Ghost Hunting and Ghost Hunters

Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations that are reported to be haunted by ghosts.

Typically, a ghost hunting team will attempt to collect evidence claimed to be supportive of paranormal activity. Ghost hunters often utilize a variety of electronic equipment, such as the following types: the EMF meter; digital thermometer; handheld and static digital video cameras, such as thermographic (or infrared) and night vision; digital audio recorder; and computer. Some organized teams of ghost hunters refer to themselves as paranormal investigators.^[1]

While many groups claim to utilize scientific methods in their search for the paranormal, science can not confirm the existence of ghosts.^{[2] [3]}

Popularity

The “No Ghost” logo from Ghostbusters ; a media franchise which is arguably a primary example of modern day ghost hunting popularisation

The Internet, films (like Ghostbusters ), and television programs (like Most Haunted , Ghost Hunters , and Ghost Adventures ), along with the increasing availability of high-tech equipment are thought to be partly responsible for the boom in ghost hunting. Despite its lack of acceptance in academic circles, the popularity of ghost-hunting reality TV shows have influenced a number of individuals to take up the pursuit.^[4]

Scores of small businesses selling ghost-hunting equipment, paranormal investigation services, and even ghost counseling are booming outside of their prime season: Halloween. Several companies have introduced devices billed as “ghost detectors,” along with the traditional electromagnetic field (EMF) meters, white noise generators, and infrared motion sensors. The paranormal boom is such that some small ghost-hunting related businesses are enjoying increased profits through podcast and web site advertising, books, DVDs, videos, and other commercial enterprises.^[5]

One ghost-hunting group reports that the number of people taking their tours has tripled, jumping from about 600 in 2006 to 1,800 in 2008. Another says its membership has doubled. Others point to increased traffic on their websites and message boards as an indication that ghost hunting is becoming more accepted. Participants say that ghost hunting allows them to enjoy the friendship of like-minded people and actively pursue their interest in the paranormal. James Willis, founder of The Ghosts of Ohio group says that his membership has grown to 30 members since it was founded in 1999 and includes both true believers and total skeptics. Willis says his group is “looking for answers, one way or another” and that skepticism is a prerequisite for those who desire to be “taken seriously in this field.”^[4]

Author John Potts says that the present day pursuit of “amateur ghost hunting” can be traced back to the Spiritualist era and early organizations founded to investigate paranormal phenomena, like London’s The Ghost Club and the Society for Psychical Research, but that it is unrelated to academic parapsychology. Potts writes that modern ghost hunting groups ignore scientific method and instead follow a form of “techno-mysticism”.^[6]

The popularity of ghost hunting has led to some injuries. Unaware that a “spooky home” in Worthington, Ohio was occupied, a group of teenagers stepped on the edge of the property to explore. The homeowner fired on the teenagers automobile as they were leaving, seriously injuring one.^[7] Police say a woman who fell three stories to her death was apparently hunting for ghosts at an old University of Toronto building.^[8]

An offshoot of ghost hunting is the commercial ghost tour conducted by a local guide or tour operator, who is often a member of a local ghost-hunting or paranormal investigation group. Since both the tour operators and owners of the reportedly haunted properties share profits of such enterprises (admissions typically range between $50 and $100 per person), some believe the claims of hauntings are exaggerated or fabricated in order to increase attendance.^[9] The city of Savannah, Georgia is said to be the American city with the most ghost tours, having more than 31 as of 2003.^{[10] [11]}

Belief statistics

According to a survey conducted in October 2008 by the Associated Press and Ipsos, 34 percent of Americans say they believe in the existence of ghosts.^[4] Moreover, a Gallup poll conducted on June 6–8, 2005 showed that one-third (32%) of Americans believe that ghosts exist, with belief declining with age.^{[12] [13]} Having surveyed three countries (the United States, Canada, and Great Britain), the poll also mentioned that more people believe in haunted houses than any of the other paranormal items tested, with 37% of Americans, 28% of Canadians, and 40% of Britons believing.^{[14] [13]}

Equipment and methods

A handheld infrared thermometer of the type used by some ghost hunters.

Ghost hunters use a variety of tools and techniques to investigate alleged paranormal activity. While there is no universal acceptance among ghost hunters of the following methodologies, a number of these are commonly utilized by ghost-hunting groups.^[16]

• Still photography and video: using digital, night vision, infrared, and even disposable cameras.


• EMF meter: to detect possibly unexplained fluctuations in electromagnetic fields.


• Tablet PC: to record data, audio, video and even environmental fluxuations such as EMF electromagnetic fields^[16] .


• Ambient temperature measurement: using thermographic cameras, thermal imaging cameras, infrared thermometers, and other infrared temperature sensors.


• Digital and analog audio recording: to capture any unexplained noises and electronic voice phenomena (EVPs), that may be interpreted as disembodied voices.


• Geiger counter: to measure fluctuations in radiation.


• Ion meters: to detect an excess of negative ions.


• Infrared and/or ultrasonic motion sensors: to detect possible anomalous movement within a given area, or to assist in creating a controlled environment where any human movement is detected.


• Air quality monitoring equipment: to assess the levels of gases such as carbon monoxide, which are thought to contribute to reports of paranormal activity.


• Infrasound monitoring equipment: to assess the level of sound vibrations.


• Dowsing rods: usually constructed of brass and bent into an L-shape.


• Psychics, mediums, or clairvoyants: trance mediums or “sensitive” individuals thought to have the ability to identify and make contact with spiritual entities.


• Demonologists, exorcists, and clergy: individuals who may say prayers, give blessings, or perform rituals for the purpose of cleansing a location of alleged ghosts, demons, poltergeists, or “negative energy.”


• Lights out: according to ghost hunting enthusiast websites, many ghost hunters prefer to conduct their investigations during “peak” evening hours (midnight to 4 a.m.).


• Interviews: to collect testimony and accounts from witnesses.


• Research: researching the history and folklore behind the site being investigated.

Source

Related articles

• They Don’t Know They’re Dead…


• ‘Ghost Hunters’ Season 9 to Premiere in January 2013 on Syfy


• Paranormal Fail – Part I


• Battlefield roads close to ward off ghost hunters


• Paranormal Weekend Haunts Crescent Hotel


• Houston ghost hunters on the prowl


• Young ghost hunters get help from paranormal experts in Washington YMCA investigation


• Hunt ghosts with Chip Coffey


• Ghost Mania – Rising Prevalence in the 21st Century (and the many faces of the dearly departed)

Robert Recommends...

• How Do Ghosts Move Objects?


• Thoughts on Ghosts & Reincarnation


• “The Secret” of Personal Change


• Recent String of Photos Show Ghostly “Interlopers”


• Various Types of Ghosts


• We Must Believe In Ghosts To Prove Their Existence

The post Ghost Hunting and Ghost Hunters appeared first on Robert JR Graham.

Scary Facts for Halloween

The Halloween Rebound: SCARY Facts You Should Know!

And How Mitch Spinach Books For Children Can Help You & Your Family

by: Hillary Feerick

According to the census bureau, Americans eat nearly a half a pound of candy each week for an average of 25 pounds of candy a year. The concentrated intake of sweets and sugary drinks on Halloween and other holidays sets our children up for disease. The fact is that junk food of all types suppresses our children’s immune systems, creates sugar highs and lows (and the resultant behavior), and promotes childhood obesity and Type 2 Diabetes. Furthermore, when our children eat junk food and don’t eat fruits and vegetables, the groundwork is laid for cancer and other diseases down the road.

What children eat in the first ten years of their lives is of the utmost importance because a child’s growing body, with its rapidly dividing cells, is at a greater risk when exposed to all types of negative and toxic influences. As Joel Fuhrman M.D., one of the nation’s top nutrition experts, puts it “in adults, our genetic material (DNA ) is wound up in a tight ball, like rubber bands on the inside of a golf ball. When we are young and cells are replicating and growing, the DNA unwinds, exposing more of its surface, which makes it more susceptible to toxic or harmful exposures.”

Here are some SCARY statistics:

• The World Health Organization has stated that processed food and drinks are a larger threat to world health than smoking and illegal drugs.

• The Center for Disease Control (CDC) predicts that our present generation of children will be the first to live shorter life spans than their parents.

• 1 in 3 children in America are overweight, and the problem is growing. The number of children who are overweight has more than doubled during the past decade.

• The trans-fats found in many Halloween chocolates and candy bars, such as snickers and tootsie rolls, clog the arteries and lead to heart disease, cancer, and the degeneration of joints and tendons.

• The Center For Science in The Public Interest (CSPI) says the food dyes Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 found in sugary candies, such as skittles and smarties, present “a rainbow of risks,” and can cause allergic reactions, hyperactivity, and even cancer. Another dye, Red 3, has been identified as a carcinogen even by the FDA but is still in commercial use.

Jack-o-lantern (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With Thanksgiving and the December holidays looming in the near future, make the decision to make this holiday season the healthiest yet. Start introducing nutrient dense colorful foods—fruits and vegetables full of carotenoids that give them their natural pigments. Instead of orange dye, eat fruits and vegetables rich in carotene; instead of Red 40, eat tomatoes for the lycopene they contain that gives them their red pigment; instead of green monster candies, eat dinosaur kale, full of lutein, the green pigment in all green veggies.

This year do yourself and your kids a favor. Limit the amount of candy you allow your kids (and yourself) on the Eve of All Hollows, and on November 1st, THROW OUT THE CANDY!

For help with getting your kids to want to eat naturally colorful, power-packed foods, let us be the first to introduce you to the new, healthy super-kid on the scene, Mitch Spinach. These books for children contain colorful illustrations and multicultural characters, and introduces Mitch Spinach, a smart, cool role model who gains super powers from the nutritious plant foods he eats and solves exciting mysteries at Sunchoke Elementary. These kids books are geared towards children ages 3-10. The first book in the series, The Secret Life of Mitch Spinach, is unique because it prompts kids to eat healthy foods independently. As my parents know, children don’t liked to be lectured to about healthy eating and food pyramids and charts don’t exactly do the trick. What is the best way to introduce a concept to an elementary school child? Through a story of course.

Mitch Spinach seems to be an ordinary kid, but his classmates have begun to suspect something. The notes in his custom-made, temperature-controlled Nutripak lunchbox appear to have been written in code. While other kids eat their usual chicken fingers and pepperoni pizza, Mitch Spinach mixes up his meal in a battery-powered blender before their curious and envious eyes. Although he is the smartest, nicest, strongest kid in Ms. Radicchio’s class, he often misses recess when he is called to Principal Lycopene’s office. The truth is that his high-powered fruit and vegetable smoothies give him special powers, such as super-sonic hearing and amazing night vision, which help him tackle problems and solve mysteries at Sunchoke Elementary.

The Mitch Spinach books for children also include an additional Secrets For Parents and Teachers section, written in collaboration with Dr Fuhrman, as well as bonus recipes. Dr. Fuhrman presides over the nutritional and medical aspects of the Mitch Spinach mission, ensuring that the information presented in the book and on the website are based on sound medical and nutritional evidence.

Oh, and, by the way, the website is really cool! It contains more nutrition facts, recipes, and fun, educational games and is a great resource for parents, kids, and educators. To learn more and buy the Mitch Spinach books visit http://ift.tt/O8FGdu

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The post Scary Facts for Halloween appeared first on Robert JR Graham.

Ghost Hunting and Ghost Hunters

Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations that are reported to be haunted by ghosts.

Typically, a ghost hunting team will attempt to collect evidence claimed to be supportive of paranormal activity. Ghost hunters often utilize a variety of electronic equipment, such as the following types: the EMF meter; digital thermometer; handheld and static digital video cameras, such as thermographic (or infrared) and night vision; digital audio recorder; and computer. Some organized teams of ghost hunters refer to themselves as paranormal investigators.^[1]

While many groups claim to utilize scientific methods in their search for the paranormal, science can not confirm the existence of ghosts.^{[2] [3]}

Popularity

The “No Ghost” logo from Ghostbusters ; a media franchise which is arguably a primary example of modern day ghost hunting popularisation

The Internet, films (like Ghostbusters ), and television programs (like Most Haunted , Ghost Hunters , and Ghost Adventures ), along with the increasing availability of high-tech equipment are thought to be partly responsible for the boom in ghost hunting. Despite its lack of acceptance in academic circles, the popularity of ghost-hunting reality TV shows have influenced a number of individuals to take up the pursuit.^[4]

Scores of small businesses selling ghost-hunting equipment, paranormal investigation services, and even ghost counseling are booming outside of their prime season: Halloween. Several companies have introduced devices billed as “ghost detectors,” along with the traditional electromagnetic field (EMF) meters, white noise generators, and infrared motion sensors. The paranormal boom is such that some small ghost-hunting related businesses are enjoying increased profits through podcast and web site advertising, books, DVDs, videos, and other commercial enterprises.^[5]

One ghost-hunting group reports that the number of people taking their tours has tripled, jumping from about 600 in 2006 to 1,800 in 2008. Another says its membership has doubled. Others point to increased traffic on their websites and message boards as an indication that ghost hunting is becoming more accepted. Participants say that ghost hunting allows them to enjoy the friendship of like-minded people and actively pursue their interest in the paranormal. James Willis, founder of The Ghosts of Ohio group says that his membership has grown to 30 members since it was founded in 1999 and includes both true believers and total skeptics. Willis says his group is “looking for answers, one way or another” and that skepticism is a prerequisite for those who desire to be “taken seriously in this field.”^[4]

Author John Potts says that the present day pursuit of “amateur ghost hunting” can be traced back to the Spiritualist era and early organizations founded to investigate paranormal phenomena, like London’s The Ghost Club and the Society for Psychical Research, but that it is unrelated to academic parapsychology. Potts writes that modern ghost hunting groups ignore scientific method and instead follow a form of “techno-mysticism”.^[6]

The popularity of ghost hunting has led to some injuries. Unaware that a “spooky home” in Worthington, Ohio was occupied, a group of teenagers stepped on the edge of the property to explore. The homeowner fired on the teenagers automobile as they were leaving, seriously injuring one.^[7] Police say a woman who fell three stories to her death was apparently hunting for ghosts at an old University of Toronto building.^[8]

An offshoot of ghost hunting is the commercial ghost tour conducted by a local guide or tour operator, who is often a member of a local ghost-hunting or paranormal investigation group. Since both the tour operators and owners of the reportedly haunted properties share profits of such enterprises (admissions typically range between $50 and $100 per person), some believe the claims of hauntings are exaggerated or fabricated in order to increase attendance.^[9] The city of Savannah, Georgia is said to be the American city with the most ghost tours, having more than 31 as of 2003.^{[10] [11]}

Belief statistics

According to a survey conducted in October 2008 by the Associated Press and Ipsos, 34 percent of Americans say they believe in the existence of ghosts.^[4] Moreover, a Gallup poll conducted on June 6–8, 2005 showed that one-third (32%) of Americans believe that ghosts exist, with belief declining with age.^{[12] [13]} Having surveyed three countries (the United States, Canada, and Great Britain), the poll also mentioned that more people believe in haunted houses than any of the other paranormal items tested, with 37% of Americans, 28% of Canadians, and 40% of Britons believing.^{[14] [13]}

Equipment and methods

A handheld infrared thermometer of the type used by some ghost hunters.

Ghost hunters use a variety of tools and techniques to investigate alleged paranormal activity. While there is no universal acceptance among ghost hunters of the following methodologies, a number of these are commonly utilized by ghost-hunting groups.^[16]

• Still photography and video: using digital, night vision, infrared, and even disposable cameras.


• EMF meter: to detect possibly unexplained fluctuations in electromagnetic fields.


• Tablet PC: to record data, audio, video and even environmental fluxuations such as EMF electromagnetic fields^[16] .


• Ambient temperature measurement: using thermographic cameras, thermal imaging cameras, infrared thermometers, and other infrared temperature sensors.


• Digital and analog audio recording: to capture any unexplained noises and electronic voice phenomena (EVPs), that may be interpreted as disembodied voices.


• Geiger counter: to measure fluctuations in radiation.


• Ion meters: to detect an excess of negative ions.


• Infrared and/or ultrasonic motion sensors: to detect possible anomalous movement within a given area, or to assist in creating a controlled environment where any human movement is detected.


• Air quality monitoring equipment: to assess the levels of gases such as carbon monoxide, which are thought to contribute to reports of paranormal activity.


• Infrasound monitoring equipment: to assess the level of sound vibrations.


• Dowsing rods: usually constructed of brass and bent into an L-shape.


• Psychics, mediums, or clairvoyants: trance mediums or “sensitive” individuals thought to have the ability to identify and make contact with spiritual entities.


• Demonologists, exorcists, and clergy: individuals who may say prayers, give blessings, or perform rituals for the purpose of cleansing a location of alleged ghosts, demons, poltergeists, or “negative energy.”


• Lights out: according to ghost hunting enthusiast websites, many ghost hunters prefer to conduct their investigations during “peak” evening hours (midnight to 4 a.m.).


• Interviews: to collect testimony and accounts from witnesses.


• Research: researching the history and folklore behind the site being investigated.

Source

Related articles

• They Don’t Know They’re Dead…


• ‘Ghost Hunters’ Season 9 to Premiere in January 2013 on Syfy


• Paranormal Fail – Part I


• Battlefield roads close to ward off ghost hunters


• Paranormal Weekend Haunts Crescent Hotel


• Houston ghost hunters on the prowl


• Young ghost hunters get help from paranormal experts in Washington YMCA investigation


• Hunt ghosts with Chip Coffey


• Ghost Mania – Rising Prevalence in the 21st Century (and the many faces of the dearly departed)

Robert Recommends...

• How Do Ghosts Move Objects?


• Thoughts on Ghosts & Reincarnation


• “The Secret” of Personal Change


• Recent String of Photos Show Ghostly “Interlopers”


• Various Types of Ghosts


• We Must Believe In Ghosts To Prove Their Existence

The post Ghost Hunting and Ghost Hunters appeared first on Robert JR Graham.