Such an Interesting Topic

What could be more interesting than an exploration of whether it is possible for consciousness to survive the physical death of the body? What mechanisms are at work that might allow this survival? Does consciousness survive as an intact whole, or is it only a partial, fractured survival?

The theory that consciousness can survive the death of the physical body and then go on to affect the physical environment by touching and moving things, making sounds, and being "seen" by the living suggests many things about the nature of consciousness. It also strongly suggests that the consciousness of a living person might be capable of affecting the physical environment in equally extra-ordinary ways.

Such an interesting...and often frustrating...subject to pursue.

Mark Stinson
Ghost Vigil Investigations

Definition of Psychometry

PSYCHOMETRY - The supposed ability to discover facts about an event or person by touching inanimate objects associated with them.

Theoretically, this may depend on a similar mechanism as "recordings" on an environment that result in hauntings in a building or physical location. The person using psychometric uses psi abilities to read or access the "recording" on the physical object.

A possible alternative to this theory is that the person using psychometric is using the object as a focus to view events that happened in the past within the presence of the physical object. Rather than observing some sort of psychic recording, in this case the viewer is actually looking backwards in time.

Mark Stinson
Ghost Vigil Investigations

Slamming Cabinets and Drawers

Years ago, I spent time in a house where the kitchen cabinets would open and close. Often you would leave the kitchen with all of the cabinets closed, only to return later and find many of the kitchen cabinets at varying degrees of open. On occasion, when you were upstairs you could hear kitchen cabinets opening and slamming shut, and when you went to investigate what was happening, the cabinets would be at varying degrees of open. To my knowledge no one ever directly saw a cabinet open or close in the kitchen of that home. In all instances, the results were seen after the fact, or merely heard in progress.

More recently I was contacted by an old friend who was experiencing similar phenomenon in a house where they were house-sitting. No one else had access to the home during times that cabinets and drawers that were closed would be opened. The phenomenon was never heard, but the discoveries of open cabinets and drawers were frequent, as well as other moved and stacked objects.

Obviously, one should consider mundane causes in these situations. Did a roommate or family members simply leave cabinets or drawers open? Is a cabinet catch broken and the cabinet hung in a way that allows it to work its way open with only the minimum environment vibrations or coaxing? Did you accidentally leave a cabinet or drawer open yourself?

But obviously the mundane begins to slip away when you hear drawers and cabinets opening and slamming themselves shut when you are alone in a locked house. But conceivably, one would want to check for open windows, drafts, and other non-paranormal possibilities. As well as 100% re-confirming that they were alone in the house at the time of the phenomenon.

Assuming for a moment that every mundane cause is eliminated and we have reason to believe the activity is inexplicable or paranormal in nature, what is the theoretical mechanism behind this activity? There is the possibility that an intelligent/conscious spirit has survived the death of his or her body, and the spirit in question is using psi powers in order to move the physical objects in question. In other words, an intelligent ghost is using telekinesis to create the activity. Cabinets swing on hinges and drawers often roll on small wheels and tracks, making them a large noticeable way to affect the physical world with minimal effort. It takes very little physical force to get most cabinets or drawers moving, suggesting that a being capable of moving objects with his or her mind would need to employ minimal mental effort. Minimal effort as compared to moving heavier objects not hung on pivot points or sitting on wheeled tracks. One could suggest that the intelligent spirit is attempting to get attention, express frustration, or communicate some other message in a way that gets the most bang for their buck.

We must also consider that if the activity is paranormal in nature, then this activity could be caused by a living being, either consciously or subconsciously using telekinesis to move the cabinets and drawers. For psi theory, there is very little difference between a living being using telekinesis to move a physical object, and a spirit that has survived the death of the physical body doing the same thing. We bring up the subconscious use of psi abilities, because so often when the living are the cause of paranormal activity they are doing so inadvertently. Traditional poltergeist activity is usually centered around a young person going through emotional turmoil, who subconsciously affects the world around them with psi abilities. Their emotional state boils over, causing them to subconsciously lash out at the world around them. Physical objects being thrown about or moved being one of the main results.

It is also worth noting that in the many varied mythologies and belief systems that have existed throughout the history of mankind, a ghost-centered approach is not universal. Unseen beings and forces that are decidedly not human, and have never been human, are attributed the ability to move physical objects in an unexplained way. Modern Western Culture tends to shoehorn all paranormal activity into the category of ghosts, but this does not hold true when we look at cultures across the globe. We tend to focus on our own beliefs, but in some cases it may be necessary to look at wider understandings.

Mark Stinson
Ghost Vigil Investigations

Guaranteed 24-Hour Response

We guarantee a 24-Hour-Response to your communications. We understand that if you have a question or a concern about something potentially paranormal that you have experienced. you don't want to wait. For this reason, we check our email account and messenger multiples times per day. 

Remember to include your phone number in your email or message if you'd like us to call you back rather than responding by email or messenger. We are interested in hearing what you are experiencing, and it is our Mission to assist you in the best way possible.

Mark Stinson
Ghost Vigil Investigations

Haunting of Hill House - Sleep Paralysis

This is my second post here about the Haunting of Hill House. But, the Netflix Original Series is being viewed by an enormous amount of people, and since it involves the paranormal, it will to some small degree the mainstream cultures's view regarding supernatural topics.

One such topic is Sleep Paralysis, or as some refer to it, the Night Hag phenomenon. Again, I don't want to spoil this for anyone. I will speak very generally, but if you absolutely don't want any potential spoilers about the Haunting of Hill House, stop reading now.

The character Nell experiences Sleep Paralysis in the show, from childhood up through adulthood. As an adult, she actually pursues medical treatment or counseling for the condition. It being a horror movie, the counseling seems to work for a bit, but in the end, the supernatural nature of her affliction overcomes in the most horrible ways.

If you have never experienced Sleep Paralysis, it can be enormously terrifying to experience. If it is accompanied by the visual of someone or something holding you down, the terror increases exponentially.

The scientific explanation of Sleep Paralysis, in very simple terms, involves a natural process in sleep where the mind in deep sleep cuts off the connection between the mind and body (paralyzing the body) to prevent you from moving around violently as you dream. An abnormal sleep cycle or an interruption of the sleep cycle at a very specific time can cause the mind to wake before the mind has been reconnected with the body (releasing the paralysis). And this results in a person who is awake by paralyzed for a time.

Probably the oddest thing about Sleep Paralysis is the visual component of the experience. Often the paralyzed person sees and feels someone holding them down. Sometimes they see a hag-like woman on top of them, holding them down. Other times, people see a dark figure, someone they know, or even something as odd as an alien. Science explains this as the mind, only recently woken, creating a plausible explanation for the paralysis. Nothing more than a visual hallucination.

This scientific explanation can be comforting for some. For others, the intensity of the experience and the utter reality of their experience leaves the scientific explanation a little empty.

I personally have experienced the phenomenon several times. Everytime, it was enormously frustrating and scary. There is a sense that if you could just move your hand, or turn your head, or scream out that you will be free. But, try as you might, you can't move or call out. Eventually you do...and the whole experience ends. But, it can be quite unsettling.

I was impressed with how the Haunting of Hill House handled the phenomenon. Especially how they explained it scientifically, and had Nell seek out and receive counseling.

Mark Stinson
Ghost Vigil Investigations

Haunting of Hill House - Through Time

It is hard to go to work or talk to friends without someone suggesting the Netflix Original show "The Haunting of HIll House." It has great character development, interesting twists, amazing visuals, and some pretty intense tension. And it has some good scares.

***SPOILERS BELOW***

If you haven't watched the show, you should probably stop reading. Go watch the show and come back! I'm going to speak in general terms, but some of what I write below could spoil parts of the show if you are particularly clever.  :-)

Okay, one of the more mind-bending aspects of the story, is the suggestion that time does not matter. As living beings, we experience time in a linear fashion. But what if linear time is an illusion, and in fact means very little? What if a spirit that survives the death of the physical body drifts from moment to moment, jumping through time, and experiencing moments with little regard for linear time? What if someone dead was actually haunting an earlier (living) version of himself or herself?

There is another "haunt" in the story that has a very odd appearance. It is suggested that this odd appearance has its origins in how the spirit viewed himself when he was alive. This is sort of an interesting take on Psi theory, where we see spirits with our mind rather than our physical eyes. In which case, "seeing" a spirit is actually a communication from the spirit to the mind of the living of how they look. The interesting part here, is that in the show, a spirit looks a certain way, to be the opposite of some insecurity or flaw he felt while he was alive. Like an over-compensation, influencing how the spirit communicates what he looks like to the living.

In the dialogue of the show, there are a lot of interesting thoughts on the nature of ghosts, and what they can represent. It really is a rather intelligent script.

Anyhow, "The Haunting of Hill House" is first and foremost entertainment. But, like all good entertainment, it provides us with some interesting things to think about.

Mark Stinson
Ghost Vigil Investigations

Gearing Up Again

Back in 2005 when we started Ghost Vigil Investigations, we did what everyone does when they start something new. We looked at existing paranormal groups, did a lot of reading both in books and on-line, and then did our best to emulate groups that we respected and that appeared to have a lot of integrity.

Over time, we learned from practical experience, and this shaped our approach to both helping people experiencing unexplained events in their home and investigating historically "haunted" locations. Over several years the group evolved and became something unique to our own point of view and experiences.

We haven't actively investigated in a number of years, but things are gearing up again. What's nice, is that we come to this refreshed venture already knowing exactly what we want to do and who we are as an investigative group. We will always be learning, adjusting, and evolving as a group. But this time we start with a foundation in actual investigations, rather than having to emulate others.

Mark Stinson
Ghost Vigil Investigations

Everyone Has a Story

Everyone has a story. Well, almost everyone. One of the consequences of involving yourself in the study and investigation of unexplained experiences, is that people tend to trust you with their stories. Often, the story they share with you is something they have told very few other people. Often it is a story that makes them feel embarrassed or afraid that people will think they are crazy. But, they feel a little safer sharing it with someone who is publicly involved in paranormal investigations.

What is striking about this for me personally, is how universal this is. People you would never think had a story...do indeed have a story. People from all walks of life. I've even had people come up to me and say they don't believe in ghosts, but then they immediately follow that with an experience of their own that is truly strange and unexplained. A story that directly contradicts their insistence that they don't believe in ghosts.

If you have questions about the paranormal, or a situation you need help with, contact us by email at ghostvigil@gmail.com. If you'd like to be called, include your phone number in the email. As always, the details of your communications with us will be completely confidential.

Mark Stinson
Ghost Vigil Investigations