Pasadena Paranormal

Last Post On Blogspot

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 16:41:00 +0000

This is the last post Pasadena Paranormal will be making on blogspot, we have incorporated blogging software to our main website www.pasadenaparanormal.com and will make all future posts to that site.

PPS Poem

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:35:00 +0000

Today we were honored when one of our clients sent us a poem she wrote about our team. With her permission I am posting this along with a link to her poetry sites carolanns poems writersnetwork.com
Thank you CarolAnn

They are the Pasadena Paranormal team
If you got ghosts, nice or mean
They’ll come running to check your home
And they tell you if you’re not alone
So ghosts or spirits all beware
Pasadena Paranormal is coming here
So run and hide they’re coming soon
Pasadena Paranormal will be your doom

carolann 11/22/09

Daily Topic 11-3-09

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:40:00 +0000

I ran across this article in Wired Magazine which talks about an experiment conducted by London's Goldsmith College. In the experiment a room was designed in such a way as to produce high EMF levels and prove that hauntings are nothing than the result of EMF sickness.

I'm torn on this experiment, those conducting it are very skeptical and only created it in order to debunk ALL paranormal activity. Obviously the logic is flawed, to say that all paranormal activity is the result of high EMF levels is not much better than saying that because Hollywood can create the appearance of the same activity then all videos are fake. The other flaw in their results is that they were inconclusive. They were hoping to find proof that the EMF levels would generate the same experiences for all those who entered the appropriate areas. This did not happen and some noted these feelings in areas where the EMF generating devices were turned off. Their conclusion and I'm paraphrasing our experiment did not yield the results we hoped for so obviously its because of the power of suggestion. Yes they claim that because their experiment failed that it must be because the power of suggestion is so strong and this proves that ghosts don't exist.

I do believe that the power of suggestion is strong with some people and that it can cause them to experience things that are not there. I also believe that a lot of paranormal groups do not take this into account when conducting their experiments. Luckily PPS has a rule that removes that factor to an extent, obviously it will be in all investigator's heads that something is going on or we wouldn't be investigating. We only tell our investigators what they need to know and not all claims, the leads will know all about the property and maybe a select few of the other team members. Doing this allows our team to NOT focus on a single area but on the entire location as a whole. If someone on our team reports an experience in a location that has a claim then it gives more support for that claim. We also don't want our team to be focusing on one spot while some kind of activity is happening somewhere else.

Now the reason I'm torn on this article is that I think it could be a great experiment if done properly. The individuals who conducted it had an agenda and skewed the results to mean what they wanted it to mean. I would be interested to see what the results would be if they used several different groups of people, those who were told that paranormal activity happened and those who were told to simply note everything they observed. I also think it would be interesting to see at what levels people started to feel the effects of the EMF levels.

Maybe PPS will conduct a similar experiment in the future.

Happy Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:06:00 +0000

PPS wishes everyone a happy and safe Halloween!

For today's question I'd like you to share your favorite Halloween tale, this can be real or fiction or tell of any traditions you have.

Daily Topic 10-23-09 Activity

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:50:00 +0000

Today's topic is a general question to anybody.

The level of paranormal activity seems to be very high these days, do you think that it is truly more active or is it the same as its always been and it seems higher because of all the media attention? Do you think there are more believers today than there were 10,20,50 years ago?

Pasadena Voice Article

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:37:00 +0000

Paranormal Society Explores Pasadena’s Unknown

By: Hayley Gable

As many people know, the grounds of Pasadena possess a vibrant past, dating back in time to 1733 when William Hancock, Sr. first became associated with the Bodkin Creek property that is today known as Hancock’s Resolution. With the rich amount of history that exists in the area, much of the community believes that there is more of a story behind the reportedly strange sounds and sites that have plagued certain homes and neighborhoods throughout the past.

One such group that is dedicated to this type of investigating is The Pasadena Paranormal Society. Founded in the summer of 2007 by Pasadena residents David Schmincke and Brian Scott Duncan, the idea for the organization came after the pair had discussed several personal experiences they had each had with the paranormal. Additionally, the untimely death of Schmincke’s brother-in-law, who passed away at the age of 30, propelled the group’s start-up as it left Schmincke with many unanswered questions about the afterlife.

The society, which currently has 13 active members, is based in Pasadena but travels all around for investigations, sometimes even traveling to sites in Williamsburg, Pennsylvania and Broad Channel, New York. David Schmincke, the group’s lead investigator, stated that each investigation the group has conducted thus far has netted appropriate evidence for paranormal activity. “Much depends on the physical make up of the site, as areas dense with limestone deposits or accumulations of water seem to retain more impressions of the past. We have garnered such volumes of audio evidence that we are working on a theory that spirit voices may not be site-specific, but are everywhere,” he said.

Such “audio evidence” that the group collects during their site examinations is done with a basic digital voice recorder, a device which Schmincke says will pick up disembodied voices that are not heard at the time of recording. As most of their evidence comes in the form of audio evidence, there are many times during investigations when the group feels that nothing is going on. However, their audio evidence proves otherwise. “Our most prolifically viewed evidence on our website is a clip of an Electronic Voice Phenomena captured at the Cedar Hill Cemetery on Ritchie Highway of a little girl singing,” stated Schmincke. “Ironically, we were recording in the children’s burial section.”

Aside from using audio recorders to track down any ghostly activity, the Pasadena Paranormal Society uses a variety of tools for their research, including infrared thermometers, an eight-camera digital video system that can record in complete darkness, and electromagnetic field detectors. “These high levels can cause a range of symptoms from paranoia to dizziness to nausea and skin irritations. We have ruled out a number of claims due to high EMF levels,” Schmincke said.

Prior to any investigation, there is plenty of research that must be done by Schmincke and his team. “We take every aspect of the investigation into consideration before we give the client our findings on their site - the history of the site, the psychological state of the residents, and a thorough debunking of all reported claims,” he said. “We then meticulously analyze the video and audio evidence we have obtained, along with any personal experiences of our investigators and then review and present our findings.” An average investigation for the group involves approximately 20 hours of prep work and interviews, 5 to 10 hours of onsite investigation and several weeks of analysis.

Pasadena certainly has its share of ghost stories, such as George Fox Middle School’s apparition of a former principal that allegedly roams the halls. The society is currently conducting an ongoing investigation on a Bodkin Avenue home in the Lake Shore area, which the group says has exhibited a tremendous amount of audio evidence where a child is calling for its mother. “A history of the site’s prior owners revealed a female relative of the owner had passed away at the age of three,” Schmincke stated. “The residents have a video of what appears to be something invisible running across their bed with a solid mass. We have had two investigators touched in the attic of this property at the same time as if something was moving past them.”

When the group is not investigating, they are conducting experiments, testing out new techniques and questioning the validity of existing theories to help improve the paranormal field as a whole. “Our clients are looking for an explanation of what is happening in their homes and businesses. It is our responsibility to find the truth, whatever that entails, and help them to understand and cope with what they are experiencing,” Schmincke concluded.

Return of Daily Topic

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:19:00 +0000

Earlier this year I was posting daily topics that were open for discussion with the intent of posting something new everyday. I'm going to re-attempt this with a different approach, instead of sending out an email each day to our team members and posting their responses. I will simply make a post and allow anybody to comment on the website/blog/facebook page since all 3 will update simultaneously. Sometimes I will post a question to our team other times it may be a general question to all of our site visitors. Please post any comments to the site or the blog.

Today's question is directed at the members of PPS.
What separates PPS from the groups seen on TV? ...besides the paycheck.

NY Investigation Added

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 01:06:00 +0000

A new investigation has been added to our upcoming investigations page, see link to the right or click here
This should be an interesting case, Dave has been in contact with the client for several years through the AAEVP website. The case has been investigated previously on the TV show Paranormal State and the client would like another opinion as to what is happening in her house.

The team will be traveling to New York on October 10th to investigate this house and will have any results posted once all of the data is analyzed. So keep checking back for updates.

Amateur Ghost Hunter Falls To Her Death

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:01:00 +0000

TORONTO — A 29-year-old woman is dead after falling three stories while exploring a building in downtown Toronto.

Toronto Police initially said the man and woman were looking for ghosts because they thought the building was haunted but by Thursday afternoon would only say the pair were exploring the historic, gothic-style, building on the University of Toronto campus.

Police — who have now labeled the incident “death by misadventure” — said the man and the woman entered the building around two a.m.

The pair, who were on a first date after meeting on the Internet, made it to a third floor roof and were trying to cross to another section of the building. The man successfully made the leap but as the woman tried to crawl across she fell, according to police.

“It has no support,” said Toronto Police Constable Tony Vella. “So as soon as she put her body weight on the wiring system it collapses.”

Constructed in 1875, the building was originally the home of Knox College before becoming the Spadina Military Hospital during the First World War and then a laboratory.

It currently houses offices, art studios and parking services.

In January, 2001, fifty-year-old David Buller, an artist and visual arts professor was found stabbed to death in his office in the building.

The case remains unsolved.

Richard Fiennes-Clinton, a guide with Muddy York Walking tours said ghost tours are popular on the U of T campus. Stops include Trinity College, Massey College and University College.

“We don’t go to 1 Spadina Crescent,” Fiennes-Clinton said, in reference to the building the pair entered. “There’s really no ghost stories there.”

Matthew Didier, who runs the website Torontoghosts.org said he has not received any reports the building is haunted.

“I honestly believe that this was a sad case of thrill seekers,” Didier said noting his group does not condone late night investigations that involve trespassing.

Mariyah Rahman, a second-year exchange student who has a class in the building said she understands the appeal of exploring it but has never heard the building was haunted. “It’s an attraction because it looks like a castle,” Rahman said. “It looks creepy.”

An autopsy is scheduled for Friday and police are trying to contact the woman’s family in the United States.

The pair were not students at the U of T and the building was locked, a spokeswoman for the university said.

No criminal charges are expected to be laid.

Source: The Vancouver Sun

Williamsburg Ghostwalk

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 22:29:00 +0000

I previously posted about a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia with the promise that I would post a review of the Ghost walk as well as any evidence captured.

Tavern walk ghost tour.
The tour started out at Shield's Tavern in colonial Williamsburg and we were informed by our tour guide that we would not be hearing old ghost stories, that the stories she was telling happened within the past 10 years. As earlier posts suggest the popularity of the paranormal field can have its disadvantages, in this case it resulted in about 50 people on this tour.

At Shield's Tavern we were given a brief history of the site including the renovation/restoration process, this was to setup the first story. Apparently to turn the original building into a tavern with a full kitchen while keeping the historical accuracy of the site required building the kitchen underground along with a tunnel system to the street behind the tavern. So the first story involved a former manager who was locking up for the evening when she got through the tunnel turned around and noticed a light was on in the upstairs office. She thought nothing of this and went back up to turn the light off, when she got back outside again she looked up and guess what, the light was back on. There was another worker waiting for a ride, she confirmed with him that she just turned the light back off, at this point she dragged him back into the tavern. When she reached the office again she noticed that the entire room was in disarray after cleaning up she turned the light back off and said out loud I'm tired do whatever you want but leave the LIGHT OFF! She gets back outside and looks up again to see that the light stayed off but her and her co-worker noticed the silhouette of a man in a tri-cornered hat.

After hearing this story our tour guide proceeded to tell us that historical records showed that the original tavern was owned by a man named Marot. Mr. Marot was murdered and a friend of his was indicted and eventually acquitted of the murder. After a few more tales about apparitions and cold spots we were informed that a few psychics had been on the ghost walk previously and confirmed that Mr. Marot was still hanging around in the building.

Our next stop was the Brickhouse Tavern which is also used as a hotel where visitors who want the full colonial experience can stay. Here we were told about 2 sisters who visit yearly and during their first stay at the Brickhouse tavern experienced some paranormal phenomena. It started out with a faint smell of tobacco, one sister knew it was tobacco since her husband smoked a pipe and was familiar with several different brands. During their first night one sister wakes up hearing a thumping sound near the foot of the bed then it gets closer and she feels a pressure on her chest and cannot move. Eventually she forces herself awake with a scream and the pressure goes away.

After hearing this story I started to loose some of my enthusiasm. This story is a textbook example of Sleep Paralysis:

A sleep disorder where a person half-awakens during the night. This causes the brain and the body to be out of sync and renders the individual paralyzed. Commonly those who experience sleep paralysis get the feeling of pressure on their body, as if some force was holding them down. Hallucinations often occur, mainly auditory but those who can open their eyes often see beings trying to attack them. Old superstitions used to call this 'the witch on your back' before science found an explanation.

Having experienced this first hand I know that it can really have an effect on a person and I can understand how it can make someone feel as if they had a paranormal experience. I decided to keep my feelings to myself but do feel that the tour guides should do a little research into some of the claims. Without doing the research you lose some credibility making it harder to believe the other claims.

We ventured on to the "most haunted building in colonial Williamsburg". Here we were told the story of a security guard that was making his rounds and never checked back in. When the security team went to his last know whereabouts they found him crouched in the basement holding his gun in a cocked position. He never mentioned what he saw but whatever it was caused him to quit on the spot. He now works at the University of Virginia and still won't talk. We were also informed that this site is famous for generating photos with anomalies specifically "an intense ball of light called an orb, that's what a ghost looks like in a picture."

Well anybody who has visited this site before knows how much the members of PPS LOVE orbs. Ha ha, yeah right, if you haven't read our post about orbs or think they are really the manifestation of a spirit please click here We were also told that once during the ghost tour one of the tourists spoke up and pointed out a black mist coming out of the keyhole, at this point someone in our group said "its pitch black over here, how can you see a black mist" those were my thoughts exactly.

We had one more stop on our tour which had an interesting story about a young hostess and a romantic ghost who really liked her.

Overall I did have fun, the stories were interesting and the tour guide did a good job. She was entertaining and knew how to tell the stories she was told. During the tour I kept my mouth shut to those around me, I didn't want to ruin their fun which is why I waited until now to offer my thoughts. I really don't recommend going if you belong to a paranormal group, unless you believe in orbs.

So to the company sponsoring this ghost walk or any ghost walk for that matter: Please do some more research into the claims before repeating them to your tour groups. When you speak about these things as absolute truth and someone can find a logical reason immediately you lose credibility with the rest of your stories.

After the tour was complete I walked back to Shield's Tavern where we began the tour, luckily everyone else had left and I had my recorder running. I snapped a few pictures before returning to the hotel and I was very surprised to see an image in one. Click here to be taken to our images page, the picture in question is the first one on this page the second and third pictures are the same just zoomed in and highlit.

Williamsburg

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:30:00 +0000

This past weekend I visited Williamsburg Virginia, while I did not go as an investigator, I did take my recorder.

We spent most of Saturday at Yorktown first visiting the battlefield and ending up at Yorktown settlement. From Yorktown we went to colonial Williamsburg for the rest of the day. That night we returned to colonial Williamsburg to take part in the Tavern Ghost Walk. I used my recorder at each location and kept it running for the duration of the ghost walk.
Over the next few days I will be analyzing the audio files and pictures for any anomalies and will post them on the website along with a review of the ghost tour.

ParaAbnormal

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:32:00 +0000

I was reading some updates from some of our twitter followers today and found the following video. This is from a group called ParaAbnormal, they are based out of Ellicott City, MD and are about to start their own web series starting September 1st. Keep in mind that the name of the group is ParaAbnormal and anyone who is a fan or at least seen any of the popular Ghost Hunting shows will find this very funny. There are 3 clips available on youtube as a sneak peak and here is the first:

Case 01 - Part 1: ParaAbnormal Sex Tape - SNEAK PEEK

Gravity Hill Experiment

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 20:35:00 +0000

We conducted a series of tests on a reported Gravity hill over the weekend. The results can be found on our experiments page under urban legends. Or directly link from here http://www.pasadenaparanormal.com/exp.php?title=Gravity%20Hill%201

4th of July

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:31:00 +0000

Happy 4th of July everyone!!!

Of course the 4th of July has significance to every American, but it has extra meaning to the members of PPS since our group was founded on the 4th of July.

So Happy Anniversary PPS!

K2Comment and response

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 17:02:00 +0000

We received the following comment regarding our k2 experiment:

"If you think getting 20 feet out of an FRS walkie setting off a K2 is good, how far do you think a transmitter from a police, ambulance, business or Ham radio running several THOUSAND times the power would get? Then multiply that by 10 if they point a yagi your way. It's not just your equipment that can set off a K2."

Our response:

Thanks for the comment, the whole point of this experiment is to find out what can cause false hits so that we can try to rule it out in the future. We are not like most groups in that we don't take k2 hits or emf spikes as definite proof of paranormal activity, rather we document it to see if it correspond to other evidence/experiences we encounter at the same time. If this is the case then we feel it supports the emf/paranormal theory. I'll try to find a way to test your other theories.

Experiment Posted

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 22:18:00 +0000

The results for our K2 false hits experiment have been posted to the Experiments page. Go to the Experiments tab on the navigation menu and select Equipment or click HERE

Hunt Ghosts with Nintendo DSi

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:42:00 +0000

Want to hunt ghosts on your Nintendo DSi???

"A Different Game", a Swedish game developer has begun porting the augmented reality game "Ghostwire" to the Nintendo DSi. "Ghostwire" was originally developed for smart phones as part of the Nokia N-Gage Mobile Games Innovation Challenge in 2008 and has since been in development for other handheld devices.

"Using the DSi's built-in camera and microphone, the game allows you to find and hunt ghosts seen through the camera lens and projected onto the real world.... Ghostwire is a collection- and adventure game, where you use your handheld device to communicate with ghosts. Your portable device is used as a portal to the astral plane, and helps you find and collect ghosts that exist all around you. In your quest you use real tools, such as the built-in camera and microphone, as well as abstract ones like a "frequency modulator" for tuning in ghosts. Once you find the spirits, you document them and find out why they haunt our world. They can also give you riddles to solve. Ultimately, you can help them to find peace." -ghostwiregame.com

For more information, please visit: http://www.ghostwiregame.com

5/18/09 Site Update

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Tue, 19 May 2009 02:21:00 +0000

There is a new feature coming to the PPS website, an Experiments section. While the pages are currently empty we will be conducting experiments in the very near future to fill them. We hope to prove or debunk some of the claims that are commonly associated with the paranormal field. The experiment pages have been broken down into 3 main categories:

Theories, which will attempt to prove the specific theories that we have heard or developed ourselves.

Equipment, here we will attempt to find the most accurate way of using our equipment by testing for limitations or false positives.

Urban Legends, these will be more rare as most urban legends have been retold so many times it would be too hard to verify any validity of the original story. Some though, may have roots here in Maryland's history and hopefully we can find out what really happened to cause the legend to appear.

Once we conduct the experiment we will post the results and all data gathered along with a youtube video documenting the experiment.

We hope that you enjoy this new addition to our site and if you have something you would like us to test out please let us know by sending an email to help@pasadenaparanormal.com.

Daily Topic 5/1/09 Direction

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Sat, 02 May 2009 02:03:00 +0000

If it was your decision, what direction would you take the field of Paranormal Investigation? or How would you like to see the field evolve in the future?

Dave: As with any field, there are numerous sub-factions of paranormal investigators. You have: serious minded individuals and groups whose focus is strictly research, groups that deal primarily with helping clients with purported hauntings, and groups as we tend to do, attempt to do both.

Then you have the thrill-seekers. The kids with a new toy that make it virtually impossible to advance the field without cutting through the stigma they cause. If it were a single thing I could change, it would be to cancel all the TV shows and let these people go back to their Dungeons and Dragons game, leaving those with focused attention in contributing to the study; do so without their "muddying the waters".

From the standpoint of the research arm of the paranormal, I'd love to see researchers combine their efforts to support, debunk, or amend the theories that currently exist. From a combined effort, replication of test results may induce other researchers who dismiss these studies currently to contribute. We are developing our own spins on currently accepted theories and hope to offer the paranormal community, something to consider.

James: I would like to take the world of paranormal investigating to the fore front. Make it a more respected science than as some people treat it as. With the technology we have the sky is the limit in our investigative techniques. Helping out our clients with troubled entities to helping the police with possible evps at a crime scene. I know it sounds unusual but if it were my way, the world would respect paranormal investigation a lot more.

Rex: For me I'd like to see a clear set of standards that would need to be followed by all paranormal groups. Any skeptic will tell you that the reason people don't take this field seriously is because the claims and theories can not be replicated on demand. If all evidence was held to the same standards I believe it would grant more credibility to the field even if the results could not be replicated. The problem is that each group out there has their own way of doing things and most disagree on what should be counted as evidence. At PPS we do not use personal experience as evidence and rarely use photographs, this is because they can be taken out of context and only those involved with the situation can speak to the validity. I know we are a long way away from being accepted with open arms into the mainstream scientific community but I would like to at least be acknowledged.

Pasadena Investigation Revisited

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 17:49:00 +0000

Tonight we head back to our most recent investigation site in Pasadena. This time we will not have the rain to deal with which should make analysis a lot easier. We will follow up on some of the answers we received from our EVP sessions and other questions that were raised. Also on this time around we will be doing something we have never done before, involving the homeowners. After our main investigation is complete we will retire to the tech center and allow the homeowners to go to bed, we will monitor the cameras to see what happens during their normal nighttime routine.

Since this is a follow up we may include some of our lesser used equipment for experimentation. I am looking forward to tonight, this will be the first time I get to lead the entire investigation, so keep checking back to see the results.

-Rex

Daily Topic 4/23/09-Improvements

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:19:00 +0000

As a group that is always analyzing and trying to better ourselves I posed this question to our team:
In what areas do you think PPS could improve?

Dave: As a relatively young group, there are still trial and error corrections being made with each investigation. While there are many books out on paranormal investigations, none cover every scenario the investigator will encounter. In this light, we chose to develop our own methodologies. Whether they are superior techniques or not remain to be determined.

I personally would like a better turn around time on evidence analysis. We are extremely meticulous in our analysis of recorded data. Looking and listening for every anomaly and often with duplicity of review can take weeks after the close of the physical investigation. What are weeks to us is an eternity to the client. As professional as we strive to be, isn’t very apparent if we do not report our findings timely.

We are making moves to improve this segment of our investigation by adding members who we feel would excel as analyzers. I don’t think the "mother hen" mentality I have will ever allow me to fully delegate this function off to others, but in the interest of the client, we need to shorten this cycle time dramatically.

As this field of study continues to advance with newer technologies and discoveries, I am sure that our procedures and methods will continue to change and improve as time progresses.

Rex: I think we have come a long way from where we started from, we've upgraded equipment enhanced the website and figured out some different techniques as far as debunking and investigating. Since Dave pretty much covered the analysis portion I'll add getting more content on the website. I've added this daily topic and it seems to be getting some positive response, even if nobody is really posting them. But I want to add more "meat" the stuff you really want to see, we have hundreds of evps to listen to but due to the span in between investigations and analysis time, it can take a while before new ones are posted. One thing PPS will be doing this summer will be some experiments, Dave spoke briefly about it a few posts ago, these will allow us to update the website with interesting content in between our investigations. We will be looking into some of the theories about the equipment we use and even trying to debunk some of the skeptics claims. We will make videos of these experiments and post them here and on our youtube channel. If you have any suggestions about a theory or an experiment or something you want us to look into, send us an email at help@pasadenaparanormal.com

Daily Topic 4/22/09-Skeptics

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 00:07:00 +0000

How important is skepticism to paranormal investigation and far should one go as a skeptic when debunking?

Dave: I think skepticism gets a bad name. It is often associated with a doubting, unalterable opinion based on predisposed beliefs. But skepticism, properly dispensed, is the basis of all discovery. Without the need to prove something, experimentation is fruitless. If everything is taken at face value without debate and investigation, than we fall under a belief structure based on blind faith.

We approach every investigation as believers in the continuation of the soul. But this belief is based on past results and experimentation, not a rubber stamp of activity on the current case. Our jobs are to prove, or disprove activity at the client's site after exhausting all possible earthly causes. By proof, I mean the lack of dispute for the claims made and evidence gathered. As we may never have concrete proof of the working of the ethereal realm, best educated guesses may be as good as it gets.

Every group needs to keep a certain air of skepticism in play throughout the entire investigation. This includes analysis. I have been so excited by an EVP hit, that another team member will later disprove as an EVP and rightly so. So to jump to conclusions without review and group agreement does a disservice to the client and the field of study as a whole.

Can someone be too skeptical? I absolutely believe so. We call this the "Andy Syndrome". Most readers will know what I mean by this. These people try way too hard to disprove the paranormal. Their explanations can develop to the point where their earthly explanation is almost less believable than the activity reported. We try to bring in members that have a good balance between belief and skepticism, coupled with a deep desire to know the truth. With this mix, we feel very confident that we have delivered the best product we can to our clients.

Rex: There are extremists when it comes to the paranormal on both sides, skeptics and believers. Those labeled skeptics by the paranormal are usually on the extreme side, where they just deny anything paranormal without any investigation or study at all. Their main argument is "____ doesn't exist" which basically applies to anything they deal with. On the opposite side are the believers that just accept everything anyone tells them without question.

We approach our cases as believers who are skeptical about each claim given to us. We aim to prove the paranormal by making sure that we cannot debunk the claims. Debunking is a major part of our investigations, we look for things (within reason) that could cause these things to happen. Once all natural phenomena are exhausted we can look to the paranormal. The "Andy Syndrome" that Dave speaks about is when the ridiculous is considered as an explanation. For example a claim may be that a client hears loud banging coming from their attic after we rule out the possibility of squirrels and raccoons or tree branches blown and the only explanation possible would be if someone dropped a Buick from 100 feet onto the house, the Andys of the world would accept this.

4/20/09 Hauntings vs Paranormal Activity

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:07:00 +0000

A lot of times we determine that a house is not necessarily haunted but does have paranormal activity going on, what is the difference in a house/location that is haunted and one that just has paranormal activity?

Dave: Unfortunately the word paranormal and ghosts have become synonymous with each other. Ghosts and hauntings are an example of paranormal activity, but the word paranormal basically means "beyond normal". Beyond normal encompasses anything that cannot otherwise be scientifically explained. This includes: psychokinesis, ESP and telepathy, cryptozoology, UFO's, etc. One example of a non-entity paranormal event was recently discussed in our Daily Forum when Rex defined what "Poltergeist" activity encompasses.

A true haunting exists when all attempts to explain reported activity as originating from earthly causes fail, and recordable confirmation of spirit activity is captured. The term "earthly causes" encompasses non-human origination, (High EMF caused paranoia, raccoon caused footsteps in the attic, etc.) and human caused events such as unintentional telekinetic episodes. PPS will never run the haunting flag up the pole unless we have quantifiable evidence of various types, (audio plus video, audio and personal experiences backed-up by recordable measurement equipment findings, corroboration of client findings without successful debunking, etc.).

As a haunting may be either an intelligent, or a residual event, even a confirmed finding of a haunting takes on different courses of action. In either case, or if something non-entity driven is taking place, bestowing the client with knowledge and confirmation are the best and perhaps the only resolve.

Daily Topic 4/17/09-Artifacts

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 01:32:00 +0000

This week's episode of Ghosthunters revolved around a traveling Titanic exhibit, currently located at an Atlanta aquarium, the exhibit contained items pulled from the wreckage and stories of paranormal activities followed it from city to city. The question for today is, can personal belongings be the source of a haunting?

Dave: As part of our pre-investigative interview, we will ask if the client can remember bringing either an antique or yard sale item into the home around the same time activity was first noted. If the client can remember bringing such an object into their homes, we ask them to remove the object for a period of time to see if the activity ceases.

Why would an entity follow an object from place to place? I'm not a big fan of believing that an object traps a spirit within it, I would lean towards the object having played a very significant role in the entities life. I fully believe that when I transition my TV remote will be haunted like a big dog. This may explain the many reported cases of haunted dolls and musical instruments. If this premise is true, it would explain why the entity is mobile. It is a "Hey, where are you taking my _______?"

In the case of Wednesday night's "Ghost Hunters" episode, I did not finish watching the episode, but saw enough to know that the objects on display where mostly money and articles of clothing. These are hardly items that would fall under the "beloved objects" aspect of this theory. I will have to defer my opinion of whether there were Titanic victim entities present until after I watch again.

Rex: There are lots of documented cases where objects have paranormal activity surrounding them. I am another one who doesn't think that a spirit is trapped by or within an object but follows it as it holds some significance with a spirit. Who's to say what can be a significant item that would be worth following around. As for Wednesday's Ghosthunters, they could not determine that the activity was linked in any way to the Titanic based on the evidence captured. The items in the exhibit may have only been trivial things but for a tragedy like the Titanic, they may have been the last personal possessions that they had when the ship went down. I think it would be interesting to see if any other exhibits around the country, that contain items from a specific event, have paranormal activity.

Daily Topic 4/16/09-Minibox

noreply@blogger.com (pps) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 00:16:00 +0000

Is the mini box (aka ghost box or Frank's box) a reliable tool for paranormal investigators, or is it still too new to be used for more than experimentation?

*if you are not sure what the mini box is check out the website's equipment page at the very bottom. We also have a pretty good positive result from one of our big circle recordings:

Pasadena Paranormal Radio Sweep

Dave: The "Mini Box", "Frank’s Box" and other similar configurations of radio band sweeping devices are tools used in ITC (Instrumental Transcommunication) research.

ITC research covers experimentation in both audio and video attempts to communicate with the spirit world. The premise of Radio Sweep equipment is that by using a device which sweeps a radio band (AM, or FM) without pausing at a particular frequency, an entity will use the available noise to form words.

PPS has a Mini Box which we use during our ITC experiments. We haven't used it extensively at investigations as the results of Mini Box experiments are subject to debate. Many opponents feel that the words recorded are merely snippets of words being said on the stations being scanned and those sentences, or groups of words are random and pure chance. Proponents believe these are indeed "voices from beyond". We listen for a predetermined length of time following the question, usually six seconds is the cutoff, and we listen for relevance to the question posed. As PPS hasn't fully embraced this method, we never base any results from its use as "evidence".

We have had a few compelling recordings using the radio sweep technique as Rex stated in the question. If anyone is interested in starting ITC experiments, I recommend joining the AAEVP (American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena). They have very minimal yearly dues and have groups all over the world that share the experiments they are conducting and are very happy to assist those new to the field with getting their start. Their website is http://www.aaevp.com/

Until then, watch our website for an upcoming section devoted entirely to PPS experiments with ITC coming in late summer 09.

Jake: I hate the mini box! Not because I think it is without use. Not because I have yet to experience anything paranormal using that machine (though I've only seen it once). I hate it because it freaks me out! I don't know if I could handle hearing a disembodied voice speak to me clearly using radio waves ... the good news is that there are fewer commercials than FM radio. The down side is that I always need to remember in the future to pack an extra pair of drawers.

Rex: I think it is still too new to be used as a primary tool to capture paranormal evidence. On one hand the box continuously scans radio frequencies and radio stations broadcast programs on those frequencies which already puts labels voices caught as questionable. However if used properly and sticking to a clearly defined set of rules on how long you will wait (for us its about 6 seconds) for a response I believe it could, in time be very valuable to investigators.

If you watched the clip at the beginning of this post you will know that I personally have first hand experience with a positive result. We were conducting a "Big Circle" session and one of the first questions Dave asked was for a spirit to say the words "HI REX" immediately we heard what sounded like the word "HI" and we respond to it. As we were talking it said "HI" again and then "REX" which we comment about in the clip, then we got a clear voice saying "HI REX" at the end. The words HI and REX are said by the same voice as if in one continuous statement, if this were a case where the minibox was just picking up an actual radio broadcast it would have been 2 different voices and most likely broken up due to different frequencies.