Losing my religion

Yes, I know it's a song by R.E.M. but it's also a little how I feel. The more and more I investigate the paranormal and the more TV shows and documentaries I watch the less and less I am becoming a believer and more a cynic.
I do still have my core beliefs that hauntings and ghosts do exist, it's more the techniques that some investigators use to "prove" the existance of spirits. Take EVP's for example - or Electronic Voice Phenomena to the uninitiated. Nearly every EVP I have heard is indistinct (and that's being a little kind). Most of the EVP's I have heard posted on the internet have a caption beneath them telling you what they think the ghost/spirit/entity is saying. Once the idea is planted in your mind you are lost. No matter how hard you try you only hear the suggested words in your mind.
If a poltergeist has the energy to hurl things around a room, including people (supposedly) then surely it has the strength to speak up and speak clearly!!

The other pet hate is orbs, but I have exhausted that topic previously on this blog.

Most bits of electronic equipment (and I have them all) measure only theories. Every ghost hunter worth his salt carries an EMF meter to measure fluctuations in electromagnetic fields. The theory goes that ghosts can cause a spike on the meter because they are a form of energy. I have indeed found spikes in EMF levels but if we take the theory to it's extremes it could also be UFO's or experimental government death rays!!
OK I am being a little mean. We have to start somewhere in trying to understand and measure this phenomena we know and love. I suppose I have become a little desensitised by all the sensationalist programmes on TV. When I am in the situation for real I am like everyone else. Rational thought can very easily become upset by the smallest noise when I am investigating some haunted location and creeping around in the dark. It's hardwired in our psyche. In the dark 95% of people become believers!

Poltergeist Activity - a university boffin's take on it.

As I was merrily ambling off along paths whilst Googling the paranormal I accidentally tripped over a piece on poltergeist activity. I followed a link to Cornell University Library website and found an entry there. 75% of it went straight over my head. I hadn't got a clue, but one intriguing sentence at the end of the entry made me sit up and think. Are scientists really coming round to believing paranormal stuff?
Here's the bit of the entry I mean "Arguments based on Prigogine' nonequilibrium thermodynamics are proposed, which show how transformations in brain of some pubescent childs or young womans might be the cause of these effects."

Wow, seems they ARE thinking along those lines! - here's the link to the page in question.

BBC3 Exposes Fake Mediums

I found this video whilst trawling through Youtube and the millions of videoclips extolling themselves to be "Real Ghost Videos". I find it a trifle sad that this sort of stuff goes on. Why pretend to be something you are not? You are sure to be caught out eventually, and this videoclip exposes three of them wonderfully well. Enjoy......

How times change

Once upon a time, before the advent of Most Haunted and other such paranormal TV shows, any hotel with a resident ghost would play down these stories and actively discourage staff from talking about spooky events. Now it seems a resident spectre is one of the most valuable members of staff!
The price that establishments now charge for ghost hunting teams to investigate their properties has turned a group of once amusing tales into a real money spinner. It isn't only hotels either - any building with a suspected spook is being offered as a venue for ghost hunting. So popular have such events become, there are a few insurance companies offering policies specifically designed for ghost hunters.
It came as an amusing aside to me when I found out that Bridgnorth Town Hall has banned such activities. You can find the story here. It seems the local councillors voted against allowing ghost hunters into their lovely old black and white building.

I hate orbs - I really do

Who was it that first came up with the theory that orbs are some kind of manifestation of ghostly activity?
I have never yet seen any kind of conclusive proof that they are anything more than dust particles and/or insects. Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the orb phenomena is something particular to the digital camera era. I don't believe I have seen an orb picture taken with 35mm old-fashioned film. I have a few pictures taken during a wedding where some 50 or so guests were whirling around on the dance floor in an old hall that is only used for such gatherings and meetings etc.
Old halls and buildings have dust. It's par for the course. So when a heap of people are dancing it stirs up minute dust particles, the photographs I took make the place look like spook central.
Please - let's lay this lame theory to bed once and for all.

Levitating girl

This made me smile when I saw it. Cool effect if it's fake (and it almost certainly is)- cool skill if it's real :-)

Early spring cleaning

I've been working on Ghost Investigators' Paranormal Investigators page. Instead of just having all the UK links in alphabetical order I have broken the list up into England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. This has brought home to me that England has a lot of entries and Scotland, Ireland and Wales only have a handful. I will be working on this. If you know any drop me a line.

Two new Charity Ghost Hunts

I have posted links to two new charity ghost hunts on my events page. Both need your support. You can see details by going to my events page http://www.ghost-investigators.co.uk/paranormal_events.html

Green Lazer Grid - the new paranormal toy

Just when I thought I had seen every gadget going, another one (of course) pops up out of the ether. A Green Lazer Grid thingy. It projects a grid of little green dots in front of you, and when a supposed ghost walks in front of this device then shadows are supposedly seen.

You know what this means don't you? - curiosity will eat me up until I buy one and have a play around with it. It will probably end up in the same drawer as my Franks Box, but who knows?