, these people who are so determined to prove the existence of the paranormal are just handing ammunition to the skeptics, who continue to laugh even harder at the paranormal and its investigators. How can this be stopped? Well, for those who consider themselves paranormal investigators, we must begin with looking at what the term actually means: To investigate is to research, study and question. We can’t simply conclude that something is a ghost because it looks like one or because we want it to be. We must be able to at least discount the obvious before we can declare that a ghost is a possibility. And while the somewhat new profession of the ghost hunter may seem glamorous and interesting, we must forget about becoming famous. It seems that a satisfied ego is forever getting in the way of true research and irrefutable proof. So how do we stop this attitude? We start by denouncing the hoaxes at all costs!

Then of course, there is the internet. With technology advancing the way that it does, there are many paranormal sites out there that offer ghostly webcams on various haunted homes 24 hours a day, seven days a week. People join these sites in hopes of viewing the ghost cams and capping or catching a ghost in the home. However, they overlook some facts when doing so. First and foremost is the fact that people live in these homes, and sometimes the resolution of a picture as it is streaming across the net can capture a person in a blur and give him or her a ghostly appearance, when in fact the person is a living human being. Secondly, the fact that when there is no proper lighting in a room or area we can actually see the pixels moving around as if these were ghosts. Sadly, they are not. However, many people capture stills of these and enhance and distort them. Due to basic pareidolia, two dots become eyes, and another one becomes a mouth. This is also true of certain fabrics in the home, such as furniture, cushions and curtains. The patterns can form a lot of illusions that look like a face or even a figure. How to stop this? Watch the cams frequently. Take daytime caps of the place to compare to the nighttime ones. Learn to distinguish between obvious pixilation and screen refreshes and everyday normal objects in the home. This will help a lot in ruling out pixel caps and obvious human motion blurs. What to do if the site encourages these caps, and does more harm than good towards a more serious study of the paranormal? Look for another site that takes a more serious approach.

Let’s take a look into the present: many of the ghosts and hauntings that have been recently investigated have either been proven to be non-existent or have ceased to be a haunting. Why does this occur? In some cases the haunting was simply a rumor or urban legend, handed down orally from generation to generation. When doing a bit of research the story was found to be untrue or inaccurate. Thus, the haunting is disproved. In other cases, a historical event (murder, battle and other violent events) truly did take place in the area, but the haunting has seemingly vanished over the years. Why does this happen? Could it be that the electromagnetic fields in the area are not as strong as before? What triggered them into existence in the first place? Do certain sensitive people act as a trigger? Or is it all a case of mass hallucination?

We have many cases where there are reports of hauntings, and they involve a poltergeist type of haunting. Knockings, doors and windows slamming, ‘target’ certain people such as teenagers or women. Over the years, people have studied these cases and have come up with emotionally disturbed or suppressed emotions that are pent up and released in the form of a violent poltergeist, haunting the very person that conjured it up to begin with. The person is then taken to therapy, or is told about this, and the haunting seemingly disappears. What if the answer doesn’t always lie in this rational explanation? What if the poltergeist in question is really a kind of emotional vampire that hones in on certain kinds of emotionally disturbed people and feeds on their energy?

As in the cases of poltergeists, there are other unanswered questions when it comes to ghosts themselves. As time goes by and technology advances, we are faced with a problem: we see that voices that are recorded sometimes ask where the investigators are, or who they are. Does this mean that these spirits cannot see the investigators? In the cases where their presence is acknowledged, however, they seem to respond to their questions. Can EVP’s successfully be the way to proving whether or not a haunting is genuine? Or is it one more example of matrixing or paredolia as our brains come up with words that not everybody hears? What about the cases where the voices are so clear, there can be no mistaking the message? Are these really ghosts communicating with us? What about the cases where the ghosts cannot see us? Are they trapped in another place in time? Are we the ghosts in their world?

There are many other questions and issues that deserve a deeper look when you embark on a paranormal investigation. Some of them deal with electromagnetic fields, stones, and seemingly electrically charged areas. There are some cases where static electricity seemed to dominate the area and these areas were immersed in paranormal activity. Does this mean that electricity plays a more important role in ghostly manifestations? Let’s stop a moment to think about this. In most or all cases, electromagnetic fields seem to be disturbed or cause a spark in order for the ghost to manifest. Even when revising EVP’s on recorders, there seems to be a ‘popping’ noise or ‘crackle’ when ethereal voices are picked up. Does this prove that we should be looking more in the direction of electromagnetic fields in order to successfully describe a ghost or explain ghostly manifestations? It is generally accepted that ghosts are present at night more than during the day. The explanation for this is that during the night, electromagnetic forces seem to be stronger in absence of direct sunlight or solar activity. Is this a clue to help us to try to understand and arrive to positive proof or evidence?

There are so many questions in our heads that it would be impossible to list them all here. One thing is certain: We are still at the beginning of our journey into the paranormal. Are we accomplishing something along the way? We think we are. If we continue to question and give thought to the answers, if we continue to study and research and set aside our selfish goals, then we may gain a little more insight and understanding of the paranormal, and perhaps grasp a small fraction of the truth in our quest for the afterlife.