James Choron August, 2009

The Place With No Name

Regardless of what you’ve heard, Western Siberia is a wonderous place nothing like we were led to believe in the West. It is not a frozen wasteland. There are no starving bears chasing emaciated wolves up and down the frozen, dreary streets vying for the skeletal forms that huddle wretchedly in long lines waiting for their daily crust of bread and cup of thin turnip soup.

Siberia is big and bold and beautiful a land of extremes, and contrast with frigid winters and sweltering summers high, snow capped mountains and pine forests that stretch out as far as the eye can seee. It is a land of great modern cities like Novosibersk with it’s population of three million, and tiny villages like Dubovka with is population of thirty.

At one time, Siberia was synonymous with “suffering” and “pain”. At one time, it was the heart and soul of the most infamous and notorious prison system the world has eve seen Stalin’a GuLag (That, by the way, is the proper way to write the word… it is an acronym, meaning Gu(sodarstnoi)La(ger)… Government Camps…) stretching from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, from Vorkuta, above the Arctic Circle to Magadan on the Sea of Alaska it was a place of torture, torment and grief. It was a place to which many came, but few returned.

The train lumbered through the tiny village in the dead of night. It was mid winter, and great sheets of ice shrouded the twelve wooden cars that crept along behind the big, black 6-8-6 steam locomotive. A thick cloud of smoke belched from the engine as it struggled to push aside the dense piles of snow that all but obliterated the tracks. Thinner streams of smoke trailed from each of the cars. It was the only sign that inside each car, packed like sprats in a tin, were eighty human beings lost souls most of which were making their final trip to a place with no name. For five days they had been crowded into the cars five days with one cup of thin soup and one slice of coarse black bread to keep them alive barely five long days with no room to lie down and room to sit only in shifts five long days of a single bucket for a toilet, shared by all, and a tiny coal fed, iron stove to fight off the frigid temperatures which plumeted, at night to over forty below zero. These were the damned. The victims of a dying dictator’s paranoia. They were doctors, lawyers, engineers, soldiers, wives, mothers and children. All of them had managed to run afoul of Stalin, or his infamous henchman Lavrenti Baria. Now, those who had survived the trip, were near their destination a place with no name. They were only the latest arrivals… not the first… not the last. It seems only fitting that these nameless “Enemies of the State” were bound for an equally nameless “last stop” a place in which most, if not all of them, would eventually end up in an eqally nameless mass grave, in the place that they called “Site 36″. The place without a name.

Things are different now. Site 36 has long been closed. The land that that once made up the most infamous camp in Stalin’s GuLag has long ago been turned to farmland. One or two scattered villages dot the landscape, several of these are populated by those who once labored here for the state and their descendants, either as guards or as prisoners. They get along, now. It is as though they share a special kind of sadness, a common nightmare. Their children and grandchildren do not know who was who. It is a peaceful place now, and only the old railway platform marks the exact location of the old camp. No train serves it now. The villagers travel by car, or by bus, the fifty kilometers into Novosibersk when they do their weekly, or monthly shopping for the things that their tiny local shops do not carry. But the legacy of Site 36 hasn’t ended. The local farmers still find “unwanted” obstacles in their fields not the least of which are the numerous uncharted, unmarked mass graves. Then, too, there are the sounds in the night.

Every night the train still comes. The clack-clack-clack of it’s drivers echoing across the wheat and potato fields and through the windows of every house in every nearby village. Every night, the lonely wail of it’s whistle echoes through the stillness of the Siberian night, and every night, the hiss of it’s air brakes slashes the stillness as the train and it’s load of misery ease into the platform at the place without a name. Each night, the shouts of the guards, the barking of their dogs, and the cries and moans of the newly damned are heard echoing through the stillness, just as they have for over half a century. Once in a while the other sounds are drowned out by the sharp crack of a pistol shot, the bark of a rifle or the gutteral growl of a submachine gun. Sometimes you can hear the sirens.

The people who live in the area are used to all this. When asked about it, they shrug and say simply that things like this happen. And, happen they do every night at the place without a name.

© 2007/2009 by Dr. J. Lee Choron. All rights reserved unless otherwise specified by the author in writing.

Tags: ghost, investigation, paranormal, siberia

• Articles

Tammy Wilson February, 2009

When I first started investigating, I was dead set (no pun intended) on gathering “scientific evidence” that ghosts exist.  I had gadgets and I had a tool belt to carry my gadgets in.  All those gadgets do is make you appear to be technologically hip – until your EMF meter goes off and the homeowner asks you why and you say, “Um… I’m not sure.”  Cover blown – your hip status just went down the toilet, folks.

There are simply too many factors that come into play when you get gadgets involved.  Unless you are a photographer by trade, you likely don’t know all the intricacies of your camera and all the ins and outs of photography.  You can’t truly 100% say that weird blob is anomalous.  You can say you “think” it’s anomalous, but really, in the grand scheme of things, do you honestly “think” anyone gives a rat’s ass what you “think”?  Not really.  They have you there because they want to know what you know, not what you “think.”

Now that I’ve been doing this for a few years, I’ve learned a lot and I’ve changed my focus quite a bit.  I have changed my focus to the history behind the hauntings rather than the science of the hauntings.  Why is history so important to an investigation?  Because no matter what kind of temperature readings, EMF spikes, or moon phases you have in your favor, you ain’t got jack without the history.  The history is the basis of anything and everything going on, if in fact, there really is something going on.  If you have exhausted every scientific experiment you can think of and checked all the plumbing and there simply is nothing coming up but these people are still giving you accounts of things that have happened to them, then you owe it to them to find out why.  That’s why they called you.

If you can find out the history of a location, you will likely find out why it’s haunted.  If you can’t find out exactly why, you may at least be able to verify that it is.

My mother lived in a house in Enid, Oklahoma when I was a baby and things happened to her all the time.  She would come home and the recliner would be turned facing the wall.  Knick-knacks would be moved from where she put them, the lights would come on, the cabinet doors would open – you know, classic haunted house stuff.  One night she was awakened to find herself half way off of her bed, as if she had been dragged off of it.  All the lights in the house were on and all the cabinet doors and drawers were open.  Buffy, our fearless St. Bernard, was cowering under the dining room table whimpering like a baby.  She took me from my crib and got the heck outta Dodge and moved out the next day.

About 20 years later, she was working at the employment office when a gentleman came to her desk with his paperwork.  As she was going through his papers, she saw the address.  It was the same address as the house I was just telling you about.  She says, “Oh, I used to live in that house about 20 years ago,” and the guy says, “Really… anything weird ever happen to you there?”  So they exchange stories and it turns out this guy is having things happen, too.

Well, I always thought this was a great creepy story so one night I’m relaying it to a few friends.  I say the address and one of my friends starts completely freaking out.  After he settles down he proceeds to tell me, “We always deliver medicine to the old lady that lives there and she is always going on about how the devil lives in her house and we always just thought she was crazy!”

So, you see, there are three stories from three totally unrelated people over the span of several years, of things happening to them in this same house.  Do we know why the house is haunted?  No.  But with three stories like that, I think we can safely say that it is haunted.

This example is why it is so very important to know the history of the location you are investigating.  Corroborating stories are more validation to me than an orb in a picture or a crazy EMF reading any day.

So this brings us to “How do I find out the history?”  Well, that’s not nearly as easy as waltzing through a place with a bunch of gear that squawks and beeps and flashes, but in the end will be much more impressive, not to mention fulfilling for you as an investigator.  People are impressed with intelligence and if you can show that you have done your homework, you will likely gain more credibility for that than for having more crap on your tool belt than someone else.

If you are a credible investigator at all, you will have a very lengthy and in depth questionnaire you’ll use to interview your clients with.  Once you have talked with them ad nauseam and you have determined that their troubles are not the cat knocking things over, the pipes rumbling, or the medication they’re taking, then you can begin your quest.

Remember when you were a kid and you thought it would be cool to be like Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys or even Sherlock Holmes?  Well, here’s your chance because being a Paranormal Investigator is much like being a private investigator.  You have to be very observant of everything in the location and even the actions of the owners.  You will have to be able to purvey the scene, interview witnesses, dig for clues, and follow those clues until you find the answer, just like a detective.  I would say luckily, you don’t have to have a PI license to do this, but you know, sometimes I think you should because that would cut down on a lot of idiots out there yelling “Ghost” every time they get an orb, but I digress…

The first thing you need to do on your hunt to uncover the past is take good notes.  Look for anything that denotes a particular era – pictures, certificates, scrapbooks, photo albums, etc.  See if they have any pictures of the location as it looked originally.  Sometimes buildings and homes change considerably over the years and these changes might prove to be pertinent to your investigation on down the road.  Ask the owner what history they know, if any.  Ask them if they have the abstract of the location.  The abstract will have all the deeds and mortgages and documents pertaining to the property in it and you can find out a lot from an abstract, such as any changes or additions to the property over the years and people involved in buying or selling it.

Ask the occupants what they know about their neighbors.  Find out if any of them have been there for a while.  They may not know much about the neighbors and the neighbors might not seem to know a lot either, but Mrs. Cravitz across the street might be able to recall some minute thing that may not seem to matter, but might be a big clue later on.  Take good notes!  Note anything you find out from the neighbors!

Now, being in the legal field for the last several years, I have learned how to find a lot of things out that people don’t really know about or think about.  There are several online search engines that you can subscribe to and would probably be a wise investment if you plan to do a lot of research.  There’s also a social security death index online that can be helpful.  But for the real nitty gritty research, you’re going to have to get off your butt and actually do some legwork.

Your local courthouse can be a plethora of information.  If you can’t get your hands on the abstract, go to the deeds office and look up the address and you can find every deed that has ever been done on that property.  Deeds reflect who owns the land and you should be able to tell from the different deeds whether improvements such as houses, etc. have been made on the land.  Also note that the deed will just tell you who owned or owns a piece of property – it won’t tell you if someone else rented it.  But you can find that out, too.  You can also find out who pays the taxes on the property by contacting the Assessor’s office.  This information should all be public record.  You can find out a lot about a piece of property from the Assessor’s office and I have never had an experience where they weren’t happy to answer any of my questions.  All of this is free – the only thing that will cost you is copies.  Everything that is in the abstract should be available at the deeds office; it just won’t be all in one handy book like an abstract.

Another thing you might ask for while at the deeds office is to look at the plat of the location.  A plat is a plan, map or chart of a city, town or section, usually on land that has been subdivided, indicating boundaries and borders of individual properties. Each lot is identified by number and letter. Lot dimensions are noted. It may also include features such as building locations, water pipes, sewer lines, vegetation, topography, etc.  This can show you what was originally in that location and the layout of the property surrounding it.  You might also be able to check with the local code or zoning office and see if they have any permits for building improvements or renovations on the property you are investigating – these might have names on them you need or even might tell you about a stairwell or attic that’s been walled up.

To find out who has actually lived in the house you can access the city’s City Directory.  Most cities have these and they are normally available at the library or the city offices.  Some people call them a Criss-Cross directory also because you can look things up by address, name, or phone number and they’re all cross-referenced.  These are great tools in locating people, past or present.  They come out once a year and you should be able to get a hold of them fairly easily.

The city utility office is another place you can check for past residents.  They are usually very accommodating if you tell them you are doing historical research on the house.  I don’t think I’ve ever been told they couldn’t give me that information.

Once you have a good list of names of previous residents, then you can start trying to contact them.  I have found that a letter is much less scary for someone to receive than a phone call out of the blue, by a complete stranger, asking them about ghosts.  A letter will give them time to process what you are actually saying to them and to do some research on you to determine whether you’re sincere and credible, or a total loon.  If they decide you’re a loon, you’re pretty much out of luck and they will probably throw away your letter or save it and show it to their friends saying, “Look what I got in the mail from this loon!” and you’ll never hear a word from them.  Or they might be afraid of appearing like the loon and not say anything at all.  Or you could get really lucky and they will call you with their stories.

If you don’t hear anything from the previous residents, don’t get discouraged.  Go to the graveyard.  Not literally, but start digging through the obituaries.  Most libraries have a database of some kind of all the obituaries. You can probably access them on microfilm.  Genealogy groups are also a good resource and most communities have them and they are always willing to help people, given you don’t blurt out what you’re doing, or they may think you’re loony.  Cemetery associations also should have records of every person buried in the cemeteries and they may be another place to check with.

If someone died of unnatural causes, there will likely be a newspaper article on it and if you search the dates surrounding the death, you might come up with a story or two about the occurrence.

If the person died from a crime, there will be a police report, which you should be able to obtain relatively easily from your local police department.  Now with everything being available online, many court districts have court documents available online.  You would need to find out their location on the net and then you can search by name to see if anyone has any documents filed in the court system.  If you have the name of a murderer, you can probably get copies of things like a probable cause affidavit, which basically outlines the crime committed and you will get a lot of details from that.  We were working on a home where a heinous murder took place and we were able to obtain a copy of the probable cause affidavit and the information sheet the state filed and we culled several details from those basic documents.  We found out where the bodies were discovered, who all the witnesses were, all kinds of things that related directly to the haunting.  We were also able to go online to the Department of Corrections and look up the killer – which doesn’t necessarily pertain to the haunting directly, but it was interesting and a name might be relevant to the haunting in the long run.

It would also probably behoove you to become chummy with the local police department.  With this particular house I mentioned, we were able to get a walk through with the detective that worked the scene when it happened.  He was able to give us a lot of background and the facts of the case, which was pretty exciting because we had all grown up hearing about this murder and over the years the stories grow and change and you never know the truth, so it was cool that he was able to give us the true story and details that we wouldn’t have otherwise known.  Of course, if the crime was a long time ago, this might not be something that’s possible, but if it is, take advantage of it.

Some counties and towns have their own history books.  My county has a huge two volume set that was put together by the local historical society in the 80’s and it was done by gathering stories and histories from families throughout the county.  I use these in my research of local ghost towns and they are one of my most prized and priceless resources, so check with your local historical society or museum and see if they have such a creature, because if they do, you will feel like you have totally hit the jackpot once you start going through it and realizing how much information is in those kinds of books.

If, after you have exhausted all these ideas, you just can’t get one thing to make sense, then I would say to go ahead and document everything the client is telling you, conduct your technical investigation, and provide them with a copy of the report.  Have them keep a journal of any further occurrences.  Perhaps by documenting everything well, your information may be able to help the next person that lives there.  Someone may remember something later on that will make sense to someone and they may call you back.  Check back with them periodically to keep track of whatever’s happening there.

As I mentioned earlier, being armed with knowledge is much more impressive than being armed with a bunch of gadgets and you should be well armed now that you know how to conduct a proper historical investigation.  It may sound like a lot of work, but you’ll be glad in the long run that you did it and your clients will have a lot more respect for you knowing you worked hard to truly research their problem.  I’ve met people that have written books and books on the history of haunted places and have made a great living based on their knowledge of history of haunted places, but I have yet to meet one successful author or investigator that’s successful because he had the biggest tool belt and the most expensive meters.

Tags: ghost, how to, hunting, investigation, paranormal

• Articles

James Choron January, 2009

A WORD TO THE WISE

Contact with Spirit Entities

Each of us is born with a natural sensitivity to spirit entities. It is society and our exposure to the culture around us that tends to teach us to surpress and ignore that natural talent. In some of us, though, it is quite strong and is never completely surpressed. In a tiny fraction, it is sufficiently powerful to survive intact throughout an individual’s life. This ability is not something to be feared or ashamed of; it is a gift.

All children are sensitive before they are old enough to be taught by those around them that it is impossible or to understand the concept that it is bad, wicked or evil.

In many cases, a child’s gift manifests by their acquiring imaginary or invisible playmates. Parents think this is cute and charming, but in many cases it is likely the spirit entity of a child has managed to find another child to play with. The disappearance of the imaginary playmate generally happens when the physical child ages and grows beyond the desire to play and sometimes blocks the ability to sense their companion. In short, the earthly child ages, but the child spirit entity will always be a child and will eventually find another little playmate.

Some individuals retain this gift of sensing and communicating with spirit entities throughout life. For those who are extremely high-level natural sensitives and psychic the existence of such spirits is never doubted. Communication is always possible and usually goes on regularly. However, anyone at this level of sensitivity will quickly explain to the investigator that they never initiate contact unless it is an entity they have been

familiar with for many years, often for a lifetime. Others they will hear, at times respond to, but will not attempt to contact even though they are immediately present.

Ouija boards, pendulums and other tools of divination and contact with spirit entities may be seen as games and parlor tricks. A seance might be seen as a good way to entertain at a slumber party. No high-level sensitive or psychic, even a child who is aware of that very special gift, will participate lightly in such things, for none of these are games or simple fun. They not only work, they sometimes work all too well. Those who view them as games or diversions are either very brave or very foolish people.

At this point, it is necessary to give a substantial and substantive warning to

all new investigators of the paranormal. If a spirit entity is encountered, positively no attempt should be made to contact this entity unless it first attempts to contact you. At that point contact should be attempted by the most experienced member on an investigative team—preferably a psychic or one who is very sensitive and borders on being so—or by the group, on a second, subsequent visit. The reason for this is very simple, and obvious upon even a cursory examination.

Although as I said earlier, we do not change in our basic nature at the point of physical death we do in many other ways. There are all sorts of people—good, bad and indifferent. We can’t know on first encounter with an entity into which category that individual will fall. This is essential to understanding the nature of a contact. I will repeat: we definitely will not change character when we become a spirit entity. This is what makes encountering and communicating with some entitiesextremely dangerous. While truly evil individuals are, generally speaking, quite rare, they do exist. By the same token one should never, under any conditions, attempt to invoke, summon or call any spirit entity, particularly one at the site of a field investigation in which their actual nature is unknown and unknowable.

No Not all spirit entities are who they appear or profess to be. Since they are

energy, they can take on any physical form, and one of the many ways in which we do change at physical death is in gaining the ability to “read” other energy forms—a form of telepathy. Spirit entities can, but rarely do, manifest solidly enough or make the tremendous expenditure of energy necessary to use vocal communications. They can, and do, literally speak to our minds and they can and do read them to the extent that we will allow it.

So, a spirit entity who wishes to gain the confidence of any given person for any reason can, if they desire, present themselves to that person as some deceased friend or loved one or some figure who is known and respected by that person. Only close observation over time can determine the difference. If they are truly who they say, they can and will prove it in ways that will make the person they are contacting certain, and they will not insist that person open up and allow them “in” until they are certain.

The reason for these warnings such is vital to know. At the time of physical

death we become a being composed of pure energy. That being has the capability of manifesting and becoming solid; but it also has the capability of over-riding the neural system of a living person and inhabiting that person’s body, either for a short time (which does happen at times for the purpose of communications by an entity but is never to be invited) or for very long periods. This is called possession, and it is a very grim and real possibility for those who are naive enough to invite it or to accidentally stumble into it. For this reason a conscious effort must always be made to avoid any

uninitiated contact. They cannot enter without your permission. It is a physical impossibility. However, if that permission is given even accidentally there are entities who can and will take advantage of it.

I will state, however, that unlike in the movies, this is not always a particularly evil or malevolent act. Please note that I said “not always.” It can be. In some cases, a spirit entity sees an opportunity to live again in a symbiotic/parasitic relationship in the body of a possessed individual. This is not necessarily evil, but it is nevertheless bad and something that is to be avoided.

It is extremely difficult to be rid of a possessing spirit entity. It is not quite as bad as what Hollywood presents, but I assure you it is bad enough. So, with all this in mind…

Good hunting!
.

Tags: ghost, ghost hunting, paranormal

• Articles

James Choron November, 2008

PICTURE PERFECT
Photography and Paranormal Investigation

Now, let’s have a look at exactly what a “spirit entity” actually is. I have investigated three separate incidents in which the entity encountered was so solidly manifested it was impossible to tell it from a living person. One of these incidents happened to me, and it was the purest accident that I discovered it was not a living person. An account of this experience, titled “The Little Girl in the Ga Garden,” is included in my collection of true paranormal accounts titled Footprints in the Snow: Tales of Haunted Russia, published by Zumaya Publications.
I have also had—and still have—personal encounters with spirit entities who can and do manifest regularly in differing states of, for lack of a better word, solidity depending on their mood and the situation at the time. Bo Both of these are guardian spirits who travel back and forth among a very closely interconnected group of people on a regular basis. While they are essentially the guardian of a particular person, they take that responsibility to include anyone this person considers to be close family.
One of these has been familiar to me since I was around three or four years old (and earlier, but I have no real memories of that time). I mention this because, at first, I did not know this was, in fact, a spirit but thought it was simply another adult who looked in on me from time to time. Over a period of forty-five years, his appearance, when he chooses to fully manifest, has not changed.
It was in this way that, over time, I learned that spirit entities can, if they choose, manifest solidly enough to be capable of doing anything that can be done by a living person—and considerably more. On their own plane, and in the transitory astral plane, they are a living person, and are no more constrained than we are, having basically the same senses and abilities, although enhanced a great deal. What I am about to say might sound odd, or simply unbelievable, but it is true. It is unnerving, to say the least, when one is cooking and gets the distinct impression of “too much salt,” “too much pepper” or “Are you trying to garlic me to death?” It is also less than flattering when you are informed by a spirit entity that the whiskey you are drinking “tastes like kerosene.” It is even more unnerving when the spirit entity in question is fully materialized or nearly so, and you can see the grimace on their face.
One thing I continually tell new people in this field is that there is no need to be afraid of a spirit entity. They cannot physically affect you, let alone harm you, unless they are completely physically materialized. The exception is if it is a guardian spirit specifically responsible for a given person or location. It is important to note, however, that the full or even partial physical manifestation of a spirit entity, particularly in a field investigation setting, is extremely rare. The actual presence of a spirit in any state of manifestation makes up less than three percent of all cases investigated anywhere by anyone. Full, or even partial, manifestations in a field investigation setting make up
slightly less than one percent of even that small figure. The plain fact of the matter is that the investigator in the field has a far better chance of being struck by lightning than of seeing or capturing on film the presence of a fully or partially materialized spirit entity. Out of some two thousand cases investigated and a vastly larger number of photographs analyzed, I have personally recorded half a dozen cases of full or partial
materialization that could be considered authentic.
I’ve analyzed photos professionally for years, and even so it is often impossible to tell if a photo is genuine. The best that can be done is to eliminate obvious and detectable flaws, errors and the possibility of manipulation of a negative, print or bitmap (in the case of a digital image). An experienced investigator should be able to at least give a rudimentary analysis of both the print and the negative of standard film photos and should be able to pinpoint errors of photographic process, photographer error or known defects in the camera and film.
To analyze a photo of an anomaly, the main process is to eliminate all other known potential causes of such an anomaly. That which remains is the authentic photo. If the anomaly is still present, and has no known cause, then what is there may or may not be paranormal in nature but it is certainly real. Personally, my philosophy is not to analyze photos for the specific purpose of finding hoaxes, although I’ve found quite a few. My goal is to establish evidence that the paranormal, as such, exists. I have found that most photos that I analyze—about 90% of them—are honest mistakes, or problems with the camera or film. About five percent of the photos I have analyzed are actual
anomalies of some type—and I emphasize “of some type;” about that same amount are deliberate hoaxes.
No Now that might sound like a low figure for authentic anomalies, but it isn’t,
given the volume analyzed. Keep in mind that out of about 2,000 cases our group has investigated over the past fifteen years or so only about three percent represent actual spirit entity activity. The rest have perfectly normal explanations, although some are a bit odd in that the incident is produced by a combination of random factors that are, to say the least, unusual, and singular in nature.
A good example of this is a case where a previously unknown, and unsuspected, underground hot spring found a way to occasionally vent itself right in front of a little shrine erected to a Saint, producing a beautiful mist at random times. There are also cases of unusual acoustics and atmospheric conditions producing what appear to be the activities of spirit entities and/or anomalies on film or tape. It would amaze you what a buried powerline or telephone cable will do to an EMF meter, and how often the signs marking their location have disappeared.
This is all what I mean about doing your homework. When a report comes
in, there are a lot of things that should be done before going out and conducting a field investigation. It all depends on the nature of the report.
What amazes me, and upsets me most, are cases in which someone, for
whatever the reason, produces a deliberate hoax—and some of them are quite good. Most of the time, it’s their idea of a joke that gets out of hand and out of control, or caused by a craving for attention. I’ve seen instances where an entire community, or at least an entire business community, will propagate a tale in order to generate tourism and business. It’s not common, but it happens.
I also know of one case where people working in a photo laboratory cooked up a very elaborate and very convincing hoax just to pull a particular investigator’s chain for a while. It took the poor guy months to figure out that the best ghost photo he had ever taken was a fraud—not his, and not his fault, but a fraud, nevertheless. He wouldn’t have figured it out even then had one of the perpetrators not come down with a case of guilty conscience and admitted it.
What is more disturbing is the number of deliberate hoaxes that are perpetrated for the absolute best of reasons, and in a “good cause.” Many people—fortunately, very few are professional investigators—will produce a hoax, or fake a photo, EVP or video in order to “prove” or “demonstrate” that the paranormal is real. Their motives may be good, and their heart might well be in the right place, but this kind of thing hurts us. Once something like that comes out for what it is, it casts doubt on countless examples that are not hoaxes, and brings the reputations of countless investigators into question.
The thing is, it’s just as important to our field, and for the advancement of our field, to expose hoaxes and frauds, where they exist, as it is to prove the authentic cases. This is true of any branch of science, and that is what our discipline is, or should be—a branch of science, nothing more, nothing less. All theories are just that—theories—and must be proved or disproved. The only way to do this is through the development of a working set of field techniques and methods based on scientific procedures, practices, and the collection of an empirical trail of indisputable evidence.
This is perhaps the best time to “grasp the nettle” and approach a rather touchy subject among paranormal investigators: orbs and orb photography.First, let’s look at the subject in detail. Exactly what is an orb?
The fact is, no one really seems to know. They have as many names as they
do descriptions. These include “globes,” “globules,” “balls of light” and “hovering round balls.” In photographs—they are rarely ever seen by the unaided eye—they appear in all ranges of brightness from sharp and glowing to faded and barely-visible. They usually, but by no means always, travel quite fast and follow an erratic pattern of flight.
Some believe positive orbs to be the spirits of the dead. I am not, generally speaking, one of those individuals. Other theories suggest that they might be separate life forms or even nature spirits. I am not one of those individuals, either. The problem is that most orb photos are simply false positives, or developing/processing flaws.
There has always been a controversy concerning orb photography with regard to authenticity. Although some—a very few—orb photos are believed to be authentic, there are still many that are the result of airborne particles set aglow by the flash, airborne droplets of water, small insects or simply flaws in the processing of the film. This happens with both indoor and outdoor shots. Be Because of this, it is extremely difficult to disassociate the false positive orbs from the real ones or to take orb photos in general seriously. Think of what happens when you open a heavy curtain inside a dark room to let in the sunlight. Have you ever done that and seen all the dust in the beam of the light? Dust can and does show up in a photograph, particularly a digital photograph, as orbs. This is especially true when the dust particle is very small and very close to the camera’s lens. The reason that it is more certainly true when a digital camera is involved is simple: digital cameras are more sensitive to small objects than standard film. A very small moving object that is either just outside the focal range of the
camera or moving slightly faster than the pre-set shutter speeds used in digitals will be distorted in the bitmap image into an “orb.” Moisture (humidity), mold and pollen are also major contributors of false positive orb photos.
It is important to mention that in the case of standard film, it is not
unheard of for the processor to improperly dry negatives or prints, leaving a
flaw in either or both that will resemble an orb. Be Because of this alone there is
no real way to confirm an orb’s authenticity with our present knowledge.
Therefore, it’s likely that most orb photos are false positives—more than
ninety percent are the result of nothing more than the conditions at the time of
the flash.
To demonstrate this, take your digital camera outside and throw some dust
in front of the lens. Multiple orbs will appear in the picture. Any of that dust that is within four inches of the lens or at the extreme focal length of the lens will appear as orbs in the photo. You can also take a spray bottle to simulate humidity and spray directly in front of the lens; the result will once again be multiple orbs. Additionally, no digital photo of an orb can be considered to be completely free of flaw since there is no negative with which to compare the finished print.
Although digital cameras are a useful tool in paranormal photography, at the current state of the art, they simply cannot be entirely trusted when it comes to any false positive photo. A good, dependable 35-mm single lens reflex (SLR) camera is far less likely to create dust mote orbs on film or any other flaw. This makes them the camera of choice.
Some “experts” in paranormal photography advise that the investigator should use the lowest dpi digital camera available, as they are more likely to record orbs. This is true. They are more likely to record a number of common flaws that tend to make the investigator look quite foolish. Quality is quality, and you get what you pay for.
As for other reasons why I consider a 35-mm camera superior to the digital variety for most applications in paranormal-related photography, the principal ones are:

— The relative cost of a digital camera compared to that of a 35-mm,
makes the digital, for everyday use, cost-prohibitive. A very good 35-mm SLR
camera may be purchased for a fraction of the cost of a digital camera of the
same relative quality. While the digital is somewhat less expensive to operate,
owing to the absence of film and processing, the average person can buy a
virtual lifetime supply of film for the difference in price between the two types
of camera.
— The very best quality “pocket” 35-mm camera is currently selling at
retail for less than half the price of the low-end digital of the same size. One
can also buy a used high-end 35mm SLR for less than half the price of the
lower-end digital of the same approximate size.
— The 35mm camera has a far greater variety of function than the digital
because of the availability of specialized films such as infrared and ultra-high
or ultra-low speed.
— A higher level of quality in enlargement. To put it plainly, with the
proper film, a 35-mm negative may be enlarged to, literally, wall size without
significant distortion. This is impossible with a digital image, as they will
rapidly be reduced to a bitmap.
— A wider range of shutter speeds and aperture openings. A 35-mm SLR
camera is operator variable. This means the photographer can alter the lens
opening and shutter speed of the camera at will to compensate for lighting
conditions. This is impossible with a digital camera.
— The resulting print is less vulnerable to tampering or doctoring. It is
extremely difficult and time consuming to doctor a 35-mm print effectively.
Most common attempts at tampering are easily detectable and quite obvious.
Anyone with an over-the-counter copy of Kodak Imaging or Photoshop Pro
software can alter a digital image, almost at will.
— Positive prints may be compared to the negative for purposes of
analysis. This is impossible with a digital image.
— Digital images are far more susceptible to dust, water vapor, small
insects and particles showing up as orbs, mists or vortexes. This is because
the image is recorded as a bitmap, and the area of light dispersion resulting
from a reflected flash is exaggerated, while the actual outline of the object
reflecting the flash is lost completely in the bit map pattern.
— Digital cameras have a more limited depth of field than a 35-mm
camera, and therefore have a far more limited target area.
— Digital imaging is more susceptible to distortion by movement at very
high speed.
— It is impossible to use a digital camera for nighttime or low-light
photography without the use of a flash.
I am not saying that you should not buy or use a digital camera. If you have
the money to spend and want to purchase a digital for other purposes as well as use in paranormal investigating, please do so. However, we maintain that the purchase of a digital camera solely for the purpose of use in paranormal investigative work is not only a waste of money but is, for the most part, a waste of time.
As the state of the art in this technology increases, this will possibly change, but for the moment we strongly advise against the use of digitals in paranormal work. They are simply too expensive and lack the reliability and versatility of a 35-mm.

Tags: ghost, ghost hunting, paranormal

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James Choron October, 2008

Documentation
Just the facts

While the subject of proper documentation has arisen several times in the couse of this procedural manual it is important that we have a  compete and thorough understanding of what constitutes such documentation. It is impossible to over stress the importance of this critical, but sometimes admittedly tedious aspect of conducting a properly scientific investigation of a paranormal incident or event.
As mentioned, our group uses a standard military and police form to record the interviewing of witnesses and a standard military and police incident report. These are available in packages of 100 from any specialty shop dealing with Police and Security supplies and in most cases local police departments and sheriff’s departs do not mind ordering such forms for an investigative group or supplying them with copies that can in turn be copied. The filling out of such a report should follow the guidelines set by the form itself which are basic questions which provide an overview of the incident being investigated and the testimony of witnesses. Keep in mind that all such forms should be made in triplicate and all entries should be initialed as a proof of accuracy after being read over by both the interviewer and interviewee. Likewise a recording of the interview on either videotape or audiotape is highly recommended but in all cases a standard release form permitting the use of such material for research purposes must be signed by the interviewee and notarized with a copy going to the interviewer, interviewee and to the archives of the organization conducting the investigation. Such documentation makes any follow-up on the case or a similar case far easier to undertake since a precedent has already been established. When dealing with an interview always keep in mind the cardinal rules of good journalism which apply to any investigation. Questions should be concerned with who, what, when, where, why and once this information has been gathered the open question of how can be addressed. Investigation reports should be consecutively numbered, dated and should contain the full given names, ages, occupation, physical address and telephone number of the party being interviewed and a statement in the words of the party being interviewed of exactly what happened and/or what was witnessed.
Documentation of this sort, done in a professional manner provides credibility for our field. It lifts our investigations above the level of hearsay and rumor and into the realm of hard science.
A separate form should be used, also in triplicate, which records the results of any and all electronic or photographic evidence gathered on an investigation and as in all other aspects of documentation should bear the signature and contact information of at least three (3) witnesses. Likewise this should also be filed in a coherent system that is readily accessible in the even to f a follow-up investigation of the same incident at a later date or as background material in an investigation of a similar incident.

NOTE: All interview forms should be signed and dated by all parties present and initialed line by line on each statement given by the witness. The form should also be accompanied by a photograph of the witness. Attached to the documentation form in a prominent place. It is highly recommended that any interview forms should also be legally notarized so as to constitute valid testimony in any ongoing investigation at a later date.

Tags: ghost, hunting, investigation, paranormal

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