Monday, November 7, 2011

Bring Batteries!!


This article is from TAPS.Com



Article by: Grant Wilson


Well, this is a simple subject that still needs to be addressed.


Ask any experienced ghost hunter what you should bring on a ghost hunt and the first thing they'll tell you is...

"Pants"

Then, they'll say "Batteries, always bring extra batteries". Now most people would be thinking "Shouldn't I be bringing those guns from Ghosbusters or something?" Well, actually, the most practical thing is extra batteries (and of course whatever the item is that you are going to be using the batteries in.)

You're probably asking why EXTRA batteries? Well, something interesting tends to happen when you're chasing spooks...

You see, these ghosts take a lot of energy to manifest themselves either through sight, sound or touch. They can't make this energy, they need to gather it from somewhere in order to get your attention. So, why not target your conveniently packaged power cells? And that's exactly what they do. In fact, after an intense night of hunting you'll tend to feel that even your very self is drained and extremely tired. This is due to the energy those ghosties have been pulling out of YOU all night long.

So, usually it's dark, and you'll be RELYING on that flashlight, right? Well, if you would like to see, then bring extra batteries. And if you plan on documenting any proof, your camera is instantly worthless as soon as the batteries run dry.

So, don't get cocky, just carry an extra set with you, because chances are, they WILL RUN OUT

Dangers and Risk Factors

This article is found on Shekinah Paranormal



By Jeff Messenger



Jeff Messenger's view on the risks involved with paranormal investigation


Most people are very familiar with paranormal investigation. Multiple television shows are focused on this realm. How familiar they now seem. Teams of very young people explore dark hallways and corridors, preceded by nervous flashlight beams and shrieking electromagnetic field detectors.

If truthful, these shows capture multiple occasions where investigators are scratched, slashed, burned, bruised, choked, even knocked off their feet. Some investigators admit that spirits occasionally "follow them home." Ugly spirit attacks have driven researchers out of the field altogether.

At SPI, our team motto is "safety first." We don't believe that inflaming paranormal violence is ever a good scenario. It is not worth the resulting "evidence" or footage that can be gained. If investigators stir up spirit violence, this increased activity is bound to effect the normal residents within that "haunted" environment. No matter your culture, religion, or perspective, no human being wishes to live in a frightening and dangerous place.

I (Jeff Messenger) have put together what I consider an assessment of "risk factors," behaviors that can make investigators and residents open and vulnerable to spirit attack. These subjective assessments may be prone to future alteration. These risk factors are measured 1-10, with 1 being a minimal risk, and 10 being a maximum risk.

Simply living in, or investigating, a haunted environment can be a risk all in itself. If one handles the situation in a cautious manner, this scenario should have a minimal risk.

Risk Factor 2.

Investigating a graveyard or cemetery can be dangerous. Such locations can have a history of satanic rituals or active spirit conjuring. It is hypothesized that demonic spirits are attracted to places of grief and suffering. Human decomposition is also something a demonic spirit would be "attracted" to.

Risk Factor 3.


Giving Recognition to spirits
carries it's own risks. This involves speaking to would be spirits, or trying to catch their image on film. The recognition process is hypothesized to "empower" spirits. This is a necessary evil investigators do, so as to capture evidence. Evidence is necessary within our skeptical and "scientific" era. Hopefully, a paranormal investigator will have a higher power to lean on, for strength and protection.

Risk factor 4.


Voluntarily Giving Away your Free Will
is a spiritual risk. The moment one feels trapped or enslaved by an addiction or compulsion, one is vulnerable to negative entities. This may be alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling or sexual addictions, etc. Even desiring guidance from a horoscope, angel, "spirit guide,"... even a would be "angel or saint"... desiring guidance from any "created being" rather than that which created all...this flies in the face of your human gift of free will. This will make a person vulnerable to negative entities.

Risk Factor 5


Using Religious Provocation
is a double edged sword. On the one hand, one is using the authority of God, as they command spirits to reveal their identity. It's a handy tool, in revealing the nature of a demonic spirit that may be masquerading as a benign or innocent human spirit. On the other hand, when one uses such authority, one puts him or herself on the "front lines" of spiritual warfare.

Risk Factor 5


Conducting an EVP session,
with an active question and (spirit) answer intent, can be more dangerous than most investigators realize. A psychic link or connection is initiated by the living person, and a malicious spirit can use this link as a conduit for attack.

Risk factor 6.


Using Spirit Provocation
is much more dangerous than employing religious provocation. This act assumes that spirits can be moved, manipulated, or commanded on one's own authority. While responses can be had with this maneuver, they are seldom positive in nature. Note that even on the television shows, investigators often get hurt immediately after they... or a close colleague... employs spirit provocation.

As a footnote, the verbal prompt "...Can you give us a sign of your presence?" is very risky. It's like handing a stranger a blank check. What will this "sign" be? A smell of flowers, or a frying pan hitting someone in the head? Worse still, the spirit sits on his "blank check" for six months, then responds to your prompt one night when you're snug in your bed.

Risk factor 7


Using Any Oracle Technique.
An oracle can be an Ouija Board, a Franks (Spirit) Box, A Pendulum, or anything that is designed to open the way for spirit communication. Even attending a séance would be risky. This live wire for communication becomes an easy conduit for spirits, should they wish to invade your life.

Risk factor 9

Intentionally engaging in ritualistic conjuring, or any ritualistic violence, is the ultimate risk factor.

Next Week On Storytime



Next week on Storytime audience participation is required, as I share information from Steven Farmer's book Animal Spirit Guides. 4pm Eastern, 3pm Central, 1pm Pacific, on Storytime On PTN Don't miss it.



Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Ghost Complaining Of Being Cold



A friend's daughter agreed to keep the urn containing the ashes of a friend's husband, while the friend got moved.

My friend's daughter stored the urn in her garage. The man was from florida and now his ashes were in a cold garage in WISCONSIN!.....do the math!

They started hearing "I'm cold", things would be moved and rearranged. My friend's daughter and family would go away from home, come back, and find their furnace turned on, and it wasn't on when they left!

Finally they couldn't take it any more and quickly took the urn to the lady who had asked them if they could hold on to it for her.

My friend confimed the furnance being off and then on when they got home, so once the urn was gone, my friend firmly stated out loud "Leave these people alone, you aren't in the cold garage any more and they can not afford the high heating bill you are causing them. So stop and leave them alone."

Everything stopped after that.

My personal opinion is that once the urn was removed from the cold garage, that would have on its own stopped the activity, but my friend I believe did the right thing by telling the spirit, to leave her family alone.


Friday, October 7, 2011

Monday, October 3, 2011

Demons Use Ouija Board As Gateway To Take Over Soul


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Article from The Shadowlands


By Dale Kaczmarek


(The Sun, 22884) by Lewis Clifford.

Terrifying demons freed from other dimensions are preying on helpless human victims. And the gateway used by the grotesque monsters is being kept open by innocent toying with Ouija boards and other tools of the occult, top medical and religious experts caution.

"They are vile creatures of the night," warned Dr. Alberto Gonzalez, of the Pan American Institute of Health. "They exist. They can possess the bodies of their victims and cause normally gentle, nonviolent people to commit outrageous crimes. They can assume other forms some quite ghastly.

"And they are among us in many instances solely because of these sinister toys called Ouija boards." Gonzalez, a psychiatrist and parapsychologist, claims he has found demonic links to several cases of cattle mutilation and human vampirism in Central America.

Says the Rev. Morris Cerullo, president of World Evangelism and author of The Black Side Of Satan, Creation House, Carol Stream, Illinois, 1973. "Many people have related to me weird tales of answers given by the Ouija board. This and other occult games may seem intriguing, but the implications are serious and not to be tampered with. They can lead to dangerous waters indeed.

"Use of a Ouija has even led to violence and even to murder..." Dr. Marta Prohazka of Fairfax, Virginia, is also convinced that spirits can play terrifying destructive games with human behavior. During her practice as psychotherapist and psychoanalyst, she realized that many patients she had considered "hallucinating paranoid schizophrenics" might instead merely be in touch with something invisible to her but visible to them. "I came to understand that another plane, or dimension or existence interrelated with our plane or visible manifestation," she said. "By training and expanding consciousness, some individuals gain entrance into that invisible dimension. It seems to some like a window into heaven.

"I also learned that contact with the other dimension can be dangerous, especially if a psychically sensitive person loses his emotional harmony. The window into heaven can then become a window into Hell."

Millions of the plastic oracles are in use in American households, nevertheless. And the eerie messages from beyond they have spelled out have been credited or blamed for marriages, divorces, sickness, misery, mystery or murder. Psychic and medium Anne Rose told the Sun: "Horrible demons have definitely been released by the Ouija board.

"The Ouija board is a vehicle which makes it easy for negative spirits and demonic forces to enter this plane of existence." The Merrillville, Indiana clairvoyant cautioned that evil spirits or demonic forces often gain the trust of people experimenting with Ouija boards by answering several questions truthfully and providing predictions. "Once they have gained the trust of their victims, it is easy for the entity to move in and take over either by strongly influencing that person, or by outright possession," she said. People who are untrained and unsophisticated in the field of the paranormal and supernatural should never play with devices such as the Ouija board, according to the clairvoyant.

Suggested further reading:

• Ouija: Most Dangerous Game by Stoker Hunt

• Psychic Summer by Arnold Copper

Submitted by: Dale Kaczmarek, President, Ghost Research Society, PO Box 205, Oak

Lawn, Illinois 60454-0205, (708)425-5163, (708)425- 3969 FAX


RELATED POSTS: Ouija Board Summons Demons


How electromagnetism can explain much of the paranormal



This article is found on ECWPI


By Matt Schenk

Chief Coordinator

East Central Wisconsin Paranormal Investigations

2/15/06
The direct currents in our body produce an electromagnetic field that surrounds our body. All electromagnetic fields (EMFs) naturally react to each other, and the electromagnetic field of our body is no different. It reacts to all the surrounding fields, which also couple directly to the currents themselves. "All living things having such a system would share the common experience of being plugged in to the electromagnetic fields of earth, which in turn respond to the moon and sun." (Becker, p.243)

We can sense EMFs via a little magnetic organ in our brain called the pineal gland. The pineal gland is interesting because it is located in the "seat" (middle) of the brain, plays several significant roles in human functioning, and contains a complete map of the visual field of the eyes.

Animals are better at sensing EMFs because either we rationalize it, or because we rely more on language to communicate and so don't really need it. The reason that dogs and cats can find their way home from hundreds of miles away is because they can sense the magnetic fields of the earth and they can navigate by that. The reason why birds know when it's time to migrate is also because they sense the magnetic fields of the earth. Animals can sense when there's a thunderstorm coming and when there's going to be an earthquake. Variations in the magnetic field occur near the epicenter of earthquakes.

We humans do sense EMFs also, animals are just better at it. R. Robin Baker, a researcher into bio-navigation, found that "as long as people can't feel the sun or sense some other obvious cue, they can judge direction better with blindfolds on. Otherwise they start rationalizing the process, trying to deduce the right way from too little evidence and becoming confused. He surmises that the magnetic sense serves its purpose best by unconsciously giving a continuous sense of direction without its owner's having to be aware of it all the time, and thus freeing attention for the search for food, a mate, shelter, and so on." (Becker, p.255) In another experiment, a scientist named Rutger Wever "built two underground rooms to completely isolate people from all clues to the passage of time. One was kept free of outside changes in light, temperature, sound, and such ordinary cues, but wasn't shielded from electromagnetic fields. The other room was identical but also field free. Observing several hundred subjects, who lived in the bunkers as long as two months, and charting such markers as body temperature, sleep-waking cycles, and urinary excretion of sodium, potassium, and calcium, Wever found that persons in both rooms soon developed irregular rhythms, but those in the completely shielded room had significantly longer ones. Those still exposed to the earth's field kept to a rhythm close to twenty-four hours." (Becker, p.248)

We believe that dogs and cats can also sense the electromagnetic fields of other living organisms, like their owners'. There are studies where dogs can predict when their owners are returning home, even when on a random basis. "British biologist Rupert Sheldrake has documented on videotape how some dogs appear to anticipate the arrival of their owner. Regardless of the time of day that the owner begins their journey home, some of these dogs appear to sense their human companion coming without receiving any known physical signals, and wait for them next to the door or window." (Internet article, "Unusual Animal Behavior") "Perhaps they have somehow assimilated us into their 'migratory grid' and can sense our geographical whereabouts." (Barry Dalberg) I think they might know how we're feeling too, because sometimes when we're sad they'll come up by you and try to comfort you. And, have you ever had a litter of kittens and the mother refuses to feed one of them because it senses something wrong with it, even though it's yet to show any physical sign of sickness? How does she know? Also, "the number of pets who have returned to their owners over long distances suggests that many dogs and cats can find specific people by an unknown sense. The Duke University Parapsychology Laboratory has authenticated more than fifty such cases, many involving travel of hundreds or thousands of miles." (Becker, p.268)

If this is true and we could do this too, it would go a long way towards explaining ESP. The problem though is that the EM fields of living organisms are much weaker than the earth's, so it would be buried in "noise". But there could be ways around that. Sender and receiver could be frequency-locked, meaning tuned to one frequency and insensitive to others. That might explain why ESP most often happens between close friends and relatives, and maybe pets and their owners. (Becker, p.266) I'd think you would HAVE to be frequency-locked anyway, otherwise you would simultaneously hear what everyone in the world was thinking. Imagine the noise!

And, if we could really sense each other's electromagnetic fields, then that could be further evidence that ghosts are an extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (see my other article "What Is Consciousness?"), because ghosts come from us and it would give us a scientific means for how some people and animals can sense them.

I believe all people have the ability to SENSE ghosts, but most people rationalize it away the same way they rationalize the magnetic sense in our heads. Then for the fewer people who actually claim to SEE some ghosts, some of them could just be hallucinating (or lying), but for the ones who aren't, maybe the ghost is broadcasting on a specific frequency that only they are tuned into and then the pineal gland's map of the visual field of the eyes interprets the energy as an apparition.

The reason the hairs stand up on the back of our necks when we feel there's a ghost present could be a reaction to our body's EM field and the ghost's, assuming there really is a ghost with you in the room.

Psychokinesis (PK) is willed action of our EM fields on the electromagnetic structure of inanimate objects ? making objects move with our mind, in less scientific words. "The material world, at least as far as physics has penetrated, is an atomic structure held together by electromagnetic forces. If some people can detect fields...why shouldn't some people be able to affect [other beings and objects] by means of their linked fields?" (Becker, p.269) Our brain's EM field already does have some will over our body. "It can push some neurons towards firing and others away from firing. This influence, Professor McFadden proposes, is the physical manifestation of our conscious will." (Internet article, "Our Conscious Mind")

So far tests using electronic equipment to monitor people claiming paranormal powers have been inconclusive, but that may or may not just be because our equipment is too primitive. "Pigeons have a magnetic detector thousands of times more sensitive than the latest instruments. We also know that the interaction of semiconducting currents with external magnetic fields is thousands of times greater than that of currents in a wire..." (Becker, p.266) If some living people are able to move objects by will, then a ghost should be able to too, if ghosts are electromagnetic fields.

Then there's a subconscious form of psychokinesis called Recurrent Spontaneous Psychokinesis (RSPK) where a person in physical or emotional pain, or just under a lot of stress, can unconsciously lash out on their surroundings. You can make your own bed shake and you can make knockings on the walls and make objects move. And because you're the one who's unconsciously doing it, it will follow you from house to house until you solve the emotional problem that's creating it. Usually the human agent in a RSPK case is a young female dealing with the emotion of puberty, but not always. When we researched the history of JFK Prep in St. Nazianz, we read that as the founder Father Oschwald lay dying there were knockings heard on the doors and walls all over town...everywhere except in the room where he lay dying. His brain was probably emitting psychokinetic energy. He wasn't purposely doing it. He was just in a lot of pain.

Some researchers think this actually explains poltergeists, and that poltergeists don't have anything to do with ghosts at all. There was one especially interesting PK experiment in Toronto in 1972 started by Dr. A.R.G. Owen. A small group of researchers tried to imagine the idea of a ghost named "Phillip":

"They gave the ghost a personality and a complete background, even drawing his portrait to make him seem more real. He was given a biography that was filled with historical errors and he had to be someone that the entire group knew had never existed in real life. The eight members of the circle memorized the fictitious biography, studied the period in which Phillip was supposed to have lived and even acquired photographs of an English manor called Diddington Hall. In his story, Phillip was supposed to have lived here but he bore no resemblance to the real-life inhabitants of Diddington.

After reinforcing their belief in him, the group attempted to make him manifest. For months on end, the group of five women and three men did their best to conjure up the fake spirit, even placing a drawing of what they imagined he would look like in the center of the table and concentrating on it. The initial séances produced no results but then in 1973, Phillip began to communicate. This began to occur only after the group 'stopped trying so hard' and began to adopt a 'relaxed and jolly' attitude. He first came through as a rap to the table. It was initially as a vibration to the wood. Next came a number of knocks, which the participants at first believed they had inadvertently caused. But then as the table began to move around the floor in an irregular manner, they began questioning one another. Finally, someone asked aloud 'I wonder if Phillip is doing this?" and in response, there was a very loud knock. The imaginary ghost, it appeared, had finally arrived.

In the months to come, the sitters discovered that by asking questions and accepting one knock for 'yes' and two for 'no', they could enjoy a relatively rapid dialogue with the entity they had somehow conjured up. The experiment quickly escalated as one room in the house was set aside for Phillip and the ghostly personality was accepted as a distinct spirit that exhibited likes and dislikes and had strong views on many subjects. Occasionally, the table would shoot across the room at amazing speed during séances. Phillip even communicated in front of television cameras in 1974.

The experiment came to a strange end. One member of the group (who up to this point had strongly believed in the 'ghost') broke ranks and stated aloud one day in a reply to Phillip that 'we only made you up, you know." The rapping sounds stopped, as did all other communications. Once he denied that Phillip was real, the 'ghost' apparently ceased to exist. He was later ‘reborn' after a new group of researchers learned to believe in him." (Taylor, p.68)

There is another interesting PK experiment I'm going to try in the future called table tipping. In this experiment, you get a group of four or five people to sit around a light table with their hands on the table, and have everyone concentrate on creating energy to make the table move. All of the same members must be present for each session and they must also be willing to continue with the experiment for an extended period of time. You may not get any results for a very long time. (Taylor, p.111)

RSPK explains objects moving by themselves, a shaking bed, and hearing knockings on the wall, but it wouldn't explain other poltergeist cases where on top of those things disembodied voices are heard or recorded, people report seeing apparitions, and stones fall on a house. So some researchers think maybe poltergeists are the product of multiple "psychic" abilities, not just RSPK by itself. And others think there are two kinds of poltergeists ? the kind where there's a human agent acting alone through RSPK, and another kind where there's an actual entity feeding off of a particular individual's negative energy. In either case, the activity centers around a living person. I've researched this and researched this, and there's no agreed consensus. Where do I stand on poltergeists? As I've stated in my article "What is consciousness?", I believe that ghosts have their own energy and don't need to feed off anyone or anything. Some ghost hunters believe that there are demonic spirits that feed off of people's energy, but I'm not religious (I believe in ghosts, but I believe they're a natural part of this world). So where does that leave me? I'll leave this question open and come back to it in ten years.

"At this time the DC perineural system and its electromagnetic fields provide the only theory of parapsychology that's amendable to direct experiment. And it yields hypotheses for almost all such phenomena except precognition." (Becker, p.267) Crisis Apparition is one you may have heard of where you see someone you know appear before your eyes who is physically 1,000 miles away at the time. They have a strong desire to be with you at this time, and maybe because they are frequency-locked with you their transmission can find you wherever you are, and your brain then interprets the energy they send as a person. The reason that the transmission is able to travel thousands of miles in some cases without diminishing is because "extremely low frequency (ELF) transmissions have a peculiar property. Because of their interaction with the ionosphere, even weak signals in this frequency range (from 0.1 to 100 cycles per second) travel all the way around the world without dying out." (Becker, p.267)

"Dowsing may involve an unconscious sense of the electromagnetic fields of underground water or minerals, an idea given support by Russian experiments in the 1960s. Nikolai N. Sochevanov, now with the USSR's Ministry of Geology, found that the accuracy of forty professional dowsers diminished by at least three fourths when he wound a current-carrying wire around their wrists or brought a horseshoe magnet near their heads." (Becker, p.267) Some people may be able to sense the electromagnetic fields of ghosts and then unconsciously cross the rods themselves.

Electromagnetism is one of my favorite subjects, and in the future I would like to do some studies and experiments with it. As you can see, our brains can do a lot of weird things. We actually know very little about our brains. Could poltergeists somehow be manifested by our brains? For that matter could SOME EVPs be a kind of thought projection, produced by our own electromagnetic fields manipulating the voice recorder?

I will end this article by saying that I do not believe all ghosts and EVPs are debunked this way, but some could be. I don't think everything is that simple. I guess I fall in the middle somewhere, believing that many ghost stories can be explained with physics and psychology, but not all. The goal for us as ghost hunters is to try to debunk as much of it as we can to find the cases that can't be explained any other way.

If you have questions, feel free to EMAIL ME. If you want to read a really good book on the subject of electromagnetism, I highly recommend "The Body Electric" by Robert Becker.


References:

"The Art of Ghost Hunting" by Jaeson Jrakman

"The Body Electric" by Robert Becker

Internet article "Electromagnetism" found by clicking HERE by Ron Milione

"The Ghost Hunter's Guidebook" by Troy Taylor

Internet article "Our Conscious Mind Could Be An Electromagnetic Field" found by clicking HERE by Johnjoe McFadden

Internet article "The Pineal Gland" found by clicking HERE

Internet article "Unusual Animal Behavior & Earthquake Prediction" found by clicking HERE by David Jay Brown

And a special thanks to Barry Dalberg for taking time out to answer my questions and helping me look up info. Barry is a paranormal researcher in southwestern Wisconsin.


DEMONOLOGY FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS


This article is from Ghost Investigations


Q: Are Quija boards really dangerous?


A: The Ouija board itself is not dangerous. It is, after all, just a piece of cardboard with numbers and letters on it. The danger comes because when a person who tries to use a Ouija board to communicate with spirits he/she is opening up their free will leaving him vulnerable to possible malevolent spirit presences. Many people have been fooled by thinking they were communicating with a 'friendly' spirit. Once this so called nice spirit has a foothold, it turns on them. Demonic spirits will pretend to be someone’s deceased relative and once it has gained their trust it will start mixing in lies with the truth in order to cause confusion. Before long the demonic spirit shows its true colors and the person who has been communicating with it finds it much harder to get rid of than it was to bring in.


Q: Can a demon possess dolls and other objects?

A: No. Demons cannot possess inanimate objects such as dolls and statues, etc. but they can attach themselves to a particular object. They may attach themselves to a doll and by manipulating the doll they gain recognition from a person. Once the person gives it recognition it unleashes itself upon them.

Often times an object in a demonic infested house will become so negatively charged that just by holding one of these items it is possible to provoke the original spirit to manifest. If one of these objects is destroyed, reciprocal harm could come upon the person or family who owned it. If destroying one of these negative objects doesn't result in physical harm, the spirit may instead return to the place from which it was exorcised. These objects should be buried in sacred land, sunk to the bottom of a lake, or stored where nobody will find them.


Q: Can demons materialize as humans or animals?

A: Yes. Demons can ultimately materialize as Jesus Christ himself. However, there will always be something not quite right or missing. Maybe the eyes, arms, legs, head, etc. is missing, or it is disfigured in some way.


Q: If I am working a case and nothing is happening, should I try religious provocation?

A: NO!! If there were to be a demonic spirit present, you could unleash a terrible situation that you cannot control. Doing so puts everyone in danger. Only someone experienced should attempt provocation and that is done only in the worst cases. I only use religious provocation when I need proof so that a clergy member can perform an exorcism. Also, when you attempt provocation, if a demonic spirit is present it doesn't have to show itself to you right then and there. It might be two weeks later when you are at home nice and comfortable in your own bed when the demonic spirit decides to pay you a visit. It is extremely dangerous!


Q: What does deliverance mean?


A: Deliverance is the process of eliminating spirits or demons from a place or person by casting them out and binding them in the name of Jesus Christ. If a person is severely possessed, exorcism will be needed as opposed to deliverance.




Related Post: What are demons


Ouija Board Summons Demons



Article from The Shadowlands


By Dale Kaczmarek



(The Sun, 12986)

A simple Ouija board became a passport to Hell for a family that accidently summoned a demon into their living room. “I thought it might have been the Devil himself,” says John Ravens, father of the tormented family. “When it was over, we were all bleeding and had severe burn marks. Our living room was a disaster area.”

“It was supposed to be a joke,” says Gloria, the girl’s mother. “We were going to make believe we were talking with the spirit world.”

Little Lynda, her nine-year-old brother Ronald, and their parents gathered around the board for what they thought was going to be an evening of fun at their home in a Toronto, Canada suburb. “We were just playing around with it when suddenly the planchette that spells out answers began moving by itself,” says John. “We were all scared, but then I thought maybe one of the kids was up to tricks. We started asking questions, and this spirit began speaking to us. “Then it asked if it could visit with us. By this time, I was sure someone was playing a joke, and I said yes,” he adds.

That’s when the nightmare began. “The demon appeared within seconds,” says John. “It spun around the room overhead, laughing and cursing at us. “It was surrounded by a ring of fire and the room became so hot, it was like an inferno from Hell.” The family describes the demon as red and black with scaly skin and horns. It also had giant bat wings. “Then it suddenly swooped down and attacked us,” recalls John, horror flickering over his features. “It started biting each of us on the face and arms. “We tried getting up and running for the door, but every time we did, the creature started clawing us. It was so fast, we couldn’t escape from it.”

Lynda and brother Ronald were picked up repeatedly and hurled across the room. As they lay helplessly on the floor, the creature pounded on their chests and heads. “It had hooves that dug into my children’s faces and skin, marking them badly,” says Gloria. The attack lasted for more than an hour before the horrifying demon vanished as quickly as it first appeared. The children were screaming and crying as John pulled them out of the house and drove to a nearby hospital, where they were treated for cuts and burns.

RELATED POSTS: Demons Use Ouija Board As Gateway To Take Over Soul


Monday, September 12, 2011

Top 10 Hottest Ghosts in Illinois



This article was found on True Illinois Haunts through a link on Paranormal News

10. The Greenwood Ghost Bride

Located in Decatur, Greenwood Cemetery is rumored to be one of the most haunted locations in central Illinois. One of the most interesting stories at Greenwood concerns the so-called “Greenwood Bride,” who wanders the grounds in her wedding dress searching for her fiancé, who was murdered by bootleggers. The story begins during the era of Prohibition, when many who were down and out sought to make their living in the lucrative but illicit alcohol trade. One young Decatur man was a whiskey runner with a beautiful fiancé. One evening, the young man and his bride-to-be decided to elope, but he wanted to make one last whiskey run before the wedding. Unfortunately, some of his business rivals caught up with him and murdered him, leaving his body in the Sangamon River. When his fiancé found out, she was so grief-stricken that she drowned herself in the same spot in the river. Her parents buried her in Greenwood Cemetery in her wedding dress. She now floats among the tombstones, wiping tears from her angelic face.

9. Melody Mill Ballroom’s “Flapper Ghost”

There are several vanishing hitchhikers in Illinois, but few are as alluring as the “flapper” ghost of North Riverside’s Melody Mill Ballroom and Jewish Waldheim Cemetery. Like Archer Avenue’s Resurrection Mary, this young woman died in the 1920s or the early ‘30s, and her ghost dances the night away with strangers, only to vanish during the ride home. Unlike Mary, however, Melody Mill’s “Flapper Ghost” is much more vibrant and colorful, and is described as having brunette, “bobbed” hair. According to author Jo-Anne Christensen, she “wears a gaily colored sheath and shows plenty of shapely leg.” Melody Mill Ballroom was eventually demolished, but sightings of the flapper continued into the ‘90s.

8. The White Lady of Bachelor’s Grove

Bachelor’s Grove has been a south side enigma for over three decades and is one of the most famous haunted cemeteries in America. It is said to be home to many phantoms, including strange lights, a two-headed monster, and a vanishing house. Another popular ghost is the White Lady (or Madonna) of Bachelor’s Grove, who is said to be seen cradling her infant son. This ghost, or one very much like it, was supposedly captured on a now famous photograph taken using infrared film. Forlorn and enigmatic, she sits on a fallen headstone, her flowing, ivory gown teased by the passing breeze. In an area first settled by bachelors, it is no wonder that such a phantom appears there time and time again, desperate to be reunited with a lost love.

7. “Sarah” of McPike Mansion

Built in 1869 by Henry Guest McPike and designed in the Italianate-Victorian style, the McPike Mansion has long captured the imaginations of Alton residents. Although it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, it has sat abandoned for decades—attracting vandals and the curious alike. There are two known entities here. The mansion’s new owners named one of them Sarah, because, according to Troy Taylor, an old book found in the mansion had been inscribed with the name “Sarah Wells.” Sarah is thought to have been a hired hand in life, and teases visitors with a spectral touch or hug. She also makes her presence known with a hint of lilac perfume.

6. Elvira of the Woodstock Opera House

The Woodstock Opera House was constructed in 1889 and is almost as famous for its glamorous ghost as it is for its beauty. A Honda commercial during the Super Bowl in 1992 even played off the notoriety of the Woodstock’s ghost. The theater’s interior was designed to look like a glimmering showboat, and its exterior is an eclectic combination of styles. In the late 1940s, an actor named Shelley Berman witnessed a chair (DD113) that popped up and down during rehearsals, as if someone had been sitting there. After a number of years, the thespians began to refer to their ghost as Elvira. Actresses are warned to stay away from the theater’s tower, for fear that its sultry siren will fill them with a strange compulsion to jump. According to author Jo-Anne Christensen, Elvira has been described as “very attractive, with long, golden hair and a flattering, flowing gown.”


Check out these stories and more in Michael Kleen’s Haunting Illinois: A Tourist’s Guide to the Weird and Wild Places of the Prairie State!


5. The Mysterious Woman of Original Springs Hotel

During the late 1800s, Okawville was widely known for its mineral springs, which were believed to have an invigorating effect on a man’s vitality. After this particular quality of the springs was discovered in 1867, a local businessman and a farmer established the first bathhouse and spa at the location. That burnt down in 1891, and the current building, which became the Original Springs Hotel, opened in the spring of 1893. The hotel is still in operation today. Guests at the hotel have reported seeing a mysterious woman wearing a white dress in the fashion of the early 1900s sitting on the second floor balcony. Her face is always hidden beneath her hat. This voyeuristic phantom is certainly not shy. One guest reported seeing her standing near his bed, and another saw her staring out the window of a locked storage room in the men’s bathhouse.

4. Pemberton Hall’s Legendary Mary

Eastern Illinois University’s Pemberton Hall is the oldest all-female dormitory in the state of Illinois, and its ivy covered walls and old-English look and feel was well suited for its first full time matron, Mary Hawkins. Mary emigrated from Great Britain in 1901 and assumed the position of dorm director of Pemberton Hall in August 1910, when she was 33 years old. Sometime after her death, the girls of Pemberton began to believe her ghost returned to haunt the hall. The Roommate’s Death, a common folklore motif in which a student is murdered by a crazed janitor, has merged with the story of Mary Hawkins to create a unique tale. Sometimes Mary manifests herself as a prankster; a young woman who scratches at doors, leaves bloody footprints, or wanders up to the fourth floor to play the piano dressed in nothing but a thin white gown. Other times, Mary has been flirtatious. One former resident director claimed that her fiancé felt an invisible hand smack him on the behind!

3. Drake Hotel’s “Woman in Red”

Opening night at the Drake Hotel was both magnificent and tragic. It was magnificent because the Drake was to be one of Chicago’s most beautiful hotels; it was tragic because it was the night the “Woman in Red” ended her life. According to legend, on New Year’s Eve in 1920, a wealthy venture capitalist and his fiancé attended the gala held in the Drake’s Gold Coast Room on opening night. The man stepped away and did not return, so his fiancé went looking for him. She found him, enthralled by another woman, in the Palm Court parlor. Devastated, the Woman in Red climbed to the roof and jumped to her death. Since then, guests at the Drake have reported seeing her ghost in the Gold Coast Room, Palm Court, and on the top floor and the roof. She is called the “Woman in Red” because of the gleaming, crimson silk gown she wears, which compliments her long black hair and emerald eyes.

2. The Phantom Lady of Kennedy Hill Road

Between mid-December 1980 and early January 1981, dozens of people reported seeing a young woman in various stages of dress walking down Kennedy Hill Road outside of Byron. Despite the icy wind and cold, she was sometimes wearing attire more suitable for the beach, and was said to be very athletic and slender, at one point leaping over a nearby fence with ease. By January 20, 1981, the sightings had reached a fevered pitch. Motorists parked their cars in the frigid temperatures along the narrow rural road to catch a glimpse of what became known as “The Phantom Lady of Kennedy Hill Road.” It was said that the scantily-clad phantom was searching for her lost grave, which had been plowed over by a nearby farmer. Newspaper reports reached as far away as Chicago, and the Rockford Register Star ran five consecutive articles on the sightings. The phantom lady disappeared after the snow thawed that spring and was never seen again.

1. Resurrection Mary

Every year, thousands of motorists drive past the gates of Resurrection Cemetery, hoping to catch a glimpse of a girl named Mary and offer her a ride. Resurrection Mary, as she is known, is hands down the most famous legend in the Chicagoland area. She is the subject of a novel, several songs, two films, and is an indispensable part of any book on Chicago hauntings. Folklorists and ghost enthusiasts alike claim that Mary’s story dates back to the 1930s, when the ghost of a burgeoning Polish girl was first seen along Archer Avenue near Resurrection Cemetery. She dances with unsuspecting men at the Willow Brook Ballroom and then asks for a ride home, only to vanish before reaching her destination. Authors Michael Norman and Beth Scott describe her as a “captivating, blue-eyed, flaxen-haired girl in her late teens” who wears a “long, off-white ballgown and dancing shoes.” Rachel Brooks romantically portrays Mary as “an innocent young woman… stranded and alone.” She is “soaked to the bone… with beautiful blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes.” Always virginal, yet slightly dangerous, Resurrection Mary remains one of the most beloved specters of Chicagoland.


The Beginner's Guide to EVP


This article is found on ECWPI


By Kurt


East Central Wisconsin Paranormal Investigations

02/15/06

THE BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO EVP Hi! I'm Kurt, a member of Wisconsin's ECWPI paranormal investigation group. In this article, I will be discussing EVP, what it is, possible theories behind it, and how to go about trying to capture some EVPs of your own.

EVP stands for Electronic Voice Phenomenon, which is more or less a fancy way of saying "capturing unexplained voices or sounds on an audio recorder". This is usually attempted at a location that is supposedly haunted, but many people have had success capturing EVPs in their homes, in their cars, or just about anywhere. And since it is relatively cheap to obtain the necessary equipment, trying to capture EVP is perhaps one of the easiest methods of gathering evidence of a possible haunting, and it can done both by experienced ghost hunters and new ghost hunters alike.

The general concept behind EVP, communicating with the dead, goes back a long way. Thomas Edison himself stated in the 1920s that he believed a device could be built which would enable us to communicate with the dead. But it was in the 1970's that the concept of what we know now as EVP first took shape. A woman named Sarah Estep begin picking up what she believed to be voices on a reel-to-reel tape recorder, and she went on to found the group "The American Association Of Electronic Voice Phenomenon". I can remember being utterly fascinated with EVP (and a bit creeped out by it) the first time I came across it, which was on the show "Unsolved Mysteries" back in the late 1980's or early 1990's. With the recent popularity of shows like "Ghost Hunters" or "Most Haunted", and EVP-related movies such as "White Noise", EVP has almost become a household term.

One of the lingering questions about EVP is this...why is the recorder able to pick up these noises when our ears can't? Many of the clearest EVPs were not heard in person, and were only found after reviewing the audio at a later time. Several theories exist for why this happens. Some people believe that spirits have an ability to somehow project their voices or thoughts directly onto the tape or the digital recorder, while others believe that these sounds occur at a frequency higher or lower than our ears can recognize. No definite answer exists to this question. One of the more prevalent theories about spirits is that they are a form of electromagnetism, and this could tie in with the fact that these spirits are able to communicate more easily with sensitive machines than they are with the human auditory system.

So, how does someone go about capturing an EVP? Luckily, it's quite possibly one of the cheapest methods available of experiencing and documenting paranormal activity. While people can (and do) spend tons and tons of money on good, highly sensitive equipment for getting EVP, a beginner can spend $20 - $30 and still get surprisingly good results.

The main piece of equipment needed is, of course, a recorder of some kind. There is much debate in the ghost hunting community about whether magnetic (also known as "analog") tape recorders or digital recorders are better. Some people claim to a much higher success rate using one or the other. Both recorders have their advantages and disadvantages.

People who swear by magnetic cassette recorders claim that the actual process of using magnetic tape is better, since paranormal activity is often accompanied by electromagnetic forces and may produce better and more frequent EVPs. One downside to using cassette recorders is that cassette tapes must be constantly bought to use, since using the same tape over and over will cause sound to bleed through and create false evidence. Plus, most tapes have a 60 or 90 minute time limit, so the investigator must constantly change cassettes as time runs out. Couple this with the belief that only one side of a tape should be used, since sounds on the other side of the tape can bleed through, and you will find yourself spending a LOT of money on blank tapes. Having an actual cassette tape to study and hold as evidence, however, is a benefit for those who use cassette recorders. Cassette tapes are also noisier than digital recorder, and they quite often pick up the sound of the internal mechanisms of the recorder itself. Both of these problems can be fixed using a good attachable microphone and placing it away from the recorder, however.

With the advances made in digital technology, good digital recorders have become available at relatively low cost, but are still a bit more expensive than cassette recorders. Digital recorders have quite a few benefits, though. The most important benefit is probably the length of time that can be recorded. Even the cheapest digital recorders can record for 5-8 hours on their internal memory, and when you look at the fact that 8 hours on a cassette recorder could require anywhere from 8 to 16 cassette tapes, the expense of the digital recorder pays off in the end since the user doesn't have to buy blank tapes. The sound is also much clearer on digital recorders, and many digital recorders have a USB connection. This helps tremendously, because long sessions of audio can be downloaded within seconds onto a computer for study, rather than the real-time recording onto a computer that is required for a cassette. Some people believe, however, that downloading hours of audio into a computer using a USB cord lessens the quality of the audio.

In the end, I think it comes down to a matter of preference. I have used both types of recorders, and my personal opinion is that digital recorders are better. Due to the amount of available time, the clarity of the audio, and the small size of the recorder, it seems to be the better choice. But again, it's a matter of preference.

So...now you've got your recorder and you are in a supposedly haunted location. Now what do you do?

There are two main methods used for gathering EVPs. In the first method, the recorder is activated and is placed in a quiet location while the investigators go somewhere else, leaving the machine to record in the quiet room in the hopes that a voice or a noise will appear and the recorder will pick it up. One benefit of this type of recording is that if you DO get a voice, there won't be any confusion as to if it's one of the investigators voices or not, since there weren't any people in the room. Some people who use this method like to use the voice-activated feature of their recorders to only record when the machine picks up a noise. Most investigators advise against this, however, as the EVP could be so fleeting that, by the time the recorder kicks in, it could catch only the last few seconds of the EVP or miss it entirely.

The second main method of gathering EVPs is to have the recorder with you while you ask questions out loud in the hopes of getting a response on the recorder. This can be done alone or with a group. While this method may be more difficult because there is a chance that a captured voice could be someone in the group, there seems to be more success with this method than the first. Sometimes, the person doesn't even need to be asking questions to have an unknown voice appear and say something.

Again, both methods have their advantages and disadvantages, and the investigator can go with whichever he or she prefers. Personally, I use both. I have a recorder running on me at all times for when we are asking questions or are talking to each other, and I leave another recorder in a quiet room where it won't be disturbed. I have captured possible EVP using both methods.

So...now you have a potential EVP on your tape. Now what?

The easiest way to get the EVP onto a computer so it can be shared or studied is by using a patch cord (available at any Radio Shack or electronic store) and a sound editing program (such as Audacity, which is free to download). Or, if your recorder has a USB port, you can use it to load the sound file directly to the computer. In a future article, I will write more about the technical specifics of how to do this.

Once you have the sound file on your computer, you can use your sound editing software to clean the file, analyze the file, and clip the file so you can save it and send it to people. The best EVPs are the ones that you don't have to clean, because excessive cleaning can distort the original clip and can result in sounds that weren't there to start with.

There are three major classifications of EVP. They are:

Class A: This is an EVP that can be heard clearly by anyone listening to it and does not require cleaning or editing. What is being said in the EVP can be understood by everyone without being told beforehand what words or sounds to listen for. In other words, a perfect EVP.

Class B: This is an EVP that is audible, but may require some editing or cleaning. People will often have differing opinions on what is being said or what the noise is, or may not even be able to understand it. But the sound should be fairly clear and words should be fairly understandable to be a Class B. This is the most commonly found class of EVP.

Class C: This is a clip that is cleaned, edited, cleaned again, and is still a mess. There might be mumbling or an undecipherable whisper, but nothing intelligible can be picked out. But if the investigator is 100% sure that the voice came from an empty room or isn't the voice of an investigator, it still is an EVP. Just not a very good one.

Sometimes there are other classifications. Some groups use a "Class R" or a "Class D", which means that the EVP is gibberish forwards, but is intelligible when played backwards. But, for the most part, Class A, B, and C are the three major classifications.

So, now that you understand the basics, grab a recorder and try to capture some EVPs for yourself! It's one of the cheapest, easiest, and most rewarding methods of paranormal investigation, and who knows...you might even be the person who finds definitive proof of life after death! Good luck!


Tuesday, September 6, 2011

WHAT ARE DEMONS


This article is from Ghost Investigations


FALLEN ANGELS


When I first set out to write this article, I wanted to address preternatural (demonic) activity and possession. However, I thought it best to start at the beginning and to look at what a demon really is and how they came to be on our earthly realm.



"For by Him were all things were created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominations, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him." (Colossians 1:16)


If all things were created by God, than God created demons, but these beings, because of pride did not return God's love. "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." (Revelation 12:7-9) God did not destroy these 'fallen angels' but instead allows them a limited scope of activity.


Now I suppose I could get into the many different 'species' of demons, but I really don't see the point. I know if I was being attacked by the demonic I could really care less what species it is or what name it goes by. Instead, I will concentrate on what demons really are. We know they are fallen angels but are they just emanations, or influences, or powers? Or are demons a personality? Let us take a look at the attributes required for something to be considered a personality.


1: Intelligence

The word 'demon' comes from the Greek word 'daimon' which means intelligent. Demons are intelligent beings. They have the ability to communicate by speech. They know that God is One. "And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And He rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that He was Christ." (Luke 4:41) Demons also know their future doom. "And when He was come to the other side into the country of the Ger'ge-senes, there met Him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?" (Matthew 8:28-29)


2 WILL

Demons do have will. They have the will to make requests. They have the will to obey commands and orders. They have the will to leave a person they inhabit and seek a new place to live or to return to the place where they came from.

3 EMOTION

Demons do have emotion and we can observe this in a couple of ways. They have the emotion of anger and fierceness and they have the emotion of fear.

Since demons do possess these three attributes I think it is safe to say that they are a personality. That is to say that they have distinctive character and individuality.

APPEARANCE

Now let's talk about the appearance of the demonic. Has anyone ever seen a demon in its natural form? If so, what does it look like? When I polled my family and friends for their impression of what a demon might look like, their responses were virtually identical. A monster with horns protruding from its head and a forked tail, residing in some fiery abyss.


"And the shape of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails." (Revelation 9:7-10)


Visions of the demonic, however, are almost a complete rarity. Instead they lash out in total invisibility, at least at first. They gain the upper hand and frighten by lashing out undetected. It relies on this anonymity to conceal its identity and by causing disbelief and confusion it operates at its full strength.

In cases where the demonic does reveal itself, it is most often seen as a dark black, wispy shape. These black shapes have been described as being blacker than the blackest night.

Ultimately, the demonic can take on any form that it chooses. Whether it be as a human, a ghost, or even an animal. Whatever it chooses to manifest itself as, there is always a flaw.

Always. There will always be something unnatural about its appearance.

CONCLUSION

So we have covered what demons are, what characteristics they have, where they originated ,and the appearance they take on. I pray to God that none of you ever have to come in contact with one of these inhuman spirits, but if you ever find yourself in that situation, "Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken." (Proverbs 3:25-26) Put your trust in the Lord and contact WISPIR


Why do Ghosts Stay Around


This article is from Ghost Investigations

We cannot know why a ghost sticks around after death, but there are certain variables that clearly heighten the chance that a ghost will remain on the physical plain.


If a person dies young, especially violently, it is likely that a ghost will remain. A young person’s natural tendency is to live out a full life span.


Perhaps when an older person chooses to stay after death it’s because of a strong connection to the physical world. In other cases, people simply do not want to leave their home behind. And in some cases it seems that spirits stay around because they truly do not realize that they are dead.


Then there are people who stay around because they don’t want to leave someone behind.

Ghost may sometimes haunt their widowed spouses. They can be possessive and often do more harm than good by continuing to stay on this plane attached to one person.

Murder victims frequently haunt their killers, obsessed with exacting revenge.

Those with a guilty conscious may choose to stay as well. They fear the consequences of possible moving on to a realm of judgment.


Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Paranormal Investigation Techniques



Article from W-FILES.COM



This is an antiquated list at best. We will be updating this section to better focus on procedures, such as the scientific method when resources allow. Until then, enjoy what someone wrote for us a decade ago!


There are many things to take into consideration when doing an investigation. I will do a basic walk-thru of what works for me. This is the ideal. As we are all aware, the ideal is usually not the norm. We must remain flexible as each case is different. Each group of investigators find what works best for them, and you will need to do this for yourself as well. With so many theories about ghosts and hauntings out there now, you will find some of us at opposite ends of the spectrum. However, I feel that this can be a good thing. It is documenting different aspects in different ways. I would really like to stress that you should read over the other articles here relating to tips, equipment, spirit photography, etc. I will not go into depth here about any of those individual areas, but they are certainly extremely important to know before going on an investigation.


Once contacted about doing a ghost investigation, you need to determine the necessity. Is an investigation warranted? The easiest way to do this is with a phone interview. That way you can get a better idea of the activity going on, and the person requesting the investigation. I try to get some basic details to see what activity is occurring. This can help to rule out natural occurrences, or possible classify the type of activity by any patterns that their may be. If the activity was a one-time occurrence, you would not need to go on an investigation. I like to find out why they contacted me and what they expect to happen. Are they looking to end the activity? I also find out about other witnesses to the activity. I then ask that a journal is started to write date, time, weather, activity, etc. If an investigation is warranted, we than move on the first step of the actual investigation.

The first and most important thing to remember is to arrive (with prior written permission) with open-minded skepticism. Start by proving the "not." Search for and rule out any natural causes. We need to be aware of natural occurring events that can mock paranormal activity. Misinterpreting normal sounds can happen quite easily. The foundation of a building should be checked for shifting and cracking. Plumbing needs to be ruled out. Leaking, rattling pipes, or even air pressure in pipes, can cause odd noises, wet spots, faucets that seem to turn on by themselves, etc. Electrical problems can often appear ghostly in nature also. Weather conditions should be checked. Also the soil content can make a difference. If there is a large content of clay and/or chalk, settling can occur after wet weather causing odd noises and shifting. Underground water sources, tunnels, mine shafts, etc., have been known to echo odd ghostly noises. Banging water pipes, shutters, and design faults in structures can also mimic scary noises.

Nearby railroad tracks can cause rattling that can make objects appear to move. Squirrels nesting between walls or in the attic, or even other rodents and/or insects can make odd noises. If natural causes are ruled out, then we move on to beginning an actual investigation.

Before going to the location of an investigation, it is important that each member present knows what their position will be for the evening.

Equipment is delegated to different members. If it will be a long investigation, positions can be traded off so that everyone gets a chance to do each position and use the equipment. This is also a way to get corroborating evidence. I like to have one group who knows the history vs. one who doesn't. In the group that I am currently working with most often, Wisconsin Ghost Investigations, members mostly have their own equipment. However, if there is a member who has two of something, or more than they can handle, they often hand off something to someone who does not. It is extremely important that each member really knows the equipment that they are using. People are divided into groups with team leaders. We then decide who will be driving and riding with who. That way we don't all show up in our own vehicles at a location looking conspicuous.

Upon arriving at the location, the group as a whole meets with the property owner. They then divide up into the groups. One group is in charge of an initial walk-thru of the premises. I like to have a "sensitive" type person in the group walking around. One member makes maps of the location, the "sensitive" person marks locations of interest to them, and another takes initial readings of time, temperature, humidity levels, emf readings, etc. All natural sources of energy are clearly mapped. Stationary equipment can be set up at this time. Another group is with the persons requesting the investigation. They are signing papers to give permission to do the investigation and to post evidence collected. An interview is then conducted of those people involved with the suspected haunt. All information possible is obtained. The interview needs to be recorded and detailed notes taken. Try to get full and complete details. Events that have occurred should be recreated if at all possible to rule out any natural causes. One example of this may be a door that mysteriously opens when you walk towards it could easily be a loose floor board. If there is a pattern to activity, measures should be made to document the area at that time. Try to do as many field experiments as possible.

The interview is very important. It is important to ask pointed, direct, in depth questions. Some sample forms and interview questions can be seen at Troy Taylor's site. It is on the links page here. Look for patterns in activity. Repeat important questions to look for consistency. Rule out any doubts that you may have. You need to make the people involved as comfortable as possible. Keep your personal intuitions to yourself and keep the media uninvolved as it can tamper with evidence. Witnesses can be often be unintentionally influenced. Take detailed notes, it will help when writing the report later. If you believe that it could be a hoax, they are lying, unstable, or whatever, try to rule that out also. After the interview, this group does a walk thru, noting areas on the map where the people involved have had experiences, and any variances in readings of equipment. It is interesting to see how this can correlate with intuitive feelings of the other group, as well as equipment readings. The entire thing should be documented on film. EMF readings need to be taken, temperature and humidity readings documented, photos taken, camcorder walk-thru, other equipment used and documented, etc. Stationary equipment is watched and checked on often. Details should later be checked. A historical research of the building can also be done later if necessary either by you or the family involved. Public libraries and local historical societies can be a huge help with this tedious activity.

The last thing that is important with the investigation is to follow up. Follow up calls, repeat visits, further investigations, and a timely report need to be given consideration. The journal that the owners had started can be checked for any further activity. We also like to give the family ideas to peacefully coexist if a haunt is suspected. Further assistance is offered only thru support and names of people we know in the field who may be able to help. Then comes the fun part. Sorting thru all the evidence and photos for any type of anomalies to study. It is important to have others look at everyone's stuff too to make sure nothing was missed. Then reports are given to the people and posted on the webpage.

I know that this seems like a lot of information. I did not cover how to use the equipment here, or tips on how to use them or how to be on an investigation. Please see the other areas on the web site for that information. I do not claim to know everything, or do it the way that others do. I am merely sharing with you the way that I have found to work the best for me. And by all means, if this is your hobby, don't forget to have fun!

Happy Hunting and Hauntings!


Ghost Ships



This article comes from www.examiner.com



May 25, 9:23 AM by Kathie Kessler


Ghost not only lurk in old spooky houses, decaying, abandoned buildings and creepy cemeteries. Wisconsin's Lake Michigan shoreline, and the Great Lakes have their fair share of Ghost Ships!


The waters of the great lakes have always been treacherous travel.. one of the more recent and most famous sinking was of the Edmund Fitzgerald, memorialized in the 1976 song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” by Gordon Lightfoot, just one year after she went down. She went down, along with her entire crew of 29 men in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. Witnesses have reported seeing this large hulking ship over a decade after she sank.


But many other ships that have wrecked along the shores of Lake Michigan. Some met the “Witch of November” who's furious gale storms are well known to pull ships to their watery deaths... some of these ships seem to still roam the dark, turbulent waters of the great lakes!


Le Griffon - Le Griffon was owned by Robert Cavelier de La Salle in 1679, and built to take him and his men across the great lakes to the wilderness of Wisconsin. The vessel was 60 feet long and weighed the equivalent of 40 tons. The Iroquois prophet Metiomek thought the ship was out to destroy the great spirit and put a curse on her. Le Griffon set sail on August 7th 1679 headed for Wisconsin. The journey was rough but they made their destination. They loaded the ship with furs and supplies for their return trip, although La Salle did not join them as he took a canoe to search for a passage through to the Mississippi river. This decision would save his life.


Le Griffon was never seen again after it's departure from Washington Island on September 18, 1679, with only a crew of 6 on board. It seems Metiomek's curse came true, since he also said that La Salle's blood would stain those he trusted, and after hearing of the disappearance of Le Griffon, he was killed by his own men.

Washington Island has some of the most treacherous conditions on Lake Michigan. Your passage to the island takes you through Port des Mortes, or "Death's Door". Hundreds of wooden shipwrecks litter the lake bottom in this area.

It is said, if you look out onto Green Bay Harbor, on a foggy night, you can see the outline of the ill fated Le Griffon, right before she disappeared under the waves.


If you enjoy my articles, please subscribe! Also, if you need information on paranormal investigations or have a ghost story of your own to share, feel free to EMAIL ME


Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Meredith Vieira Hunts Ghosts

By JARETT WIESELMAN

August 24, 2011



For five years, America woke up with Today show co-anchor Meredith Vieira, but now she's going to prevent the country from falling asleep thanks to a guest spot on Syfy's spooky series, Ghost Hunters.


On October 26, Vieira joins hosts Grant Wilson and Jason Hawes at the Veteran's Memorial Hall Playhouse in Staten Island, NY and ETonline has your first look at the trio at work! Their investigation is aimed at learning the truth about the town's mysterious woman in white, a spirit who has continually made her presence known -- and felt -- as she is often seen lamenting her lost love.


But Vieira isn't just appearing on the fellas show -- both Wilson and Hawes will participate in a special edition of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, airing (appropriately) on Halloween!


Ghost Hunters premieres tonight at 9 p.m. on SyFy.


Tuesday, August 23, 2011

How Does a Ghost Show Itself


This article is from Ghost Investigations


There are two basic processes that a human spirit can go through to bring about its own materialization. One way requires a human presence; the other does not.


Surrounding the body of every living being is a bioluminescent glow caused by a natural discharge of energy from the body. From this aura, the ghost draws small amounts of energy which collect as small pinpoints of light. This light energy, combined with electromagnetic energy in the room, is what a spirit uses to manifest.


There is another way in which a ghost can manifest. On very humid days with a lot of rain or fog, or on stormy nights when there is electrical energy in the air, a ghost is able to build itself from the energy in the atmosphere.

Ouija Board's Evil Spell Still Lives in Our House



Article from The Shadowlands


By Dale Kaczmarek


(National Examiner, 31787 by Robert Stamper)

I invited a foul horror into my house with a Ouija board. My brother and I got no results when we started to use the psychic device, but suddenly the message indicator mysteriously began to move. The first thing the board told us was that the message was being sent by Seth. Then I made the tragic mistake of telling the board to prove it was real by doing something supernatural. The results were startling and scary. The board told us that the grandfather of one of my best friends would die in a week. The chandelier in the room began to shake violently and the chimes rang like pieces of metal being smashed together. The room became as cold as ice and we were shivering, though the thermometer read 70 degrees. The horrible stench of death filled the room and we couldn't stop gagging and coughing.

Suddenly, the noises stopped and the room was as quiet as a cemetery in the middle of the night. My brother and I looked at each other in terror. We opened the windows to get rid of the stink or rotting flesh and told each other we'd forget the whole thing. But a week later the grandfather of one of my best friends died just as the board has predicted! And from time to time the chandelier would rattle, the room freeze and that awful smell return. I couldn't take it any more. I threw the board away and told my mother about the experience. She told me that once you tamper with a Ouija board, its evil spell will remain forever. And to this day, those terrifying tremors shake the house and the stench of death fills the room.



Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Paranormal Activity At Its Peak?


p>Posted on Paranormal Newsbreak by Amanda

It seems as if this field is growing by the day. So why is this? If you think back to about ten years ago, this field was very small. So what is bringing on all the new investigators, and teams within the field? The answer to that question differs with each person you ask. So what do I think?

In my opinion, I believe that, right now, the paranormal activity has peaked, and is at its highest in years. What causes this? Could it be a sign of the whole 2012 theory? Or are people just finally opening up to life after death?

First off, I do not believe in the whole 2012 theory. If we think back, it seems like every ten or so years there are some type of rumors going around about the world coming to an end. A very wise man whom I've had the pleasure speaking with about this subject said it very nicely 'Our physical world will end, but the world as a whole will not.' I could not agree more! Every so often our world experiences changes. Whether it's with the weather, or what have you. It only takes one person to say the world is going to end, for a million more to take it seriously. However, I am not here to change anyone's beliefs.

So, the main question stands. Why is it that the paranormal field is rapidly growing? I have two answers to this question. 1) More and more people are beginning to experience things they cannot explain, and go out on a quest to try to explain, and document these experiences. And 2) Fame hungry. We all know these types of people. For every one team who is in this field for the right reasons, two are in the field for the wrong reasons. I'm sure all of us have come into contact with at least one team, or individual like this. However, I do have to say that I truly believe that paranormal activity across the world has peaked. Maybe it's because we are becoming more receptive towards the activity, or maybe it's because of all the earthly changes. Either way, more and more people are starting to pay attention to the unseen forces around us. Hopefully with all the growth, we will all be able to document some type of paranormal activity, and be able to make more skeptics believers.


Paranormal Activity and Moon Phases Linked?


p>Posted on Paranormal Newsbreak by Amanda

lunar cycle

Does the moon phase affect how much paranormal activity will happen? In my research, and in my experiences, yes.

When the moon is full, and at its brightest, it gives off more energy. And, as well all know, spirits need energy to manifest, or to communicate with us in any way.

Take this in mind, if you will. Consider the moon, the sun, and even the weather has an 'organic' source of energy for spirits. Most Paranormal Investigators love to use a little piece of equipment that is called an EM Pump. The EMF's that this Pump lets out is not a natural source of energy, therefore, some spirits may not know they could use it, depending on the type of haunting that's taking place. However, the moon is a natural energy output that the spirit(s) do not necessarily know how to use, it comes natural.

What are the different moon phases, and how many are there?

There are eight complete moon phases, which are: New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter, and Waning Crescent. Examples of each phase of the moon can be seen here.

Conclusion: The moon may very will increase paranormal activity.



The History of Ouija Boards



Posted on Paranormal Newsbreak by Amanda

The Ouija Board, also known as the 'talking board' looks innocent enough. So, what is the history behind this board, that draws the attention of many?

The Ouija Board was first introduced by businessman Elijah Bond on July 1, 1890. It was regarded as an innocent parlor game, unrelated to the Occult until the American Spiritualist Pearl Curran made it popular for it's use today during World War 1.

In 1901, the 'talking board' was taken over by William Fuld, who started his own series of the board, under the name 'Ouija'. In 1966, Fuld's estate sold the entire business to Parker Brothers, who continues to hold all trademarks.

Are Ouija Boards dangerous? You can ask this to any person you would like, and leave with different results almost every time you ask. Some say that the board may open portals to the other side. Portals that you cannot control, and that could lead something very evil into your life. While others will tell you that the Ouija Board is nothing but a hoax, and is simply a game. Who is right, and who is wrong? I do not think anyone is right, or wrong. Everyone has their own beliefs. Some have negative experiences with the board, that will make them never to look at one again. While others, use the board almost daily, with nothing at all happening.

What do you think? Do you think the Ouija Board is dangerous? Is it nothing but simply a game?

Related Posts:Qujia Not A Game



The EVP Guide


p>Posted on Paranormal Newsbreak by Amanda

EVP's have been prominent since the 1840's. So, how does a person begin to try to capture EVP's? And are some recording devices better than others?

I suspect that if a person interested in learning more about how to capture EVP's asked several teams how they do it, the answer would be different every time. So this is just my guide to EVP's, and how my team and I have gotten great success.

First, lets start with recording devices. There are several different ways you can try to capture an EVP. Some prefer to use analog recorders (the big recorders that take cassette tapes), so lets start there. The first thing to remember when recording onto an analog recorder is to never reuse tapes, and never tape on both sides of a tape. The reasoning behind this is: If you record on both sides of the tape, or even record over the one side you use, there is possible bleed through on the tape. So, the main rules to using analog recorders is to never reuse tapes, and to never record on both sides.

Next, we have digital recorders. Most digital recorders to come with a USB Port of some kind to make it very easy to upload all recorded files onto your computer. However, some do NOT come with the USB Ports. So when shopping for a good recorder, that is the first thing to look for. If you buy a recorder that does not have a USB Port, uploading the files onto your computer would be very difficult. The next thing to keep in your mind is: The higher the price, does not mean a better recorder. You can find recorders on EBay, Amazon, and other online stores. However, in most cases, they do put 'Ghost Hunting', 'Paranormal', or other similar phrases some where in the title, to help raise the price. I have noticed this in my research for paranormal equipment. The main type of recorder my team uses are RCA, which you can find at Wal-Mart, for very cheap. We have captured some amazing EVP's since we've began investigating with the RCA recorders. So always remember, price doesn't mean quality.

Now, we'll talk about techniques. In my opinion, there is no right or wrong ways to do things in this field. Everyone has their own opinions, and techniques. And a huge variety of things work differently for other people. It's all about experimenting, and finding out what works best for you, or your team. With my team, we try to ask as many questions as we can, no matter how 'silly' it may sound. We always space each question out at least 15 seconds between each other. However, we have also had very good luck discussing things we see/hear/feel during that moment, and have captured some Class A EVP's talking over us. So we always keep the rule in the back of our heads that if they want to be heard, they will talk over you. This does NOT mean you should be loud during EVP Sessions. This just means that if you're discussing things among yourselves, that the chances of you capturing good EVP's is still there.

Next, when doing EVP Sessions, always try to set your recorder on a flat surface. If you're holding your recorder, the slightest move can transfer onto the recording, and you could have ruined your best piece of evidence. Always try to set the recorder down, to eliminate the possibility of contamination.

The last tip I'll give is to always try to put your recorder some where where there will not be any type of interference. Many investigators have multiple recorders, so while they're at a location they can have one in several rooms, while they go to other parts of the location to investigate, leaving the recorder(s) on its own. You do not want to leave a recorder some where for several hours, only to find during review that half of your file was contaminated by someone's random talking.

Now that you know a few tips on EVP's, go out, and see what you can get, using these tips.


Experts and Professionals


p>Posted on Paranormal Newsbreak by Amanda

There are a lot of teams, and individuals who call themselves 'Experts' and 'Professionals' in the paranormal field. I'm writing this article to give my opinion on both of these terms, and the reason I stand firm behind my opinion.

Lets start with the word 'Expert'. This word within the paranormal field is one of the most annoying things to me. Why? In my opinion, there are no experts in this field. I firmly believe that someone can be a specialist in a few areas of this field. Such as equipment, EVP, Analysis, etc. The word expert says to everyone that you know everything there is to know about the subject in question. I strongly believe that this field is rapidly changing, growing, and new things are constantly being discovered, which to me says, no one can possibly know everything there is to know about the paranormal. There will always be people who have been in this field for ten or more years who will come across something that they had never come across before. Therefore, they cannot possibly call themselves experts.

Now lets move on to 'Professional'. Being a professional can mean several things. The first thing people think of when they hear the word professional is the person, or team in question has extensive training in the field, and know almost everything there is to know. So, lets begin there. Each team has their own way of doing things. They can train their new members on how they investigate. However, does this make them right in the way they do things? In my opinion, no. In this field, there is no right, or wrong thing to do things. No one is better than another, and no team is better than another.

I call my team professional. This is another meaning for the word. We are professional acting. You can go into a location, and be respectful of your surroundings, your client, the spirits that could be there, etc. This is the second meaning to being a professional. Again, this does not mean you are better than someone, or better trained. It just lets others know that you are always respectful during your investigations. Whether it be towards your client, the spirits you're investigating, etc.

Again, these are just my opinions. If you disagree, that's fine. I am only showing what I've learned since being in the field. We can all agree to disagree, if that's the case.


Do Home Blessings Help?


p>Posted on Paranormal Newsbreak by Amanda

We all know about home blessings, or any type of location blessing. But, do they truly help?

Before I start, I'd like to give you a few other terms used that have the same meanings. Those are location exorcisms, location cleansing, and location smudging, to just name a few. Do they work? In my opinion, yes, they do. However, proper investigation is needed to fully understand what type of haunting you, or your client is dealing with. For example; You do not want to conduct a Catholic blessing for a Wiccan family. Blessings or cleansings work best if you do one that the family will fully believe in. If you conduct a Christian blessing for a family who has no religious views, chances are, it will not be successful.


Another aspect to take into consideration is the type of spirit that is causing the activity. For example; If you have a demonic haunting, there is a special type of blessing that you would have to conduct to be successful. If you are experiencing a residual spirit, another type would be needed. That's why conducting a proper paranormal investigation is required if you, or the client wants to have a blessing done on their home or business.

Now we come to yet another type of blessing, and that is having a medium come into the location, to attempt to cross over the spirit(s). Most experienced mediums know how to do this. But again, the medium needs to fully understand what type of spirit you or your client is dealing with. Some teams work with mediums, or even have a medium or two in their team.

So what is the best method to conduct a blessing? There are several ways. Some people prefer burning a White Sage stick, while others prefer to burn a Desert Sage stick. I cannot fully say what the proper method is, as I do not know details of the type of haunting you, or your client are dealing with. However, I can say that the Desert Sage stick is best for blessing a home with demonic, or simply mean/negative spirits.

Remember, it is never stupid to ask for help!



Children and the Paranormal



Posted on Paranormal Newsbreak by Amanda

Being a paranormal investigator, I get asked the question often about children and the paranormal. So on this article, I'm going to cover a few aspects of this subject.

Let me start off with the question if it could be a harmful thing to take kids on paranormal investigations. In my opinion, I do believe it could be a bad thing for children to go on paranormal investigations. Of course, it also depends on how old the child is. I think that if they are younger than 12, it could be a bad thing for them to attend investigations. Why? In my opinion, children are too easy for a negative spirit to attach itself to him/her. Yes it is true that children could sense the paranormal easier than most adults. But would you want to take the risk of putting your child, or children in danger from something you're not sure about? There are some negative spirits who are 'tricksters', and will appear in any form to make you trust them. I do not think that children have the ability to tell the difference. Some adults don't even carry that ability.

Now the next aspect to discuss is why most children have the ability to see/hear/sense spirits, and must adults cannot. I believe that when we're born, we all have the ability. However, as we get older, and depending on the open mindedness of our guardians, depends on if we keep this ability, or learn how to naturally block it out for the rest of our lives. If your parent is putting it into your head that no type of ghost exist (with the consideration of the Holy Spirit of course), it's only natural that you learn how to block out your experiences, and eventually put up a wall that blocks out all paranormal activity. I believe this happens with most of us. I believe that everyone holds some type of sensitive ability. It takes training to rebuild it, and mold it into what you'd like it to be.


CELEBRITY GHOST HUNT WEEKEND AT HAUNTED KENTUCKY MUSEUM



Posted on Paranormal Newsbreak by Amanda

FRANKLIN, KENTUCKY: John Zaffis “The Godfather of the Paranormal” from the Syfy Channel’s hit paranormal TV show “Haunted Collector” and Bruce Tango from Syfy’s “Ghost Hunters” will be joining fans at the Octagon Hall Museum in Franklin, Kentucky outside of Nashville on September 10, 2011 for a weekend of lectures, events, meet and greets and a Live Ghost Hunt.

“This event gives the opportunity for fans and ghost hunting enthusiast alike to spend a weekend with the stars of hit television shows as well as participate in a live ghost hunt with them.” says event host and promoter Chad Morin.

Octagon Hall Museum, originally built in 1847 as a private plantation home has had over 160 years of tragedy including being occupied during the Civil War by both Union and Confederate Armies as a field hospital and morgue, as well as the location countless deaths and suspected murders. All of these events have fueled the reports and rumors of ghostly activity in and around the property.

Guests of the event will not only get to meet and greet the celebrities, but they will be able to take photos with them, receive autographs, attend lectures and classes, dine and then go on a active ghost hunt with them as well.

The Octagon Hall Museum is located at 6040 Bowling Green Road, Franklin, KY 50 miles North of Nashville. For more information about this event you can visit their website: www.GhostHuntWeekends.com or call 1-866-559-4741

Sent in to Amanda by Chad Morin





Paranormal Playground



www.cbs42.com

Reported by: Chris Womack Email: cwomak@cbs42.com

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WIAT)- Rumors or a haunting? Mystery surrounds one Huntsville playground where some people claim ghosts come out for a little playtime.

Just outside the city sits Maple Hill Cemetery, the oldest and largest graveyard in the city. Nestled behind the cemetery is an interesting lot; a playground. To many, it's known as "Dead Children's Playground." Legend has it that after the sun goes down, interesting things happen.

"We walked down here and we get on the swing, and out of nowhere, you hear someone scream. When I say I ran like the fastest ever in my whole life, it was terrifying," says Rashad Deyampert. Reports of swings moving by themselves and children's voices floating through the air litter internet chatboards. There are many theories as to what causes the occurences. One rumor is after a string of child abductions in the 1960's, many of the kidnapped children's bodies were found on the playground. "I heard some kids fell off a slide, or someone died, a couple kids died in here, and they never leave. At night they'll come out, or whatever," said Deyampert.

So is the playground really haunted? You be the judge.



Monday, August 15, 2011

Case Reports



House in Shawano County, WI


Here’s a case report from WPRS. To read the case report, please click on the link.

Private Home Case Report


Private Residence - Oneida County, WI


Here’s a case report from WPRS To read the case report, please click on the link.

Private Home Case Report




House in Lincoln County Wisconsin

Here’s a case report from WPRS To read the case report, please click on the link.

Private Home Case Report




The Rogers Theater- 310 N. 4th Street-Wausau, Wisconsin

Here’s a case report from WPRS To read the case report, please click on the link.

Rogers Case Report



RELATED POSTS: Report # 1 Report # 3

Types Of Ghosts And Hauntings


Article from W-FILES.COM



First and foremost let's establish the irony of having a dictionary of terms regarding the paranormal field or worse yet types of ghosts. Yes there are situations that call for it such as "EMF Meters" and "Charles Fort". The irony that I speak of is more for the definition of specific terms such as "ghost". Sure we can speak of the traditional beliefs held by societies no longer in existence, that is a safe route and less debatable. The irony that I'm heading towards I'll keep to three points.


First the complete lack of accepted scientific practices used to reach the belief that could then be easily included in the definition of "ghost." The second point works even if you hold the scientific method in great fault. With concluding what a "ghost" is and hence being able to construct a definition requires for most a reason that can be fairly debated and after still holding the greater likelihood of the current definition to be correct. While I have read and heard many definitions of "ghost," where the creator had no claim of connection to science, there has also been only subjective experiences, interpreted by the person making the definition. There is nothing specifically wrong with a person interpreting an experience, hey we all do it every day. There is however in my opinion something very wrong when this singular interpretation of an experience is then put forth as an indisputable fact that has only the one explanation.


Lastly whether you approach the definition of "ghost" with a stringent scientific method or completely subjective and metaphysical one, the specific and general understanding of what a "ghost" is or if a "ghost" even exists remains widely believed to be incomplete. In this reality how could we then make the supposition of defining something that remains unexplained or at best yet fully understood.