This picture of Sara Harris was taken at the investigation where she became sick 10/19/2012

Shane Harris is asking for everyone’s help getting the word out about what happened to his wife Sara. I am trying to help him by posting his request to my blog. On the 25th of November Sara passed away from an unknown respiratory illness brought on by inhaling something from the environment during a paranormal investigation. You can read more about what happened to Sara on my previous blog post here. Shane is starting the Sara Harris Foundation. Shane says that he needs your help to spread the word about it.

“I have a paypal account set up for donations. I also have 3M on board to donate masks as soon as i get the tax id number. My paypal account is under saraharrisfoundation@yahoo.com”

He wants to know “Can you help our cause?”

Shane told me the purpose of The Sara Harris Foundation is to get the needed safety items like first aid kits, masks and other items out to paranormal teams who can’t afford them free of charge.

Shane says “Please help spread the word and anything collected will be going to a good cause. Lets be safe out there as i don’t want this to happen to you. I love you all for your support. Thank You!”

Please share what has happened with Sara and their family to all of your friends! They need to know the dangers of investigating. They also can help Shane by contributing to the foundation.

You can read Sara’s obituary here http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/fayettevilleobserver/obituary.aspx?n=sara-g-harris&pid=161290044#fbLoggedOut

Read about Sara in my blog post The Dangers of Investigating

Another previous article of mine on the dangers can be found here Dangers of Urban Exploration

Thank you for helping!
Cathy

Recently I noticed a man named Shane Harris on facebook posting about the dangers of the paranormal. Specifically, he wanted to warn people that there are risks associated with inhaling things from the environment and becoming sick. This is his posting on facebook

WHY WE SHOULD WEAR A MASK WHEN INVESTIGATING

My wife Sara Harris is in UNC Chapel Hill Hospital…We are Paranormal Investigators and we need your prayers…She has been in the hospital for 24 days now…She now has been placed on an ECMO lung bypass machine because she has a infection from something she inhaled. We were doing an investigation at an house that had bats and rodent droppings…I believe that we stirred the air up and she inhaled something and infected her lungs to the point that she almost died…She now is on day 7 of the ECMO machine and has many many more days to go…She now has a 70% chance of living, but we won’t know until about day 10 . I am reaching out to the paranormal community for prayers and also so you can protect yourself against the things we can’t see that are living and breathing in the air. Please be careful, as i dont want this to happen to you…I update my face book page daily with her condition. I love my wife with all my heart… I was on Darkness Radio last night telling her story and want to know if you would be willing to tell her story also…You can contact me for more info.

Thank you
Shane Harris

When paranormal investigators go out we sometimes encounter mold, bacteria, viruses, wildlife, floors that are crumbling as well as other dangers. Sometimes it is best to wear a mask to protect your lungs. If you suspect any threat to your health you should be wearing a mask if you have to be on the property. His wife had become sick after an investigation were they were in a home that had bats and rodent droppings. This immediately gave me chills because it brought back memories of the hauntavirus.

In 1993 there was an outbreak of hantavirus in the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. The host that carried that virus was found to be deer mice. It all began when a young and physically fit Navajo man began suffering from shortness of breath. He was rushed to a hospital in New Mexico and died very rapidly. When doctors began reviewing his case they found the man’s fiancée had died a few days before after showing the same symptoms. This finding launched a full investigation as to the cause by the New Mexico Office of Medical Investigations.

They went asking for similar cases and found 5 other young people had died with acute respiratory failure. The wheels started spinning faster now. Just think of movie Contagion or Virus. They all had acute respiratory symptoms similar to the flu which included throat irritation, coughing, sneezing, fever, chills, and muscle aches. They developed cough and severe symptoms of the disease about seven days after initial symptoms. Half of them had headaches, dizziness, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pains. None of them knew they had a hauntavirus. Once the severe symptoms start with this disease it progresses rapidly with hospitalization and ventilation often required within 24 hours. When the outbreak in this case was over there were a total of thirteen people who died.

Hauntaviruses are the agents implicated in hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome is an acute febrile condition which was recognized after a 1951 outbreak among U.S. troops stationed in Korea. Outbreaks from hauntaviruses have occurred on and off throughout history. Those at risk from acquiring the virus are people who work, live and explore anywhere there are mouse droppings. Those who do urban exploration and paranormal investigators are also at a higher risk as well because they explore vacant buildings many of which contain droppings.

How a person becomes infected with the virus is by what we call inhalation of an aerosol. Rodents shed the virus in their urine, droppings, and saliva. When these droppings are stirred up by sweeping or moving things around, tiny droplets of the virus become airborne. The whole process is called aerosolization. People get the disease when they breathe air that has been contaminated by the virus. Other ways to be exposed are bites from a rodent or touching a surface that is contaminated with the virus and then touching your nose or mouth.

Since 1995 hantavirus pulmonary syndrome has been recognized 102 patients in 21 states of the U.S., 7 in Canada and 3 in Brazil with half of those people dying from the disease. There is no treatment or cure for this disease once it has been identified in a patient. The best hope anyone has is avoiding areas that could potentially have the virus.

If you happen to live in an infested area you want to sanitize your space. You need to get rid of the rodent infestation by trapping. When there is no evidence of infestation you must wait for about 5 days before beginning to clean these areas. The next step is to ventilate the space you are cleaning for at least 30 minutes to allow fresh air to enter by opening the doors and windows and leave the area while airing it out. When you begin to clean it is important that you do not stir up dust by using a vacuuming or sweeping the droppings or nest materials. You must wear rubber gloves and spray the urine and droppings with a disinfectant or a mixture of bleach and water and let soak 5 minutes before removing the urine or droppings with a paper towel. 1 part bleach to 10 parts water is the recommendation for the concentration of the bleach solution. Dispose of the waste in the garbage then disinfect anything that might have been contaminated. The next step is to thoroughly clean all the areas and everything within those areas.

I read that Sara Harris passed away from her illness yesterday. My heart is breaking for this family. Here is his post to facebook

Today I lost my wife and best friend…Things will not be same without her…I must now raise a daughter who misses her mommy…But i am happy that she is now with Jesus and i haft to change my lifestyle so i can be with her again…Sara baby I love you with all my heart and soul and you will always be my wife…nobody will ever get that chance…when we got married we both said “til death do we part” well baby i am not dead yet so you don’t need to worry…im a one women man and baby you are all i need and all i will ever have…I will see you again…I love you

There has been no confirmation anywhere yet on the virus or bacteria she was exposed to. I believe everyone who investigates needs to think before they go out. Is this worth your life? If you must go out you need to protect yourself from the environment. There are simple rules you should go by as an investigator. You should always go with another person in case you are injured. Always carry a flashlight and extra batteries with you to see where you are going. You need to pay attention to your environment so you do not get cut, punctured, bit, or fall breaking a bone. If you think there are in an area with rodent droppings wear a mask.

You can read one of my previous blog posts on dangers of urban exploration here http://www.hauntedchef.com/2011/03/22/dangers-of-urban-exploration/

I also did a video that year on the dangers of urban exploration http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eGSKemwtaQ&lr=1

A digital camera and an audio recorder are what all investigators should have on hand at the very least. I call it going “old school” and is what I rely on for every investigation. Seasoned investigators will add many more interesting items over time but still lean the most heavily on the camera and recorder. What is an investigation without attempting photos or evp work?

Next in line for the most bang is a video recorder. There are many kinds and honestly they all work. You do not even need night shot but it is a nice feature. Taking video in one hand with a flashlight in the other will produce spooky results. You don’t just want to record in the dark anyway. You can even use your cell phone. Know that using a cell phone to get video can produce very grainy shots where it looks like you may have captured movement but is what we call matixing.

The next investment in equipment is to get an emf detector. There are many to choose from. My favorite is the KII or the ghost meter pro. With either device you can record a baseline reading for a room and then look for spikes. You can also use these devices for communicating. The theory is that the presence of an entity creates an emf disturbance. Asking the entity to touch the light can trigger lights from both devices and sounds from the ghost meter. I do not like the sound on because it interferes with my ability to hear audible voices or movement. Which brings me to the most important piece of equipment…. you!

I will get into other more technical items in the future but let me talk for a bit about what I mean you are the most important piece of equipment. We have the ability to hear, see, touch, taste and smell our environment physically as well as use other abilities if you are attuned into them. Talking constantly on an investigation will ruin your ability to pick up on the environment. You will not be paying attention because you are distracted by what you are thinking, hearing yourself speak, and waiting for a response from others. Don’t use the investigation for socializing. So just let it all go and use your senses.

Are you are passionate about the paranormal and helping others then take another piece of advice from me. Please get plenty of rest before you go on an investigation. It is a great idea to take time before you go out to clear your mind. Meditation or prayer before you go is great to put you in the mindset to tune in your senses. If you are rested you won’t get tired so quickly in the dark

You cannot get anything from the investigation if when you go home you don’t do the tedious task of reviewing what you got. Keeping up with the fact that you are the most important piece of equipment you should review audio, video and photos within 2 weeks. Why are you gathering data if you don’t review it? Why are you at the investigation if not for the purpose of proving or disproving activity? Maybe it is time to take a break from investigating if the passion has left you not wanting to review anything.

An intelligent haunting is like a person is trying to get you to notice them but you cannot see them. They activity occurs at different times of the day and has no discernible pattern of occurence. They can move about the environment freely and even move from one location to another. For whatever reason there are also intelligent hauntings that happen within a small area as if they are attached by an invisible chain to a spot. That spot can be attached to an object, person or place. The activity can be nice like the smell of your grandpa’s cologne or bad but for most of the living the activity is scary either way.

We believe a person after death may not pass into the light for various reasons which include free will. Perhaps they feel that they have unfinished business like telling a loved one of an injustice done to them. Maybe they don’t even realize they are no longer alive because a car accident happened and they died in an instant. Sometimes they cannot go into the light because they don’t want let go of the living. For others they may fear of the other side or judgment.

When a person dies they continue to have the same personality that they had while they were alive. Think of the movie “Ghost” where Sam was a really nice guy who obviously continued to be a nice guy. He was hanging around trying to warn Molly about the danger that she was in. If a person was mean while alive they will continue to be mean after death. Many people think of negative activity as if it were a demon but it can just be a bad person. Demonic activity has certain hallmark features that will differentiate it from a regular “run of the mill” haunting.

A good example of an intelligent haunting is the Bell Witch case in Adams, Tennessee which occurred from 1817 until 1821. The haunting began when John Bell had an encounter with a strange animal in a cornfield that looked like a dog and a rabbit which disappeared when he shot at it. The activity then started in earnest which included knocking, rapping noises, scratching sounds, blankets pulled from beds, people were scratched and hair pulling. John’s daughter Elizabeth got the brunt of much of the activity where she was slapped, pinched, bruised and stuck with pins. The activity was also witnessed by many people some of whom would come and camp out at on the property. The Bell Witch was so well known that General Andrew Jackson who would later become president came for a visit and had his own personal experiences.

Signs of an intelligent haunting. All of these events occur at different times of the day and have no discernible pattern of occurence.

• Objects can disappear and then reappear in impossible places over some period of time
• Unexplained cold/hot spots
• Strange and unexplained sounds or voices
• Furniture and small objects are moved
• Objects or furniture sometimes can be thrown
• Doors, windows and cabinets open, close or are slammed unlocked/locked
• Lights, televisions, radios and faucets turn on and off on their own
• Unexplained smells or the feeling of being touched
• Strong sense of a presence including the feeling of being watched

If you have activity going on where you believe you have a haunting whether it is intelligent, residual or demonic in nature please feel free to contact the Society of The Haunted

A residual haunting is a playback of a past event in that same spot that when it occurs it happens at the same time of day and does not interact with you. The apparitions you see are not intelligent spirits but are recordings of the event which is usually of an emotional nature or is traumatic/violent. The recordings can be captured and imprinted on stone like slate and other materials like iron nails or quarts and many times have an underground water source. There is an unknown environmental condition that happens to record the event.

When the playback happens it is energy being dispersed which can make doors open or shut, you can hear noises or see a ghostly apparition repeating the event. We do not understand what the environmental factors are that will allow a playback to happen. Perhaps a heightened emotional state of a live person or high humidity and barometric pressure play a part but we don’t know. If we did understand we would be creating that condition over and over again not to mention studying it in-depth to understand it.

Many famous hauntings are really residual and not what we call intelligent. The most famous is the Brown Lady of Raynham Hall who was photographed by Captain Provand and his assistant Indre Shira while they were photographing the historic Raynham Hall for Country Life Magazine in the late afternoon of 19th September, 1936. This photo was the first known capture of a spirit. Lady Dorothy Walpole is the person thought to be the Brown Lady. She still walks the staircase looking for her 5 children. She was born in 1686 and “officially” died of smallpox in 1726.

Her tragic story is that her father refused consent for her to marry her first love Second Viscount Townshend. Dorothy was married off then began an affair with him. When her husband found out he ordered that she be kept locked in her apartments at Raynham Hall and for further punishment refused for the children to be around her. Unofficially she died of either a broken heart or a broken neck after being pushed down the grand staircase at the age of 40. Such tragedy!

Another example of a residual haunting is the Treasurer’s Grand House in York, England which dates from the 17th/18th centuries. This is the one example I use the most to explain what a residual haunting is to clients. The city has been there since 71 AD when the Roman Ninth Legion built a fortress with 6000 soldiers. The house stands within the area of the old Roman barracks. The Minster Treasures lived in this house until the Reformation. The last Treasurer was William Cliff in 1547 because there was no longer a need for a treasurer. The area of the house where you can see a residual haunting is in the cellar. There when the conditions are right Roman soldiers will march two by two through the wall into the opposite wall. These soldiers never interact with anyone but only march where you can see it and hear it. Apparently over the years the soldiers legs have gotten shorter where it looks like they are waking on their knees. I know you are wondering why they are on their knees! One day the cellar was excavated and the Roman road was found two feet beneath the floor.

The Tower of London’s ghost of Queen Anne Boleyn is another great example. Ann could not bear her husband Henry VIII a son. He became convinced their marriage was cursed. He had his eye on Jane Seymour who eventually became his wife and gave him a son (Edward VI – 1537-1553). In order to get rid of Ann she was falsely accused of treason, witchcraft, adultery and even incest with her brother. Five men who were accused of being with Ann eventually confessed under torture and were executed on Tower Hill on May 17th 1536. Anne Boleyn was executed two days later. This was a very emotional and violent series of events which have led to the residual haunting.

The guards known as the ‘Yeoman of the Guard’ have watched the towers since 1509. They have many stories of seeing the ghost of Ann. One guard reported watching Anne lead a courtly procession across the tower green and on towards Tower Hill where she had been executed. Another story is that of a group of guards who saw her appear so close that one of them was able to poke into the apparition before it faded right in front of them.

Sometimes a house will be remodeled but the activity of a residual haunting will remain the same. The spirit will now walk through what was a door but is now a wall. They will climb stairs that were once there but have since long been gone due to something like a fire. This activity continues to occur under the right conditions and usually the same time of day each time it is noticed. If they ever demolish the Raynham Hall staircase I am sure under the right conditions people will continue to see the brown lady only this time she would be floating down on what would have been the stairs.

I hope you now have a better understanding of what a residual haunting is and know that there is no reason for anyone to be afraid off residual activity. It is an amazing event where we can witness the past just like watching a movie!

If you have activity going on where you believe you have a haunting whether it is intelligent, residual or demonic in nature please feel free to contact the Society of The Haunted

I love it when our group goes to a location and get an audible voice during an investigation. An audible voice is one where you can hear it live with no help from equipment. Sometimes it is weak where maybe only one person can hear it and then it can be verified by listening to the audio recorders. I especially love it when the voices are really loud! The weekend before last the Society of the Haunted was at a location in Tulsa Oklahoma and got a very loud audible voice. We were all separated throughout the house when it happened. It sounds like the man is saying “wild sh*t, nothing but wow or wild” and most of us heard it. You can hear me saying “what was that” immediately after we heard it.

All of us then got busy rewinding the recorders to listen. I was sitting at the top of the staircase, Ken was downstairs in the front room at the bottom of the staircase and the homeowners were in the living room right off the foyer. All of us caught the voice on the recorders. We think the entity was in the foyer where Ken was probably the closest. A few of our members thought perhaps it was residual because of how mechanical sounding that it was and that it sounded almost like it broke through a barrier of some sort. I have not gone through all of the collected evidence yet to give my full opinion yet. It was really cool to be there and hear the man or whoever it was first hand! It is also rare to get really loud audible voice so we felt blessed.

An audible voice is not an EVP even if you catch it on your recorders. EVP stands for electronic voice phenomenon and cannot be heard audibly. You can only hear it through audio playback. So I bet you are wondering what an audible voice really is. It is an audible manifestation which you hear similar to an apparition which is visible. I believe the EVPs captured moments before the audible voice were building up to the manifestation that occurred. I need to review more of our video footage to see if any camera angle caught a physical presence as well.

Now let me share this audio with you. When we played back the audible voice we also caught a few EVPs right before the audible voice. Here is the first one which is a laugh

laugh

The next EVP that was caught sounds like a child with an English accent saying daddy

daddy

This is the audible voice wich sounds like it is saying wild sh*t nothing but wow (or maybe wild)

wild sh*t nothing but wow (or maybe wild)

Here is the full audio clip so you can hear the sequence

Ken’s device-cut-laugh to what was that

We are scheduled to go back to the property in March to see if what else we can find. Watch our website for more audio from this investigation

An image appeared in a flip cell phone video taken this past Christmas. Twin boys were filming their Christmas tree when they noticed the image of what appeared to be a woman sweeping on their phone. They said they couldn’t see the woman with their naked eye but only through the phone. The family does not want to reveal their location at this time because their privacy is important. They decided that they wanted to share the video of what they are calling the Ghost of Christmas Past. They believe the boys maternal great-grandmother was paying a visit.

Perhaps this was their great-grandmother trying to get everything clean in time for Christmas. The image could also possibly be explained by what we call matrixing from the christmas lights. When my group has a possible explanation for something we catch on video or in a photograph we do not claim it as evidence of the paranormal even if it could be. I personally would love to believe that their great-grandmother was visiting the family. The video camera is moving the whole time which could account for the type of movement you can see in the video below. I wish the boys would have had the camera on a tripod because it would make this event lean more towards it being paranormal.

Matrxing is what paranormal investigators call the light bouncing or reflecting in a photo or video. People can take the patterns caused by this effect and make shapes which they then identify as something they recognize. You can find these shapes in random places like the clouds or dots on a wall. Recognition of the shapes is known as pareidolia which is the ability of the brain to create a familiar image or sound from a pattern. You can read more about pareidolia which is a type of apophenia by following this link. You can also watch the video below to see what you think.

I was on Facebook this morning and noticed several friends status that said to be very careful today. Why? Well today happens to be 11/11/11 and some people see great significance in these numbers. In the last few months I have been paying attention to the clock more and have noticed 1:11, 11:11 and 2:22. Those numbers pop up for me now all the time now even off the clock. I posted to my Facebook wall how weird that I was noticing these number combinations. I had several people message me with their theories on what it meant including that they were personal messages from angels.

Some people believe the number 11:11 is about ascension and the beginning of awareness of the code that it represents. Some believe we are in a time of a new beginning with the approaching date of December 21, 2012. I know several people getting married today perhaps because of the significance of the date marking their new beginning. I am going to use today as an opportunity for me to explain apophenia.

Apophenia is the human tendency to find meaning or patterns in randomly occurring data like the date 11/11/11. The condition feeds on itself because the more conscious you are of the pattern of something the more often you’ll notice it and believe that it means something. The patterns can be found in everything we see and hear. We are hard-wired to find meaningful patterns because it helps in our survival. As an example is that the rustle you hear in the grass which could be a dangerous predator where we need to run. There are times however, when the patterns are really meaningless. As an example we can find faces on a textured ceiling, the clouds and anything pixellated like photographs.

People can find great significance in the patterns they find. The thoughts it brings up can range from a mild suspicion to full on paranoia. Speaking of paranoia sometimes there is a thin line between sanity and insanity. Apophenia is a part of psychosis which is a loss of contact with reality. That reality includes delusions which are false beliefs about what is taking place or who one is and hallucinations. However, apophenia has been noted in mentally healthy individuals.

People can be so steadfast in their belief in the pattern they find that it is hard to try to give them a rational explanation. These patterns people believe in can even be a life changing event for them! People have sold their homes, given away most of their possessions and have even committed suicide believing that the world would end on a particular day. There was a cult known as Solar Temples where letters after a mass suicide were found stating that they believed they were moving on to Sirius because of the patterns they found. Heavens Gate cult died in a mass suicide and believed they were exiting their human vessels so that their souls could go on a journey aboard a spaceship they believed to be following comet Hale-Bopp. This is obviously not healthy behavior. These people did not know they were deluded.

Some will understand the photograph is just a series of dots while others see the face on Mars. This formation is most likely the result of erosion, winds and other natural forces. People who believe in UFO’s see it as proof of life in the universe and the explanation is a sign of a cover up by the government. I am not going to alter my life by putting tin foil all over the ceilings because of this photograph nor should you. There are people who belief that tin foil acts to shield the brain from emf fields, mind control and mind reading by alien life forms although there is no proof of this.

Conspiracy theorists believe in chemtrails where the government is deliberately spraying chemicals on us. These chemtrails are really contrails caused by airplanes exhaust systems. When the hot exhaust gases cool the surrounding air it causes a cloud of microscopic water droplets and ice crystals. The people who believe in the conspiracy will not listen to this rational explanation.

You find evidence of people genuinely believing they found religious figures in pieces of toast, the grain of cut wood or on a wall. Ebay has made some of these people famous through the sale of these objects. The Virgin Mary on toast sold for 28,000! Religious related psychosis is quite common but not treated. Who is to say what one is spiritually experiencing is real or not.

It becomes a problem when it crosses the line like it did with the Solar Temples or Heavens Gate cults. You should not blindly believe in someone who wants control of your thinking, personal assets and life like Marshall Applewhite.

Apophenia also is a huge problem in people who gamble which can be debilitating. A person who really believes in their pattern of numbers cannot stop betting and can lose everything. If you are stuck with a pattern and cannot stop unhealthy behavior it is time to seek help from a therapist.

In Minnesota an accident in August of 2011 sent two year old Jairden Loukota to the hospital. He was hit in the stomach by a golf club. When the hospital checked him out they found a cantaloupe size tumor growing in his liver that burst from the accident. Apparently he is seeing things now. This could be an indicator that he possibly had a near death experience. His Mother Megan stated “He kept asking me ‘Mom, who is that guy in the corner? There’s a guy in the corner. There’s light.” His mom thinks that it is angel but perhaps there is another explanation.

There is a range of experiences that happen with impending death. Some of these include detaching from the body, levitation, fear, peace and the presence of a light with loved ones inside the light. I had a case once where a mom took care of her adult child who had cancer for a few years before he passed away. He would ask his mom all the time who the man was sitting besides her. She would leave the room to cry because nobody was present but her. If I were in the same situation I would have been fascinated and would have asked many questions but not everyone has been exposed to the paranormal like I have. Not only was he seeing a man but his grandparents would visit him regularly. He had no idea they were no longer alive because he saw them as living. She also reported cold spots and saw shadows herself. After the passing of her son the activity continued on and off and was escalating when she finally decided to call me.

A number of the cases that I get have someone in the home that has had a near death experience. I believe that because of their brush with death it makes them more sensitive. Perhaps a doorway is open they are now a beacon for the other side to come to visit but we really do not know. Once I had a case where a woman had a near death experience and was from that point forward haunted by what seemed to be many different spirits. Those spirits were mostly negative causing her to alter her life in a way that was not healthy.

Since the beginning of time people have had near death experiences. In the earliest documented account Plato describes in The Republic a soldier’s near-death experiences which included the afterlife and even reincarnation. The scientific community has been actively doing research on near death experiences for years. They have found many people share common experiences.

Here is a list of common experiences
An awareness of being dead
A sense of peace
An out-of-body experience including hovering over your body
A tunnel
A sense of moving through a passage
Being in the light or a powerful light
Communication with the light
Beings of light and deceased loved ones
Life review and unconditional love
Knowledge about the universe and everything
A decision to return to the living body
15% or more have a hell type of experience which includes
Barren place
Darkness
Beings or shadows moving around them like blobs
The feeling that they are going to hell
Hopeless and helpless

The cause these experiences are thought by some to be hallucinations from a surge of electrical activity, neurons dying, lucid dreaming or other natural causes. Others believe that the experiences are real and the stories are confirmation of an afterlife. A study of terminally ill patients found identical surges in brain activity moments before death. Is this proof that energy surges out of the body? Is this the body’s one last ditch effort to revive the body? We do know that we are made up of energy which cannot be created or destroyed but can only be changed. Death is a transformation of that energy. The question that many people have is do retain any semblance of who we were when we were alive including memories. I happen to be a believer that our soul continues on and I have had many experiences to back it up.

As a nurse I have observed patients dying who have exclaimed things like “I was wondering when you would show up” or smile at an invisible someone who has come to apparently assist them. Even famous people exclaim interesting things as they are going through the process. A great recent example is that when Steve Jobs passed away he looked at his family then past them and his last words were then “Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow”. Jobs was according to his biographer 50/50 on if he believed in the existence of God and hoped that there was some kind of afterlife. I would like to think he saw something miraculous and that he was delighted with it!

Watch a video about Steve’s experience

You can also read more about Jairden here http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jairdenloukota

Have  you ever seen something out of the corner of your eye when you turned to look you couldn’t see anything? This makes most people question if they really saw something at all and you should. Was it the shadow of a passing car outside or just in your imagination because you haven’t gotten much sleep lately? Some people in this situation are too quick to jump to the conclusion that it is paranormal even if they haven’t had anything else happen in their home. You should be open to the possibility that there could be a logical explanation for the noises or shadows.

When you call a group be mindful that you will be asked questions to see what you may have going on. There have even been times when I try to explain that there may be a logical explanation where I have had potential clients get angry and defensive. Part of my job as case manager is to see if a case warrants our group to go out in the first place. There is no reason to be defensive because I am asking questions to try to figure out what may be going on. Just because I am asking questions does not mean I do not believe you or think that you are crazy. I really want to help you figure it all out. I may schedule our team to come out or refer another group that we know to check out your property.

If you do have something in your home where you feel the need to prove it you can call our group or any paranormal team in your area to investigate. My advice is that you should be careful with who you let come into your home. Are they a legitimate paranormal group? How long have they been investigating? Do they screen all the members of the team? Do they charge? Is the team just a group of kids who have decided to form a team because they thought it would be fun to scare each other on a Saturday night? What equipment do they have? How do they investigate?

After a team comes into your home you should be told what happened while they investigated that night. The group will then give you what evidence they collected after a period of time which varies from group to group. The evidence can be video, photos and audio clips with evps. You should be patient with waiting for the evidence. Groups have to go through everything with a fine tooth comb so to speak. They may want to go back through it a few times to ensure they caught everything. Most people reviewing the evidence have other jobs and families where they are not sitting down dedicated to evidence review all day. Make sure the group is even going to give you copies of the evidence. I have had a few cases where groups went into a home before us but the client was not given anything even though the group told them they caught a full bodied apparition on video.

Paranormal groups can show what they call evidence all day that is real and you may think it is not real, was faked or has some reasonable explanation other than the one the group is sharing with you. This is the problem with proving anything paranormal. You should question everything for yourself anyway! How would you know if a group was being honest with you? There are new teams that pop up every day with no experience. Many of the new groups think everything is paranormal. Some groups want fame and are willing to throw together things that are not real or questionable at best. Some things that are questionable are orbs, feelings and psychic impressions.

After you get the evidence look through it and question it for yourself. You should not blindly believe in whatever a group tells you. Have they given you orb photos? Some groups will take a picture of dust and say this is an orb which is a spirit. A photographer cannot tell the difference between dust and what some would call a spirit. How is it that anyone can say it is a spirit then? This is the reason our group does not show orb photos as proof of the afterlife. I know many people really believe in orbs even when you show them proof that dust can create the same effect.

An evp can really be another team member whispering. If the group has a high turn over rate for members they may not recognize each others voices. Was the evp collected at a public event or was the whole team in the location at the time the evp was collected? It is hard to rule out another member or person in this case. When running audio there should not be anyone whispering ever. How many people run audio in the group and do they synchronize their equipment? If only one person is collecting audio how can it really be ruled as an evp?

Has the group given you a psychic report? The world is filled with psychics who are out to get money or fame and who are fake. I am not saying all psychics are fake but there are enough in the world where you should question what is being said. It is sickening to think that while some are really gifted there are others who really are nothing better than con artists. How would you know the difference? Our group has had personal experience with both real and fake types. Our group uses every means we can to investigate and this can include psychics. When we give you information from a psychic it is just another piece of information in the puzzle that is your property and you should view it as such.

Some teams only come in to look and verify that you have paranormal activity. After they leave your house you should only expect to be given whatever evidence they found. These types of teams are not here to help you figure out what to do now that they have confirmed you have something in your home. You are then left on your own to figure it out for yourself. Some teams will not even call you back to give advice. Be careful with groups who charge you to investigate and then do cleansings. They are in the business of trying to make money by making you scared to give them money. Your priest or pastor can come in and do a cleansing/blessing and will not charge to help you out.

The bottom line is that if you do call a group out know what you are getting yourself into when you call them by asking them questions. Try to be open to the experience when they do come and please think for yourself!