By: Head Director Justin Flannery
Paranormal enthusiasts see theses devices all the time, waving through the air and scanning the surroundings. When something is found, a small gauge comes to life. They can be the making or breaking point of an investigation. I’m talking about those handy little EMF meters. We know they have practical uses, such as detecting faulty wiring or even search and rescue, but what exactly are there uses in the paranormal investigating field?
First let’s take a look at what EMF is an abbreviation for: Electromagnetic field. What is this electromagnetic field, you’re wondering? I’ll break down the word. The stem of the word is electro. Electro is derived from modern Latin and describes anything involving an electric charge. Now the root, magnetic. Magnetic refers to anything exhibiting an attractive charge. Combine these two together and you get our term electromagnetic. Now the word takes on a whole new definition. According to Wikipedia, anything electromagnetic “exerts a force on particles that possess the property of electric charge, and is in turn affected by the presence and motion of those particles.” Simply stated, it’s a form of magnetism created by the presence of electricity. It’s one of the four fundamental forces of nature; the others being gravity, weaker attractions, and stronger attractions. Moving on.
How does all this relate to the supernatural? Current theory holds that ghosts derive and retain energy from surrounding objects in order to manifest. If true, then through this process the spirits would, in turn, ionize the surrounding atmosphere. Ionization is basically when an atom looses or gains an electron, thus giving it a positive or negative charge. Since spirits supposedly absorb electricity which is a gathering of loose electrons, the free floating electrons are attracted to a positively charged atom in the surrounding air and ionize it. An EMF meter then detects this rise or “spike” in the field and alerts the user. See how all of this science mumbo-jumbo is tying together?
Remember, all that glitters is not gold. The spike the meter would detect could be from a source completely separate from what investigators are looking for. The field could be emitted from a “leaky” wire, the investigator’s own equipment, or possibly the investigator him or herself. A fact to carefully consider, indeed.
I hope this has thoroughly informed you about the science behind those seemingly magical “ghost meters”.
By: Head Investigator Axl Smith
During the journey of doing an investigation of the paranormal, your body and mind goes through many different feelings and changes. Like seeing a ghost for the first time, or hearing a noise that is unexplainable. One minute you can be completely calm and the next rather scared or just unsettled by what you have just seen or heard. Unable to stop these wild and ever changing feeling is something that you learn how to cope with and control over the course of investigations.
There are many types of emotions you can and will fill during investigating, like being shocked for instance. When you have seen or heard something that is unreal or unexplainable to you, your body goes into shock (this is similar to being frightened). Normally when you are in a state of shock, the hair from your neck becomes stiff and stands straight up. This is from the adrenaline rushing through your body. The emotion of being scared is quite similar, but with a couple of other reactions. When scared or frightened, your mind sends pulses to your body making you want to run away from the object or sound that has made you react this way. The hair on your arm normally reacts to this, and will stand straight up from your arm. Whether you stay in the area or leave because of it is completely up to you. If you stay you will have to confront this emotion and try to withstand it, but achieving this is not easy once you are in that state of mind.
After a couple of times investigating, you become use to these emotions. Your mind is not easily influenced by these feelings, and the investigations becomes more comfortable for you. But you may never completely become immune to this. Once you have seen a ghost, there is a highly, if not certain, chance you will feel the same feelings next time you encounter one. These feelings will only get better with experience for most people. Some people will never know how they are going to react to seeing something paranormal for the first, second, or any time but you should be able to get a grip on these feelings and learn to adapt.
Always be aware that there are many more emotions then the ones I have just listed, but these are the most occurring. The paranormal is not something that everyone is ready to see, because of the emotions that they are not prepared to go through. Remember to always proceed with caution and be ready for the unnatural. I hope this has helped you realize the paranormal is not for the faint at heart.
By: Head Director Justin Flannery
Recently, I was asked a small series of questions concerning why anyone should investigate claims of the paranormal. After reviewing them, I though these questions would be a great article for the site. Here you go:
Q: What would be the purpose, scientifically, in finding evidence of the paranormal?
A: For centuries ghosts have been documented, the oldest being from the Greek poet Plato. Yet, after this lengthy amount of time, no answer has been obtained. Thus, part of the purpose would be for knowledge. Secondly, the very nature of ghosts are unknown; the physics behind the manifestations, the energy source, and the reason. As we know, in order to gain force you must first have mass. That's just it, ghosts have no mass yet they are able to send nonmagnetic items soaring. By the laws of physics, Force=Mass x Acceleration. If no mass is accelerating then how can these entities generate force? By researching them we could open an enormous door of opportunity.
Q: What would be the purpose, personally, in finding evidence of the paranormal?
A: By psychology we fear what we do not understand. Say if you're a home owner, and every night you hear disembodied voices, see people out of the corner of your eye, and witness items being flung like rag dolls. Since you didn't have a better understanding of this, wouldn't you be frightened? Of course, though, you were open about this problem and called in a paranormal research group such as TAPS. There are many, many more people that keep silent about the paranormal because of skepticism. If the phenomenon were properly documented and investigated, then those people wouldn't have to live in silent fear.
Q: Would there be places that are haunted, that are uninhabited? Places you would be free to conduct an investigation anyway you see fit. If such a place existed, how would you conduct your research?
A: Yes, there are such places. Often the haunting is the reason it is uninhabited. Remember, though, when providing evidence you must have a bullet proof story to back it. If you went to a location and conducted research poorly yet caught the most amazing piece of evidence to date, skeptics and other researchers could punch holes through what you've collected and summarize that it was an equipment malfunction, dust, water vapor, your reflection, an exterior or interior light source, ect; therefore, in their eyes, you've caught nothing.
Now, how to conduct your research. Were to begin? First off, always act in a professional manor. It will cut down on human flaws in evidence and give you group a positive image when they are featured in documentation. Next, keep an open mind. Every little knock or movement isn't paranormal. A majority of the time so called "activity" will have a natural explanation. Keep sharp. Also remember to treat the entity, location, and other team members with respect. It'll make everything go much smoother.
Q: Humanly, what would be benefited from the different types of research that is done on the paranormal?
A: Any number of things discovered could benefit the human race. It ranges from closure about death to dissolving fears to maybe even better understanding history. The list goes on and on. In my view, parapsychology is a worthwhile field; it just hasn't received enough positive attention.