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GHOST! Don't believe everything you see on TV.. [14 Mar 2008|01:24am] On the TV show "Ghost Hunters" on SciFi, awhile back one investigator the team brought in used a K2 meter to detect EMF Fields. The meter seemed to blink to questions, as if a "ghost" was talking through it. Now, the meter has been in use for years by people looking for ghosts (even though it's not proven that ghosts give off an EMF reading, and that most people don't fully understand EM fields to say "this isn't natural, it must be paranormal!", but that's another topic.. hehe ), but since it was on TV, now everyone wants one of course. K2 meter: Recently on a message board, some people were talking about this episode and the meter. I'm not too big on the K2 meter or this episode. The meter: #1: To turn it on and keep it on, you have to keep your finger pushed on the button to keep it activated. There's always that "what if" in terms of if your finger slipped off some/let loose some, etc. (when your finger does slip off, it causes a "spike" in the lights/readings for a second). It's kind of like a Ouija board, there's always that "what if" in terms of if someone else is moving the Planchette (intentional or not). You can modify it though to keep it on just by flipping the switch, if you wanna go the work. #2: I just don't like seeing the lights in general. If I'm taking EMF readings, I want to be able to document a definite number (ex: "2.3 milliGauss in an area"), not a light (ex: "it turned yellow, so it could be 2.5-10 milliGauss, I don't know"). Manson Episode: The episode this meter was used in was all around iffy anyway. It was based around the Manson murders. I haven't seen it in a while.. but that episode just didn't go well with me. It wasn't an investigation of the site of the murders, it was a few houses away. Also, the guy that owned the house had a movie made about his house and the murders. So him/the house being on TV was like him promoting his place/movie. As for the K2 meter in that episode, like I mentioned, it's easy to manipulate. Not saying that's what happened with the "communication".. but even if unintentional, it could of happened. Also the thermal footage of the room temperature doing down is said to be doctored. More info on all that here. Or just do a Google search for: Ghost Hunters Manson doctored. TV: Don't trust everything you see on TV. Now, most people know that most TV shows aren't real. Even these reality shows, they're still scripted to some level. And that goes for Ghost Hunters as well, it is scripted. I'm not saying all of it, the evidence and investigations could be legit, but all in all, it's scripted and edited. If you've worked with TV before, or have a keen eye and ear, you can catch these things in shows. (I don't mean to focus on Ghost Hunters / TAPS.. but really, it's the only show I tune in for when I do watch ghostly TV, so I'm using them as the main example). When the TAPS crew goes up to a house or place and meets the owners at the door, there's a camera crew already inside filming as the owner opens the door for TAPS (and also filming as TAPS pulls up, etc). The owner says "Hi" like they just came to the door, but in reality, they've already come to the door to let the camera crew in and get ready. Now, okay. Maybe the camera crew arrived first and set up before the TAPS crew got there.. and this really IS the owners first time meeting them at the door. But still, not all is as it seems. Things were set up and ready and in place before the "meeting" scene we see. It didn't just happen. And like at the St. Augustine lighthouse, one member, Kris, was in the cisterns and couldn't get out because no one was there to help boost her out. She COULD get out. She was being filmed from inside the cistern. The camera guy in their with her could of boosted her out. But it was scripted to look like she needed someone (Grant) to hop in and get her out. Then HE was stuck in there (even though a camera guy was still filming him from inside there), etc. No one was really stuck in there (except maybe the camera guy when everyone got out and it was just him?), but through the magic of TV, it's made to look like the members get stuck in there. Speaking of the Lighthouse (the first time they came down here), in one episode, they came down here and investigated the Old Jail (Donna came with them), then in another episode they came down here again with the intent to investigate the lighthouse (and Donna wasn't with them). It was two different episodes, two different trips, or so it was made to seem. They had a meeting before hand in their office up there saying "we're going to Florida to investigate this lighthouse" and Donna was like "I wish I could make it, but I can't!". They made it seem like it was two different trips, and Donna just didn't come with them for one of them. But in reality, that scene was filmed after they had been here. They actually filmed the Old Jail, Spanish Military Hospital and Lighthouse while down here that one time. But they scripted and filmed the "meeting" part after the fact and threw it in at the start of the episode to make it look like different trips. They also made it look like they came down here with the intent to investigate the lighthouse. But in reality, they weren't sure where all they were going to investigate while down here. They had some places in mind, but they had time to kill and weren't sure where all to tackle. Every place in St. Aug is "haunted", so they were at a loss. Jay called my cell off and on to get some tips. They had already filmed at the hospital and were wrapping up at the jail when he called one time looking for some ideas of where to go next. I mentioned a few places, and Jay was all for it.. then I got his producer on the phone and the TV side came out. Most of the places I mentioned, he was like "Welll, I want something that'll be eye candy for the TV viewers". So to balance things out, haunted and eye candy, I mentioned the lighthouse, telling them that might be their best bet. They seemed interested and said they'd look into getting in there. And obviously they did get in there. They invited me down to be in that episode also, but I couldn't make it. Now, I'm not putting down the TAPS guys or anything at all. I'm not saying they're doing anything bad. I'm just opening peoples eyes some. It IS a TV show. Things are scripted, scenes are shot later and made to look like it was filmed at the time, retakes are done over and over, etc. But there are people who full out believe everything they see on Ghost Hunters (and other shows). And even get mad if someone says anything at all could be scripted in these types of shows. But I'm just letting you know that the magic of TV _IS_ there, just as it is on any TV show you watch. It's there when I've filmed TV shows, it's there when others film TV shows, and it's there when you watch the shows, whether they're 'reality shows' or not.. =) I watch all these TV shows as entertainment (when I watch them at all). It can get interesting, and some can give some good tips here and there, but always watch with a grain of salt. All in all it's just entertainment scripted and edited for television. post comment

Ouija Boards? [14 Mar 2008|07:56am] Almost everyone knows what a Ouija Board is. Now, I’m not going to get into whether they actually contact the dead, or the dangers of if they do or not. That’s another topic. But I did want to focus on something else. The serious people who actually use the board to contact the dead. Now, I can understand using the board for "fun" (I’m not promoting or condoning it here, I’m just saying I can understand the interest), but then there’s the people who use the board for serious contact. Sometimes people even use it on ’investigations’ of places. Of course, the boards aren’t valid in court rooms, but lets say one WAS brought in. If you believe the Ouija board has such powers, would you be comfortable allowing information obtained from the spirit of a murder victim to be used against someone on trial for their murder? Would you be comfortable having any such information entered against you if you were on trial (for anything at all)? Most people wouldn’t be comfortable with that. Either because there’s just not enough evidence to prove the boards work, or because, if they do work, you never know what may come through. I’m not talking about psychics or mediums or the like, but just the everyday person who uses the board seriously believing everything they receive from it (and sometimes uses it on investigations, etc). If it’s not admissible in court, then what makes spirit conversations any more valid outside of court? Just food for thought. =) post comment

So, you do 'Scientific Investigations', eh? [14 Mar 2008|07:57am] Alot of people go out there saying how they "scientifically investigate ghosts". Maybe they just want to sound professional? Or maybe they really do think they're doing scientific work? Now, some people actually go out there and perform the scientific method and do work that can be counted as "scientific". But for most, they're just out there with an EMF meter taking notes and recordings. Just because you use electronic equipment doesn't make it a "scientific investigation". When these people say they're scientifically investigating ghosts, it kind of makes me laugh some. It's like the people who go around saying they're a certified paranormal investigator. There's so little we know about it, and everyone is still learning. How can you be certified in something that isn't even proven exists? I can understand obtaining the tests just to get another persons ideas on things. I'm all for sharing knowledge and ideas. I even have hundreds of dollars worth of testing books in my closet (at least, that's what they were worth, I didn't pay for them), but I never filled out the tests and sent them in. Why? Because being 'certified' means nothing to me. Sure, you took a test. And got a piece of paper. But you took a test based on someone's ideas and theories. That hardly makes you certified. To scientifically investigate something, you usually have to put forth some scientific method to base your investigations off of. You have to take your findings and come up with definite results from them. Then back them up by reproducing the results. Alot of what we do isn't that. It's trying to capture results. But what those results are from, peoples best idea is a "ghost". There's nothing definite. Nothing we could take to a court room. And it'll probably be a long time before we can actually have definite proof of ghosts if they exist. Having little knowledge of what you're investigating (since alot of what we do is theory and ideas anyway), and not putting forth much of a scientific method behind it, the results aren't going to be very "investigation worthy". I hate even using the term "investigation" in most cases. We can investigate the history of a location and the land, etc. Sure. (although, "research" would be a better term). But I'm more comfortable saying I'm going to go try and "experience" a ghost, then investigate a ghost. Sure, we run around with EMF meters and audio recorders and take notes and everything, but that's just using electronic equipment to note changes. And it's not even proven that this equipment is actually picking up "ghosts". It's just an idea. A spike in an EMF reading? Could it be a ghost? In theory, maybe. A cold spot, a ghost? In theory, maybe. So we use this equipment, yes, but just because we use electronic equipment doesn't make it a "scientific investigation". Don't get me wrong though. I'm not saying that the only way to do this is by doing it scientifically. There's been plenty of times that interesting discoveries in any field have been made by the layperson. I'm just saying, don't make yourself (and the field) look foolish by claiming you're doing something that you're not. As for 'investigating' itself.. to investigate something, you tend to need to have decent knowledge of the subject you're investigating. Otherwise, how could you really do a good investigation? I mean, you don't need to have full knowledge. You learn things about the subject through investigating it of course. But if you go to the tombs in Egypt to investigate without having any knowledge of Egyptology or archaeology, how good of an investigation could you really do? You can go and experience the area, take notes of the area, etc. But preform something worthy to be called an investigation? Na. And that's basically what alot of people do in the paranormal world. Not alot of knowledge is known, but we go and take notes, and recordings, and observe/experience. Is that really worthy enough to be called an 'investigation'? Much less a scientific one? 3 comments|post comment

New apartment [14 Mar 2008|09:50am] Got the key to the new apartment this morning. SO we went and checked it out. Kitchen/living room ( More.. ) I will try not to flood the place in the next couple days, like I did the last time we moved! Opps. =P 3 comments|post comment

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