So, ask me, "how is Hug-A-Blogger coming along?" Glad you asked! Oh my! it's very very exciting. We have all the bloggers in line now that we are going to use--7 of them from all different states. We have the blog up. We have a Twitter and Facebook which we will put the feeds onto the blog for. We are going to put up some posts that are samples of our writing. My son is designing the logo and we are having shirts printed up that say "HUG-A-BLOGGER" and will be selling them on the site too because every blogger should have something to tell people why they're special. We are getting down to the prep time when we put up the proposal on the blog, send the publishers the link, and wait for the magical "yes." When we get the okay, we will make the blog active. It will begin with a map of our crazy planned trip, our preparations, and then when we hit the road it will daily have our photos/zany videos/journalling of the cross-country trip in which we will go to only the strangest places. This is for the horror loving bloggers, you know. It will be totally insane (hey, I'm part of this project, it has to be).
The next thing we need is for folks to go over to Hug-A-Blogger and become followers. We want to show the publishers we already have a following anxious to witness this road trip. We will Tweet daily, as well. In fact, I might even do something insane like let followers tell me what they want me to photograph or videotape or do on Twitter--some kind of road trip dare game and put it on the blog. The followers can watch the adventure and when the book comes out, ya'all can read about the interviews and the times we spent with the bloggers. We'll pick up some super cheesy gifts in gift shops on the road and have giveaways. Since there won't be room enough in the car, we'll take ya'all along as virtually as possible!
Here's the bloggers who have given us the okay--check out their blogs. We love these folks and are itching to give them all hugs for their hard work.
Yet another installment of LAUGH for your pleasure. Today, once again, we are poking loving fun at SyFy channel’s awesome new show, “Fact or Faked.”
*Warning: Do not drink while reading this or you are likely to have liquid spewing from your nose.*
BEN: Well, that was an interesting clip. JAEL: I’m very concerned about that kiss between the monster and the child. Do you think that was consensual? BILL: Oh, for crying out loud, Jael! Didn’t you see the little girl smiling at the end? We don’t even know if that is a monster. It could be her daddy and he’s just one ugly son-of-bitch. JAEL: I hadn’t thought of that, Bill, Point taken. BEN: I remember this guy I saw one time at the carnival. He had two noses and three eyes… JAEL: I know what you mean, my Aunt Teresa had four breasts. BILL: (chuckles) She must have been very popular. JAEL: (frowns) She had two of them removed. BILL: (snorts) I hope they went to good homes. BEN: Please, team. We need to get back on track here. I believe we’re missing the point of this whole video and what we are here to debunk. BILL: That being? BEN: Whether or not a person can actually sleep with their foot in the air like that. Usually, it cuts off circulation, the foot falls asleep, and you move it around like the dickens to get the feeling back. JAEL: Yeah, when my arm hangs off the bed, I get the tingles (shivers). BILL: I’m with you on that one. I think this was a setup. If they actually had a monster to film, the guy wouldn’t have just taken a nap in the middle of such an amazing event. There would have been more footage of the beast. I’m thinking that monster is a fake. BEN: Then, we’re agreed? This was faked? PRODUCER: (leans into Ben) Ben, the purpose of debunking the video was to decide whether the UFO was real, not the monster in the intro. BEN: What UFO? PRODUCER: (rolls his eyes) Put the next clip on, guys!
BEN: (shakes his head) I really don’t know what to say about this film. JAEL: (sighs) It is so cruel to see those creatures locked up like that on tables as if they’re in a morgue. BILL: Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I think this is very questionable. BEN: How’s that? BILL: (taps on the screen) The octopus appears to be alive, but it’s out of water. How does that happen? JAEL: That’s true! It would never have survived being on that table and not in the water. BEN: Good point, but are you saying this is a hoax? BILL: No, I’m saying that we have a clue. Obviously, if this octopus is still alive, this location must be very close to the water. JAEL: Yes! That would narrow down where this film was taken. BEN: And, they appear to be speaking an Asian dialect. JAEL: So, if we want to find and free these poor creatures, we need to find out more clues. BEN: There is another clue! The fish was still moving so they must be very very close to water. JAEL: (frowns) Yes, but his hair was dry. Isn’t that strange? BEN: This team is awesome! We are so clever! So, apparently they kept him in a bucket of water with his head sticking out. We need to find a bucket near the ocean in Asia… BILL: I’m willing to make some puppets and see if we can recreate the animals they have imprisoned in Asia near the ocean. We can determine just how large this facility had to be to house them all and then GoogleEarth the waterfront in Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea… BEN: That is brilliant! We narrow the field even more. PRODUCER: (leans into Ben) Ben, the purpose of this debunking was not to find and free the creatures, but to determine if the creatures had human heads. BEN: (frowns and tugs at his collar as he blushes) PRODUCER: (sighs) Roll the next clip, guys!
BEN: Well, what is the consensus? JAEL: I think it’s a hoax. BILL: (scowls) It’s rather early to determine that, isn’t it? JAEL: Think about it. That video was found in the woods. Do you think it would still be intact and that someone would even happen upon it? It seems unlikely that they would find it really soon, but if they didn’t find it for months or years the recording would be useless. BEN: (boyish smile) I like having a technically intelligent team! BILL: I’m not willing to throw the baby out with the bathwater, just yet. (paces) I admit the chances of this guy happening upon Bigfoot like that with his video camera running in the middle of nowhere are pretty slim. Still, we have to admit that Bigfoot did apparently attack him. We saw that clearly. You can’t get Bigfoot to throw punches on cue. So, we know this guy filmed him. We know this guy was attacked by him. So what happened to his camera? Someone had to find it and put it on YouTube or we wouldn’t have just watched that video. BEN: (snaps his fingers) You’re totally right about that. That’s logic. We pride ourselves on this show that we use logic to defeat hoaxes. We don't even have to go into the woods and try to bait Bigfoot into a fight to recreate the scenario. The film is genuine! JAEL: This looks like the real deal, I suppose. I can’t defeat Bill’s conclusion. PRODUCER: (leans into Ben) Ben, the purpose of this tape was to determine if that was a real Bigfoot caught on film, not if the film was found. (sighs) Everyone, let’s call it a day! (turns to Ben and put his hand on his back) Ben, buddy, I think we need to talk a bit more about the premise of this show...
(Enjoy--two for the price of one, or is that four for the price of one? Well, Dale horned in with my gal and me)
The newest episode of "Fact or Faked" picked two interesting cases; ghost writing on photographs and a sea monster in PA. In their usual manner, they interviewed the eyewitnesses at the lake where the monster was photographed and seen. Then, they checked to see if logs could reproduce the look of it. When that didn't work, they built a sea monster and floated him and took photos from a distance. Now, before you beat them up for building a monster just to prove that it was too much work for a local to put into a prank, they had to do it to show us if it looked similar and it did, but not 100%. So, off to inspect the lake from underneath with sonar and then some nighttime diving. The determination was that it was unexplained...
Next, someone thinks something paranormal is happening in their house. When they take Polaroid pictures, words are etched on them. They were told there is a body under their house by a psychic. There is a vortex in the house supposedly. The team decided to use the camera and try taking pics towards the vortex area. When they got nothing, they tried some techniques to recreate it on the film. Their experiment didn't work out. Then, they decided to try and recreate the video of ghost writing. They erected some plexiglass and put some writing on it and did Polaroids and videotaped. They found the plexiglass was too bright and reflective. Now, they decided to look under the house with ground penetrating radar to find the supposed body buried there. They actually found some bones and they were...cow and chicken. So, they studied the credibility of the people ultimately when they couldn't recreate how it was done. The voice analysis showed credibility. So, this was...unexplained.
Okay, so let's break it down. I still like the premise and am excited by disputing viral videos. Part of me wants them to sit back in their seats and pull a Joel McHale "The Soup" on them and just throw popcorn at the screen and mock the vids, but then I'm a huge fan "MST 3000."
That said, I'm still waiting for someone to break an expression, get a personality, and get ruffled. It's the Martha Stewart versus Julia Roberts syndrome. What is that, you ask? Martha is flawless, self-conscious, immaculate, constantly circumspect. Julia is, well, spontaneous, bursts into laughter, trips over things, willing to burp and look crazy. Who do we like better? Who do we identify with? Who is lovable? Yeah, it's kinda like that. We compare the show to "Mythbusters" but the fact is Jaime and Adam are wicked awesome with personalities and their gang is too. They love what they do and you can't imagine them doing anything else, same with "Destination Truth" and Josh Gates and "Ghost Hunters" with its grumpy pants, Jason.
If I'm recasting the show? I'm cool with Ben. He's smart, he's calm, he's a steady voice. I'd keep Bill because he's sassy and enthusiastic and rough around the edges and smart. I'd dump both of the expressionless women who don't seem to add anything to the mix but a low level of anxiety. I'd get rid of the guy who looks too much like Ben. He confuses the hell out of me. I'd add a brassy woman who is assertive and doesn't accept answers and I'd add a middle-aged man who is excited like a kid about everything and gullible. Hey, I'm casting this make-believe redo, you design your own version. We need some confrontational personalities because, honestly, when we see these videos online, we laugh and sometimes we defend the videos to the end as being genuine. I want that water cooler banter going on. I want to know where they stand before they investigate and challenge each other to prove or disprove. Right now, they are just too freaking polite, calm, and self-conscious. I don't have any doubt with one season of "seasoning" they will get the formula right. I saw this with lots of other SyFy hits.
QUIZ: Was it Bill or Ben who went in search of the sea monster?
**DO NOT MISS THURSDAY'S EPISODE OF "FACT OR FAKED" ON SYFY! POSTS ABOUT IT FRIDAY--A REVIEW AND ANOTHER EPISODE OF LAUGH!**
Here's what I remember on Saturday night when the Human was having her ghost hunt at the hotel. We got to the room. She unloaded me from the overpacked suitcase. She propped me up on the bed and then proceeded to change--in front of me! (I cannot close my eyes, so what's a guy to do???)
She put on a swimsuit and went to the pool with her buddies. I remained behind with an open bottle of champagne at the bedside. I could have turned on the TV, but the remote control was too high up. I couldn't climb and was still cramped up from being in the damned suitcase.
I looked around for something to do, but all there was were a bunch of ghost hunting equipment that frightens me, her tool belt, and that crazy lacy stuff she was wearing under her clothes (made my eyelid twitch to sit so close to it). Enough time studying the Victoria's Secret label and I was ready for a drink. Why the hell didn't this Victoria share her secret with the doll girls???
I admit, I sipped the champagne. Just the little bit left in her cup. Then, I got the bottle. The next thing I knew, I woke up the floor and sunlight was streaming through the window. I missed the ghost hunt. I missed the photo opportunities. Damn! I missed the stupid human strobe light dancing (admittedly a hilarious carnival of stupidity).
I do not understand what happened to me and why I would miss a ghost hunting opportunity with the lovely Miss Julie. The only explanation I can find is that she slipped me a Mickey. Put it into the champagne bottle. It's the only explanation because I am certain I can hold my liquor.
I awakened with a throbbing plastic headache and my eyes were dry. I felt a bit queasy when she shoved me back into the suitcase. All I have for evidence I was at this event is this hideous picture (above). I believe I set the timer to take a picture but didn't realize it would take so long to shoot, so I took a swig while I was waiting. Oh, the humiliation.
The next ghost hunt, I will not drink, even if her unmentionables drive me to it!
Soraya from Spellbound by Moonlight just gifted me with this award and I want to thank her. Here are the rules for this award: The rules are to sum your blogging motivation, experience and inspiration in 5 words and pass it on to five others.
I recently did a series about the types of psychic abilities that everyone shows at one time or another and that if developed could become a full-fledged psychic. I mentioned soul seers who had the potential to become mediums, tactile tuners who could become healers and psychometrists, tomorrow tumblers who could become clairvoyants and creature comforters who could become animal psychics.
Many of you wanted to know how to develop these abilities and there are a lot of ways to work on psychic skills. The very first thing I would advise is to just journal it. Any time you have that strange premonition, from knowing who is calling on the phone to having an angry animal suddenly calm down and approach you. Note if it happened several times in one day and look for patterns. What is happening in your life? Sometimes, we are more receptive when we are contented and not stressed and other times we are more sensitive when we are depressed. See if there are good days, bad days or an entire week of luck followed by weeks of nothing.
There is a feeling you get in your body when you psychically connect. For many, this presents itself as “fact.” It’s as if you already know this thing to be fact so when you confirm that you were right, it seemed the obvious conclusion. That sensation is important to note. Ultimately, developing your skill depends on your learning to tune into how you felt when you made a reading or prediction that came true. Then, in the future when you get that same set of sensations, you will know you are on the right track.
I often suggest daily psychic testing so you can learn what happens inside you when you get the right answer. Each time you go to click on a picture on the screen and it is the wrong one, notice how you felt while picking that one. Then, notice how you felt while picking the right one. There is a sense of “knowing” and that it is “fact” that you feel inside your mind and body—a strange “rightness.” You will also find some days are particularly magical and other days are total duds. Even seasoned psychics run into this, as well. There are factors we don’t yet know about that make some days just total clunkers and it could be preparation, state of mind, or even geophysical forces we aren’t aware of. I usually like testing on gotpsi.
Being in contact with that which you are talented is helpful. I suggest the creature comforters spend as much time as possible with animals and petting new ones to learn to accept information from the animal by the simple contact and postures. If you go to a dog park and pet a new dog, ask the owner whatever impression you get "he took some time to learn to trust, huh?" It's a good way to test your abilities. Tactile Tuners dive right into flea markets and antique stores and touching your friend's antiques when visiting his house. Tomorrow Tumblers can open themselves to reading the newspaper or watching the news before bedtime. As much as you worry that could cause nightmares, it often times embeds events in your mind and life has a strange way of repeating these events and you will have honed in on one of the catastrophes you saw or read about and become now focused on future occurrences. For Soul Seers, I always suggest studying a room of people, finding the ones with old souls--life wisdom and insight. Introduce yourself and learn their stories. Learn if your instincts about people are spot-on. It's just like painting landscapes or writing lyrics, if you don't practice, you can't do it well.
Ultimately, it’s a matter of self observation. You need to learn if you hear things, see things, imagine things as if they are memories in your head, get them in your dreams or feel them in your body. I also suggest the regular practice of meditation so you can clear your mind and allow information to enter. It is a skill that is very helpful in gathering knowledge. You may not have the patience or the desire to become a full-fledged psychic, but fledglings can benefit from their insights as they also help them to make life decisions with a gut instinct many do not take notice of.
It’s quiz time, my sweeties! Today’s quiz involves the worst end-of-world scenario for you. Count your a’s, b’s, c’s and d’s and find out!
1. I tend to hate confrontations that involve… a. Having things sprung on me last minute without warning b. Long drawn out encounters where no one wins c. Everyone against me, I’m all alone d. Both sides getting caught up in hysteria and fighting
2. The worst way to give me bad news… a. Write it out in email or note b. Lead up to it in bits and pieces to build up to the news, taking hours c. Blurt it out in person all at once d. Spend a day or two dropping hints to prepare and leave me anxious
3. I’m least attracted to someone who is… a. Spontaneous and lively b. Assertive and powerful c. Unpretentious, putting on no airs d. Warms up after you get to know him/her
4. A really awful party would involve… a. Being busted by the cops b. A girl cat fight over a guy c. Someone getting drunk and puking on the hostess’s dress d. Everyone getting drunk and passing out all over the place.
5. I’d like least like to be remembered for.. a. Leaving a big impression b. Fighting for what I believe in c. Getting what I want d. Affecting the most people.
Okay, now count your a’s, b’s, c’s and d’s and scroll down to find out what end-of-world scenario gives you the most chills…
a. Asteroid collision b. Global wars/bombs c. Zombie attack d. Virus that spreads fast and kills slowly
I thought I'd share some more pictures of Cherry, Arizona, an old ghost mining town in the hills where no one knows it's there. There are some cemetery shots and a picture of the original old schoolhouse from long ago and the fire trucks (volunteer fire fighting). It's a charming place that I never would have heard of if family hadn't settled here. I thought you might enjoy some Arizona back country charm for the majority of you lucky folks who live where it's green and has seasons. This town actually does get seasons and snow. It's up fairly high over 3000 feet in elevation. Still desert, but with lots of pines and scrub brush and much much nicer temperatures.
So, I mentioned that I went on a hunt this past weekend at Hotel San Carlos in Phoenix. The workshop brought in about 55 people and hosted by MVD Ghostchasers run by my friend, Debe Branning.
The hotel was kind enough to allow the group to take two separate tours of the haunted spots of the hotel, have access to some places the public is not allowed. There are a few mischievous spirits that supposedly haunt the hotel and the well in the basement which carries the “vortex” well water throughout the hotel, creating more haunted issues.
One local EVP expert ran some controlled EVP sessions. I got to manage one of the controlled EVP sessions in one of the private “apartments” in the hotel where a great deal of trouble-making male entity energy is focused.
Following the tours, there were special speakers and a rummage sale of used ghost hunting equipment held. Then, the hunters who took rooms at the hotel took to the halls and wandered the public areas of the hotel to do some studies on their own time.
During the controlled EVP session, I did get my hair stroked and sensed two male entities behind me, one who was very spastic and excited and the other more sedate and controlling of the other and actually more sinister. The battery on my own recorder died within minutes (a new battery) but the man who set up the microphones in the room was able to make recording that hopefully obtained something.
In a controlled EVP session, mic's and recorders are set up around the room and the participants get comfortable. They are to remain quiet and still during the session. A "tag" is place announcing the beginning of the session, the time and place announced out loud. Then, the participants may call out questions with 15-second pauses between for answers to be laid down on the recordings by the spirits. If anyone makes any sound, such as rustling, coughing, whispering, or outside sounds like cars going by occur, they are "tagged" and announced for the recording such as, "disregard, dog barked." Then, as the session comes to an end, a tag is announced, "end of session." The purpose of this sort of EVP session is to account for any sounds that may be explainable when listening to the recording. This has made EVP gathering take a jump in credibility in recent years.
I had planned a series of experiments during the evening that kept us all up until sunrise. I insisted we get a swim in the hotel pool on the rooftop and, as always, I had the group have a glass of champagne and then do some strobe light dancing to just relax a bit and prepare for the somber business of a long bunch of hours sitting still.
(no, I will not tell who the dancer was, but it was a dear friend ghost hunter)
Goofy stuff aside, we got down to the meat of our investigation with attempts at some unusual experiments. We did some EVP in our room and a KII session. One member attempted automatic writing with some strange results of anger and hostility from the woman who had jumped from the building long ago.
My dear friend, Gabriel, from one of my favorite blogs Time Human gave me a couple of ideas for experiments. In an attempt to see if people can imprint information on a blank CD for a psychic to read, I gave three people a stack of magazines and taught them which hand to use to read objects and which one to imprint information on objects. I had them pick a picture together and one at a time, spend one minute with their imprinting hand on the CD while they study the picture and think words that describe the scene, as well. They each did it while I was out of the room and when I came back, I attempted to take a read on it before touching it just to see if I picked up more in an ambient form than from touching it. I found that my initial impression of it upon just looking at the disk was more accurate overall than when I touched it. This proved to be not a good imprinting material for me, but a brilliant idea.
Gabriel had also suggested me testing my reading ability with different types of metals. Although we did not have a wide variety with us, I found a large clutch of keys on a series of interlocking rings to provide me with a huge array of different backgrounds. Although these were the property of one of the experimenter’s grandfather, the keys origins appeared to be from many different people. When I locked onto a brass key I believe associated with the grandfather, I asked the participant to say nothing. I looked away so that I would not be affected by her reactions and proceeded to rattle off a good deal of details of this person with very clear accuracy. It would appear that from a variety of metals and ages of keys, I found the one associated with the target and was able to hone in on him. Once I get a target, I get goosebumps usually when I get that "bingo!" moment and I could pursue the information a bit further and a bit further.
At another point during the night, I had everyone leave the room. I walked through the room and picked out the “hot spots” using my psychic sensitivity. I picked up a drawn map and marked it with x’s and then pocketed it. I then sent in three other people, one at a time, to dowse the room with dowsing rods and find the crossover points and mark them on maps and pocket them. We then proceeded to open our pocketed maps and compare them with a good deal of shock, matching up 4 hot spots. This was a very surprising find, also teaching me that my abilities seem to correlate with dowsing rod results.
Another test was wearing headbands with magnets in them over the center of the forehead to see if they stimulate the pineal gland and possible create the ability to see apparitions. Half the group reported headaches and eventually removed the headbands. I tried doing a reading with it on and off, and found no difference in my psychic abilities.
I am running some tests on the hotel’s supposed “spirit water” compare to city and bottled water and will give those results when I have obtained them. Here is a short glimpse of the tour…
In our room, we attempted to do an EVP session with the male spirits from the room we did the EVP session in. I called them to the room and felt the presence of one of them in the room, nervous about entering and lingering in the room's hallway near the closet "hot spot." I got the very real sense that this particular male, the controlling one, like to bother the women as they slept and sometimes interfered with their dreams, as well. The vulnerability of the women in our room concerned me. A series of strange clicking and shuffling sounds in the closet lasted for a good half hour solid, although there was nothing apparently moving around within. When a few of the girls fell asleep, one of them awakened to something messing with her toes.
All in all, the results of the EVP are still being sorted through and the results of the water test. There were some very real moments of something moving about and studying us and sometimes approaching, but nothing overtly overwhelming. During my EVP session, not only did something touch my hair, but at one point, the more controlling feeling entity created a “suction” feeling on the palm of my left hand, as if it sort of magnetically locked its hand against mine, the entire arm broke out into coarse goosebumps and a deep chill that took quite some time to wear off. It felt like a subtle reminder that it was not completely without ability, as I did a bit of taunting during the EVP session.
What did I think of the hunt? It had some limitations including the large size of the group and the time limits in the more active parts of the hotel. Within the rooms, there was a sense of things passing in and out in a transient manner, but as well there was a club downstairs that had a booming band that interrupted the peace, as did the crazy people in our wing of the hotel who seemed to want to stay up the entire night and well into the morning knocking on doors, talking in the hallways, and the sounds traveled through the paper thin walls as if they were in the room with us. These features made it not an ideal place for a hunt, but it did give me a place to do some concentrated studies and enjoy the company of a wide variety of interesting hunters from around the state.
I give the hotel super kudos for making their tours more oriented to hunters, but the hotel itself is a very uncomfortable stay. The walls are paper thin and you can hear every hiccup in the next room and if a door opens anywhere in the hall, it sounds like it's your own door. So, if you want to do a tour, it's pretty interesting and cool. But, if you want to stay the night...you may not get a lot of sleep, especially on a Saturday night.
Here is Julie from Above-The-Norm's story about it (she was one of my ghost hunting buds and dearest friends--another advantage of meeting bloggers in real life.)
TUESDAY: *DISCOVERY: “The Colony” A new season for this show with contestants in a reality format who play out an end-of-world-scenario and have to learn to survive, protect themselves, get food and water. Awesome! HISTORY CHANNEL: “Ancient Aliens”
WEDNESDAY: *SyFY: “Ghost Hunters” repeats and a new “Ghost Hunters International” called “The Wolf’s Lair”
THURSDAY: HISTORY: “The Universe” (I put this option up because I know none of you want to see “Mary Knows Best,” but you better turn to “Fact or Faked” when it’s on! *SYFY: “Fact or Faked” (review tomorrow morning with t-shirt pic, followed by another LAUGH installment based on the show)
FRIDAY: TRAVEL CHANNEL: Repeats of “Ghost Adventures
This is another in my series interviewing paranormal teams from around the world. This team, PRAB of Boston caught my attention because of their focus on the scientific aspects of research. Ya’all often hear me saying that I believe that even in the supernatural/paranormal should be measurable and detectable because it is launched into our physical world where we can see, hear and feel it, so it has to work within the principles of physics. I’m always excited to find teams like this that are looking for those moments of interaction in order to capture or debunk phenomenon.
Ian founded the PRAI (Paranormal Research Association of Ireland) group in Ireland before he came to America.
AUTUMN: Your team takes a scientific approach to studying the paranormal. Does this involve new equipment? Controlled studies? Lab work? Or is this mostly field work? (I'd love to get a picture of what sorts of equipment you use and what parameters you put on your studies, anything that is unique to your approach.)
IAN: The PRAB uses a variety of equipment. We have a full list of it, including images, why we use it and how we use it on our website.
There is a mix of field and theoretical research. I’d say the split is about 70/30. While you can do a lot of work in the field, without theory and research behind it, it is of little use. You need to understand what you are looking for and then what you are looking at. That’s why the PRAB has a long and detailed training and continuing education system.
AUTUMN: Do you get mostly house calls or do you also study landmark haunted sites in the Northeast? Have any been so compelling that you've gone back and studied them again and again?
IAN: We have studied a number of landmark sites in MA, including the USS Salem, and a few businesses who are reputably haunted. However our main work is done with our private clients. We are a team whose primary function is research through helping our community. As we are privy to a lot of confidential information, all members of my team have background checks performed on them. The PRAB is authorized by the Criminal History Services Board of MA to conduct CORI background checks.
All our evidence is continuously being re-checked. For example in 2006 when I was with the PRAI, we had a fantastic picture of a shadow descending the stairs of a castle in Ireland. I was there when the photo was taken, so there were 2 people confirming no-one was there on the stairs at the time. In 2007, we re-examined the photo and through EXIF data and reports we were able to recreate the initial photo. It was not a perfect match, but enough for us to be able to conclude that it was a probable explanation.
AUTUMN: As TAPS has become sort of an example in the field of paranormal research, do you also approach an investigation to first debunk it? Are you more focused on actually gathering evidence or personal observation? And, do you have open-ended thoughts on what ghost phenomena is, such as potentially residual events, other dimensions, intelligent undetectable life forms?
IAN: We always go into any investigation looking for a natural cause, because only when you have disproved the ability for natural occurrences to be the reason, can you deem it to have a possible supernatural explanation. In the last decade of my research, I have deemed 95-97% of our cases to have a natural explanation.
While TAPS et al, have helped to bring our field to the forefront, some of their theories are outdated. This I don’t prescribe to complacency on their parts, but more to the fact they have to have continuity for their TV series. As I said in my recent talk, this field is constantly changing, and the information I tell you today, may be outdated tomorrow after we have researched in a different way.
AUTUMN: Do you utilize psychics or any spiritualist techniques? Or perform "cleansings"? If so, are they helpful? and if not, why do you avoid this approach?
IAN: We do not use psychics, etc, for our investigations. Unfortunately, any “psychics” I have come across I have felt have just been using cold reading methods and we could not verify any of their historical data. As they have been so unreliable as data sources in the past, we do not involve them in our research.
Cleansings can work in the same way as exorcism. When someone is “possessed”, it is the belief in exorcism that gives it it’s power. When someone believes something will work, usually it does; similar to placebo experiments used in World War 2. This is why we will try to rule out any psychology or organic issues first.
AUTUMN: Ultimately, every team has a goal in mind. What would you say is your goal, i.e. to prove life after death, to create intelligent interaction, to recreate a phenomenon, to design new equipment to detect it? IAN: As a scientific team, we have a number of different goals. On the existence of paranormal phenomena, if we conclusively prove or disprove the existence, we will be happy either way.
Another core goal is our own research on equipment and the education of the public at large of our theories and research to aid in the public knowledge.
I really appreciated this insightful interview with Ian of PRAB. I see that a lot of their attitudes and techniques jive with my own. I am pleased with their ethics and their debunking with natural explanations. They are helping us weed out the explainable to get to the heart of paranormal experiences. I am thrilled to have found this group in Boston and hope to follow them in the future.
Today I'm taking off for an overnight hunt downtown in Phoenix. I will be posting about it this week instead of live from the hotel because the hunters and I are planning on doing a bunch of experiments and that will no doubt keep us very busy until we do the actual studies during the night. I will, however, explain some of the experiments we are going to be trying:
At the suggestion of my brilliant blogging buddy Gabriel from "Time Human," I will be attempting to have someone hold a blank CD and stare at a magazine ad of their own choosing, trying to imprint the image onto it and then I will read it with my psychic skills. We will also do another test to compare different types of metals to see which ones I read more easily than others and see if that correlates with electrical conductivity of the metals. This guy is brilliant!
In another experiment, I have taken headbands and inserted magnets with the north pole located over the pineal gland to see if they can create apparition sightings as some experiments have found.
Another experiment involves me going into the room and noting where the "hot" spots are psychically and then marking them on a map. Then, each hunter in my group goes in and dowses the room and marks on separate maps the "hot" spots and then we compare the maps to see if we found similar findings.
Since claims are that the hotel's indian wells in the basement carry spirits in the water throughout the hotel, we will be testing the hotel water compared to city water and bottled water.
Should there be a break in activity, I might just blog from the hunt tonight, perhaps during the champagne teaser before the hunt!
You knew it was going to happen. I tapped the well on “Destination Truth,” “Ghost Hunters,” “Ghost Lab,” “Paranormal State,” and “Ghost Adventures,”(temporarily, of course) so I’m thrilled to have a new paranormal show to poke loving fun at. This one’s for you, Ben (“you know”)…
**Warning: Do not drink while reading this, it is likely to spew from your nose** (other episodes of LAUGH are on the righthand side of my blog)
BEN: Well, team, what do you think of that? JAEL: (puzzled expression) I’d really like to see that again. BEN: Play it again, Bill. (Bill hits the button) You know, something about this doesn’t line up. JAEL: Yeah, I agree (eyes widen) Are you thinking what I am? They put up a video camera to catch the babysitter, but it’s running when the baby isn’t in the room. BILL: (nods vigorously and taps the screen) If they were concerned about a babysitter robbing them, shouldn’t it be aimed at the dresser and not the crib? What’s she going to steal from there, huh? (all team members nod in agreement) BEN: Well, it looks like we might have gotten our first clue something isn’t right. Bill, play the rest of the video again. (Bill hits the button, team watches keenly) JAEL: (claps her hands) That’s it! Did you see that chair moving on its own? BEN: (nods and squints at the screen) Yeah, I see it. JAEL: Obviously, we can all agree there is no one in that room. That’s real phenomenon! You can’t tell me that was faked. BILL: (frowns) Wait a minute! Just because the chair is moving doesn’t mean it’s a ghost. It could be that the film started right after the babysitter left after burping the baby. BEN: (shrugs) That’s true. You know, we don’t have the beginning of the tape. So, you know, we can’t see the context. (squints) I definitely don’t see anyone behind it pushing it. JAEL: (deflated, sits back in her chair) Hmm…. BILL: I’m concerned about this thing hovering around the crib. What do you make of that? Some kind of guardian? BEN: Well, if you believe that was a ghost, it could be, but you know we didn’t get to see much more than an amorphous misshapen blur. BILL: It clearly can’t be a person. Just look at it (waves his arm wildly) it’s all over the place, hovering, going down to the floor, knocking the crib, coming back up again, getting bigger, getting smaller…people can’t do that. BEN: (nods) What do you think, Jael? JAEL: (shakes her head) I don’t think we could possibly recreate that scenario. BEN: So, are we agreed? This is fact? BILL: Fact! JAEL: Fact! BEN: Now, you know we should go onto the next video.
BEN: So, you know I’m going to say it. That bike had to be 500 cc to get a 600-pound beast up a hillside. JAEL: (scratching her head) I’m not sure I understand why he was giving that man the finger. Was he taunting him? I never knew that about Bigfoot. BILL: Well, if apes can throw shit at you in the zoo, Bigfoot can flip the bird. I’m just not sure about the guy filming this. He may have been setting Bigfoot up to act all mean. We didn’t see the film earlier. He could have been harassing him and pissing him off. BEN: (shakes his head) I hate cruelty to God’s creatures. You know, we really should look into this videographer’s background a bit. I can run a check on him. See if he’s swung puppies around in a pillowcase before or pulled the wings off of locusts. JAEL: (sighs) I’d feel much better if we understand what his motivations are. BILL: That being said, I think this video was staged. JAEL: I agree. BEN: It was just too easy. He had him flipping him off and then riding away on a motorcycle. That stuff doesn’t just happen naturally. He had manipulate Bigfoot to do it. JAEL: (leans forward in a hushed whisper) Do you think Bigfoot was in on this too? PRODUCER: (nudges Ben) Ah, Ben, you’re not supposed to be figuring out if the videographer was tormenting Bigfoot, you’re supposed to figure out if that was really Bigfoot. BEN: (blushes, tugs on his collar) Oh, sorry. PRODUCER: (yells at the crew) Let’s move to the next film, guys!
BEN: Well, what do you think? JAEL: (frowning) I’m not sure what to make of that. The cat didn’t seem like a very good witness to me. BILL: (finger in the air) I agree! That cat was obviously hiding some information that it didn’t want to reveal. It had trouble looking at its owner’s eyes. That’s a sign of lying. BEN: I agree. You know, I am concerned about this cat’s credibility. We have no idea what his background is and I know as an ex-FBI agent that witnesses can be very biased and it could be that this cat knows where his supper comes from and is making up a story for the owner just to get treats. BILL: (snorts) I wouldn’t be surprised by that. Cats are treat whores. JAEL: There’s something in its voice that was just not cat-like. BILL: (nods) Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s almost like a human’s voice. JAEL: Yes! BEN: I have to admit that this cat is very evasive. Notice how he didn’t want to try and talk to the ghost? If he really saw a ghost, he’d want to get to the bottom of it. Then, he changes his story and says it’s a moose. You know, I’m thinking he probably didn’t see a ghost. He just wants attention. JAEL: (purses her lips) Yes, well, look at the condition of the home. It’s obvious the owner is neglectful. And, good God! Who would leave their shoes out where their pet can chew on them? That’s very irresponsible. And to leave your shoes in such ill repair! (tsking sound) BILL: (scratches his head) So, we’re saying that this cat may be a victim of neglect and coercion and therefore a poor witness to ghostly phenomenon? JAEL: (nods primly) BEN: (shrugs) I’m telling you, I don’t trust that cat, you know. PRODUCER (comes forward and nudges Ben) Ah, Ben, the purpose of debunking the tape was to prove that cats can’t talk, not whether the cat was a good witness. BEN: (flushes, tugs on his collar). Oh, well, yes. I knew that. PRODUCER: Let’s cut for now, guys. We’ll try this later!
**Everyone be prepared! Following this post at 6 pm EST, a new installment of LAUGH will be up and it is based on "Fact or Faked."**
Well, we've put a second episode of "Fact or Faked" under our belts, huh? So, This time, let's talk more about the content of the show and less about the peripherals. I am pleased by how they narrow down from the evidence just what they're going to investigate. Some of it is titillating, but hardly worth trying to reproduce. They do seem to choose the ones I would want to investigate.
I'm pleased with the format of breaking the group up into two different locales. I'm thrilled beyond belief they don't pair up the same way every time like GH, you know; Steve/Tango, Jason/Grant, Amy/Kris... I want to see the dynamics of different people working together. Bill is the most animated of the group, for sure. I still get a kind of "Charlie's Angels" vibe to the opening with them sitting around the room and discussing the cases and then going off on their jaunts, but hey--that's another peripheral and I wasn't going to discuss those.
Back on track, let's discuss the cases: The first one was "Night Crawlers" in Fresno. Something freaky found on a video monitor in a front yard of two very weird figures that looked, well, like wishbones walking across a yard. It is freaking chilling footage and as someone who likes to come up with explanations, I know it's got to be something natural, but it sure is freaky looking. First, they tried a child. Couldn't recreate it. Bill had a bitchin' dummy he made with legs and a helmet and made this pulley/mechanical system to try to imitate but stability issues made it hard to recreate. They went into neighboring woods to learn more about what it might be. This was actually rather spooky and fun, a bit like "Destination Truth." They determine it's not a hoax and by voice analysis and his body language, they determine he believes what he saw. They called it "unexplainable."
For the next investigation, they checked out a very clear flying saucer footage. They went into a family's backyard in Lake Havasu. They tried reflecting a fake model UFO in a shadowbox with painted glass to recreate it. It ended up being too transparent compared to the one filmed which looked very solid. Then, they launched a huge balloon shaped like a UFO. It looked almost exactly like the original video. Same reflectivity, rigidness, and tumbling movement. So, they then went out looking for people who saw the UFO/balloon on the 4th of July. They managed to find out that it was a balloon by witnesses. So, this was explainable.
So, the verdict on the show? I like it very much. Of course, I still will whine that I wish they spent about at least a quarter of it looking at viral videos, but hey that gives me more time to look at Ben (wink). They still seem like a bunch of college kids knocking around concepts, but I just want to dirty up the pool with a few older folks/more rough around the edges types. They are just so neat and cute--I want to mess them up.
That being said, the show has bumped up to a 7-8/10 now for me. If it keeps this up, it'll be near "Destination Truth" 8-9/10...
QUIZ: They went to the nearby woods to look for the night crawlers and what weird thing happened?
One of them got sick An animal stalked them Their batteries drained They got lost
Those of you who recall my LAUGH series (right hand side of this page), you might be wondering "when is she going to make our drinks spew out our noses again?" Well soon! I was inspired by the new "Fact or Faked" show and decided they must be featured in the next LAUGH episode, so be watching for that. I think it will be coming in the very near future!
P.S. Jason at Halloween Overkill just gave me the Versatile Blogger award. I just won it a few days ago, but I want you to go check out his blog. He is serious about all things Halloween!
**DO NOT FORGET TONIGHT'S "FACT OR FAKED" ON SYFY! REVIEW TOMORROW WITH TANK TOP PIC AND QUIZ**
This is the last in my series about fledgling psychics. Earlier, I did one on “Soul Seers,” “Tactile Tuners” and “Tomorrow Tumblers” and now we’ve got “Creature Comforters.” We are all born with psychic capabilities, but some of us are not encouraged, do not recognize, or want to ignore those abilities and like muscles, they atrophy. This series is about the fledgling psychics out there, those who if they worked their talent could be a full-blown psychic. In the case of Creature Comforters, you get the picture—they have a way with understanding animals.
Here are some characteristics of this type of psychic…
They love the outdoors and feel more at home there than indoors. The seasons don’t discourage them and as children, they likely would have laid on the floor with the sunlight pouring down on them on a cold winter day and dream of being outside.
There is a natural love of animals but to the point of seeing them as family members and talking to them. As a child, the family dog was likely to be the very best friend of all.
When meeting people in their home, they are more distracted by the pets, wanting to greet each one and get a feel for them by touching. No matter where they go, animals seem to follow them silently as if they are a pied piper. Even the most timid pets come to seek them out.
Sometimes, it seems as if the animal knows what they are saying to them. They are often mesmerized by the talented human. Just a hand to the creature and it seems to calm its restlessness or pain. Subtle changes in the animal do not go unnoticed by this type of psychic. They are acutely attuned to the normal patterns, behaviors and expressions.
Lots of people love animals, but only some can communicate with them. They don’t just love animals, animals love them back in a noticeably unusual way. As these people walk by, dogs on leashes may even pull to get to them and act very excited, the owner telling them that they have never seen their pet get so excited by a stranger.
Pet psychics are actually a legitimate type of psychic. There is as much difference between a true pet psychic and a dog whisperer (trainer) as there is between a psychic and a mentalist. One has true PSI capabilities and the other is trained to appear so.
If you have these features, you can sometimes have the problem with putting animals before people. You also can become consumed with rescue and overwhelmed by the death of a pet. You can’t avoid involvement with animals, as it is your calling, but you can also know that the time you were in the pet’s life, you made the interaction with humans seamless. You can’t ask for more than to be a wonderful interpreter.
This is another in my series about fledgling psychic skills. The prior ones were “Soul Seers” and “Tactile Tuners.” This one is “Tomorrow Tumblers.” Hey, I never said I had great names for these kinds of conditions, but you will be intrigued by what they do. Everyone is psychic but some of us managed to focus on our skills early in life and took them as second nature, others poo-poo’d them or simply did not realize they had them. As I said, my psychometry ability (ability to touch objects and gain stored knowledge from them) was a skill I didn’t know was psychic until I was in my 20s. I truly thought everyone did it. Fledglings are like this, they do things and don’t realize what they are.
Here’s some characteristics of Tomorrow Tumblers…
They get an invite to an event and feel a sudden dread. They will go to any lengths not to go, even though it is something they would normally love to go to. They are driving home from work and suddenly decide to take surface streets for no “apparent” reason.
The phone rings and they know who it is, they think about someone and they get an email out of the blue from her, they finish people’s sentences and shock them that they knew what was about to be said.
It’s not for the person with this fledgling psychic ability to explain why they “get a bad feeling” about something. Just know that they are damned good friends to have when you’re planning to take a flight. Consult them first.
I'd like to thank Mark from The Ringmaster's Realm for awarding me the Versatile Blogger Award.
The rules attached to this award are:
• Thank the person who gave it to you. • Share 7 things about yourself. • Pass the award along to 15 who you have recently discovered and who you think fantastic for whatever reason. • Contact the blogs you picked and let them know about the award.
Here comes the hellacious part of this endeavor, finding 7 things ya'all don't know about me...
1. I am going through a huge life change that I hope to soon be able to share with ya'all and give you credit for giving me the courage and belief in myself to finally make this dramatic change. (no, I'm not going transgender)
2. When it comes to men, I'm fascinated with eyes (can't hide the soul or feelings), hands (especially when they're on me) and shoulders (broad, flexed)...
3. I think one of my sexiest features is my moles...really!
4. I'm painfully loyal. When you are in my inner circle, I would die for you and defend you to the end, be your therapist, your instigator, your life coach and shake up your world so you're not asleep at the wheel.
5. When I hang with friends, the most important thing to me is make an evening no one ever forgets; I'm all about creating memories--insane, crazy, unpredictable, dangerous, goofy, funny as hell, ridiculous.
6. I am completely unpretentious. The best date? Stopping at a roadside carnival and riding crazy spinning rides, cotton candy, and making out in the funhouse.
7. My dream day off? Lazing around naked in the bed all day, tangled in the sheets, legs intertwined, sun shining through the window onto our bodies, napping, making love, napping, making love, scurrying to the kitchen for a tray of yummies, feeding each other, making love, lying around staring at the sunset rays coming in and shining on the ceiling while holding hands and talking about places we'd like to visit, taking a shower together, curling back up in the bed, and spooning as we fall asleep.
Bloggers who deserve this award (I'm also lazy at the end of the day, only 3 people get this)... Time Human Brain Stew (just cause I know he won't do it) OldBlackCatBoo
Grim from Brain Stew informed me of this. I’ve been out of the loops news-wise, too busy with a zillion projects, but the story intrigued me. Apparently China has had some recent UFO incidents that actually shut down an airport. The lights over the airport were described as twinkling. As well, a sighting occurred of four lantern-like lights making a diamond shape, floating over a park for an hour.
In my prior post on “Soul Seers” I discussed one type of fledgling psychic. Since I do truly believe we all absolutely have the wiring to be psychics, but some just figure it out early and use it young and become a full-fledged ones while others aren’t encouraged or don’t recognize the skills they have when young and dismiss them. These people are “fledglings” in the psychic world. The last one I discussed was the talent for discerning souls. This talent, “tactile tuners” are more touch-related.
Some signs a person night be a tactile tuner include;
They often times need to touch a person on the arm or shoulder when speaking to them or they feel they have not connected. If a child acts up, they feel that yelling back isn’t going to work as well as putting a steady hand on the child to soothe him.
Without realizing it, in stores with used items like antiques and thrift finds, they touch the objects to decide if they like them rather than just looking at them. Sometimes in the grocery store or other shop, they pick up an item, set it back down and pick up another similar one without realizing why they put the first one back.
Personal space is important to them and when people encroach and get too close, they feel themselves tightening up inside. Being in crowds where they bump up against others they might feel hysteria rising.
Often times, when just sitting around, they will hold an object and switch it from hand to hand, squeeze it, toss it in the air, mess with it without realizing they are doing this.
What I can tell you about tactile tuners is that they are budding psychometrists and healers. They come in two types; senders and receivers. Senders can heal people and also are good at passing information on, such as holding an object and leaving an imprint that affects others who touch it. Receivers are good at getting the information from the object through psychometry.
If you know yourself to be tactile and to get much information from touching objects and people and maybe called it “weird vibes” or “good vibes,” then you are a fledgling. Some things to consider if you have this is to be careful what you bring home that is used from antiques to Goodwill finds to things your friends pawned off on you. Let them pass the touch test first. If you ever find yourself unexplainably uncomfortable in a chair in a large lecture hall, switch chairs. The last person who sat there might have left an imprint. When you know this about yourself, you can understand why you sometimes out-of-the-blue feel weirded out when making contact with an object, a person or a place.
WEDNESDAY: *SyFy: Repeats of “Ghost Hunters” and “Ghost Hunters International” (“Sweeny Todd) I’m not sure what’s up with GHI… They did Robin Hood and now Sweeny Todd. I’m half expecting an episode about Hamlet or David and Goliath…
THURSDAY: SyFy: “Mary Knows Best” (don’t get me started—I’m counting the days until this one is dumped). ****SyFy: “Fact or Faked” Yahoo!!! (creatures caught on a family’s home security cams and a Lake Havasu UFO)
I admit that I will try to watch GHI, but invariably, I will become distracted. It happens every time. I look up occasionally from my writing, but I don’t usually focus until evidence review. The exception is when they go to a cool place, but lately it seems that they’re into themes… So far as “Fact or Faked” is concerned, it will have my 100% attention and a review every Friday—and expect more pictures of the “girls” in the tank top—including a few shots of a friend wearing one as well… Hey, "Ghost Adventures" has a music video and drinking game for every time they say "dude," "bro" and "man" and every time Aaron's mouth becomes unhinged in horror. "Destination Truth" has a drinking game for every time they take any new mode of transportation. But, "Fact or Faked" is much more serious, so they get the fun pictures every Friday with hopefully little themes to each one...
By now, ya’all know that I have a way of getting into subjects you either haven’t heard of or haven’t considered.
I was talking to a dear friend recently. I like to help people find out how they gather psychic information and how they might tap into it. Everyone is psychic, but we all have different ways of using it. In my own experience dealing with folks over the years, I have come to categorize some types of psychics that are fledglings of more powerful types of psychic conditions. One of these types is the “Soul Seer."
Some features I find in people who are soul seers are these;
They tend to be serendipitous. They end up in the right place and the right time—even if it’s something dramatic like walking past a burning building or standing next to a person about to faint.
They get gut instincts about people but can’t tell you why they feel that way. They just either trust them implicitly or don’t. They sense a person is important in their life but they don’t know why, so they pursue a friendship even if the other person is reticent.
They listen closely for words that ring true and focus on that. If someone tells them a story, certain words, phrases and ways they tell the story makes that soul seer’s senses sharpen and they feel an immediate connection. They are fantastic listeners.
They may have had one or several incidents in which they were with someone upon passing and may have had a visitation afterwards.
They tend to see dark shapes and figures when others aren’t looking in the right direction at the right time, but something inside of them has them looking up at just the right moment, or sensing something and turning to see it.
So, what does one do if he/she is a soul seer? A soul seer has the potential to be more like a ghost whisperer type of psychic, someone who can communicate with those who have crossed over. They not only have the potential so see a soul when others miss it, but also to have the soul want to present itself to them because they can discern their presence. A practicing psychic with this ability would be called a “medium.”
Knowing that one is susceptible to being a soul seer can make his life much better. It’s not some weird dark secret or some crazy madness or perhaps just horrible luck. They are meant to witness things and help people ease with transition. It’s a good thing, although it often comes with bad moments, like happening upon accidents or knowing ahead of time that someone is going to pass on.
On a daily practical basis that “gut” instinct they have about people is a fantastic talent. It can even goad them on to spend more time with someone before they pass on early, or know who to connect their soul with who is worthy of the treasure. If they fight those instincts, they are likely to have constant anxiety and fearfulness and startle reactions.
So, I suggest those with this tendency just go with the flow and let their gut make decisions when dealing with other humans. Let their minds make decisions when dealing with details like finances and choosing a car.
It’s quiz time again! Yahoo! Count your a’s, b’s, c’s and d’s and see what you have the most of.
1. Tackling painting a room, I likely would… a. Make a mess, I suck at painting b. Make it neat and pretty and be very cautious c. I wouldn’t volunteer to paint a room d. Whatever my spouse told me to do
2. You have a choice of fun with friends on a Saturday night and you choose… a. Go out and get totally smashed and get laid b. To stay home and watch movies and drink beer c. Go to our usual bar and play darts d. Whatever my friends decide on
3. On the dating scene, I tended to… a. Go for it, pursue and obtain b. Make friends with someone and work my way in c. Be lovable and fun d. Wait for someone to approach me
4. When it comes to horror, I’d rather watch… a. A gorefest b. Something with interesting quirky characters in weird situations c. Something that makes me laugh and cringe d. The classics
5. So far as religion is concerned. a. I’m going to hell b. I go to church regularly but that’s it c. I used to go to church but stopped when I got older d. I am very devoted to my faith
Now, count your a’s, b’s, c’s and d’s and find out which one you have more of and scroll way down to find what kind of zombie you will make…
a. Classic mindless flesh-eater from “Night of the Living Dead” b. “Fido:” A faithful trained servant c. The stupid buddy on “Shaun of the Dead” d. Mind-controlled “White Zombie” HooDoo type
I have family up in the high desert of Arizona. They are a quirky bunch who have settled into a cute little nest in a town called Cherry, Arizona. This was a mining town long ago. Nowadays, it's a dirt path off the highway that no one knows about, don't know the town, don't know it exists. That's the way they like it there. The people who live there are everything from crusty old desert dudes to survivalist-types to retiring families and folks who just simply want to get away from it all. I did a little short clip of the trip to Cherry and the cemetery there. It's an adorable little one with a lot of graves for pets and some older ones from back when the town was an active mining place and some graves simply named "baby" for folks whose newborns didn't make it. I thought you'd enjoy a new cemetery to look at and some extremely dry Arizona countryside...
Consider this post a sample of the kind of thing I will be covering in my book “Differential Diagnosis of the Paranormal: Did I See a Ghost?” The premise for this nonfiction work will be the combination of my counseling skills/psychic abilities/ghost hunting experience/medical career background/rational-thought processes. Given my strange set of talents and exposures throughout my lifetime, one of my best skill sets is taking people through an experience to determine if it might have been paranormal or not. People come to me all the time with photos, audio, and tales of what happened to them and they inevitably want to know, “was it paranormal?”
Probably the most common time to have a ghostly visitation is around sleep time. I usually take people through a line of questioning first. We can delineate whether or not this is possible paranormal activity or parasomnia (sleep-related) problems.
Here’s some of the typical questions I present:
1. Has it occurred more than once?
If it’s occurred once, it could be a single event in which case we can’t discern if it was paranormal or parasomnia.
If it’s occurred more than once, please keep a log. I want to know the times, the details, how you felt, how you noticed it and how it seemed to go away.
2. Does it occur at the same time of night, like say 3:30 am?
If the answer to this is yes, you might very well have set your internal clock. This is very common. You know, when you have to get up 7:30 am and you wake up at 7:27? We have an interesting internal clock inside our bodies and once you set the clock and note it upon awakening, you recall that number and it becomes your “magic” number. You see a similar thing in your family dog. He comes and sits at the door at 5:30, knowing you’re going to be home from work. So, you’ve awakened at 3:30 in the morning and noted the clock with exasperation. The next night, you go to sleep and wake up at 3:29 and you are even more exasperated. You have now officially gotten yourself used to waking around 3:30. There are lots of reasons that people wake up during the “witching hour,” but the most commons ones are stress and anxiety and the other is a reset clock. All it takes is when you wake in the morning at 7:27, you note the time on the clock. This helps you imprint the new true time to wake up. When you go to bed, click on your alarm time of 7:30 and study it for a moment. Go to bed. You will soon forget to wake at the cursed 3:30 time.
If your answer to this question is no, then we might be dealing with the #1 culprit—uncomfortable sleep. Restless sleep occurs when you are tossing, turning, and not comfortable. You wake up at various times of night and finally awakened stiff, sore and generally exhausted. As well, sleep apnea (brief periods of stopping breathing) can also cause one to startle and awaken, as well as the sound of your own snoring. If the answer is no, we move on to #3.
3. Do you have a history of sleep apnea, night terrors, sleep paralysis, sleep walking/eating?
If the answer to this is yes, I’d say we’ve just upped your chances of parasomnia issues 10 fold.
If you said no, you’ve never had these issues, then I would refer to #4 next.
4. Do you take any meds?
If your answer is yes, let’s find out what kind of meds and how long you’ve been taking them.
If the answer is no, then we are on to #5.
5. Was there anything stressful going on in your life when with this occurred?
If your answer is yes, we might go on to discuss the timing of the sleep issues with the stress/anxiety and if it has affected your ability to fall asleep or stay asleep.
If the answer is no, we are on to #6
6. Do you notice any other symptoms when it happens, like inability to move or intense terror?
If your answer is yes, I am putting you on the yes to #3 category.
If the answer is no, you were able to move and didn’t feel terror that made you call out in distress, then we go on to #7.
7. Does it happen when you are falling asleep, waking up, or during the night?
If you say it happens while falling asleep, I am likely to consider that you have fallen into sleep state and did not realize it. We often think we were up until 2 am but we actually had brief periods of sleep. As well, during the falling asleep period we enter alpha state which is a very receptive time to get information. This is why we get great ideas about a project while falling asleep and have to rush to find a post-it pad and a pen. It also might make us more receptive to spirit communication, as well.
If you say it happened when you awakened in the morning, it’s highly likely this was during REM. If we wake up during REM (dream state), we usually not only recall the dreams vividly, but we can see things with our opening eyes that are still from the dream state which is much like sleep paralysis where your body is still in the paralytic state during dreams (a wonderful protection to keep us from acting out our dreams). Note if your body was slow to respond or move and once you were fully awake, the phenomenon ended.
If it happens in the middle of the night, I would want to ask you a few more things. The shifting sleep states can arouse you to awaken, as well as turning in bed and adjusting the pillow. In those brief moments, you might experience phenomenon, but I would want to know if the phenomenon woke you up or you woke up and felt something strange about the room.
The combination of a dark room, semi-sleeping state and the general unease adults feel about suspended animation of sleep and some of the residual childhood issues with it makes the bedroom the ideal place to experience phenomenon. However, it also makes you a wonderful subject for contact. Messages from dead relatives most often happen in the bedroom not over tea in the living room
Not all bedroom encounters are otherworldly. The majority can easily be dismissed, but the few that have qualities which defy explanation can be attributed to the receptive state that non-practicing psychics are in during their relaxed state. I say non-practicing psychics because we’re all wired for it, we just use it or don't develop it.
