There are some pages and groups I’ve worked with where the deceased is presented as a circus freak show. Sure, we hear the stories, but it is up to us to find the truth hidden in the scary story that was meant to raise our tensions. Even the word “hunting” bothers me because I get an image of Elmer Fudd searching for “wabbits” through the woods. Yes, we are searching for ghosts, but we’re not hunting them for the purpose of trapping them. We’re entering THEIR territory and hope that they like us enough to want to talk to us. I sometimes joke that if you don’t get any results at a location, it is either not haunted, or the ghosts thought you were a jerk and didn’t want to talk to you. But all joking aside, we need to approach investigating in such a way where we’re being respectful. Treating the paranormal field as a novelty brand, something that is meant to amuse and entertain the public just furthers the idea that we can’t be taken seriously as paranormal investigators. It’s making the paranormal into this “Come look at the freaks” genre that is making the rest of us look like a cheap and tacky novelty we see on paranormal reality shows. There are times to let your hair down and be silly, but when the very basis of your practice is to be a gimmick, it’s a slap in the face to every paranormal investigator who really is trying to make progress in the field.

Paranormal reality shows are meant to entertain. To embellish that tawdry trend into your own group only makes you look…well, I’ll be nice and just say inexperienced. I guess you can say I’m spending my time complaining about how other teams conduct business. I care about the paranormal community, and I love the people I’ve gotten to meet and work with. I see the countless hours you put into data review and presentation. I see you writing down your ideas and trying them out in the field. I just don’t want to see your hard work trivialized by a novelty concept that is waning into obscurity as time progresses. 

Gettysburg is one of those locations that is near and dear to my heart. I can’t help but get emotional when I go there. So many perished, and those emotional scars still permeate. If ghosts are real, I want to engage in a conversation with these soldiers and talk to them like they’re humans, not some animals behind cages. Sure, the data collections and presentations are fine and interesting. But that’s only a part of the puzzle. Could it be possible to get the same reaction from a conversation about family as you would from trying to provoke the person? Maybe.

If we take away the cheap novelty from the practice of ghost hunting and add in some empathy, who knows what progress we could make. With how large and vast the community has grown, nothing is original these days unless you’ve trained dogs to hunt for ghosts. But that’s a whole other topic for another day.

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Anyone that has worked with me or APS will know that I will dismiss about 99% of the photos that are sent. Not only am I a paranormal researcher and investigator, I am also a photographer. Orbs are nothing more than reflections of light coming from either moisture (like rain, snow, fog, haze, etc.) or a light source (street lights, window reflection, car lights, etc.). The shapes you see inside the orbs, are nothing more that the nucleus of a dust particle, light, or moisture. If you don’t see an orb with your naked eye, but you capture it on camera, ESPECIALLY after using a flash, it’s light. That’s it. End of story.

Not to mention, bugs and other weird things like camera straps, smoke, and hair can look rather spooky when out of focus, all the while managing to sneak into your shot. Again, it’s not paranormal. We are spending and wasting so much time looking at things that have an explanation and missing out on the truly incredible parts of the paranormal field.

But does this mean that I don’t believe in ghosts? Of course not. Does this mean that I don’t believe in orbs? Actually, no. I have seen “orbs” or balls of light with my naked eye. Was I lucky enough to snap a picture? No. I was so mesmerized and taken by what I saw, I didn’t think to snap a photo. Between realizing my fellow investigator seeing the anomaly, trying to process and debunk what I was seeing, and the tech going out, taking a photo wasn’t possible. I want to so badly see this phenomenon again in my lifetime. However, if I were lucky enough to snap a photo, it will likely be debunked. And I’m okay with that. I know what I saw.

In order for ghosts to appear in a photo, they have to reflect light in some way. What we see with our eyes and what the camera is capturing is all a reflection of light. Our minds are trained to make out familiar patterns out of nothing. Take clouds for example! We can see dragons, faces, and amazing things in the clouds. But that is all because our mind is creating familiar images for us to interpret. The same goes for 90% of spirit photography. That shape you see in that blurry photo is most likely your mind playing tricks on you.

So when someone debunks your photo as light, smoke, moisture, hair, etc., and those elements were indeed present, move on. Yes, it’s going to hurt. You will be disappointed. If you post a photo in a public forum, expect to get feedback. Expect to be debunked. Picking a fight or trying to discredit the debunker will not help your cause at all.

Keep in mind that it doesn’t mean that you aren’t being visited by ghosts, it’s just that anomaly you captured on camera isn’t it. As you learn more about paranormal photography, try to be a good sport. If you’re serious about it, invest in a DSLR camera and stop using your phone and a point-and-shoot. You’re less likely to capture those hundreds of orbs in that photo you took on a foggy day, or that smoke you captured while your buddy was smoking a cigarette.

Have I captured or seen photos that I can’t debunk? Yes. They are extraordinary. If you really want to get an honest assessment of a photo you took, take it to a professional photographer and get their feedback. To quote a famous meme, when it comes to orbs, ghost hunters see spirits, photographers see crap on their lens! If you are sure you caught something paranormal, APS is more than happy to take a look, but you will be asked about environmental factors, what you used to take the photo, etc. If that photo you took after the death of a loved one is that confirmation you needed that they’re okay, while I may not agree, I will respect that.

Finally, if you use a Ghost App ghost to try to lie and fool people, then you’re a moron and deserve every bit of scrutiny that comes your way.

The post Light & Orbs: Why That Isn’t a Ghost in Your Picture appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

This is my experience.

Since coming into my abilities, I have helped some people with deceased loved ones and communication. When preparing to go into a situation, I ask that no information be given to me. I ask that the people involved walk with me through the home or establishment. I ask that they confirm what is true and right and let me know if something is wrong.

I have found that if spirit does not want to be seen or heard, they will not present themselves to you. I also know that they talk about things that some family members and friends may not know about. Most of the time, they do want to get a message to their loved ones. Before I even leave my home on the way to help someone, I ask God to let the interactions go well and for the information that is needed to be heard be clear. This helps me communicate with the spirit, as well as compassionately handle the family members. Some people are very excited to hear from the spirit and may even cry, and some are scared but want to know but they may be kind of stand offish.

I recently visited and friend’s mom’s house while her Mom was in the hospital, and her deceased Dad began telling me what he wanted the kids to have and what needed to be sold when their Mom passed on. I told her to take inventory as we walked through the house. She was amazed that everything I told her was true and those she did not know about she would ask her mother.

Her Mom returned home from the hospital and rehab two months after my first walk through and wanted me to come talk to her. As we walked in the Dad began hugging the Mom and saying how much he loved her. I stated to the Mom that he loved her very much and he always let her know that. At this point she was in tears and said how much she missed him.

She wanted to know if he went to Heaven? He said yes and that he had come back to wait for her. Not that she was going anytime soon, but that he was watching over her. He wanted her to take time to travel and spend time with family because she needed to reconnect. He is scared of her health condition and wanted her to take it easy. To which she replied that she would continue to work part-time until she could not work anymore. He replied “stubborn”. She said that he called her that all the time. I showed her a few things he wanted her to keep as well as a picture of the two of them that was his favorite, and that he wanted it to be in her coffin with her. She said she understood that because it was his favorite picture of them.

Finally, I usually do not hold back too much on what spirit is communicating. But if I notice that the recipient is not handling it well, I will stop and let them process what they have been given and come back at another time to give the rest of the message.

The post A Day in the Life of a Medium appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

“It’s sure to be an interesting night! We have a great team of over a dozen people joining us for the investigation with a plethora of different backgrounds. I can’t wait to see what we discover!” says Alex Matsuo, the founder and director of APS.

We will be live streaming our investigation on our Facebook page along with tweeting live updates from the APS Twitter account. Be sure to check us out and let us know what you think!

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