When I first started doing investigations everything was about Orbs, they were in pictures, literally 1000's surfaced on the web all claiming to something of the paranormal nature.
I too long ago fell into that mindset, but after doing some serious research, time taking literally 100 photos, both film and digital, diffrent lighting and etc.
A few things I noticed was my digi cam picked up more than the 35mm, also noticed some inconsistencies. Personally I believe Orbs caught on still's are explainable, micro dust particles with a combonation of a flash and fast shutter speed is a recipe for what?.....ORBS.
Now I can say that I have both seen and taken video of balls of light that I can rationalize but still cannot explain. As an investigator you must examine and weigh each an piece of evidence very carefully before calling it a ghost or something paranormal.
I will leave you with a true story...
about 8 years ago I created fake orbs using photoshop, really could tell the diffrence between my photos and ones on the web. I had submitted this photo to a few groups asking for an opinion, all said the same thing, my house was haunted and there was something very paranormal about my photo.
Be wary on photos!
Interviewing witnesses is no easy task but, has to be done. To be a good paranormal interviewer there are a few traits you must have, patient, compassionate, caring and precise. These traits show the witness(s) that you are there for them during this time of crises.
The initial Call
Sure you will be extremely happy and nervous that you are getting a call to investigate but remember this has now become a “pre-screen” so make sure you ask questions before you agree to investigate the site. The core set of questions I usually use are as follows:
- What is the phenomenon they are experiencing? - This helps with determining the classification of the occurrence.
- Currentness – How often does the occurrence happen, when was the last occurrence?
- Are there additional witnesses other than your self? If so would they be willing to be interviewed?
- What are the occurrences?
- How often does the occurrence happen
- At what times does the occurrence happen?
- Where does this happen (location)
- Who lives in the home
- how long have you lived here
This question is always when discussing the paranormal, most think they all mean the same, truth of the matter is, they all have a diffrent meaning.
Poltergeists
We all know, or at least have heard that Poltergeist means "Noisy Ghost". A Poltergeist is not a ghost, a haunting or a demon as some believe but, is related to PK (PsychoKinesis) a situation caused by the subconscious mind of a living agent and their way of releiving sever stress. A friend of mine Loyd Auerbach has researched on this subject and goes on to explain that PK can involve anything from levitation of objects, sounds and smells. The mind is an incredible tool and in some cases its way of blowing off steam can be very destructive.
Apparitions
Apparitions appear generally the same form the person had when they were alive. They react to people and their surroundings, almost per say interactive.
Hauntings
A haunting is an imprint in our enviroment, think of it as a scratched record, it continues to play that same note over and over again. These imprints can be anything from footsteps to visuals. A good example is, you investigate a site where a man is seen falling down a flight of stairs, each witness has seen the same thing, not together, the only thing in common between the witnesses is that it was approximatly around the same time. This is a classic haunting, meaning the broken record or loop effect.
We hope this clears things up, the paranormal goes far beyond Ghosts, in up coming articles we will explain even more in-depth terms and theories.