Most people understand demons from a Christian perspective: ultimately, evil, horrible creatures who hurt people because they hate God (who loves humans more than them) after being cast out of Heaven. Once angels, now they are demons and follow Satan, head of the rebellion against God. Other religions worship demons, such as demonolaters; witches also have been known to work with demons in their practice, though they usually mean daemon, or a spirit of great power such as a land spirit or lesser deity (“Daemon”). The truth is, we don’t know what demons are—religions provide an interpretation only. It comes down to what you believe (Jaye 2023).

I find it more helpful to define them by what they can do, conclusions I drew from my demonic folklore thesis-turned-book research. Demons are incorporeal entities (meaning they don’t possess bodies), are hyperintelligent, and malicious in their behavior towards humans; they react negatively to Christian iconography and produce negative miracles.

How Do You Know it’s a Demon?

I created an acronym to help people understand how demons are identified: EPIM. EPIM stands for Evil Presence, Intensity, Malice – these factors distinguish a demonic infestation from other types of spiritual activity.

The feeling of an evil presence is reported in all narratives of this type; the intensity builds from very small phenomena upwards: it would be about a twenty on a ten-point scale if it were a demon plaguing you. Malice refers to deeply malevolent behavior within the negative miraculous events they can produce, often targeting certain people. Miraculous things can happen in other narratives, such as poltergeists, but they’re more neutral (like the work of a prankster).

Are Demons Everywhere?

Demons are NOT common; not at all—never assume something is a demon right away. I can almost guarantee that whatever is plaguing you is not a demon. Question where you got the idea that it was a demon. Was it a movie? Paranormal TV? Neither can be used for information. Much of demonology work involves undoing the misunderstanding of the public; nine times out of ten, it’s not a demon you’re dealing with. There are many spirit subtypes and there are other types of spirits that can possess people such as jinn and dybbukim.

How Do They Get Into People’s Lives?

Demons can enter people’s lives through the Law of Invitation, the Law of Attraction, Already Inhabited (Jaye 2021) and Sent. When it comes to Ouija boards—if you don’t know how to use it, anything is dangerous. A demon is not on the other end of every Ouija board because genuine demonic experiences are not very common. Many people use Ouija boards without a problem; the board itself isn’t inherently evil nor is the act of using it, but there is risk of an unfriendly spirit coming through.

Are Demons Dangerous?

The spirit I’ve isolated through my definition of demons is incredibly dangerous to humans. A daemon does not appear to be the same thing since a demon will never help a human in any way unless bound to by magic.

Most people are very interested in demonology, but going deeper into the study can be harmful to one’s life, health, etc. Demons have been known to pushback when more information on them is put out into the world. I personally experienced this when writing my thesis and subsequent book. Demons do not want to be known or understood. Exercise caution if you study further.

Am I in Danger?

For the most part, no. The average person has nothing to worry about. Saying their name won’t invoke them; it takes serious ritual work to summon them, so most people aren’t going to encounter them. There is a small chance of a demon already inhabiting a home you want to buy/rent, but listen to your gut. If something is telling you not to go in there, don’t.

To protect yourself, be as happy and healthy as you can in mind, body, and spirit; connect to a higher power, whatever you believe in. Stay away from places that feel evil since demonic malice can be sensed by even non-psychics.

Chasing demons for thrills will get you hurt; this is not a condemnation of paranormal investigation by any means, but not the kind where you chase dark entities hoping one will do something on camera for views. These are powerful, old entities; they can (and will) hurt you.

Satanic Panic is very real; don’t fall prey to it and scare yourself; demons need wide open doorways to come through, not cracks.

References

“Daemon.” n.d. Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com/word/daemon.

Jaye, Victoria. 2023. The Black Hours: Modern Demonic Experiences & Folklore.

Jaye, Victoria, “In the Presence of Evil: Demonic Perception Narratives” (2021). All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023. 1563.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/gradreports/1563.

About the Author

Victoria Jaye is a demonic folklorist, who blogs about demons, horror movies, and folklore. Her research areas are demonic experiences, narratives, and phenomena. Her latest release, The Black Hours: Modern Demonic Experiences & Folklore, is now available! Victoria also hosts a podcast called, Demon Folklorist, on Paranormal Buzz Radio and can heard wherever you listen to podcasts.

The post DEMONS 101: Common Questions Answered appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

Lately, I have been diving into the podcasts Stuff You Should Know and Stuff They Don’t Want You to Know on iHeartRadio. During the spooky season, they like to dive into different stories, and this always gives me great fodder for research. Of course, after hearing those stories, I go down the figurative rabbit hole of haunted stories. Into all of my own personal dives, I discovered the story of The Sallie House. 

Atchison, Kansas

Located 50 miles northwest from Kansas City along the Missouri River is the city of Atchison, Kansas. Atchison is known for being the birthplace of Amelia Earhart and the home of Benedictine College. 

Atchison is also known for its haunted location, The Sallie House. 

The Sallie House

Atchison’s tourist website tells the story of the house as follows:

Originally built at the turn of the century, this house became the residence of an Atchison physician. The front served as office space and examination rooms, while the doctor and his family lived upstairs.  One day, a frantic mother arrived carrying her 6-year-old daughter, Sallie. The child had collapsed from severe abdominal pain. The doctor diagnosed appendicitis and knew there was no time to delay surgery. Believing the appendix would soon burst, the doctor began cutting Sallie before the anesthesia took full effect. Sallie’s screams suddenly stopped and she grew pale and limp. She died on the operating table – her last memories of a man whom she believed was torturing her.

Whoa. Can you imagine? I do love a good horror story plot, but when it is reality, I get chills – and this is straight out of a horror movie. But like any good horror movie, the story of the haunting has to be embellished, right? 

The Sallie House Paranormal Events

So what have people experienced at the Sallie House? 

According to the Atchison website, here are some of the events that happened:

Events that have been witnessed by visitors to the Sallie House include:

• video and investigative equipment that stop working
• batteries that are full immediately and completely draining
• experience moving objects
• unexplained scratches or bruising on their bodies during/after visits
• physical touches
• mysterious coldness
• Trained guide dogs refuse to enter the nursery

My Perspective as a Paranormal Investigator

I will never discount the personal experiences of any individual because I was not there to understand the situation they were in, but a few of these don’t ring out “paranormal” to me – some of these are the standard tropes one would experience in any haunted house and call it “paranormal”. However, I have experienced some of these events before in my own investigations, so I cannot claim these to be paranormal or not. 

I think the most interesting of these events is that trained guide dogs refuse to enter the nursery. What I have read and researched leads me to believe that animals are not sensitive to the paranormal, but there is no real definitive way to prove it. What we do know is that their sense of hearing and smell is much better than humans, and that may lead us to think they have a sixth sense. But the fact that “dogs” is plural is something my investigator’s heart likes to see. If it were one dog, sure, I could write it off. However, several dogs? Yeah, there’s something there I’d like to experience myself. 

Want to Read More?

There is a book written on the house: The Sallie House Haunting – A True Story by Debra Pickman. She and her husband and son lived there (and subsequently fled from there) and she wrote about her personal experiences. I have not had the chance to read the book yet, but I am interested (anyone want to send me a copy?). 

Maybe one day I’ll have the chance to head out to Kansas and experience a night there myself. You can actually book overnight stays (for a decent price, too!). 

Have you experienced the Sallie House? Please reach out to me at tedw.aps@gmail.com and tell me your story!

The post The Haunting of the Sallie House appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

However, being the person who sees the train coming around the corner, and since I work in the tech space at my day job, I’m going to speculate just how AI could affect the paranormal community in both research and entertainment. This isn’t a perfect science yet, considering that AI-generated images is still creating photos of people with six fingers.

Think of this as sort of a “What if?” piece as AI becomes a more normal aspect of our society.

Negative: It could send us on a wild goose chase

This speculation may already be dated and determined by the time you read this. But, I recently watched a video by Ghost Theory who used AI to find haunted locations around them. They didn’t have a great time looking for the AI’s recommendation, but they did eventually find a house that’s related to witches and other haunts. At the time as well, it’s noted that AI wasn’t trained on the latest and greatest in haunted places around them. But the journey in the meantime was unnecessarily turbulent.

Positive: It could save time evidence review

We could potentially train AI to mark and identify anomalous activity in audio and video. Instead of sitting for hours reviewing evidence across multiple pieces of equipment, we can run the data through AI, telling it to identify the 30 seconds before and 30 seconds after something anomalous occurs.

Negative: It will make it easier to fake evidence

I could see this as the more likely outcome. With the innovation of AI-generated images, video, and audio, it’s only a matter of time before people, especially paranormal creators in the entertainment industry, start creating fake evidence using AI.

Positive: It will make it easier to detect fake evidence

On the contrary, AI could potentially help us identify footage of paranormal activity and determine whether or not something has been manipulated and altered. One could already do this by looking at the EXIF data in photos. But this could really streamline the process.

Negative: It could replace ghosts

One of the most popular trends with AI is generating new music from long-dead musicians. You can also use AI to generate your favorite long-passed singer’s voice into your favorite song of 2023. So, if AI was able to learn about history, events, and general information of someone in the past, could we communicate with them as we do out in the field?

Positive: Historical research can come in real-time

Sometimes on the investigation field, we run into situations where we may need to check on a historical bit of info immediately. While we here at APS do our best to make sure that at least one of our teammates is informed on the history of the location, sometimes we need to double-check or look up something that caught us by surprise. AI could potentially help us get real-time information with a simple request instead of spending several minutes on Google and sorting through articles online.

Negative: It could replace real humans as on-screen talent

The current strike with WGA and SAG-AFTRA is on our current minds, with the very real possibility that studios will start using AI for background actors, main talent, and more. In the industry I work in, I’m currently working with a tool that can create people speaking on-camera. These AI-generated humans look real. As I was reflecting on my recent gig with Scariest Places in the World on Tubi, all I could think of was how easy would it be to generate an AI of a history expert and have them talk on camera? AI-generated talent will basically say whatever you want them to say as well.

Positive: Curating paranormal content would be easier than ever

The world is consuming paranormal content more aggressively than ever. But that content takes time to produce. AI could help paranormal creators generate thumbnails for videos, write out scripts, and more. This could very well help the research field as it would free up time for people to focus on the research and investigating, and leave the more mundane and time-consuming tasks to AI.

Negative: It could encourage more trespassing

We’ve seen this already with apps like Randonautica. If someone asks AI about haunted locations or spooky spots around them, it’s unknown whether that AI will be able to tell the user whether or not it’s private property or whether it’s a location that’s open to the public.

Positive: It can help us analyze locations in real time

If you’re out on a spooky road trip and you see a building that catches your eye. With AI, you can take a photo of that building, and let a tool like Google Lens analyze the photo and be able to identify what it is. That was what the team in the Ghost Theory video did when they did manage to find the haunted location their AI tool had recommended.

Conclusion

When it all comes down to it, the paranormal field is a very human community. Meaning, it has depended on conscious, intelligent humans for centuries. It’s not something that can easily be replicated with authenticity and genuineness. Until AI captures what it means to feel grief, anger, heartbreak, and fear, the paranormal research field should be safe.

For now.

The post How Will Artificial Intelligence Affect the Paranormal Field? appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

A few days ago, during a telehealth appointment my psychiatrist asked me what I did for a living.  The question did not take me by surprise as I was a new patient as my previous psychiatrist had left the practice and the main purpose of this appointment was for her to get to know me and my needs to best establish future care.  I promptly answered that I was the manager of the Mary Washington House a local historic site in Fredericksburg, Virginia.  She was not familiar with the site and asked a few more questions.  I told her that the house was the residence of Mary Washington, the mother of George Washington.  All well and good, but the next question took me completely off guard.

“Is the house haunted?”

I must admit, the question took me off guard.  Since I was a teenager, I have had anxiety and depression.  Though by this point in my life, I have reached a place of acceptance of my condition.  I also have reached out and has received help through medication and treatment for almost two decades. 

But there are also things that you don’t share with a person when you first meet them—your mental health conditions and, in most social situations, that your place of work may be haunted. 

Well here goes nothing, I thought.

“Yes, it is,” I answered.

“Cool!  Does anything spooky happen?”

I told her that while occasionally things happen that are of a spooky nature, the paranormal activity is more humorous in nature than scary.  She then told me that her sister had told her about a paranormal tour that the Mary Washington House had put on last year and that she was curious about the site. 

The appointment wrapped up a few minutes later and after signing off I had a good laugh as that was not the type of question I had anticipated going into the appointment.  Later while reflecting on what had occurred, I realized that most people are genuinely curious about paranormal activity and what it is really like to work at a site that is haunted.

Despite the proliferation of paranormal TV shows that have flooded the airways since the early 2000’s a lot of misconceptions persist about paranormal activity and what it is like to live or work at places that are labeled as haunted.

Research is key

I have worked in museums since I was fifteen years old and have a master’s degree in history.  As a trained historian, I have always tried to follow the facts, in my case what can be proven by the historic record, to reach a conclusion about what happened in the past.  That is not as easy as it seems.  For instance, while a major historical figure like George Washington has left an abundance of records to document his life, that is not always the case for those who came before us. 

Researching the lives of those who left few records like Mary Washington and the men, women, and children of African and African descent who were enslaved is a much more difficult task.  Because there are fewer primary documents, I must cast my net farther abroad, looking into the general lives and experiences of those who led similar lives.  While at times, the task can be frustrating as every new revelation leads to a host of new questions, some of which we will never be able to fully answer.  But for all the frustrations, the moment when I can make a connection or find a reference to the individuals that I am researching is euphoric. 

I take my craft serious, and I am fully aware that my research shapes how the public views the lives of the people who once called the place that is a museum home.  When I started at my first museum, the Whaley House in Old Town San Diego, known as the most haunted house in America, my mother reminded me that the people who are believed to haunt the site where real people and not a commercial creation.  If I could not treat them with respect than working in a museum would not be a good fit for me.  I took her advice to heart, and it has shaped my interpretation of the past ever since.

 While working at the Whaley House, I researched the historic record to prove or disprove the basis of the colorful legends that were told about the site and the Whaley family.  When guests asked about the ghosts, I was able to give them the history of the Whaley family and why that may have led to the haunting.  I then wrapped up my presentation with a few ghost stories of spooky things that happened to me or my coworkers.  Which leads to my main point—working at a haunted site is not what TV and Hollywood portrays.

TV versus Reality

Turn on any episode of Kindred Spirits or Ghost Hunters that is filmed at a museum and they all have one thing in common.  At some point in the first five minutes, one of the hosts will declare that they were asked to investigate the museum because the management is concerned that the staff are too terrified to work at site and are scared that they are going to get hurt.  In my nearly twenty-five years of working in museums, I have never had coworkers or staff that were too terrified to work in a haunted museum.

Yes, spooky things have happened to me, and at the initial moment the event has made me jump.  Once during a Halloween program at the Whale House, I had a ghost whisper loudly in my ear.  I felt a breath in my ear and the people who I were taking too saw the ribbons in my hair move.  At the initial moment it scared the hell out of me, and I jumped and screamed.  But after I collected myself, I started laughing as it felt like I had been pranked by the ghost and that no harm was intended.  That was the most dramatic moment I have experienced working in a haunted museum, but it did not send me screaming out of the museum vowing to never return.

 In fact, most activity is rather tame and mundane.  At the Mary Washington House, the activity I have experienced the most is knocks on the door and the occasional tap of footsteps.  When I go to investigate and can find no earthly explanation, I usually tell the spirit to knock it off as I have work to do.

Is that a ghost…or just the pipes?

House museums are in old buildings.  Which means that I hear a lot of pops and bangs all day long.  I know the sounds that the Mary Washington House makes and can tell the difference between the natural swelling and contracting that the wood makes is a humid environment versus something that I cannot easily debunk.  I can’t run out of the Mary Washington House screaming every time I hear a pop.  If I did, I would soon be out of a job. 

I was once on a radio show talking about my book Civil War Ghosts and the host asked me about working in a haunted museum.  When I told him that it was not scary and that I took it all in stride as part of my job, the host declared that he found my answers to be creepy and that I was being slightly lackadaisical about it.  I reminded him that I had worked very hard to become an historian and that I was not going to ruin my standing in the historical community by declaring that every pop the house makes is from a ghost.

When two worlds collide

I generally try to separate my two worlds of being an historian and being a paranormal writer.  Though sometimes the two worlds have merged.  A couple of years ago I had opened the Mary Washington House for a visiting historian who was writing a scholarly article for a journal about the Mary Washington Monument.  She was visiting from out of the area and was only able to visit the site on a day the museum was typically closed.  I gave her a tour and opened the museum’s archive for her.  She was extremely gracious and because I had granted her access on a day that the site was closed, she offered to take me lunch. 

While collecting my purse and cell phone, I received a call from a podcaster who wanted to interview me.  I talked with the podcaster, and we set up the interview and I told her I would email her later in the day when I was home as I was currently at work.  After hanging up, the visiting historian enquired on my phone call as she had overheard my conversation.  Like my conversation with my psychiatrist, I took a risk and told her that along with being an historian I also wrote about ghosts.  I expected to be chided with a patronizing look and the typical “you don’t really believe in that stuff” comment.  Much to my surprise she was fascinated by the work in the paranormal that I had done and asked about my research and if the Mary Washington House was haunted.

Real life Haunted Mansion?

Another misconception is that if a place is haunted it is like working in a real-life version of The Haunted Mansion ride from the Disney parks.  As I have already mentioned, the activity that I have experienced is mundane and rather low-key.  Also, it can be several weeks before something unexplained happens.  Though there are periods when activity is more likely to occur.  At the Mary Washington House activity occurs frequently around Christmas and when large groups of school children visit the museum.           

Working in a museum, can be dangerous—but not from an attack by a ghost.  Dangerous stairs, uneven floorboards, and rusty nails present daily hazards.  I once poked myself in the eye with the laces of my stays—fortunately it did not require an accident report.  But none of these injuries were caused by a ghost.

Support your local museum

Though all of this is not to say that working at a museum that is believed to haunted is not fun.  It’s highly entertaining as it can create some unique museum programs.  At the Whaley House the staff looked forward to the annual Halloween program.  Ghost tours and paranormal investigations provide museums with a way to target an audience that may not be interested in history and offer a revenue stream during uncertain times.  Contrary to common belief, most museums and historic sites receive no federal, state, or local funding and rely exclusively on attendance, membership, fundraising, and grants to keep the doors open and the lights on.

I could not imagine working anywhere else and I view it as an honor to tell the story of life of Mary Washington and the enslaved men, women, and children that lived at the property.  What attracted me to the museum was this history and that love has not faded.    

The post Working In a Haunted Museum appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

To me, there is nothing more thrilling than a good ghost story! As a paranormal investigator, I love when people share their stories with me. The following story is part of a series of posts I call “I Love a Ghost Story.”

I want to state for the record that these stories strictly fall under the category of “personal experiences.” The Association of Paranormal Study is not saying these stories are or are not paranormal. However, it is my personal motto that I will never discount someone’s personal experience; it is our pleasure to share those experiences.

Catawba College

Founded in 1851 and located in Salisbury, North Carolina, Catawba College is a private college affiliated with the United Church of Christ. With a student size of approximately 1,300, Catawba College has a community that represents 34 states and 20 foreign countries. Though it has a short history, the town of Salisbury is rich with history, and the college campus is a part of that.

So, it is no surprise that there are ghost stories to be told.

About the Storyteller

A graduate of Catawba College, Chad Weaver has had one such experience in the Omwake-Dearborn Chapel, the campus’ chapel. With his permission, I would like to share his account; while Chad has given us permission to use his identity, all other names have been changed.

Chad began his search for a college/university where he could play soccer. After a college visit to Catawba College, he quickly realized that this is where he wanted to be, whether it was for sports or not. While developing friendships as well as getting a solid education, Chad was also interested in the local lore about the haunted locations on campus, particularly with the chapel.

The Story

One late night in the fall, after his high school friends, Ben and Chris, came down to visit from another campus, their curiosity took control and they made their way to the chapel. For an added extra measure of protection, Chad invited his college buddy, Dan, to join them. This group consisted of everyone from a skeptic to a fanatic of the paranormal.

Once the group arrived at the chapel, they checked the front door. The chapel is normally open to the students during the day, but this particular night, the doors were locked. However, campus security usually forgot to lock an adjoining door that connects from the coffee house beside the chapel. The group was in luck that evening. They made their way through the unlocked door, through the coffee house, and into the chapel.

Important Note from the Author

Do not go into locked buildings after hours if you do not have permission. The Association of Paranormal Study does not condone trespassing for the sake of the paranormal!

The Story Continues

Chad and his friends were standing near the altar in the Apse to see if there would be any activity: noises, movement, etc. Eventually, the group decides to split up to see if they can find other areas that may be active. Dan stays where he is, and Chad, Ben, and Chris move as a group to the opposite side of the chapel. After a while and with no activity, the group meets back up and heads towards the Narthex. As they are walking towards the Narthex, they notice that this area is darker than the Chapel itself (but Chad states that it was the light illuminating from the Chapel windows).

As they are moving into the Narthex, Chad notices a shadow to the left of him that moves. It stops in front of the Chapel doors. Then, there is a slam against the main doors; the slam is so violent that it shakes all the doors connecting the Narthex. Everyone in the group runs away very quickly, through the Chapel and down the stairs through the way they entered. Once they get outside, Chad can hear the organ in the Chapel playing.

“I have never heard the organ play unless somebody is in there playing the organ, and I don’t know how anybody would have gotten from the front, into the coffee house, and up there without us passing them at some point.”

Chad steps towards the door. The organ sounds as if someone slams their hands on the keys, creating a tumultuous and threatening noise. Chad steps away, and the organ continues to play the melody it was previously playing. So Chad steps up again, and once again, the sound changes back to the slamming of the keys. After that, the group decided that they would call it a night.

Since that night, Chad has only set foot in the Chapel one other time.

Sources
History of Catawba College. Catawba College. (n.d.). Retrieved August 3, 2022, from https://www.catawba.edu/collegehistory/

Have a story to share?

If you have a story you would like to share, please reach out to us – more specifically, tedw.aps@gmail.com. We would love to feature your story on our site!

The post A Haunting at Catawba College appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

I’d heard there was a connection between children diagnosed with autism and access to the paranormal realm. It wasn’t until I started writing The Haunting of the Bloodroses that I needed to know if any scientific connections had been made between autism and the paranormal. After all, I didn’t want to create a false narrative. This quest led me down in the Google wormhole. 

The Research

Interestingly, I ran across an article called Are Autistic Kids Magnets for Ghost? by Dr. Deborah Schurman-Kauflin and published in Psychology Today. Dr. Schurman-Kauflin is a former criminal profiler who claims to have psychic abilities. In her article, she explains how she believes spirits draw closer to autistic children (Schurman-Kauflin, 2013). Her reasoning is that autistic children have a keener ability to process information on different levels than those who are non-allistic (Schurman-Kauflin, 2013). While Dr. Schurman-Kauflin’s doctorate is in criminal justice, I found her long history as an FBI profiler and self-proclaimed psychic abilities intriguing.

The article wasn’t quick to attribute every experience an autistic child has as coming from the paranormal, and I liked that. She provided alternate theories to visions or hallucinations. These theories included medication imbalances or other underlying mental illnesses. In her article, Dr. Schurman-Kauflin provided two anecdotal examples of when an autistic child saw, drew an image, or communicated with an alleged otherworldly spirit. Dr. Schurman-Kauflin spoke about two sets of parents and the possibility that their autistic children were having interactions with otherworldly spirits. One set had been researching the possibility, while the other set claimed that their child had vivid dreams of an unknown Asian man. What was interesting was that a remote psychic confirmed what the child was seeing.

The Swedish Study

While intriguing, Dr. Schurman-Kauflin’s article failed to provide sources for further information. So, back down the Google wormhole I went. Here I found a three-year study conducted in Sweden by the Department for the Study of Religions at Gävle University. The study was titled Sensory Supernatural Experiences in Autism. While the study focused mainly on religious aspects and beliefs in different gods, I found parts of it to be more in line with my research. These parts included a detailed study of paranormal and parapsychological experiences on 17 young adults on the autistic spectrum. My interest was in children – considering the character creation – but I figured I could extrapolate some of the information to serve my needs.

In essence, this Swedish study concluded that the adults who were part of the study had more supernatural experiences than the allistic control group. Supernatural experiences in the study were defined as a sensed presence, being touched, visual stimulation, and sounds that occurred without the awareness of others. (Visuri, 2019). 

The below graphic depicts the number of varieties of supernatural experiences each participant expressed during the experiment.

The next image depicts which supernatural experience occurred during the experiment.

While the Swedish study focused on supernatural instances in relation to religions and religious beliefs, correlations to autism and the unexplained were present. For instance, telepathic contact, out-of-body experiences, contact with the dead, prediction of future and feeling a spirit are all things that teeter along the thin line between the unexplained/paranormal, parapsychology and anomalous phenomena – all of which challenge the current foundations of science. The study shows these experiences occurred more in the autistic group as opposed to the control group. You can read the entire 15 page journal here. 

The UK Study

The Sheffield Autism Research Lab conducted another study at the University of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, United Kingdom. The researchers looked for a correlation between 30 autistic adults with anomalous experiences and the associated distress. In this study, anomalous perceptions such as auditory and visual hallucinations and distortions along with perceptions of out-of-body experiences were analyzed. They were then compared with experiences reported by those who suffer from psychosis (Milne et al., 2017). The results indicated that those who have autism had higher rates of anomalous perceptual experiences in 28 out of the 30 participants. Hence, the conclusion seems to be that the majority of adults with autism experience an anomalous perception linked to the paranormal.

The Sheffield Autism Research Lab’s study indicated that 93% of the participants with Autism reported having experienced higher levels of anomalous perception related to paranormal activity than the overall mean average of the allistic control group. The below image shows the distress, intrusiveness, and frequency reported by the study and compares both groups. To read the entire study, click here.

The Conclusion

The Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena associates anomalous phenomena as psychic phenomena, including ghost, telepathy, mediumship, etc. (About Us n.d.) In summary, considering this and the correlations presented in the studies, there is substantial research to support a theory of paranormal, supernatural, or parapsychological experiences (anomalous phenomenon) being linked to those who are on the autistic spectrum. What are your thoughts on the subject? Are you autistic and have had an anomalous experience? Are you autistic and have experienced nothing? I would love to hear your thoughts and continue to learn more about this topic.

References

About Us. ASSAP about US – Anomaly Research. (n.d.). Retrieved January 7, 2023, from http://www.assap.ac.uk/newsite/htmlfiles/About.html 

Milne, E., Dickinson, A., & Smith, R. (2017). Adults with autism spectrum conditions experience increased levels of anomalous perception. PLOS ONE, 12(5). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0177804 

Schurman-Kauflin, D. (2013, October 30). Are autistic kids magnets for ghosts? Psychology Today. Retrieved January 4, 2023, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/disturbed/201310/are-autistic-kids-magnets-ghosts 

Visuri, I. (2019). Sensory supernatural experiences in autism. Religion, Brain & Behavior, 10(2), 151–165. https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599x.2018.1548374 

The post Is There a Connection Between Autism and the Paranormal? appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

Debunking a Sound on an Investigation

I thought I would take the opportunity to give you an example of my past couple of blog posts into practice. 

In May 2022, the Association of Paranormal Study had the opportunity to investigate the Cabin on 360 in Mechanicsville, VA. You can check out the location at Haunted 360 Houses if you are not familiar with it. 

We started our investigation in “The Rancher.” I put my recorder on the window sill of the first floor space that was used as both a living room and the lobby for an office (yes, I know, rookie mistake). We began our first sweep of the house; after a while, we moved on to the “Cabin”, but I left my recorder to run. About 30 minutes later, we came back to start our first official session in The Rancher. 

An hour later, the team took a break to prepare for some outside sessions. I collected my recorder from The Rancher and began to listen to some of the audio. 

Analyzing the Audio

In the recording, you can hear our team leave The Rancher and head towards the Cabin. About 5 minutes after the sound of our team dies out, there is a sound on the recorder that sounds like papers rustling and then a clicking sound and it dies out. This happens a few times, but at different intervals. Based on the volume of the sound, I knew that whatever happened was really close to where the recorder was. The team could not figure out what it was. We went back to The Rancher to try and recreate the sound, but to no avail. The closest we could get to recreating it was the sound of a dried leaf being stepped on or crumbled, but there was nothing close enough to the recorder for that to be the reason. 

Later on, I used my noise-canceling headphones to relisten to the sound. I was able to isolate it and clear up the noise with Audacity and found the answer. The rustling sound turned out to be the sound of wings, and I remembered that when I picked up the recorder, there were a couple of dead flies by the sill. The sound was the flies trying to fly out the window and running into the glass. 

Debunked.

Story Conclusion

So what was the squeak that I heard?

After eliminating what I thought were all options, I reached out to my team to let them know what happened, then left the situation alone and let it go. I still wasn’t convinced it was something paranormal, but I had run out of things to eliminate. 

Picking up where I left off in Criminal Minds, I rewound the episode back a minute to continue watching and hit “play”. 

*squeak squeak*

In the episode I was watching, Jason Gideon did not have handcuffs, so to restrain the criminal, he used zip ties. 

It wasn’t a squeak after all, but the sound of the zip ties being pulled taut. 

Debunked.

The post “What Was That?!” A Process on Debunking Sounds, Part 3 appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

In the last post, I covered the process of locating a sound’s origin. Now, let’s talk about finding the cause of a sound. 

The Story Continues

I looked back at Stereo. He’s got a gaze on me that said “What was that sound, Daddy?” “I’m trying to find it, puppy. I am trying.” I looked over at my husband, still sound asleep, to make sure he wasn’t moving, and if he was moving, to make sure he was not moving on one of Stereo’s toys; nothing. I sat in silence waiting for the sound to happen again; nothing. At this point,  I have eliminated the two other living beings in the room as the cause of the sound.

So where did the sound come from?

It was a high-pitched sound, so I did not believe it was something organic. Based on the volume of the sound, I knew it had to be nearby because the sound was not faint. I checked behind me again to look at Stereo’s toy box. I squeezed a couple of the toys to see if I could match the sound, but I had no luck. It only happened once, so I didn’t believe it was something going off, like a timer, but I also didn’t think it was mechanical, either. 

I was stumped. 

Finding the source of a sound during an investigation

When you are in an investigation and you hear something, not only is it important to find where the sound came from, but also what made the sound. As I stated in my previous post, do not fall into the trap of assuming that the sound is paranormal. Most of the time, there is an explanation for the sound that is not paranormal, even if we cannot determine the reason for the sound at the moment it happens. Here are some tips to help you locate the source of the sound:

• Consider the properties of sound: distance, volume, pitch, quality (electrical vs. man-made), etc. This information can be extremely useful in the process of elimination.
• Try to recreate the sound. Determine when the appropriate time is to try and recreate the sound. It might be best to just tag the audio and come back to it after a session. 
• Listen for another occurrence of the sound. If it happens more than once, listen for the frequency it occurs and the intervals in which it occurs.
• Answer your own question: what made that sound? Start to list off the things it sounds like. Describe the sound to another person/investigator. They may be able to help determine what the sound was or could have been. 
• If possible, go back and listen to the audio recording with noise canceling headphones. This might give you more details in what you are hearing. If you are skilled to use it, you can also try “noise reduction” to help clarify the sound. Please note that I believe this is to be used in order to eliminate something as being paranormal, not to confirm it. 

Coming Soon: Part 3!

In my last post, I’ll give you some personal experiences with sound on past investigations, and I will reveal what the squeak from my living room was!

The post “What Was That?!” A Process on Debunking Sounds, Part 2 appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

Note: This blog post is not talking about sounds one would hear on recording during an EVP session. Though it is crucial to examine those as well, this is tracing the process of hearing a live sound. 

It was a Saturday afternoon. My husband and I were on the couch relaxing. While he was in a deep sleep from a long morning, I watched reruns of Criminal Minds on Netflix. Our dog, Stereo, was in his bed located in front of the couch. My husband wasn’t the only one who thought napping was a good choice for a lazy Saturday. Stereo was laid out on his side, his paws twitching as if he was chasing rabbits in his dreams.

I wasn’t really paying attention to what was happening in the episode as I have seen the series several times before. A lot of times when we want to relax, we will put on a television show that we have seen several times before so we can passively watch and listen to it. I was deep into an animated game of Toon Blast on my phone, when all of a sudden…

*squeak squeak* 

Locating a Foreign Sound

Stereo popped up out of his sleep and looked over at me. He is very protective of his toy collection;  he keeps his ears alert because he knows Daddy (that’s me) likes to grab his toys to playfully taunt him, but I had not touched any of his toys. Quickly, I paused the episode of Criminal Minds just as Jason Gideon was about to make an arrest. 

I looked over at my dog to see if maybe he might have moved onto one of his toys while he adjusted in his sleep, but I do not remember seeing him move, and there were not any toys around him. 

Instinctively, I turned to the side of the couch where Stereo’s toys are located to check to see if something had made the sound there. We’ve completely spoiled our dog with toys, so he has a treasure trove that makes all sorts of squeaking and crinkling noises. Maybe something had moved or fallen out? No, nothing seemed to have moved. However, I wasn’t convinced that the sound came from that area. Our ears and brain work well together to judge distance and location, and I was certain that the sound came from the room I was in and somewhere in front of me. 

Inspecting Sounds During an Investigation

As a paranormal investigator, we train ourselves to examine all aspects of a sound. The goal is to explain its origin, examining every possibility in hopes to eliminate all possibilities, for it is only then can we consider something paranormal. When investigating a location, detecting a sound’s origin is critical. When we hear something, we have to avoid the instinct to think it is something paranormal. That is a pitfall that I have seen other investigators fall into, and I admit that as a novice investigator, I would fall in myself. 

Here are some things to consider when locating the origin of a sound:

• Sit still and silent and listen to see if it happens again.
• Determine whether the origin is close by or far away. This may affect your next steps. 
• Also, determine if the sound was inside the location or outside of the location. 
• Are there other investigators elsewhere in the location? Radio in and see if they heard the noise, or if they were the source of the noise. 
• If you are running an EVP session, tag it for review later. 

Read Part 2 Now!

In the next post, I will discuss how to determine the source of the sound and will give you some tips on how to determine what your unidentifiable sound could be. 

Make sure to visit the Association of Paranormal Study for more paranormal content! You can also follow the author of the post, Ted Willis, on Instagram (@tedtriestobake).

The post “What Was That?!” A Process on Debunking Sounds, Part 1 appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

Mount Vernon

George Washington owned Mount Vernon from 1761 until his death in 1799. Mount Vernon was where Washington was the happiest.

In the spring of 1806, Massachusetts politician Josiah Quincy III visited Mount Vernon and spent the night in Washington’s bedroom. That night, Quincy was told that “the rumor [of] an interview with Washington had been granted to some.”

It was a prophetic warning, and Quincy was visited by the ghost of Washington. According to Quincy’s son the ghost sighting was “constantly referred to in the family circle.”

Mary Washington House

George Washington purchased this house in Fredericksburg, Virginia, for his mother, Mary Washington, in 1772. Mary Washington lived in the house until her death in 1789. Washington visited his mother as much as possible.

According to some psychics George Washington is still visiting his mother in the Bed Sitting Room. It was in that room that he saw his mother for the last time. Before heading to New York City to be inaugurated as president Washington, came to say goodbye to his mother. “Go, my son, and may that Heaven’s and a mother’s blessing be with you always,” Mary told George Washington

Did the emotions experienced by George Washington during the visit imprint itself into the room? Visitors and paranormal researchers believe that it did.

Gettysburg

The Union army was at its lowest point at the start of the summer of 1863 after being defeated by the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia at the Battle of Chancellorsville.

Feeling that victory was assured, Confederate General Robert E. Lee led his army into Pennsylvania. The two armies met at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Following the battle, members of the 20th Maine testified that they saw the ghost of George Washington.

Washington’s ghost was seen in his Revolutionary War uniform pointing towards Gettysburg with his sword. The account certainly helped boost the moral of the soldiers. At Gettysburg, the Union army went on the defeat the Confederate army.

Following the battle, Colonial Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain of the 20th Maine wrote, “Who shall say that Washington was not among the number of those who aided the country that he Founded…”

The post George Washington Haunts Here: The Ghost of the First President appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.