Saturday, March 28, 2009
Candia Cemetery
I took these today at the cemetery on High Street in Candia NH. Trees and limbs were down everywhere from all the storms this winter.
Utupian Society Using Meds?
"How to Change a Personality"
I found this article on the TIME site. It's about medicines that effect personalities, concentration, etc and how it may change our future. The possibilites that are being opened are pretty scary. It reminds me of some sort of freakish utopian society from a fiction novel (complete with the quirks and flaws that would inevitably be the downfall of society and ethics).
I found this article on the TIME site. It's about medicines that effect personalities, concentration, etc and how it may change our future. The possibilites that are being opened are pretty scary. It reminds me of some sort of freakish utopian society from a fiction novel (complete with the quirks and flaws that would inevitably be the downfall of society and ethics).
What Happens When We Die?
Distant Healing
I read an article on explorejournal.com today about a study that was done to test "distant healing". Basically, healing through the power of thought and sent energy. A group of couples were split up and categorized as a "sender" and a "receiver". The sender would lay in one room and concentrate on the receiver (in a different room) for a set period of time, repeated, with breaks of no concentration in between. The results actually came back with a positive change during the concentration periods.
I always knew that the power of thought could heal illness. But I always assumed it was just the will within the patient. It sheds a whole new light on prayer chains.
Link to article:
http://www.explorejournal.com/article/S1550-8307(08)00095-5/abstract
I always knew that the power of thought could heal illness. But I always assumed it was just the will within the patient. It sheds a whole new light on prayer chains.
Link to article:
http://www.explorejournal.com/article/S1550-8307(08)00095-5/abstract
Fireman dresses as Spider-Man to rescue boy
Thai Fireman Dresses as Spiderman to Rescue Boy
(associated press)
A Thai firefighter put on a Spiderman costume to rescue a superhero-loving autistic boy who climbed onto a third-floor balcony and dangled his legs over the side because he was nervous on his first day of school.
Somchai Yoosabai was called in after the 11-year-old boy's teachers and mother failed to coax him off the ledge on Monday, he said in a telephone interview Wednesday.
"He was nervous about the first day at school, and he was asking for his mother," Somchai said. "He cried and refused to let any of us get close to him."
Overhearing a conversation between the boy's mother and his teachers about his love for comics and superheros, Somchai rushed back to the fire station to change into a Spiderman costume before swinging into action.
"I told him Spiderman is here to save you. No monster will hurt you now," Somchai said. "Then I told him to walk slowly toward me. I was very nervous that he might have slipped if he got too excited and ran."
Somchai, who keeps costume of Spiderman and a Japanese superhero Ultraman to liven up fire drills at schools, said the teary-eyed boy broke into a smile and started walking into his arms.
The fictional hero was created by comic-writer Stan Lee in the early 1960s. The character regained its popularity in recent years thanks to the trilogy of Hollywood films starring Tobey McGuire and Kirsten Dunst.
(associated press)
A Thai firefighter put on a Spiderman costume to rescue a superhero-loving autistic boy who climbed onto a third-floor balcony and dangled his legs over the side because he was nervous on his first day of school.
Somchai Yoosabai was called in after the 11-year-old boy's teachers and mother failed to coax him off the ledge on Monday, he said in a telephone interview Wednesday.
"He was nervous about the first day at school, and he was asking for his mother," Somchai said. "He cried and refused to let any of us get close to him."
Overhearing a conversation between the boy's mother and his teachers about his love for comics and superheros, Somchai rushed back to the fire station to change into a Spiderman costume before swinging into action.
"I told him Spiderman is here to save you. No monster will hurt you now," Somchai said. "Then I told him to walk slowly toward me. I was very nervous that he might have slipped if he got too excited and ran."
Somchai, who keeps costume of Spiderman and a Japanese superhero Ultraman to liven up fire drills at schools, said the teary-eyed boy broke into a smile and started walking into his arms.
The fictional hero was created by comic-writer Stan Lee in the early 1960s. The character regained its popularity in recent years thanks to the trilogy of Hollywood films starring Tobey McGuire and Kirsten Dunst.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Salem NH Investigation
The investigation last weekend went pretty well. It was VERY close to being cancelled, but ended up working out.
We haven't gone over evidence yet, but did have some personal experiences. We heard what sounded like a box being dragged across the floor in a back room in the kitchen. It happened three or four times and we figured out it was not any of the equipment in the room or movement coming from another room. There was also some strange things going on with our K2 in the pool room, where there is supposed to be the most activity. Evidence review should be interesting.
My favorite part... Ashleigh and I started the night out with a dance party in the parking lot to "Last Dance" by Donna Summers and they made us free food from the kitchen around 3 in the morning. Hopefully I can get video up of the dancing.
We haven't gone over evidence yet, but did have some personal experiences. We heard what sounded like a box being dragged across the floor in a back room in the kitchen. It happened three or four times and we figured out it was not any of the equipment in the room or movement coming from another room. There was also some strange things going on with our K2 in the pool room, where there is supposed to be the most activity. Evidence review should be interesting.
My favorite part... Ashleigh and I started the night out with a dance party in the parking lot to "Last Dance" by Donna Summers and they made us free food from the kitchen around 3 in the morning. Hopefully I can get video up of the dancing.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Haunting in Connecticut movie
This article was posted on "Lost and Found Ohio"'s myspace blog. I'm not sure who originally wrote it.
SOUTHINGTON, Conn. - A Hollywood horror film that depicts the alleged haunting of a former funeral parlor in central Connecticut is turning into a nightmare for the home's current owners and their neighbors.
The movie, "A Haunting in Connecticut," doesn't open until Friday, but curious fans are already making a beeline for the Southington home that inspired the movie.
"It's just been really, really stressful," said Susan Trotta-Smith, who bought the home 10 years ago with her husband. "It's been a total change from a very quiet house in a very quiet neighborhood to looking out the window and seeing cars stopping all the time. It's been very, very stressful, and sometimes worrisome."
The family has never seen anything unusual inside their five-bedroom, two-family white wood-frame house and does not believe the property was haunted.
"It's got beautiful woodwork, and there is a nice warm feeling to the house," Trotta-Smith said. "Because it was a funeral home , the upstairs apartment is much more spacious. It's like two full houses , and it has a beautiful yard, too."
The movie, starring Virginia Madsen and Kyle Gallner and released by Lionsgate, is loosely based on stories that revolved around the house in the 1980s.
The residents at the time, the Snedeker family , claimed their son would hear strange noises in his basement bedroom, which once held casket displays and was near the old embalming room. He also claimed to see shadows on the wall of people who were not there. A niece visiting the home said she felt hands on her body as she tried to sleep, and her covers levitated.
The family brought in Ed and Lorraine Warren , self-described paranormal researchers, who became famous for documenting the alleged " Amityville Horror " haunting of a home on Long Island.
Lorraine Warren says she felt an evil presence in the Southington home and experienced the haunting herself when she spent a night there.
"In the master bedroom, there was a trap door where the coffins were brought up," she said. "And during the night, you would hear that chain hoist, as if a coffin were being brought up. But when Ed went to check, there was nobody down there."
Warren, whose husband died in 2006, has nothing to do with the movie. She said the house was "cleared" of the evil presence after a seance in 1988. A book and a television documentary followed.
The current owners, who rent out part of the home to another family, have removed the street number from the house and posted "no trespassing" signs. Trotta-Smith says they are concerned about the four children who live there.
"Most people are respectful. They stay on the road. They might take a picture," Trotta-Smith said. "But we have had a few problems with people kind of rudely coming up to the door and scaring our kids, telling them the house is haunted."
Police have added extra patrols to the neighborhood.
"There are creatures looming in the night but not inside the house," Southington police Sgt. Lowell DePalma said. "They happen to be people who are trespassing on the property, looking in windows and that kind of stuff. People are going to be disappointed. There are no ghosts."
Alison Taylor , 37, drove from her home in East Hartford with her camera after seeing a show about the haunting on the Discovery Channel and hearing about the new movie.
"I'm very intrigued," she said. "I figured since it was close, I could come. A lot of people are so skeptical, but I'm not. I'm sure some things are made up to make the movie look better, but I think it's great."
Katherine Altemus, who lives across the street, shoos curious onlookers away. She believes the ghost stories were a hoax.
"It's disgraceful," she said. "None of the haunting took place, and now it's ruining the lives of that wonderful young family that lives there."
Calls to the Snedeker family were returned by the film production company , who said they would attempt to arrange an interview.
Film producer Andrew Trapani said he believed the mother, Carmen Snedeker, was very credible, and believes the film does a good job depicting what her family went through. The movie was filmed in Teulon, Manitoba.
He said the names of the family and town in the film were fictionalized, in part to try and keep unwanted attention away from the real home. The Snedekers and Southington are identified on the film's Web site.
"We certainly didn't set out to upset anyone or have anyone show up at their home," he said. "I think in this case, this particular supernatural haunting had a much larger following than even I had anticipated."
Trotta-Smith said she's working with the police but has no plans to put up a fence. She said she just wants a normal life in the house, but she's not sure that will be possible if the movie becomes a big hit.
"I'm a little worried about this Halloween because I imagine that's when they will release the DVD and get everyone worked up again."
SOUTHINGTON, Conn. - A Hollywood horror film that depicts the alleged haunting of a former funeral parlor in central Connecticut is turning into a nightmare for the home's current owners and their neighbors.
The movie, "A Haunting in Connecticut," doesn't open until Friday, but curious fans are already making a beeline for the Southington home that inspired the movie.
"It's just been really, really stressful," said Susan Trotta-Smith, who bought the home 10 years ago with her husband. "It's been a total change from a very quiet house in a very quiet neighborhood to looking out the window and seeing cars stopping all the time. It's been very, very stressful, and sometimes worrisome."
The family has never seen anything unusual inside their five-bedroom, two-family white wood-frame house and does not believe the property was haunted.
"It's got beautiful woodwork, and there is a nice warm feeling to the house," Trotta-Smith said. "Because it was a funeral home , the upstairs apartment is much more spacious. It's like two full houses , and it has a beautiful yard, too."
The movie, starring Virginia Madsen and Kyle Gallner and released by Lionsgate, is loosely based on stories that revolved around the house in the 1980s.
The residents at the time, the Snedeker family , claimed their son would hear strange noises in his basement bedroom, which once held casket displays and was near the old embalming room. He also claimed to see shadows on the wall of people who were not there. A niece visiting the home said she felt hands on her body as she tried to sleep, and her covers levitated.
The family brought in Ed and Lorraine Warren , self-described paranormal researchers, who became famous for documenting the alleged " Amityville Horror " haunting of a home on Long Island.
Lorraine Warren says she felt an evil presence in the Southington home and experienced the haunting herself when she spent a night there.
"In the master bedroom, there was a trap door where the coffins were brought up," she said. "And during the night, you would hear that chain hoist, as if a coffin were being brought up. But when Ed went to check, there was nobody down there."
Warren, whose husband died in 2006, has nothing to do with the movie. She said the house was "cleared" of the evil presence after a seance in 1988. A book and a television documentary followed.
The current owners, who rent out part of the home to another family, have removed the street number from the house and posted "no trespassing" signs. Trotta-Smith says they are concerned about the four children who live there.
"Most people are respectful. They stay on the road. They might take a picture," Trotta-Smith said. "But we have had a few problems with people kind of rudely coming up to the door and scaring our kids, telling them the house is haunted."
Police have added extra patrols to the neighborhood.
"There are creatures looming in the night but not inside the house," Southington police Sgt. Lowell DePalma said. "They happen to be people who are trespassing on the property, looking in windows and that kind of stuff. People are going to be disappointed. There are no ghosts."
Alison Taylor , 37, drove from her home in East Hartford with her camera after seeing a show about the haunting on the Discovery Channel and hearing about the new movie.
"I'm very intrigued," she said. "I figured since it was close, I could come. A lot of people are so skeptical, but I'm not. I'm sure some things are made up to make the movie look better, but I think it's great."
Katherine Altemus, who lives across the street, shoos curious onlookers away. She believes the ghost stories were a hoax.
"It's disgraceful," she said. "None of the haunting took place, and now it's ruining the lives of that wonderful young family that lives there."
Calls to the Snedeker family were returned by the film production company , who said they would attempt to arrange an interview.
Film producer Andrew Trapani said he believed the mother, Carmen Snedeker, was very credible, and believes the film does a good job depicting what her family went through. The movie was filmed in Teulon, Manitoba.
He said the names of the family and town in the film were fictionalized, in part to try and keep unwanted attention away from the real home. The Snedekers and Southington are identified on the film's Web site.
"We certainly didn't set out to upset anyone or have anyone show up at their home," he said. "I think in this case, this particular supernatural haunting had a much larger following than even I had anticipated."
Trotta-Smith said she's working with the police but has no plans to put up a fence. She said she just wants a normal life in the house, but she's not sure that will be possible if the movie becomes a big hit.
"I'm a little worried about this Halloween because I imagine that's when they will release the DVD and get everyone worked up again."
Saturday, March 21, 2009
The Demonic Debate
Demonology intrigues the hell(no pun intended) out of me. I never really gave it a second thought until my group got involved with a case that had some history of "black magic" and "voodoo" and ended up getting some of the best evidence I could ever hope for (for more info on this case, I did write a blog about it caled "my favorite investigation so far"). Ever since then, I've been insanely interested but from a distance. I am extremely skeptical. I have been hunting ghosts ever since I was old enough to know what one is, and I have yet to see something that absolutely has proved to me that they exist. I don't claim any particular religion and have no real opinion on the reality of a heaven or hell. However, I do know it's not something I want to mess with. In my opinion, no one (or not many) know for absolute certain what happens when we die or what exists as far as Gods and Goddesses. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for anyone that has faith in religion. I'm just too stubborn. I guess I just want to see some kind of proof before I pick a side. At the same time, because no one knows for sure, I know that I need to tread with respect. And I think that's why "demons" have been on my mind so much lately. I'm so intrigued, but don't want to dig too deep and open up anything I can't handle or shouldn't be messing with, in case it IS all real.
Anyway, I came across this article and thought it was pretty interesting. Broad, but gives a good stance on both sides.
This article was taken from www.dw-world.de
**I do not agree or disagree with what they're saying, but demonology has been a pretty hot topic lately and this article did a pretty good job of covering both sides of the fence. **
The First College Course on Exorcism
by Megan Williams
The course is not quite as dramatic as Hollywood-style exorcism
The first college course on exorcism is being offered at a Catholic university in Italy. Already, priests from around the world are flocking to Rome to participate and study psychology, law and a history of satanism.
The university on the outskirts of Rome is about as far from Hogwarts as it gets. Sunshine streams in from a huge skylight above as a janitor pushes a broom across a slick, shiny floor and students mill about with coffee before making their way to class -- in black cassocks and dangling crosses.
Because beneath its modern veneer, the Vatican-backed Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University, or UPRA, is grappling with demons. For the first time, this conservative Catholic university is offering Exorcism 101 this year.
"People are experiencing these things more for various reasons, but they are starting more and more to come to the priest and say I need some help," said Father Christopher Barrack, a priest from Lincoln, Neb., who was sent to Rome by his bishop specifically to take the 8-week exorcism course.
In one room, Father Piedro Barahan is giving a lecture to a class of 80 students -- almost all men. Forget Bibles and rosaries. With the aid of his laptop computer and a microphone, Barahan gives a power-point presentation on the theology of demons. Another 50 or so students follow the lecture through videoconference links with three other Italian cities.
"Most of these people here are priests and most of them in their pastoral work deal with people who feel that they have a problem of possession and they don't know whether it's really supernatural or psychological," he said. "I think they want criteria with which they can distinguish if it's really the supernatural action of the devil or a psychological sickness."
Barahan is an expert on demons and satanic worship. It's an especially hot topic these days in Italy. A sensational murder case involving teenagers who practiced demonic worship and Satanic rituals has got the country worried about the spread of such cults, especially among young people. One Catholic sociologist who was a guest lecturer here claims these cults are on the rise, with up to 100,000 young people involved.
There's no proof to back up the claim, but the alarm is real. And if this crowded classroom is anything to go by, there's certainly interest in exorcism and the devil among Catholic priests.
Like many Catholics, Barahan is convinced that the devil is a real, very powerful entity and not simply a symbolic representation of evil. He's assisted in numerous exorcisms and says he's learned to tell when someone is truly possessed as opposed to mentally ill.
"This is not so easy, but we have signs," Barahan said. "For example, the aversion against religious objects -- a cross or a rosary or blessed water. Sometimes these people have a lot of strength, not natural strength, against these kinds of signs. Sometimes they speak languages without having studied them before. Sometimes they know the future of other people. So there's not one sign, but several signs, especially, psychologically. You have a lot of instability as if you have two souls in one body."
Barrack explains he isn't an exorcist himself -- only priests appointed by their bishop can conduct exorcisms -- but he said his parishioners back home do come to him for help with a range of battles against evil: Anything from special prayers against temptation to protection against strange noises in their homes. But, he cautions, it doesn't mean the devil has taken them over.
"Certainly there could be a lot of temptation and oppression from the devil on a person," he said. "That does not mean possession. Possession is when a devil actually takes control of the person and the person does not have its own free will, so the devil is using the person to speak and act without the person freely consenting to that. That would be possession."
Barrack also said he believes that the devil is behind some of the New Age and other alternative spirituality groups. Even parents can be involved.
"I've noticed, from some people they've said maybe one of their parents dedicated them to Satan when they were born," he said. "There are many satanic cults or Gnostic groups, some that are well-respected in society, but behind the scenes there is this connection with Satan."
But not all priests are so convinced. Father Gerry O'Collins is a renowned theologian at the Gregorian University in downtown Rome. He says there's a real danger in Catholics focusing too much on demons. He cites the witch hunts of the 16th century as an example of how people can get carried away.
"There's definitely a risk of people seeing the devil's hand all over the place and being superstitious," he said. "You can become caught up by that and even obsessed by it. And certainly official church leaders don't want freelance priests and others to play games. They want a wise old priest who's the official exorcist and who's skeptical and who knows what he's about and I think that's a happy situation."
O'Collins does believe that possessions can happen, but of all the people claiming to be possessed, most Catholic theologians estimated only a tiny number is the real thing.
"Yes, it can happen, but it's extremely rare," Collins said. "Maybe 2 percent of the cases you should take seriously."
For the dozens of priests who are following the exorcism course in Rome, that percentage is enough to study exorcism. And at the very least, Barahan said, priests can help people who are under the illusion they're possessed by getting them psychological help.
Anyway, I came across this article and thought it was pretty interesting. Broad, but gives a good stance on both sides.
This article was taken from www.dw-world.de
**I do not agree or disagree with what they're saying, but demonology has been a pretty hot topic lately and this article did a pretty good job of covering both sides of the fence. **
The First College Course on Exorcism
by Megan Williams
The course is not quite as dramatic as Hollywood-style exorcism
The first college course on exorcism is being offered at a Catholic university in Italy. Already, priests from around the world are flocking to Rome to participate and study psychology, law and a history of satanism.
The university on the outskirts of Rome is about as far from Hogwarts as it gets. Sunshine streams in from a huge skylight above as a janitor pushes a broom across a slick, shiny floor and students mill about with coffee before making their way to class -- in black cassocks and dangling crosses.
Because beneath its modern veneer, the Vatican-backed Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University, or UPRA, is grappling with demons. For the first time, this conservative Catholic university is offering Exorcism 101 this year.
"People are experiencing these things more for various reasons, but they are starting more and more to come to the priest and say I need some help," said Father Christopher Barrack, a priest from Lincoln, Neb., who was sent to Rome by his bishop specifically to take the 8-week exorcism course.
In one room, Father Piedro Barahan is giving a lecture to a class of 80 students -- almost all men. Forget Bibles and rosaries. With the aid of his laptop computer and a microphone, Barahan gives a power-point presentation on the theology of demons. Another 50 or so students follow the lecture through videoconference links with three other Italian cities.
"Most of these people here are priests and most of them in their pastoral work deal with people who feel that they have a problem of possession and they don't know whether it's really supernatural or psychological," he said. "I think they want criteria with which they can distinguish if it's really the supernatural action of the devil or a psychological sickness."
Barahan is an expert on demons and satanic worship. It's an especially hot topic these days in Italy. A sensational murder case involving teenagers who practiced demonic worship and Satanic rituals has got the country worried about the spread of such cults, especially among young people. One Catholic sociologist who was a guest lecturer here claims these cults are on the rise, with up to 100,000 young people involved.
There's no proof to back up the claim, but the alarm is real. And if this crowded classroom is anything to go by, there's certainly interest in exorcism and the devil among Catholic priests.
Like many Catholics, Barahan is convinced that the devil is a real, very powerful entity and not simply a symbolic representation of evil. He's assisted in numerous exorcisms and says he's learned to tell when someone is truly possessed as opposed to mentally ill.
"This is not so easy, but we have signs," Barahan said. "For example, the aversion against religious objects -- a cross or a rosary or blessed water. Sometimes these people have a lot of strength, not natural strength, against these kinds of signs. Sometimes they speak languages without having studied them before. Sometimes they know the future of other people. So there's not one sign, but several signs, especially, psychologically. You have a lot of instability as if you have two souls in one body."
Barrack explains he isn't an exorcist himself -- only priests appointed by their bishop can conduct exorcisms -- but he said his parishioners back home do come to him for help with a range of battles against evil: Anything from special prayers against temptation to protection against strange noises in their homes. But, he cautions, it doesn't mean the devil has taken them over.
"Certainly there could be a lot of temptation and oppression from the devil on a person," he said. "That does not mean possession. Possession is when a devil actually takes control of the person and the person does not have its own free will, so the devil is using the person to speak and act without the person freely consenting to that. That would be possession."
Barrack also said he believes that the devil is behind some of the New Age and other alternative spirituality groups. Even parents can be involved.
"I've noticed, from some people they've said maybe one of their parents dedicated them to Satan when they were born," he said. "There are many satanic cults or Gnostic groups, some that are well-respected in society, but behind the scenes there is this connection with Satan."
But not all priests are so convinced. Father Gerry O'Collins is a renowned theologian at the Gregorian University in downtown Rome. He says there's a real danger in Catholics focusing too much on demons. He cites the witch hunts of the 16th century as an example of how people can get carried away.
"There's definitely a risk of people seeing the devil's hand all over the place and being superstitious," he said. "You can become caught up by that and even obsessed by it. And certainly official church leaders don't want freelance priests and others to play games. They want a wise old priest who's the official exorcist and who's skeptical and who knows what he's about and I think that's a happy situation."
O'Collins does believe that possessions can happen, but of all the people claiming to be possessed, most Catholic theologians estimated only a tiny number is the real thing.
"Yes, it can happen, but it's extremely rare," Collins said. "Maybe 2 percent of the cases you should take seriously."
For the dozens of priests who are following the exorcism course in Rome, that percentage is enough to study exorcism. And at the very least, Barahan said, priests can help people who are under the illusion they're possessed by getting them psychological help.
Tonight's Investigation in Salem, NH
Tonight I'm investigating a restaurant in Salem NH with my group New Hampshire Paranormal. The bar area is open until 1am, so we'll be getting a late start, probably around 2 or 3.
And I have to work tomorrow morning. I'm going to be exhausted.
And I have to work tomorrow morning. I'm going to be exhausted.
Radford Lecture
This Article was found on the "UFO Digest" website and was originally posted on the Buffalo University site.
Making ghosts of mysteries
ELI GEORGE - Staff Writer
Just as its name proclaims, the Center for Inquiry is a place for rationality and critical questions. That rationality was put to the test Friday when seemingly radical theories on the paranormal became the center's focus, at least for one evening.
For a lecture titled "Applying Science to the Paranormal," writer and investigator Ben Radford brought his critical attitude to psychics, Bigfoot, and a Lancaster home that was reported to be haunted.
Radford works for the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal and has been in the paranormal business for 10 years, during eight of which he operated in Buffalo.
Though the presentation may have sounded like it was meant to utilize science in paranormal research, it was really just the opposite: using science to undercut the unfounded and irrational beliefs of certain myths. Radford himself even displayed this idea with the pin on his shirt, reading "The Real Ghostbusters."
At the very start Radford said, "The theme tonight is evidence and the illusion of evidence."
Radford went on to explain that evidence is something tangible and scientific, something that can be measured and explained.
For an example of the illusion of evidence, he started with his mother's idea that deaths come in threes. After Princess Diana and Mother Theresa died, she wondered who would be next. This notion, though, is ridiculous, Radford said, because anyone could be the third to which his mother responded that it had to be someone well known and beloved. He noted that Jimmy Stewart had died a few weeks prior to Mother Theresa.
If the criteria are not predefined, it is not really evidence. Why not make it deaths come in four, ten and twenties?
After getting his main point across, Radford began with psychics, naming names like Sylvia Brown of the "Montel" show as examples of famous clairvoyants he feels are deceptive. He said that psychics' contradictory and vague feelings are not information.
"What's amazing is how consistently they're wrong," Radford said.
Using examples from missing person's cases, such as Elizabeth Smart and Chandra Levy, Radford explained how thousands of psychics offered their help. However, none of them were right, and he feels they waste police resources by having them follow unreliable and unhelpful leads.
"If people (psychics) truly know where people are, why haven't we found Osama Bin Laden?" said Radford.
The next target for Radford's objective and critical approach was Bigfoot. He had molds of footprints and lots of popular pictures, such as the Bigfoot who sells Spam, as examples of how the legend exists in the media and in peoples' minds. Radford then took the time to go through all of the well-known eyewitness testimonials and the few pictures and tangible evidence that exist.
Many were proved at some point or another to be a hoax, but most are at the very least highly suspect. His biggest point of proof was that there has never been any Bigfoot hair, bones, teeth, blood or bodies found, ever. No Bigfoot has ever been hit by a car, no body found in the woods or a river, and nobody has accidentally shot one either.
"There is no lack of evidence, just a lack of good evidence," Radford said.
Last, he talked about a haunted house in Lancaster he investigated in 2003. Radford received a call from the residence of the home and he drove out there to decipher the meanings behind their evidence. They had weird creaking footsteps, strange voices, weird photographs, and the husband of the household thought the ghost had kicked his bed.
Radford went through their home and discovered that they just had a very squeaky staircase, the wind carried voices in from the street, and that the photographs were merely tricks of the light.
As for the kicking, it was due to one of the living resident's sleep apnea and a very light bed frame holding that large man. Radford's rationalized theory said that movement from the resident's body could cause the frame to move.
"I went through it one by one with them. In each case, there was a logical explanation for it. The devil is in the details with these sorts of mysteries," Radford said.
Another mystery debunked.
Robert Matecki, 48, works in the mental health profession in Buffalo. Though he enjoyed the lecture he said, "I was expecting more case studies."
Ben Marsh, a sophomore physics major said he also hoped for a bit more, particularly stuff that would give him reason to believe in paranormal mysteries.
"I thought he was a great lecturer," Marsh said. "I was a little disappointed. He only made me non-believe more."
Making ghosts of mysteries
ELI GEORGE - Staff Writer
Just as its name proclaims, the Center for Inquiry is a place for rationality and critical questions. That rationality was put to the test Friday when seemingly radical theories on the paranormal became the center's focus, at least for one evening.
For a lecture titled "Applying Science to the Paranormal," writer and investigator Ben Radford brought his critical attitude to psychics, Bigfoot, and a Lancaster home that was reported to be haunted.
Radford works for the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal and has been in the paranormal business for 10 years, during eight of which he operated in Buffalo.
Though the presentation may have sounded like it was meant to utilize science in paranormal research, it was really just the opposite: using science to undercut the unfounded and irrational beliefs of certain myths. Radford himself even displayed this idea with the pin on his shirt, reading "The Real Ghostbusters."
At the very start Radford said, "The theme tonight is evidence and the illusion of evidence."
Radford went on to explain that evidence is something tangible and scientific, something that can be measured and explained.
For an example of the illusion of evidence, he started with his mother's idea that deaths come in threes. After Princess Diana and Mother Theresa died, she wondered who would be next. This notion, though, is ridiculous, Radford said, because anyone could be the third to which his mother responded that it had to be someone well known and beloved. He noted that Jimmy Stewart had died a few weeks prior to Mother Theresa.
If the criteria are not predefined, it is not really evidence. Why not make it deaths come in four, ten and twenties?
After getting his main point across, Radford began with psychics, naming names like Sylvia Brown of the "Montel" show as examples of famous clairvoyants he feels are deceptive. He said that psychics' contradictory and vague feelings are not information.
"What's amazing is how consistently they're wrong," Radford said.
Using examples from missing person's cases, such as Elizabeth Smart and Chandra Levy, Radford explained how thousands of psychics offered their help. However, none of them were right, and he feels they waste police resources by having them follow unreliable and unhelpful leads.
"If people (psychics) truly know where people are, why haven't we found Osama Bin Laden?" said Radford.
The next target for Radford's objective and critical approach was Bigfoot. He had molds of footprints and lots of popular pictures, such as the Bigfoot who sells Spam, as examples of how the legend exists in the media and in peoples' minds. Radford then took the time to go through all of the well-known eyewitness testimonials and the few pictures and tangible evidence that exist.
Many were proved at some point or another to be a hoax, but most are at the very least highly suspect. His biggest point of proof was that there has never been any Bigfoot hair, bones, teeth, blood or bodies found, ever. No Bigfoot has ever been hit by a car, no body found in the woods or a river, and nobody has accidentally shot one either.
"There is no lack of evidence, just a lack of good evidence," Radford said.
Last, he talked about a haunted house in Lancaster he investigated in 2003. Radford received a call from the residence of the home and he drove out there to decipher the meanings behind their evidence. They had weird creaking footsteps, strange voices, weird photographs, and the husband of the household thought the ghost had kicked his bed.
Radford went through their home and discovered that they just had a very squeaky staircase, the wind carried voices in from the street, and that the photographs were merely tricks of the light.
As for the kicking, it was due to one of the living resident's sleep apnea and a very light bed frame holding that large man. Radford's rationalized theory said that movement from the resident's body could cause the frame to move.
"I went through it one by one with them. In each case, there was a logical explanation for it. The devil is in the details with these sorts of mysteries," Radford said.
Another mystery debunked.
Robert Matecki, 48, works in the mental health profession in Buffalo. Though he enjoyed the lecture he said, "I was expecting more case studies."
Ben Marsh, a sophomore physics major said he also hoped for a bit more, particularly stuff that would give him reason to believe in paranormal mysteries.
"I thought he was a great lecturer," Marsh said. "I was a little disappointed. He only made me non-believe more."
Sunday, March 15, 2009
I saw this article on "Vivid Dreams" on yahoo.com today. I thought it was kind of interesting...
What Causes Vivid Dreams?
By: Molly Mann
Recently, I went through a period of having nightly dreams that were so vivid and frightening that I would wake up in a battle stance against my imaginary attackers, only to find my cat staring at me like she desperately wanted a new owner. Nightmares are one thing, but these were so lifelike, it took me a while to separate the dream from reality after waking. I still recall each sensory detail of those dreams in all their horror.
We spend about six years of our life dreaming and have accumulated much lore about what those dreams mean, but scientists who focus on oneirology—the study of dreams—still know very little about the actual process of dreaming. We do know that they arise from Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, in which the brain is as active as it is when the body is awake. Sometimes these dreams are extremely vivid, so much so that the dreamer often has trouble understanding that he or she is not actually awake.
Vivid dreams can be either pleasant or frightening. They have a variety of potential causes, from deeper systematic woes to simpler dietary hiccups. Provided they are not associated with any adverse health effects, vivid dreams can be a tool for achieving more lucid dreams and increased awareness while dreaming.
You Should See Your Doctor If …
You notice symptoms of bipolar disorder or diabetes, since both of these conditions may cause vivid dreaming. Both interrupt REM sleep and therefore affect the body’s ability to separate dreams from waking perceptions. The same effect can occur from taking depression medication, sleep medication, and some over-the-counter drugs. If you notice a recent development of abnormal dreaming associated with a change in your health, it is a good idea to see your doctor to rule out any of these possibilities.
Expecting More Than Work Tomorrow?
Many pregnant women experience vivid dreams, both pleasant and disturbing. Researchers have concluded that these dreams are a way for expectant mothers to prepare for the huge life changes that will accompany their child’s birth.
Women have reported dreams of cutting their stomachs open to pull the baby out before it comes to term, delivering deformed children or beasts, or being caught unprepared for motherhood once their babies are born. There is no reason
to believe these dreams are prophetic or in any way based in reality. They are simply the result of hormonal changes and the need to discharge fears surrounding the anticipated event of birth. It may be helpful to speak to a support group of other pregnant women, mothers, your partner, or a therapist about these fears, but they are completely normal.
The Link Between Diet and Dreams
You’ve probably heard that spicy or fatty foods can give you nightmares, but the link between food and sleep goes beyond that. Vivid dreams are a symptom of a vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) excess in the body and can be a warning sign of more complex
neurological disorders if over ingestion is continued. Most cases of vitamin B6 excess are due to supplements; limit intake to 100 milligrams (mg) or less per day to avoid toxicity.
Low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, is another cause of vivid dreams. When the brain senses that glucose levels are low, it will do strange things to get stored glucose into the blood stream. One way it does so is through adrenaline spurts. If your vivid dreams are accompanied by a feeling of being “wired” (if, like me, you find yourself doing ninja kicks around your bedroom at those pesky alien invaders), it likely stems from a blood sugar issue. I solved my problem by adding more protein to my diet, especially before going to sleep. It keeps my glucose levels regulated throughout the night and I sleep much more peacefully.
Take Control with Lucid Dreaming
The problem with vivid dreams is separating them from waking reality. However, the practice of lucid dreaming, in which you become increasingly aware of your dreams until you actually develop the ability to control them, may offer a solution that doesn’t stem from any of the root causes listed above. Oneironauts, or lucid dreamers, train themselves to alter their dream experiences to include flight, exotic travel, delicious tastes, and any other vivid experiences they desire. Researchers at the Lucidity Institute at Stanford University have developed a Super NovaDreamer kit that helps you recognize “dream signs” or signals that tell you that you’re dreaming. With practice, you learn to recognize and manipulate these dream signs to dictate the elements that will appear in your dream. It’s like a virtual reality game in your head.
Dreams come in all varieties, from the simply satisfying to the seriously scary. Most of the time, we don’t even remember having dreamt, but many people experience dreams so vivid that they spill over into the next day, blurring the edges of reality. After ruling out a more systematic cause of vivid dreams like diet or disease, you might be interested in taking the next step and playing around with how you can take advantage of this other dream world.
What Causes Vivid Dreams?
By: Molly Mann
Recently, I went through a period of having nightly dreams that were so vivid and frightening that I would wake up in a battle stance against my imaginary attackers, only to find my cat staring at me like she desperately wanted a new owner. Nightmares are one thing, but these were so lifelike, it took me a while to separate the dream from reality after waking. I still recall each sensory detail of those dreams in all their horror.
We spend about six years of our life dreaming and have accumulated much lore about what those dreams mean, but scientists who focus on oneirology—the study of dreams—still know very little about the actual process of dreaming. We do know that they arise from Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, in which the brain is as active as it is when the body is awake. Sometimes these dreams are extremely vivid, so much so that the dreamer often has trouble understanding that he or she is not actually awake.
Vivid dreams can be either pleasant or frightening. They have a variety of potential causes, from deeper systematic woes to simpler dietary hiccups. Provided they are not associated with any adverse health effects, vivid dreams can be a tool for achieving more lucid dreams and increased awareness while dreaming.
You Should See Your Doctor If …
You notice symptoms of bipolar disorder or diabetes, since both of these conditions may cause vivid dreaming. Both interrupt REM sleep and therefore affect the body’s ability to separate dreams from waking perceptions. The same effect can occur from taking depression medication, sleep medication, and some over-the-counter drugs. If you notice a recent development of abnormal dreaming associated with a change in your health, it is a good idea to see your doctor to rule out any of these possibilities.
Expecting More Than Work Tomorrow?
Many pregnant women experience vivid dreams, both pleasant and disturbing. Researchers have concluded that these dreams are a way for expectant mothers to prepare for the huge life changes that will accompany their child’s birth.
Women have reported dreams of cutting their stomachs open to pull the baby out before it comes to term, delivering deformed children or beasts, or being caught unprepared for motherhood once their babies are born. There is no reason
to believe these dreams are prophetic or in any way based in reality. They are simply the result of hormonal changes and the need to discharge fears surrounding the anticipated event of birth. It may be helpful to speak to a support group of other pregnant women, mothers, your partner, or a therapist about these fears, but they are completely normal.
The Link Between Diet and Dreams
You’ve probably heard that spicy or fatty foods can give you nightmares, but the link between food and sleep goes beyond that. Vivid dreams are a symptom of a vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) excess in the body and can be a warning sign of more complex
neurological disorders if over ingestion is continued. Most cases of vitamin B6 excess are due to supplements; limit intake to 100 milligrams (mg) or less per day to avoid toxicity.
Low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, is another cause of vivid dreams. When the brain senses that glucose levels are low, it will do strange things to get stored glucose into the blood stream. One way it does so is through adrenaline spurts. If your vivid dreams are accompanied by a feeling of being “wired” (if, like me, you find yourself doing ninja kicks around your bedroom at those pesky alien invaders), it likely stems from a blood sugar issue. I solved my problem by adding more protein to my diet, especially before going to sleep. It keeps my glucose levels regulated throughout the night and I sleep much more peacefully.
Take Control with Lucid Dreaming
The problem with vivid dreams is separating them from waking reality. However, the practice of lucid dreaming, in which you become increasingly aware of your dreams until you actually develop the ability to control them, may offer a solution that doesn’t stem from any of the root causes listed above. Oneironauts, or lucid dreamers, train themselves to alter their dream experiences to include flight, exotic travel, delicious tastes, and any other vivid experiences they desire. Researchers at the Lucidity Institute at Stanford University have developed a Super NovaDreamer kit that helps you recognize “dream signs” or signals that tell you that you’re dreaming. With practice, you learn to recognize and manipulate these dream signs to dictate the elements that will appear in your dream. It’s like a virtual reality game in your head.
Dreams come in all varieties, from the simply satisfying to the seriously scary. Most of the time, we don’t even remember having dreamt, but many people experience dreams so vivid that they spill over into the next day, blurring the edges of reality. After ruling out a more systematic cause of vivid dreams like diet or disease, you might be interested in taking the next step and playing around with how you can take advantage of this other dream world.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
My favorite investigation so far....
A few months ago, we investigated a private residence in Nashua NH. From the beginning, we knew it was going to be an interesting case. With experiences of mangled full body apparitions, growling, scratching, flying objects and voices, everything seemed to point to the possibility of a demonic entity. The client had some family history of voodoo and "black magic" and had received a demonic name through a Ouija board at one point. She had tried to do a blessing on her house with holy water and it only seemed to intensify the activity. I'm extremely skeptical so I took everything I was told with a grain of salt, but there was no denying the negative feeling inside the house.
While setting up, I picked up the small bottle of holy water that we keep in our kit (just in case) and eyed one of the other investigators. As soon as the bottle was in my hand, the client called from the other room that she had a really bad feeling about all of this. She said that all of a sudden, she had a heavy feeling of dread and her heart started beating rapidly. One of my investigators had her sit down and got her some water. I put the holy water back into the kit and as soon as it left my hand, she took a deep breath and said that it had passed. We told her it was probably just anxiety from everything that was going on and left it at that.
We had everything pretty much ready to go when we noticed on our monitor that one of our cameras had fallen. The camera was in one of the bedrooms, duct taped to a shelf in a closet. Falling cameras can happen. There are knobs in two places that help to adjust the angles of the camera. If you don't tighten the knobs after adjusting, it will very very slowly tilt down and then the weight of the camera will just bring it down. So Liz went up to retape it and make sure that everything was tightened. When I came up with some more duct tape, she told me that as she was holding the camera in place, it felt like someone was ripping the camera out of her hands. We had an extra handy cam, so we set it up on the other side of the room, facing the IR camera so that if it happened again, we could pin point why it was happening.
Naturally for the first round of investigating, Liz and I took that bedroom. After about ten minutes of asking some questions and getting a feel for the room, I asked "If that was you that moved our camera, could you give us some kind of sign that you're here. But... can you not touch our cameras because they're really expensive?!" As soon as I said it we heard "RRRRRRRRRRIPPPPPPPP" and the camera came FLYING off the shelf and then dangled by the cord. Now, I've seen cameras come untaped and fall, but this was nothing like that. When I went back and listened to the audio from it, you hear me take the biggest gasping breath and I'm pretty sure you could probably hear my heart beating out of my chest. Liz and I didn't even move. We just looked at the camera and then at each other in silence. After we had a minute to collect ourselves, we turned on the light and examined where the camera had once been taped. We checked to see if maybe the shelf wasn't level and the weight of the camera had somehow caused it to come down, or for a piece of tape that may have ripped. But we found nothing. In fact, the shelf was actually uneven, but in the opposite direction that the camera had fallen. So it would've had to have pulled somewhat against gravity when it came down.
We debated even putting the camera back up, those things do not come cheap. But finally we retaped it in the same spot, but made sure to go extremely heavy on the tape and triple check all of the knobs. This is the picture I took of the base of the camera to prove that we had used enough tape to hold it down:
After a about a half an hour, Ashleigh (one of our lead investigators) came into our room and told us that we had to hear something. Her and Darin were doing evp work in the bedroom next to us and every time they would ask a question, they would hear a distinct growl answer back. Ashleigh was acutally almost to the point of tears. She said she had never heard anything like it. So I went into the room with Darin, and Ashleigh stayed with Liz in our room. I sat for a few moments while he asked questions, but for some reason, we could no longer hear it.
Liz decided to have a sort of group meeting, so we called everyone into the flying camera room and updated the group on what had been going on. We turned the lights on and quietly discussed all the experiences we were having, while I rewound the handy cam to see what we had caught when the camera flew. Not even five minutes of us all being in there, we heard it again. The camera had once again ripped, had almost hit Darin in the head, and was dangling from its cord. At this point, I wish we had taken the hint that this thing did not want to be taped.
Throughout the rest of the night, we all had some little personal experiences. Whistling, a few voices, some scratching, but for the most part it was pretty mellow. We packed up quickly and didn't mention to the client the experiences we had had. We wanted to look over the evidence first to rule out anything obvious before breaking the news to her that she really did have something going on in her house.
I was laid off at the time and extremely anxious to see what we had caught, so I brought home the DVR (the computer system that records what we capture from the IR cameras) and hooked it up to my t.v. as soon as I got home. But when I plugged it in, it wouldn't work. The red light that lights up when the DVR is turned on was now flashing (which I had never seen). I tried a different AC adapter, but still got nothing. So mad. So the next day I brought the DVR back to Liz's house and tried it there, still nothing. We went to radio shack and had the guy that worked there try a few power cords, but nothing would work. We called the manufacturer and we still had a warranty, so we sent it back to be looked at. The next day the guy called and told us that we had lost EVERYTHING. He said that when he opened up the computer, everything inside was melted. Literally melted.
That day was definitely one of the worst days of NHP. Not only did we lose the evidence from that investigation, but everything from the past six months. We had plenty of room left on the hard drive, so we hadn't gotten around to dumping each case onto a disc. Not only that, but I was scheduled to do a presentation at a high school the next day and now I had nothing to show them. Luckily, we were still covered under our warranty as far as getting everything fixed, but we were heartbroken.
The night was not a total loss. We did have to cancel the presentation, and lost a lot of video evidence, but we caught some of the best audio I have ever heard. On Kerrie's (investigator)voice recorder, you hear her say "I'm not very happy with whoever you are, you're scaring the little kids that live here." Clear as day, a little boy voice answers back "We didn't do anything!". A few minutes later, you actually hear the duct tape ripping from the camera upstairs and the little boy says "That's in my sister's room!". About twenty minutes later, Kerrie is having a conversation with the other investigator in the room and the entire time she is talking, you hear an extremely deep voice in the background. I couldn't make out what it was saying because Kerrie is talking too. We need to get some audio software that will lift her voice. Liz swears she hears "Shut the f--- up or I'll go in you.", but I'm still skeptical of it. No matter what voice recorder you listen to throughout the night, you can constantly hear growls, scratches, whistles and children laughing and singing. At the very end of the night, Liz actually fell asleep in one of the rooms and began to snore and you can actually hear little kids laughing at her snoring.
We were supposed to go back to the house last weekend, but the client ended up cancelling because her kids were sick. I can't wait to return to this house, but I don't know if I want to risk melting another hard drive...
While setting up, I picked up the small bottle of holy water that we keep in our kit (just in case) and eyed one of the other investigators. As soon as the bottle was in my hand, the client called from the other room that she had a really bad feeling about all of this. She said that all of a sudden, she had a heavy feeling of dread and her heart started beating rapidly. One of my investigators had her sit down and got her some water. I put the holy water back into the kit and as soon as it left my hand, she took a deep breath and said that it had passed. We told her it was probably just anxiety from everything that was going on and left it at that.
We had everything pretty much ready to go when we noticed on our monitor that one of our cameras had fallen. The camera was in one of the bedrooms, duct taped to a shelf in a closet. Falling cameras can happen. There are knobs in two places that help to adjust the angles of the camera. If you don't tighten the knobs after adjusting, it will very very slowly tilt down and then the weight of the camera will just bring it down. So Liz went up to retape it and make sure that everything was tightened. When I came up with some more duct tape, she told me that as she was holding the camera in place, it felt like someone was ripping the camera out of her hands. We had an extra handy cam, so we set it up on the other side of the room, facing the IR camera so that if it happened again, we could pin point why it was happening.
Naturally for the first round of investigating, Liz and I took that bedroom. After about ten minutes of asking some questions and getting a feel for the room, I asked "If that was you that moved our camera, could you give us some kind of sign that you're here. But... can you not touch our cameras because they're really expensive?!" As soon as I said it we heard "RRRRRRRRRRIPPPPPPPP" and the camera came FLYING off the shelf and then dangled by the cord. Now, I've seen cameras come untaped and fall, but this was nothing like that. When I went back and listened to the audio from it, you hear me take the biggest gasping breath and I'm pretty sure you could probably hear my heart beating out of my chest. Liz and I didn't even move. We just looked at the camera and then at each other in silence. After we had a minute to collect ourselves, we turned on the light and examined where the camera had once been taped. We checked to see if maybe the shelf wasn't level and the weight of the camera had somehow caused it to come down, or for a piece of tape that may have ripped. But we found nothing. In fact, the shelf was actually uneven, but in the opposite direction that the camera had fallen. So it would've had to have pulled somewhat against gravity when it came down.
We debated even putting the camera back up, those things do not come cheap. But finally we retaped it in the same spot, but made sure to go extremely heavy on the tape and triple check all of the knobs. This is the picture I took of the base of the camera to prove that we had used enough tape to hold it down:
After a about a half an hour, Ashleigh (one of our lead investigators) came into our room and told us that we had to hear something. Her and Darin were doing evp work in the bedroom next to us and every time they would ask a question, they would hear a distinct growl answer back. Ashleigh was acutally almost to the point of tears. She said she had never heard anything like it. So I went into the room with Darin, and Ashleigh stayed with Liz in our room. I sat for a few moments while he asked questions, but for some reason, we could no longer hear it.
Liz decided to have a sort of group meeting, so we called everyone into the flying camera room and updated the group on what had been going on. We turned the lights on and quietly discussed all the experiences we were having, while I rewound the handy cam to see what we had caught when the camera flew. Not even five minutes of us all being in there, we heard it again. The camera had once again ripped, had almost hit Darin in the head, and was dangling from its cord. At this point, I wish we had taken the hint that this thing did not want to be taped.
Throughout the rest of the night, we all had some little personal experiences. Whistling, a few voices, some scratching, but for the most part it was pretty mellow. We packed up quickly and didn't mention to the client the experiences we had had. We wanted to look over the evidence first to rule out anything obvious before breaking the news to her that she really did have something going on in her house.
I was laid off at the time and extremely anxious to see what we had caught, so I brought home the DVR (the computer system that records what we capture from the IR cameras) and hooked it up to my t.v. as soon as I got home. But when I plugged it in, it wouldn't work. The red light that lights up when the DVR is turned on was now flashing (which I had never seen). I tried a different AC adapter, but still got nothing. So mad. So the next day I brought the DVR back to Liz's house and tried it there, still nothing. We went to radio shack and had the guy that worked there try a few power cords, but nothing would work. We called the manufacturer and we still had a warranty, so we sent it back to be looked at. The next day the guy called and told us that we had lost EVERYTHING. He said that when he opened up the computer, everything inside was melted. Literally melted.
That day was definitely one of the worst days of NHP. Not only did we lose the evidence from that investigation, but everything from the past six months. We had plenty of room left on the hard drive, so we hadn't gotten around to dumping each case onto a disc. Not only that, but I was scheduled to do a presentation at a high school the next day and now I had nothing to show them. Luckily, we were still covered under our warranty as far as getting everything fixed, but we were heartbroken.
The night was not a total loss. We did have to cancel the presentation, and lost a lot of video evidence, but we caught some of the best audio I have ever heard. On Kerrie's (investigator)voice recorder, you hear her say "I'm not very happy with whoever you are, you're scaring the little kids that live here." Clear as day, a little boy voice answers back "We didn't do anything!". A few minutes later, you actually hear the duct tape ripping from the camera upstairs and the little boy says "That's in my sister's room!". About twenty minutes later, Kerrie is having a conversation with the other investigator in the room and the entire time she is talking, you hear an extremely deep voice in the background. I couldn't make out what it was saying because Kerrie is talking too. We need to get some audio software that will lift her voice. Liz swears she hears "Shut the f--- up or I'll go in you.", but I'm still skeptical of it. No matter what voice recorder you listen to throughout the night, you can constantly hear growls, scratches, whistles and children laughing and singing. At the very end of the night, Liz actually fell asleep in one of the rooms and began to snore and you can actually hear little kids laughing at her snoring.
We were supposed to go back to the house last weekend, but the client ended up cancelling because her kids were sick. I can't wait to return to this house, but I don't know if I want to risk melting another hard drive...
Private Residence in Amherst, NH
These pictures were taken during an investigation of a private residence in Amherst, NH. The house was built above granite quarries that were mined at one point in time. The clients have experienced strange noises, voices, shadow figures, smells, and even a "ghost cat". While we were there we didn't have any major personal experiences and didn't seem to pick anything up on the infrared cameras. When we went back and listened to the audio, however, we found an evp of a very deep voice telling us to "GET OUT". Original, I know. It was definitely strange how loud it came through though. The voice recorder was in an upstairs bedroom and captured while we were on a break downstairs. Here are some pictures of us just setting up and sort of messing around before the actual investigation:
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
I wish that if people are going to spread rumors about me, they'd at least get them right. It's not like I don't do enough embarrassing, stupid shit on my own. There's really no reason to make stuff up when the truth is way jucier (and sketchier).
On that note....
What a good first entry. Brings me back to my livejournal days....
On that note....
What a good first entry. Brings me back to my livejournal days....
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