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The Good Old days of Ghost Hunting

A lot of us remember the good old days of ghost hunting. Where it was actual research and not gimmicks to get website hits or to be famous. It was a different time, energy and process back then. Before all the fluff and hype came about, I will be the first to admit that we wasted a lot of time investigating but I wouldn't take it back for anything. The memories of brainstorming, making friends, trying new things that were not designed to impress TV viewers. Testing, testing and more testing. Looking back I laugh at the lack of knowledge most of us had. But then, it was new territory. We were the first. We were one of the few  pioneers of "ghost hunting." We all had our hand in setting the bar, unfortunately that bar has been beaten to death, dipped in acid and crammed up many a persons... well, you know. The field is not the same. Competition in a field that has yet to be "scientifically proven" is just silly. Oh how I yearn for the good old days of ghost hunting.

 

Do you remember?

• TAPS- Grant Wilson and Jason Hawes. Believe it or not, there are a lot of us that remember when these guys and their team popped up on the scene. In fact, they would visit a very popular message board called "Ghost Safari" and ask questions about orbs and using goofy stuff like baby powder on the floor. 
• Crappy EVP's-  The standards were set so high back then that if your peers heard the junk that is claimed to be EVP these days you would be educated. Ghost Adventures should go back in time and learn a thing or two from real pioneers of EVP research since they think they are invincible and providing "real" paranormal evidence. Back in the day we did not need subtitles to hear words or phrases. We actually recorded hours upon hours on magnetic tape. 
• Gimmicks- Nobody was thinking about gimmicks or bullcrap stunts to get noticed.
• Events- Small conferences were held for education. Not rubbing elbows with reality TV people.
• Photographs- We all started out using film cameras. We evolved with the rest of the world into digital. Guess what, those of us that once used film and evolved into digital can and will prove to anyone with half a brain that orbs are not ghosts. Oh, orbs are not ghosts or anything related to a ghost. 
• Locations!!!  Before our historical properties were respected and treated with dignity. These days they are being pimped out like a two-bit hooker on a street corner. Before all the hype historical locations were kept a secret and so was our research.
• Jacket tugging- Not a single person back in the day would have ever considered faking evidence. They would be black listed within the community as a researcher. These days, they are bashed then they build "fan pages" on Facebook because of the attention they got. 
• Peer review- Yes, we would actually send away evidence to other teams to review it. The thought of that taking place today is highly unlikely. Too much competition and arrogance!
• The "T-shirt" epidemic. Do you remember how it all started?  So I vaguely recall one team from Texas got T-Shirts to wear on an investigation. I do believe they simply stated "Paranormal Investigator" on the back. It seems that the t-shirt epidemic created some viral need for people to build co-ed softball teams just to have the privileged to wear a t-shirt. The paranormal field has been plagued with t-shirts for the past 13 years because of this.It's amazing how powerful t-shirts are!  GHOULI team members have never and never will wear matching t-shirts. We are a team but we are not "playing" any kind of sport. 
• Paranormal based TV shows- before TAPS most of us veterans actually filmed TV pilots. We were not plumbers nor did we have a gimmick. The world was not yet ready for our boring little hobby. Most of us are proud to not have been involved in the demise of paranormal research. Sure it was fun, even GHOULI participated in some pilots. But we are proud to say because our shows didn't get aired we are not responsible for a lot of nonsense taking place these days.

Be aware of those that state they have been ghost hunting for 30 years and they are maybe 35 years old. Nobody was ghost hunting at the age of 5. Growing up in a haunted house does not make you an expert. Having a family member that played with Ouija Boards in the 70's does not make you an expert either. That strange creepy uncle of yours could have possibly been standing in your doorway in the middle of the night, not a ghost. It has been scientifically proven that some people suffer from night terrors, hot flashes and random goosebumps. We witness local teams that have been around for many years and they still believe in a lot of nonsense and untruths. They exploit people that are afraid because they need a place to "investigate" on the weekends instead of being at home with their families. Teams use people and their homes to train "newbies" and they do not care about the property owners feelings, fears or well being. I have seen a lot of horrible things take place in this field. Not paranormal things, but really crappy things that these kind, compassionate and caring teams do to people, their children and properties. Oh, how I yearn for the good old days.



Tonya

From the Vault

Many years ago at the Baker Hotel.

Eastern State Pennitentiary- Old School Video

Back in the day before "TAPS" and Scyfy GHOULI members Tonya & Tanmmy teamed up with some of America's Ghost Hunters at Eastern State Penitentiary.



Americas Ghost Hunters at Eastern State... by algizdk

What is a Ghost?

To many, a ghost is the non-corporeal consciousness (or soul) of an individual. It is thought that this spirit can linger long after the body has expired. When this consciousness lingers instead of, as many believe, ascending to another level of existence, we say that this ghost is haunting. However, a haunting can have a much broader meaning. It may be generally defined as the presence of one or more of the following phenomena at a single locale (be it a structure, geographic area, or object): apparitions, autokinetic manifestations, disembodied voices, and inexplicable sounds or smells.

I have based the following descriptions upon repeated motifs in witness testimony and most of the following terminoloy is my own. The nomenclature and categories herein are drawn from description and not from inferences of any physical or metaphysical compositions. About this, we have no clue, so trying to define these matters in non-experiential terms would be fruitless. However, we can speak in terms of what we have perceived with our senses. We cannot yet speak of "ectoplasm" or "spiritual energy" but we can begin where science dictates we must: observation. From there, we can hypothesize and test but we must always be willing to reject these hypotheses and begin anew.

Types of Ghosts:

Apparition is the term used to describe a ghost that appears to the percipient (as opposed to an auditory, olfactory or kinetic manifestation), often in a recognizable or semi-recognizable form. This can vary from a solid-looking individual (or object) no different from anyone else (often termed “full-body” apparitions), to transparent, semi-solid or even vague, misty forms.

It may be ultimately realized that the apparition is merely a psychic projection. It may only appear to the percipient in the manner the spirit wishes the living to see it, which may go a long way in explaining why some can see ghosts while others cannot. There is evidence to attest that those individuals most psychologically attuned to the phenomenon will have the greatest success at witnessing it. This psychic projection theory can best be exemplified by the argument that if clothing and other objects do not have spirits (souls), then how can they manifest along with the corporeal visage of the deceased? Yet, if this is the case, how can film and video capture apparitions as well? Or do they?

Non-recurrent Apparitions (Crisis Apparition, Class I) – A surprisingly common occurrence, these apparitions generally appear within a short time of their death. They are said to manifest themselves in order to deliver messages to the percipient, often a loved one. These apparitions do not necessarily appear at the moment of death. Sometimes they can manifest themselves hours, days or even years afterward – often at a significant moment or anniversary. However, not all “non-repeaters” (as they are sometimes termed) are deceased. Others can appear at a crucial or dire moment, sometimes just prior to death. These apparitions are known as Anxiety-related, Non-recurrent Apparitions.

Anxiety-related, Non-recurrent Apparition (Crisis Apparition, Class II) – Believed to be a sort of stress-induced telepathy, this type of apparition is circumstantially identical to the first category except the individual whose apparition is witnessed is still alive. However, at the instant their apparition was perceived, they were frequently found to have been enduring a traumatic situation. This type of apparition is tantamount to astral projection (bi-location) or an out-of-body experience; the supposed ability to psychically project one’s self through space-time to either another person’s mind or to actually corporealize. This is thought to explain situations of Doppelgangers and the like.

Recurrent Residual Apparition – An apparition that can be seen by many different people over the course of many days, weeks, months, years and even centuries. Their actions and appearance are often repetitive and they show little or no awareness of their surroundings. They appear like a video loop, repeating the same situation over and over. This has caused some investigators to theorize that what is actually being witnessed is some sort of quantum anomaly – a window that opens onto a specific moment in time.

Or perhaps, like videotape, a moment in time can be imprinted upon the environment and repeat itself long afterward. I term this phenomenon an Environmentally Imprinted Anomaly (EIA). Work has been done that may validate this theory.

In 1982, researchers John Marke and Allan Jenkins performed an experiment at an ancient, “haunted” Kenfig pub in Mid-Glamorgan, Wales. Their theory was that the stone walls, containing substances similar to those used in magnetic recording tapes (such as silica and ferric salts), could conceivably have become imprinted upon by past sounds, which accumulate like an aural patina. The researchers theorized that by applying the proper electrical stimulus, these stones could “play back” their recorded sounds. The two men connected electrodes to the walls and introduced 20,000 volts of electricity for several hours overnight while tape recorders documented every sound. When the tapes were reviewed, the researchers discovered they contained various anomalous sounds such as unintelligible voices (thought to be in an ancient Welsh dialect), an organ and a ticking clock (when no clock was present).

Recurrent Cognizant Apparition – Unlike a residual, these apparitions can move about more freely and interact with their environment in much the same way a non-recurrent apparition might. These “Spirits,” as they are often called, are frequently aware of their surroundings and any person therein, although they may seem a bit confused at times. It is believed by many investigators that this type of apparition is the disenfranchised soul of a deceased individual. Occasionally, witnesses attest to these manifestations exhibiting a degree of clairvoyance or telepathic prowess.

“The Unredeemed” – A cognizant apparition that seems to bear an unresolved emotional crisis. It is believed that these apparitions cannot “move on” until their crisis has been resolved. They are the most active at communicating with the living, however, they may not always know how or why. Often times, they seem to be as confused about their situation as the living witnesses are.

Auditory Manifestations

The following phenomena are more likely to be witnessed than an apparition and comprise the bulk of most hauntings. Auditory Manifestations are characterized by sounds such as disembodied voices, knocks, footsteps and pretty much any other conceivable sound. Like apparitions, auditory manifestations can be either residual or cognizant. For example at many battlefields, such as the famous Civil War battlefield of Gettysburg, witnesses have claimed to hear cannon fire and the sound of galloping horses. These dislocated sounds do not respond to their modern environment, they exist as an EIA or perhaps as a “window in time.”

However, other sounds seem to respond to percipients. For example, a woman hears phantom footsteps and yells, “Go away!” In response, she hears retreating footsteps. There are also the countless cases of those who have “communicated” with the disincarnate entity via knocking on walls or furniture. Although many of these stories tend to tie back to the early days of the Spiritualist Movement and the “rappings” heard at séances, a mediumistic trick that stuck around as a paranormal leitmotif.

These auditory manifestations behave much like cognizant apparitions, simply without the appearance. The hallmark of this type of ghost is its ability to interact with the witnesses, who may ask it questions to which it might reply. But they do not always converse, if you will. Sometimes, though conscious of their state or environs, they may only say one or a few words but those that seem to carry some portent such as “get out.” Since the voice is seemingly responding to the percipients presence, it is logical to assume that this phenomenon is not an environmentally imprinted anomaly, rather a cognizant entity wishing to express a thought.
Olfactory Manifestations Like manifestations of sound, this phenomenon is experienced by one sense only, the sense of smell. Throughout history, witnesses have reported the smell of roses, perfume, sulfur and a slew of other phantom scents that seem to defy logical explanation.

Kinetic Manifestations

Many ghosts may exhibit a degree of impact upon their environment: footsteps are not only heard but felt, vibrating floorboards, a door is opened, a touch felt, or the imprint of a person forms upon a newly-made bed. But primarily they aren’t known for greatly affecting the physical world. One type of ghost is far more energetic than others.

True Poltergeists can best be described as a Recurrent Cognizant but are offset by their ability to manipulate the environment (though rarely with much violence). These seemingly autokinetic manifestations often reveal themselves by moving objects or physically interacting with the environment or witnesses. For instance, a picture frame might be thrown against the wall by an unseen hand, a phantom hand may pinch an arm, or dishes could be dropped from their cupboards. The term, poltergeist, comes from the German meaning “noisy ghost,” which describes its actions accurately. However, German lore describes the spirit as a prankster with a playful orneriness.

Recurrent Spontaneous Psychokinesis is a syndrome similar in all outward appearances to a True Poltergeist. However, this phenomenon is decidedly different in origin. The causative agent in such manifestations is frequently (but not always) an adolescent or pre-adolescent involved in the happenings. It is believed that unexpressed psychosexual or emotional turmoil within this individual can manifest itself subconsciously as psychokinetic phenomena.

Statistically speaking, females 9 – 17 are the most prone to exhibiting RSP but males and even individuals much younger and older have been described as catalysts for this phenomena. Often one can distinguish between RSP and a True Poltergeist by the severity of the incidents. RSP appears to present itself far more vigorously.

I would advise that in cases such as these (when a True Poltergeist has been eliminated as the cause), the agent, their family and their friends should be urged to speak with a reputable and professional psychotherapist. I would not recommend that amateur investigators attempt to “exorcise” any spirit since the causative agent could very well be a living individual’s extraordinary psyche. If, for whatever reason, that does not seem feasible, rest assured that, by all reputable accounts, RSP rarely lasts more than a few months. Furthermore, aside from a few dubious tales, no one has ever been seriously harmed by such manifestations.

Because of their theoretically psychic origins, I am hesitant to classify RSP cases and cases of Anxiety-Related, Non-Repetitive Apparitions as ghosts in the truest since of the word. However, since correlations between the spirit, the psychic mind, and ghosts of the dead have never been confirmed, these phenomena belong here as much as anywhere else.

Combinative Manifestations

Combinative manifestations are essentially that, a combination of phenomena exhibited by other manifestations. For instance, one may see an apparition and smell her ghostly perfume and she may speak to the witness or knock a chair over. Or a residual apparition might break from its incessant routine to impact physical reality by touching someone or speaking to them. It is these anomalies within anomalies (which are actually pretty common) that make up many of the stumbling blocks investigators face in trying to characterize and classify these phenomena. Therefore, I present the preceding as merely a general guide. --Cullan Hudson

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