Narratives Formed by Events that Coincide

What is so difficult about the strange experiences people have is the human mind's innate ability (or inclination) to connect events or circumstances, that aren't necessarily connected.  I'm sure this is a basic survival instinct from our earliest days.  Event A happened, and Event B happened at nearly the same time, and Event B was really really bad, so in the future avoid both Event a and Event B.  Its the mechanism behind psychological conditioning.

When unexplained events coincide, and we start to connect them, we build a narrative that pulls all of the events together into one cohesive story.  And this narrative becomes very real to us, and we are usually willing to defend that narrative.

So, taking the basic facts of this example story, lets look more closely.  A family is living in a home that the extended family tells haunted stories about.  A family mythology has developed where the location is creepy, and "something" paranormal is there.  This is a common thing that happens in many families, and is most always based on anecdotal experiences.  This is condition A.

Their video tape shows an unexplained anomaly, where a strange lighter colored shape or band crosses across the screen.  Since this anomaly on the recording is unexplained, we can attribute a more mundane explanation to it (digital artifact, car lights crossing across window, etc.) or something much less mundane.  This is condition B.

Their child had a scratch on their face.  This is utterly normal.  Children scratch themselves all the time, either with their own fingernails or in a fall.  And they are so young, unless you see the scratch happen, it remains unexplained.  This is condition C.

Any one of these conditions taken on its own is not particularly interesting or compelling.  But, if you put the child in the creepy location (condition A), and an anomaly shows up on the camera (condition B), and then you notice a scratch on the childs face (condition C), suddenly a conclusion is reached that "a ghost has hurt our baby and we caught it on tape."

This narrative is so charged with emotion and fear, but seems like such a definitive conclusion to the people who have woven the narrative, that an outsider coming into the situation and trying to examine it logically will have a very difficult time of it.

The thing to keep in mind, is that events are happening constantly.  Millions of moments and events passing by you every day.  Various conditions come and go in your life.  Just because events and conditions coincide, it does not necessarily mean they are connected.

But, as an investigator you must respect the importance of the narrative to the family, and handle matters in a delicate fashion.  And you must also keep in mind, that just because these events are not necessarily connected...there is at least the possibility that they ARE CONNECTED.

Mark Stinson
Ghost Vigil Investigations

Heretical Approach

This will sound a bit heretical, but paranormal investigations at possibly haunted sites tend to cast themselves as "scientific," when in fact they have very little to do with science. These investigations are sometimes even at odds with science. My saying this is not a condemnation of "ghost-hunting" or "ghost-hunters." It is just an observation.

There is no existing science that supports the existence of ghosts as beings or energy, or manifestations of energy. And I realize this is why it is called "paranormal" science. Other-than-normal. Unexplained. I get this. But, there is no evidence that the spirit of a human can survive the separation from the physical body, and exist as a being of "energy." I have put the word "energy" in quotes, because we don't know what ghosts are. Or what they consist of. And yet, most paranormal investigation equipment focuses on measuring electromagnetic fields or temperature variations.

Ghosts do not have a physical form. No vocal chords with which to speak or moan. No body or physical form to reflect light, so they can be captured on film or digital imagery. No body parts with which to move objects or touch people.

If ghosts do consist of energy, then they consist of an energy that we do not understand, have no real way of measuring or detecting, and nearly every piece of equipment used by paranormal investigators is useless...worthless. Most ghost-hunters are well-meaning, and feel they are being honest and scientific in their methods...but very few of them are actually scientists, or even understand the scientific method. Most look for confirmation of their beliefs, rather than exacting evidence. The craze over "photographic orbs" (caused by dust close to the lens being lit up by a flash or IR light) being "spirit energy" is an example of what happens when people do not understand research, or bother to do any actual research.

Most ghost-hunters read a few, or perhaps piles of, ghost-hunting books. Most of what they learn, they learn from these subculture specific books or what they read on the internet. The subculture of paranormal investigations is incestuous, with ghost-hunters educating new ghost-hunters in their subculture's conventions, thus propagating the mistakes of the past.

Again, I'm not condemning ghost-hunters or ghost-hunting. I think most involved in the field are well-meaning, and truly believe they are looking for answers and scientific evidence. But, there needs to be a departure from the subculture's conventions. There will always be ghost-hunters, and I'm not calling for the death of the subculture. I'm just saying, it is about time that someone (not me...just someone), come at this from a clever new way, that gets away from the odd and off-target methods of current ghost-hunters.

(All this being said, I've been guilty of most of the things I discuss in the paragraphs above. I'm not better, nor smarter, than others. Everything other ghost-hunters have done, I've done myself. More than anything, I'm describing why I stopped actively investigating the paranormal a few years ago. There were no real answers to be found using the current methods popular in the current ghost-hunting community.)

Mark Stinson
Ghost Vigil Investigations

Historic Locations Credibility

Historic locations that do promote the haunted nature of their location, and then charge money for tours, investigations, and other forms of access to their site aren't doing anything wrong. it is incredibly difficult to maintain an historic site. It can be hard to find a method for raising money to support the staff, maintenance, and other costs associated with such a location. If a site has a legendary status as a haunted location, and there are people willing to tour it or investigate it, then it is only fair that those people help financially support the location.

The only real concern, is how honestly the paranormal nature of the location is portrayed or explained in order to market access to the location. If marketing becomes full of lies and half-truths, this is damaging to the Truth of the location.

Mark Stinson
Ghost Vigil Investigations

Children are Impressionable

I can say with confidence, that every private investigation that Ghost Vigil Investigations has conducted that involved children experiencing the paranormal, the children had watched a number of Ghost Hunters episodes or some other paranormal television show.

I am not saying that ghost-television causes children to experience or imagine paranormal experiences in every case. Clearly that’s not true, because children have been experiencing paranormal phenomenon long before ghost-television. But, children are impressionable and imaginative.

When I was a child, there were scores of television shows and movies about Big Foot. I could hardly go into the woods, without imagining that big hairy lug being around the next bend on the path. One time there was a loud sound while I was in the woods, and I breathlessly ran a full mile home...sure that Big Foot must be right at my heels.

It is important when interviewing a child that has experienced the paranormal, to keep in mind the influences on the child, and to what subject matter in media (television and internet) the child has been exposed.

Mark Stinson
Ghost Vigil Investigations

Paranormal Amusement Parks

There are reported paranormal hot-beds (old asylums, tuberculosis hospitals, abandoned prisons, homes where people were murdered) around the country that charge for people to come and investigate the paranormal. We used to joke that these places were the equivalent of “Paranormal Amusement Parks.”

I don’t mean to say that these places are fake, or that no paranormal activity takes place in these locations. But, with the popularity of ghost television shows, a paranormal industry sprung up. Incredibly scary looking locations with dark histories were commercialized, and turned into tourist destinations for the many paranormal investigation groups that began springing up.

I don’t necessarily think it is a bad or negative thing, but I’m unsure it is a good thing either. It can lead to claims of paranormal activity that have their origins in marketing strategy, rather than credible evidence.

Mark Stinson
Ghost Vigil Investigation

Fear of the Unknown

A fear of the unseen, or the unknown, must have its origins in the very beginnings of mankind. The terror of what you don’t understand...what you can’t anticipate or prepare for...and all things outside our normal experience. Modern humans are no different, and have not escaped this fear.

So when a modern individual or family experience things in their home that they do not understand, it is natural and understandable that fear results. The purpose of a paranormal investigator or consultant is to help with this fear. The unexplained phenomenon should be analyzed and explored. The possible explanations should be described and articulated. Possible ways to prepare for future phenomenon and how to deal with it should be shared.

And the individual or family should be reassured that possible paranormal phenomenon, while unsettling, is in almost every case - physically harmless.

Mark Stinson
Ghost Vigil Investigations

Photographic Orbs

The fact that photographic orbs are caused by brightly lit particulate matter close to the camera’s lens, played into the error in thinking that caused orbs to be considered paranormal in nature for so long. In everyday photography (birthday parties, kids in the backyard, photos of scenery on family vacation), there are not that many opportunities for orbs to appear in photos.

But, on a paranormal investigation...the conditions are almost always perfect. Paranormal investigations usually take place indoors at night, and require a flash to take clear photos. Paranormal investigations often take place in older homes or historic buildings, and these places are usually rife with dust that can be stirred up. In addition, a lot of photos are taken in basement areas, attics, and unused portions of the building, which are even more susceptible to having lots of dust. So, we see more orbs in photos taken on paranormal investigations, because all of the conditions required to cause photographic orbs are present.

Even cemetery investigations at night are opportune moments for capturing photographic orbs in our pictures. One of the following is almost always present on an cemetery investigation: pollen in the air, dust kicked up from the road or ground, or moisture in the air. This prevalence of photographic orbs in investigation photos and their rare appearance in every-day photos, helped spark and maintain the false belief that orbs in photos and video have a paranormal cause.

Mark Stinson
Ghost Vigil Investigations