Spooks, Spirits and Ghosts--The Paranormal--Part Two

Let’s presume you’ve already done your homework in debunking normal explanations, as per Part One, and you are still experiencing what seems to be strange activity.

First, let’s define the various types of ghostly encounters or hauntings. There is some discrepancy among even professionals in the field as to terminology. Some will state a difference between a ghost and a haunting; others will make a distinction between types of hauntings.

There are generally considered to be two types of hauntings: intelligent and residual.

An intelligent haunting is an active spirit that may interact with you or anyone else, for example: answering questions by means of knocks, bangs, dimming of lights, etc.—all by request or on command. They are aware of you, and may make their presence known to you on purpose by moving things around, pulling on sleeves or by other means.

A residual haunting is more like an energy imprint on the area, and any noises or visible apparitions simply go about their business without regard to anyone or anything. They are not aware of you, and will not respond or interact with either you or with any objects. It can be compared to a taped event or a movie short, endlessly replaying in a loop.

Some investigators will refer to the types by the above-described terms; others will choose different uses of the words, referring to an intelligent spirit as a ghost, and an energy imprint as a haunting.

In the case of an intelligent haunting, while it may be disconcerting to discover a ghost in your home, there is truly no need for alarm. Address them with respect, and if their presence bothers you, as a family, you can firmly but politely request that they move along.

In the case of a residual haunting, since they are unaware of you, and their actions are simply playing over and over again like an endless loop on a tape player, it is doubtful anything can be done to move them along, as they are not really ‘there.’ This type of haunting cannot cause any harm.

In any case, it is important to remember that these spirits who have passed on were people, and for these purposes, must still be considered people. Therefore, it is extremely unlikely that they are dangerous in any way to the living. However, just as in life, there are nice people and there are jerks; death does not change the personality. If they were a jerk in life, then they are probably not a very nice spirit, either; so if you wish to ask this type to ‘move along,’ stronger language may be required.

Most people who come to harm in the presence of spirit activity actually have harmed themselves because of panicked reactions.  Running away from something, especially in the dark, is a good way to trip and fall or crash into a wall or furniture. 

This can indeed result in injury or death especially if you fall down a flight of stairs or through a window, for example.  The ghost did not push you or trip you; you panicked and hurt yourself in a mad dash away from them.  Even in many non-paranormal situations, panic kills more people than the initial event.

This is so because in panic mode, we have allowed fear to take us over completely, and in giving in to fear, the rational, logical part of our brain is shut down, and we are not thinking clearly.  It’s that famous “fight or flight” response kicking in, and since we can’t fight something we can’t see, we opt for flight. 

So, if you start to feel fear creep in, stop, take a deep breath, and assess the situation rationally.  Talk to the spirit.  Say, “Hey!  You just startled me badly!  Please don’t do that again!”

Why do we consider spirits and ghosts as paranormal?  When you think about it, calling spirit activity “out of the norm” is quite silly.  Given the billions of people that have existed before us, it is more likely that this is a normal occurrence, and locations without hauntings of one sort or another are the truly  “paranormal” ones.

There are many reasons why a spirit may linger, caught between the world of the living and the realm of pure spirit energy.  The most widely accepted theory concerns spirits with unfinished business, such as an untimely or violent death whether by accident or murder.  Death by illness, especially in the case of young children, can cause a haunting, as they don’t truly understand what has happened to them.  Yes, that is very sad.  Children are not supposed to die, and on some level, they know this.

Certain geological features can predispose an area to retain the spirit energy as well.  Deposits of quartz or limestone are said to be conducive to spirit activity as are bodies of water.  That does not mean that there will be more activity in those areas—merely that the activity might be more easily seen and registered.

Atmospheric conditions also play a role.  Since a ghost is manifested by means of electrical energy, they can use electrical sources to help them call attention to their plight.  Therefore, a lightning storm is a perfect time to observe spirit activity.  Hollywood has played this up to ridiculous extremes, to be sure, but it has a basis in fact.

 Likewise, paranormal investigators will often find that brand-new fresh batteries in their equipment have suddenly and inexplicably lost all their charge.  So, if you decide to do any ghost hunting, be sure to have lots of spare batteries along! 

Anyone who has watched more than a couple of shows of this type is familiar with the “cold spot” phenomenon.  This is believed to happen as the spirit absorbs any available energy, including heat energy from the area in order to manifest itself; hence the cold spot.

Ghosts do not carry watches or pay attention to calendars. On the other side, time works very differently. A spirit can manifest at any time of day or night; it does not matter to them. However, the reasons the TV paranormal investigators will list are these:

1. During the day, there is more noise going on that may mask subtle sounds; it is quieter at night and sound travels farther at night
2. Spirits may manifest as small balls of light, often called “orbs.” During daylight hours, these are virtually invisible.
3. Shadows are more noticeable at night, so any shadow figures will be more easily spotted
4. Infra-red cameras do not “see” well in the daytime, so any entity manifesting in that light spectrum will be missed

There are mixed truths in the above statements. Some are blatantly false, and simply provide for more dramatic tension for television audiences. Lets examine them one by one:

1. This much is true; it is usually quieter at night.
2. Yes and no. It will depend on the amount of light coming into the room. (The subject of “orbs” is much debated among professional investigators, and is a whole other topic.)
3. If anything, there is more contrast between light and shadow during the day, so shadow figures should by rights be more easily noticed in the daylight hours.
4. Absolutely false. Infrared is simply a light spectrum invisible to human eyes. It works at any hour or level of visible light. However, during the day when living people are moving about using items and sitting on chairs, more care must be taken in interpreting what is captured via infrared footage. For instance, if a live person was recently seated in a chair, the infrared camera will pick up that residual heat signature, which could be misinterpreted as a spirit manifestation.

It is dangerous, plain and simple.

Our eyes, unlike those of our pet cats and dogs, are not designed to see well in very low light conditions. It is one thing to fumble about in the dark in your own home; nonetheless, we’ve all experienced misjudging a doorway or table placement and barked our shins, mashed our toes or conked our heads on something we thought was just a bit farther along.

If you are poking about in an unfamiliar spot, the danger is multiplied many times, especially if you are in an abandoned building. You don’t already know where that staircase descends; you don’t know where there is a weak spot in the floor that could be a shortcut to the cellar; you don’t know where the doorways are, and so on. Add to that the adrenaline tension of actually seeking out spirits, and you can see it would be very easy to get badly hurt.

So pay attention to the disclaimer on the TV shows, and “don’t try this at home.” Besides, if you go barging into abandoned buildings, that would be called trespassing. Many of the paranormal groups host public events at such places: go with them, and not on your own (that way, you can have a marginally safe experience stumbling around in the dark, if that’s what appeals to you).

If you do want to go on your own, you need to track down the property owner for special permission. No exceptions.

Spirits or ghosts manifest in many ways. They may be seen as light energy in the form of fast-moving streaks or spots (those danged ‘orbs’); as shadows; via sounds or by means of physical manipulation of objects in the room. They may also be felt as with those famous cold spots mentioned above, or people may be touched.

Cameras can record shadows and orbs, and you may also be able to see both of these with your own eyes at the time. Don’t panic or freak out. Pay attention. Note the height of the shadow, and whether it is adult or child height.

Full-bodied apparitions are also sometimes seen, looking very much as you or I. They can vary from complete, appearing as if someone is actually standing there, or they can be partial; either kind of semi-transparent or possibly only a head or torso. These sorts of fully visible apparitions are among the rarest: count yourself lucky if you see one, and even luckier if you capture it with a camera.

The paranormal TV shows would have you believe you need all kinds of super-expensive equipment, such as those famous infra-red video cameras, and all kinds of other fancy gadgetry. Forget it. You must remember, even the ones who claim they don’t charge the clients or get paid, are paid—by the advertisers that sponsor the show. Those deep pockets provide the funding for all that equipment and their travel expenses.

Not many of the rest of us have that kind of money.

In fact, many people already have one of the most basic items: a decent, mid-price-range digital camera. All you need is a point-and-shoot variety. As of this writing in 2011, the price range is about $120 - $250.

The next item in which you may want to invest is a digital voice recorder to capture EVP’s (Electronic Voice Phenomena). Many people still call them tape recorders, out of years of habit. If you have a small tape recorder left from those old days, it will still work.

There are two main problems with actual tape recorders as opposed to digital recorders. First is increased extraneous noise from the mechanism moving the tape, and the tape passing across the recording heads; it’s called “tape hiss.” Secondly, with tapes instead of digital recorders is there is really no way to upload them into a computer for analysis. Even the simplest of upload programs that come with a digital recorder will have basic adjustments, such as the ability to slow down the recording, or boost bass or volume.

No, adjusting the speed of the playback is not cheating, or attempting to create something out of nothing. It is a way for us to actually hear what was captured, and bears absolutely no relation to the types of howling some people do such as, “Oh, my! If you play this song backwards, you can hear horrible things!” Humbug! Totally unrelated hogwash.

In fact, just as with the infrared cameras interpreting for us a spectrum of light not visible to our eyes, spirit sounds often are captured by the equipment, but not heard by our ears as they are in a frequency range not audible to humans. By slowing or speeding up the playback, these are brought into an audible frequency. It also explains why a dog may bark, because their ears hear frequencies we cannot.

Check out this link for a comprehensive explanation of EVP’s.

Any sound or voice you hear with your own ears at the time of the investigation is not an EVP. To be sure, your recorder may well capture this sound, but if you heard it yourself, it is referred to as a disembodied voice, as it did not require electronic equipment to be heard.

Before you jump to conclusions, however, if you have heard what you believe is a disembodied voice, double-check your debunking, and make sure no one is speaking on a cell phone; playing a portable radio or listening to their MP-3 player at a loud volume.

If you watch any of the ghost-hunting shows, you'll notice they double-check with each other over their walkie-talkies as to whether any of the other team members was doing something to cause a sound. Also, you'll notice them "tagging" the audio: if they are running their digital recorders, and someone trips on something, or bumps into a table, they'll say so, "Oops..that was me--I tripped on something," or "I sneezed," or what have you. This keeps the human sounds separated from any other sounds that may be from spirtis, and serves to authenticate and validate spirit noises.

Now you’re all set to do some ghost-hunting of your own. Check out your own house, if you think you may have a spirit; interview friends and neighbors to ask if they’ve ever experienced anything unusual in their home; book a stay at a historic hotel with a haunted reputation.

Have fun, and don’t be afraid! You might make a new friend!