Truth Through Science
Our friend Autumnforest over at Ghost Hunting Theories Blog has a wonderful series of interviews of paranormal teams from around the world. I met Autumnforest in the blogosphere a while back, and I’m a frequent reader over at her blog.
Recently, she spent some time speaking with our Lead Investigator and Founder, Ian Murphy. You can read the full interview here.
Keep up the great work, Autumnforest and we look forward to seeing you back here soon!
Posted in Discussion.
– July 26, 2010
Ian Murphy, Lead Investigator for the Paranormal Research Association of Boston presents his acclaimed talk at the Brookline High Scool on June 22, 2010. The Science of Paranormal Research is designed to educate members of the public in the basics of scientific paranormal research. It offers people interested in paranormal research the opportunity to experience the scientific aspect of research of this very interesting subject.
We had a great time at the talk – amazing turnout, and great audience participation. The video series is eight parts, so enjoy!
Posted in Uncategorized.
– June 27, 2010
“Science has the answer to every question that can be asked. However, science reserves the right to change that answer should additional data become available.”
–Mary Roach, from her book Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife.
I’m currently reading a fascinating book by Mary Roach, called Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife. Roach uses engaging prose for one thing, and she discusses many examples of how scientists have examined the scientific basis for life after death. One chapter, that I found particularly interesting, deals with EMF and altered brain function.
The author visited the lab of Michael Persinger, a neuroscientist at the Laurentian University, in order to experience artificial paranormal experiences caused by controlled EMF exposure in what he calls his “Haunt Box” – a soundproof chamber fitted with a chair and a hefty EMF-emitting helmet.
Persinger explains his theory on EMFs and “hauntings”, saying that exposure to electromagnetic fields lowers melatonin levels in the brain. Melatonin is an anti-convulsive, so if you have less of it in your brain, your right temporal lobe may be more susceptible to tiny epileptic microseizures and the associated hallucinations, or feelings of “presences”.
Of the nearly one thousand test subjects who have experienced Persinger’s “haunt box” stimulation to their right temporal lobes, eighty percent have reported feeling a presence. It is also true that people suffering from naturally occurring microseizures – such as patients with complex partial epilepsy - often experience hallucinations as well.
It’s a very interesting physiological explanation for the phenomenon of “ghost” encounters. Most of us have heard about the link between EMF and paranormal experiences, but Mary Roach discusses a very detailed theory involving melatonin and altered brain function. So, the next time you see a ghost, stop and think for a moment – you might be having a seizure instead.
Roach, Mary. Spook : Science Tackles the Afterlife. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. New York, N.Y.
Posted in Discussion.
– June 3, 2010
Last night’s Ghost Hunters episode (Click for full episode) featured an experiment with a flashlight at the NJ Bar and Grill with Britt and Amy. The theory was this: by loosening the lid of a Maglite flashlight, the entity could signal by slightly ”turning” the lid and completing the circuit to turn on the light. Britt and Amy put the light down and said the light turned on ONLY when the entity was asked to do so. However, I see several problems with this experiment.
First, we were not shown most of the experiment. It is possible that the light flickered on and off the whole time, and we were selectively shown instances where the light turned on after being prompted. Jason later said that here were over 40 minutes of footage, but we only saw a few seconds.
Next, in order for this to be a truly controlled experiment, the same procedure should have been repeated at a different, non-”haunted” location, to rule out random chance. For instance, if you took the same flashlight, loosened the lid, and went to the local McDonalds, would you see the same random on-off flickering in response to questions? Ideally, this would be repeated several times and statistics would be used to compare the NJ Bar and Grill location to McDonalds to see if there is a significant difference.
Although it offers a dramatic effect, the Ghost Hunters flashlight test is yet another example of a non-scientific, biased experiment employed by a paranormal group to impress clients and television viewers. As such, these procedures serve to reduce the scientific field of paranormal research to nothing more than a circus sideshow or a series of parlor games. Come on, Ghost Hunters.
Posted in Discussion.
– April 15, 2010
Tune in LIVE, Monday, April 12th, at 9:00 PM EDT!
Posted in Uncategorized.
– April 10, 2010
Ghost stories have been around since the beginning of time. I think they’re just an integral part of the human condition. One of the earliest documented ghost stories comes from the experiences of the first century Greek philosopher Athenodorus of Athens. The tale, as told later by the Roman philosopher Pliny the Younger, is as follows:
There was formerly at Athens a large and handsome house which none the less had acquired a reputation of being badly haunted. The fold told how at the dead of night horrid noises were heard: the clanking of chains which grew louder and louder until there suddenly appeared the hideous phantom of an old man who seemed the very picture of abject filth and misery. His beard was long and matted, his white hair disheveled and unkempt. His thin legs were loaded with a weight of galling fetters that he dragged wearily along with a painful moaning; his wrists were shackled by long cruel links, while ever and anon he raised his arms and shook his shackles in a kind of impotent fury. Some few mocking skeptics who were once bold enough to watch all night in the house had been well nigh scared from their senses at the sight of the apparition and what was worse, disease and even death itself proved the fate of those who after dusk had ventured within those accursed walls. The place was shunned. A placard “To Let” was posted but year succeeded year and the house fell almost to ruin and decay.
Enter the starving artist Athenodorus, who was desperate for a place to crash and decided to rent the place. Not surprisingly, the first night there he was awoken by the sound of chains rattling. The sound grew louder and louder until Athenodorus caught sight of the hideous phantom of the old man. The spirit beckoned with a bony finger and led Athenodorus to the garden where he pointed to the ground and then disappeared.
The next day, Athenodorus had the garden excavated, and he discovered a human skeleton with rusted chains still shackled to the bones. According to Pliny, on that day the haunting ended and the house was quiet once again. Who knows how much of this tale was embellishment, but it’s fascinating to me how similar this tale is to accounts of many modern hauntings. Perhaps it’s simply a timeless theme : tortured souls from beyond the grave who need a little help from the living.
Photo courtesy Kzappaster.
Further reading:
Cohen, Daniel. The Encyclopedia of Ghosts. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1984.
Posted in Discussion.
– April 9, 2010
So I was trying to think of a very early holiday gift to give our team, possibly for our upcoming live broadcast, and I remembered a gadget I heard about on MyPara.net: a laser grid for use on paranormal investigations.
I did a quick search on ebay, looking for “2 in 1 lasers”, and I found the Disco Laser (and many others), for around $15.
Apparently, the theory behind it says you project the laser grid against a wall in the hopes of capturing a “ghost” on video crossing one or more of the many points of light. Interesting theory, indeed, but I’m not too sure what I think about it.
For one, that assumes that whatever entity you’re looking for actually has the ability to reflect or refract light. For this to be the case, it means we would be looking for a physical entity with some measurable mass. Second, it assumes that the entity would have an interest in actually crossing the very conspicuous grid of green or violet light for a little camera time. And third, it assumes that our cameras would be able to detect tiny changes in the light pattern and differentiate between a “ghost” and a stray dust particle or insect.
That’s a lot of assumptions, but hey, it sounds cool. I think clients at a private residence might think your team is super awesome when you say: “Yeah, this room is where we’ll be setting up our laser grid for capturing ghost movement on video.” Next, you might say something to your tech manager beside you, suggesting they remember to stay away from “crossing the beams”.
John’s Paranormal Blog did mention how TAPS used a laser grid on their recent Alcatraz investigation, although it wasn’t really discussed in the episode. I guess I could see using a laser grid as a debunking tool, such as using it around a trigger object, to rule out any foul play like strings or other cheats.
I’m still on the fence about the disco ghost laser. Does anyone have any personal experience using one that they’d like to share? Even if it doesn’t capture evidence of a “ghost”, at least it would create a happy disco atmosphere for those long overnight investigations.
Posted in Tech Gear.
– April 5, 2010
The Paranormal Research Association of Boston will be broadcasting a live paranormal investigation at Cape Cod’s historic Colonial House Inn, in Yarmouthport, Massachusetts on Monday night, April 12th. Join us online at 21:00 EST to take part in the investigation LIVE in three different ways:
1. Follow us on Twitter @praofb for LIVE TWEETS during the investigation.
2. Join us here at Para-Blog, for LIVE CHAT during the investigation.
3. Join us at PRAB-Live, for a live video stream of the investigation.
Please help spread the word, Tweet, Retweet, and we hope you can join us on the 12th!
For some interesting information about the Colonial House Inn, including paranormal claims, click here.
Posted in Investigations.
– April 1, 2010
Our next investigation into historical views on the Spirit World takes us to the ancient civilization of Assyria. At its height of power in the ninth century B.C.E., the Assyrian Empire spanned much of the Middle East from modern day Turkey, south to Egypt and east to Iran.
To the Assyrians, life after death was very real. One concept, the edimmu (often ekimmu), was believed to be an evil ghost of a person who was denied entrance into the underworld. One became an edimmu by meeting a violent or tragic end, such as by murder, in battle, drowning, or succumbing to exposure in the desert. In general, people who were not given proper burials were believed to become edimmus.
Similar to the concept of demonic possession in Catholicism and dybbuk possession in Judaism, edimmus were believed to attach themselves to living people and cause mischievous behavior and in extreme cases, even death. Interestingly, to the Assyrians, even looking at an unclean corpse could draw the wrath of an edimmu. Further, edimmus were seen as death omens outside of homes, wailing in a similar fashion to the Irish Banshee.
The edimmu is yet another example of a cultural concept of “ghost”, highlighting the similarities that can be seen over thousands of years of human history and across the entire globe.
Further Reading:
Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits. New York: Facts on File Inc., 1992.
Posted in Discussion.
– March 30, 2010
Well, “capture” ghosts…NO. Create ghost hoaxes…YES! Lots of fuss has been made over the recent Weslaco Ghost photo, which turned out to be a hoax created by using a previously unknown iPhone app. called Ghost Capture. It gives the user the ability to add one of several spectral observers to photos as they snap them. Looks like lots of fun.
Hoaxing, even if just for the sake of a laugh, is getting easier and easier. That’s why investigators need to take the proper precautions when analyzing visual evidence. EXIF data and full analysis are IMPERATIVE when looking at photos. Otherwise, you may find yourself as the butt of a paranormal joke, courtesy the Apple Corporation.
Here are some of the different ghosts you can use:
Posted in Discussion.
– March 29, 2010
