Debunk Paranormal

As I look at the paranormal field I see a separation. We have Researchers, those that are seeking answers daily, studying equipment, learning the human faults,  discovering natural causes often mistaken for paranormal. They dissect pictures learning what causes mists and orbs, they look at camera settings and experiment so they understand strange light streaks aren’t paranormal. They see how a shadow is caused and how the human mind can become confused. They learn about plumbing and home inspection so they know what can cause moans, groans, creaks, screams and mistaken footsteps. They understand water hammer and how a faucet that turns on is not a demon. They learn about naturally and manmade air currents in a home. They study toxins both in the home and in the ground, water and air surrounding a home. They learn about molds and how they can affect the human mind. They study sleep disorders and how often they are misinterpreted as paranormal. They study infrasound and what they can do to your brain. They study emf’s and the effects thought to be caused. They are looking at new methods to try and find answers they do not know yet. They are looking for the truth and not willing to call the unknown paranormal without first looking deeper.

We also have Enthusiasts, those out for fun, who don’t bother to learn equipment, they watch paranormal tv shows and think they are real and base their investigations off them. They use wrong camera settings, poor investigative procedures.  If they don’t understand something it becomes paranormal without any further study. They take pictures of glass and mirrors and call it demons.  They think mists and orbs are paranormal and don’t want to learn they are not because they saw it on tv. They will tell a client they are haunted when in reality it’s a poor investigation. They find paranormal at most investigations because the television shows told them they should. They post garbage photos and do not want to know the truth and will even get mad when you try and explain it to them. They do this for a rush or thrill. They lack common sense and do not want it to spoil their fantasy world. They post the poor photography, they post radio voices, they catch hundreds of evp’s only they seem to understand. They walk around with cellphones on in their pockets and are shocked when the KII goes off. They have no idea what new house effect or corner eye phenomenon is. So once again which one are you? They are also the greatest number  making up the paranormal field. 

I was kind of surprised when I saw people talking about paranormal wind. I guess first I would like to know how you would know it’s a paranormal wind? I also was surprised to see talk of using a firefly wind detector to test wind in an air tight location.  None of us would ever investigate an air tight location unless of course some science center reported a haunting.

Every home and building we investigate will have air currents, there is no air tight location. Every time a door opens or closes air in the home moves. A person walking creates air currents in a building. Your home moves air every time a furnace or air conditioner kicks on. Homes have chimneys, these have air currents, a temperature difference outside a home will cause air currents inside a home.  These same temperature changes occur naturally in homes with the basement being cooler then the upper floors, THIS CREATES AN AIR CURRENT!   The direction of the flow depends on the temperatures. If inside temperature is higher than outside temperature, inside air density is less than outside air density, and inside air will flow up and out of the upper parts of the building. Cold outside air will flow into the lower parts of the building.

If outside temperature is higher than inside air temperature - the air flow will be in the opposite direction.

Did you know most places have small air leaks around electrical outlets, baseboards, dryer vents, pipe and cable penetrations, attic hatchways, and ceiling light fixtures. So once again first understand naturally occurring wind before you call it paranormal wind.

Now knowing this information why not instead of a firefly get a Thermal Leak Detector they can be picked up for around $40.00 then learn how to use it. Start by setting a reference temperature by pointing the device at an inside wall, and hitting the "set" button.  Then scan the sensor along a surface. When it hits a cold or hot spot, the LED light changes from green to red (hot) or blue (cold). The surface temperature is also displayed on the screen.

How about you teams that are on a tight budget? You can detect air currents with incense. (just be careful not to burn anything.) Hold a burning incense stick around electrical outlets and baseboards to test for air flow that hurts energy efficiency. Such an air current will cause the smoke from the incense stick to waver in response. You can get more accurate results from such a test by closing all fireplace flues, windows, and doors, shutting off furnaces, air conditioners and water heaters. Now if your like me I can’t stand the smell of most incense so you can buy an unscented, 100 sticks for under $5.00.

So before you call something paranormal wind make sure the wind your catching isn’t naturally occurring.

It seems the latest claims of paranormal are captured using laser grids. These are nothing more then laser pointers with beam splitters attached when rotated cause a grid like appearance.

Now lets look a little deeper at these wonderful pieces of equipment. First they are dangerous if pointed towards your eyes and can cause permanent damage to them.

Now lets look at the equipment. They are powered by two aaa battery's they have a button on top that must have a sleeve slid over to hold it down. Now what misperception can they cause? They create a great deal of heat at the diode. So right away I recommend adding a cooling system such as a fan or a heat sync. Now why? As they heat up some overheat in as little as 5 minutes, the grid can fade, or partially disappear. hey can also shut off from overheating. Does it do it predictably? No. This can occur from 5 minutes to 25 minutes to not at all. Now if you have a portion of the grid disappear is it a ghost?

Lets look at one more often over looked part of the grid. Its used in the dark, its a form of light. The camera monitoring it is watching the grid not the laser. What is attracted to light? Insects, as an insect flys or lands on the laser they can partially block a portion of the grid. Is this often misinterpreted as a ghost? So once again go outside at night and test your grid but this time have one more camera watching your laser to see if insects are what you are catching.

Remember as we come up with new equipment to use during investigations we also need to take time to see what can give you a false reading.

Why use a grid? What does a grid do? It creates bright spots and dark spots, something the paranormal field doesn't need more distortion for our minds to get confused over.

I see so much mis-use of this tool. I see some people set the pencil on a table then be amazed when it rolls or moves.

I see people aiming it at a mirror, might as well really send out confusing patterns.

Again why a grid? If a laser is able to create shadow people like so many report why not use a laser floodlight? it eliminates all the pareidolia and misinterpretations. A laser designator costs a bit more but isn't the truth worth it? Or don't people want the truth?

People want paranormal to exist so bad they actually do damage to the field by not using critical thinking when reviewing evidence.  Lets look at some of the evidence presented.

1.      Mirrors should be avoided when using an IR camera and while taking photos. A mirror will show IR distortion when a camera is pointed at it. A photo of a mirror can show reflections from the room that may confuse the photographer. A dirty mirror (even one we don’t notice the dirt) can show images that our brain wants to finish as a face.  We even see the flash reflections from a mirror presented as evidence.  Please understand what a mirror can do, experiment take pictures from all angles and see what can happen. Smear a layer of soap on a mirror and let it dry, take pictures to see what can show up.

 

2.      Trees and shrubbery, between the lighting and the leaves and branches we often see pareidolia presented as evidence.  Once again know that the shadows, shading can trick our minds to see faces. Much like seeing animals in clouds.

 

3.      Windows or glass can much like mirrors give reflections from both inside and outside the home, doubling possibilities of misperception.

 

4.      Wallpaper, Peeling missing paint causes patterns,  and once again our camera can capture these patterns that our brain misinterprets. If you think you see a face actually look at the patterns and colors, you can easily debunk your brain.

 

5.      Poor photography and wrong camera settings make up for a great deal of the evidence people THINK they are capturing. If you don’t know everything about your equipment are you qualified to tell a client they have ghosts?

 

6.      EVP’s  Are these becoming the new orb? This is the new area people are flooding the internet with as evidence. Unknown sounds we often THINK is from the other side? People and lack of understanding of equipment often give us this evidence. Most people do not understand how a footstep or clothing can give you misperceptions. Natural sounds from a home can be misinterpreted. Sounds from outside the home are often captured and presented as evidence. I have seen a few teams present a coyote as a child.

 

7.      EMF While high EMF can effect our thinking a K2 meter is not a tool to talk with the other side but thanks to television the paranormal community and the need to THINK they have captured a ghost, account for  the internet to be flooded with misperceptions.  Most teams don’t know how to properly use an emf meter.

 

8.      Battery drain, does the other side wait to drain your battery to get energy? Does this mean ghosts run on direct current? If you think they do then take a marine battery in the home to give them a nice supply of energy. Critical thinking may show you other reasons, battery’s purchased at a dollar store or a discount house may be very close to being out of energy already. Rechargeable batteries are often misused which shortens their life, one weak battery can effect your camera settings and performance, it will also drain your camera showing dead but will if you shut it off seem to have got juice again, this is because the good batteries recover some lost energy. If your at an investigation and experience battery drain use some critical thinking, are your watch batterys drained? Is the clients remote control batterys drained? Someone once reported ghosts use energy so now your lack of common sense jumped on this band wagon.

 

9.      Cold spots this is another area that is often lack of critical thinking, All homes have air currents, so is it possible to find a cold spot? Yes, is it paranormal? No! What could it be? How about a change in humidity? High humidity can make a person feel chilled. Ever been swimming in a lake and found warm or cold spots? This is very much like a home with fluctuating temperatures. Why would we think a cold spot is from the other side?  I hear arguments because they need energy so they draw it from the air. Well this is fine but if spirits do require and are made of energy and remove the heat from the air wouldn’t that make them a warm spot?

 

10.  The human mind and paranormal, this is an area so many paranormal teams ignore but they should be studying the brain and all the possible misperceptions it can give us. Remember our brains are programmed to look for familiar items and between our eyes and our brain and missing data they will often make us think we saw something we didn’t. Plus all people who investigate paranormal should study the brain and hallucinations. Sound like to much work? If it does maybe you should find a new hobby.

 

So do yourself and your clients a favor study, test equipment, learn everything you can about the brain and misperceptions. Its only when we stop presenting explainable evidence that we can move forward to hopefully get the answers we seek.

We all hear about people experiencing creaks, moans, groans, footsteps, doors and even cupboards opening or closing on their own. Well its time we look into this, what could cause them?

First we will look at homes settling, all homes settle some for many years. Now do all homes settle the same? No construction methods, materials used, location, weather all play a part in this. What can cause this? First we will look at the ground the home is built on, its constantly moving, this puts and releases pressure on the home. Weather as it changes also makes homes move and wood to swell or contract. Different woods may do this at different rates causing creaks, groans, loud popping noises. This can also cause a door or cupboard to open or close. This is why if you experience this at an investigation you can’t get it to repeat. The shock the house feels when this happens open jars items.  Try experiments in your own home hit the side of your cupboard see if your doors pop open. Set a clear bowl with water on the floor and walk, watch for excess ripples. This can show a floor moving and can explain items that fall of counters, tables. Does the home have children? If they do you know they run around causing even more home vibrations.  Bounce in the center of a room and watch for items shaking.

Construction has codes that are supposed to help this but some contractors and DIY may cheat, this can really cause movement in a home. It’s a good idea if your doing an investigation to look for cracks near doorways, cracks in corners, cracks between a wall and ceiling. Look at the floor to make sure its level, carry a laser level with you to check the home out. This can give you a clue about home movement.

What else do we need to look at? Look at floors, counter tops, for heavy material, (marble, granite, ect). Look in cupboards to see if they are loaded down. These can put strain on your home framing or flooring causing movement and noises. If the home has an upstairs look for water beds, workout rooms with excess weight, anything that can put an extra load on the homes construction.

Now how many of you do this? All of you should, remember you are looking for the truth not guesses when it comes to a client. Sound like work yet? It should you owe it to your clients to understand what can happen in a home.

This will be read in two ways one from people who really want the truth and two for those that do a half ass investigation who will just say its to much work.

Paranormal photography tips

Lets look at basic night time photography tips.  Remember this is just a basic guide as all cameras will vary slightly. You may still need to experiment to get the correct settings.

Flash:  some cameras allow you to adjust your flash strength, I suggest turning it up all the way to increase your depth of field.

Night scene or night shot, some cameras have this and if your using a tripod fine but without one you stand a great chance of blur or light trails because night scene gives your camera a longer exposure time.  Many mistakes are made here.

Exposure is the time your aperture is open.  What happens in many cases you take a picture, your flash goes off and you lower your camera. Well many times your camera aperture is still open so  the picture will show light trails or blurring of the brighter objects.  You should not use a long exposure UNLESS your shooting off a tripod.  Hearing is very important when taking pictures at night.  You need to listen for your camera to finish a picture before you move it.  I have seen many pictures claimed to be paranormal that were up to 8 seconds  exposure times. YOU WILL GET MOVEMENT unless shooting off a tripod. The longer your exposure the more movement in your picture becomes see thru.  See those claimed apparition on the internet where a person is see through? Its movement with long exposure. See light trails? These are long exposure.

Exposure is measured by f-stops  Remember the lower the F-stop the more light your camera lets in.

F1 being largest F 64 being a pin hole  Now your camera may be limited so select a low setting so more light enters your camera.

ISO:   ISO speed affects the shutter speed / aperture combinations you can use to obtain correct exposure.  The higher the ISO the more pixilation you get.

Now using a flash at night you want an ISO that is appropriate. 400 to 640 are good all around settings. If you have a 12 mega pixel or higher camera you can even go up to an 800 ISO.  Do not go higher unless your shooting off a tripod without a flash. Also do not drop to a 200 or 100 ISO unless your shooting off a tripod WITH flash.

Foreign objects in your picture, when using a flash any foreign particle, from lint to pollen, even moisture appear as objects in your picture if they are near your lens, they often give the illusion of being further away from the lens. Remember your shooting in 2D. Many small point and shoot cameras catch a sleeve, a finger even camera straps or lens cap strings  in the flash. These appear as a bright objects often reported as ghosts or a vortex. But once again understand your equipment. 

Shadows:  Many times a dark shadow or spot is misperception. A finger blocking a portion of a flash will appear as a dark shape. When taking pictures an object off the side can appear as a larger shape when the flash creates a shadow. I have seen a vase as a cowboy.

Always try and pay attention to your surroundings. Take control shots with the lights on as a reference.  When taking pictures at night take a couple from each position so you have another picture to reference.

Most digital cameras have an exif file attached to your pictures. They explain what settings your camera had. You can look at these to see if a flash went off, your ISO, your exposure time, your f-stop along with many other settings. We are only looking at the basics as we aren’t professionals.  Windows 7 allows you to see photo properties. Photo shop paint shop, and many other software allow you to look at your Exif. Photome  is a great FREE program to to view your exif.

I hope this will help you understand and take better photographs at night.

Paranormal Mist?

Are you capturing mists in your pictures?

Are they spirits?

They must be paranormal as I don’t see it with my eyes.

Someone died in the home it must be them.

I was in a cemetery it was full of spirits.

These are just a few of the things I see daily in the paranormal field. Hopefully I can answer some of your questions and help you understand what causes these.

First we will look at mists captured inside a home. What can cause these? First we will look at exposures on your digital camera. A long exposure can create a mist like appearance. Why else do we see mists or are they really mists? Lets look around a home, we see lots of highly reflective surfaces from windows, mirrors, chromes, glass tables, vases. A flash off many of these can create what looks like a mist on your digital camera.

Now lets move outside what can cause these mists in my pictures? Once again there can be a few causes from atmospheric haze, yours or another’s breath, to temperature changes. When its cold out we can see our breath, but when its warmer we don’t see our breath does this mean it isn’t there? No we can still capture it with a flash.

What else can cause mists? These are perhaps the least understood by paranormal investigators but they are easily explainable and with critical thinking and COMMON SENSE we should all know it. Lets look at a cemetery, there are open areas the sun hits all day, there are trees and shrubbery that shades the ground, we have many tombstones that absorb heat all day.  In the daylight its warmer in the direct sunlight and cooler under the shade of a tree, this creates an atmospheric haze anytime your temperatures vary from 3-4 degrees you may catch a mist. Lets look at this same scenario at night just the opposite takes place its cooler in the open and warmer under the canopy of trees once again ideal situations to capture mists. Lets look at high humidity, what is it? Moisture in the air once more something your flash can reflect off.

Now don’t take my word for it get out your digital thermometer and take samples of the ground, of gravestones, under trees and shrubs, you might be surprised. Now break out your Hygrometer and check for the humidity in the air. Its only after you can rule out all of these causes then you can say I MAY have caught a paranormal mist.

Are people really looking for the truth? The more I study the more I think most people in the paranormal field aren't. Why do people join paranormal sites? To seek answers and help others? Some maybe but most it appears are joining to promote themselves. Just look at peoples pictures they use, some almost look like its a dating site. Do you still think what you captured years ago is paranormal? Or have you advanced both your team and your knowledge to throw it out. I still see people present camera straps, as paranormal. I see people capture a finger, but because its lit up by a flash call it paranormal. I see people with long exposures claiming the light trails are paranormal. I see pictures where a finger in front of a flash causes a dark shadow, do they try and debunk it? No it ends up being called a black mist or an evil apparition. What is wrong with this? People aren't looking for the truth, they instead pad their evidence page with this garbage. What happens to a client? They either figure out the team doesn't know what they are doing or they become scared because you convinced them your ineptness is paranormal. Isn't it time we all open our minds and actually communicate to advance both ourselves and the field?

Credibility? What do you think happens when people view your orbs or your long exposure pictures? You lose all credibility, when you post after this people won't waste their time reading

How many people use a digital camera during their investigations? Do you know your pictures have something called exif information? Its EXchangeable Image File Format. Do you know you can use this information to see what camera was used? The ISO, the aperture settings, the shutter speed? how or if a flash was used? Along with many other settings. If you are interested in advancing the field shouldn't at least one team member know how to use this information to debunk the photos you capture? It can also be used if you find a certain picture does capture something to see and reuse those settings. When I quit seeing all the poor evidence people claim then maybe I'll think people want the truth.

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High EMF’s and Toxins Create Your Paranormal

The work of Michael Persinger and Anne Silk. The effects of being exposed to high levels of EMF on the human brain and physiology are known. They range from hallucinations, blackout, skin rash and burns, joint pain, to dizziness and altered state of consciousness. In essence, Budden’s argument is that EMF are the material cause of close encounters, but the repertoire of images and notions we have in our mind fills the actual content of the experience. In other words, for Budden UFO close encounters are essentially a form of dream caused by an external, but natural, force. There is no non-human entities involved. This also triggers people to experience paranormal, seeing ghosts and demons. Its found when the front temporal lobe is exposed to an electrical or chemical change people can be made to see anything from aliens to ghosts, to God. Psychics and sensitive’s exposed to emf’s can think they are experiencing paranormal when its actually the brain creating these feelings.

The Government

A US government publication on electricity use and safety states that :

“Electric and magnetic fields are found throughout nature and all living things. They hold matter together. They are necessary for the operation of the nervous system.”

We may look to the cloning experiments for some indication of the sensitivity of living systems to electrical or chemical stimulus. Cloning experiments, of necessity, require the application of electricity or a chemical in order to ‘kick start ‘ or initiate the life process of the reprogrammed single cell that will under suitable conditions, become a fully functioning living system.

ELECTRO HYPERSENSITIVITY (EHS)

The phenomenon of EHS is not as yet fully recognized by health professionals, though this attitude is slowly changing. This change must be accelerated to properly treat mental illnesses and a host of other neurological conditions.

MENTAL HEALTH AND EMR

Involuntary exposure to environmental contaminants such as EMR and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can trigger neuropsychiatric conditions. It may be speculated that they also provoke neurological reactions that mimic neuropsychiatric disorders.

Unfortunately there are disturbing reports that people are being misdiagnosed with mental illness when EMR or chemical contamination is implicated. Due to the nature of the symptoms, these people are often hospitalized against their will and treated with mind altering drugs that may have the effect of worsening their condition , where allergies and sensitivities are present, though undetected.

There is a whole range of neuropsychiatric disorders, known to be influenced by environmental factors. Changes in intensity of various environmental cues such as light, temperature and magnetic fields act as triggers for the expressions of these disorders. The following list of environmentally triggered disorders : mania, depression, panic attacks, bulimia, anorexia nervosa, obsessive-compulsive disorder, suicide, cocaine addiction, Tourette’s syndrome, schizophrenia, epilepsy. Paradoxically, bright light therapy has been found effective in treating depression and is being considered as a treatment for some of the other listed disorders.

Other dangers

Exposure to toxins and emf’s has lead to the increase in violent crimes and the explosion of road rage,  domestic abuse and a host of other crimes.

What you can do

Search your house and store toxins in a garage or shed, get them out from under the sink or the basement near your furnace. Pick up a cheap EMF meter an check your bed room and rearrange so you aren’t exposed, move clock radios and stereo’s across the room. When your setting in front of your computer put