I just read an article about a group of hunters and enthusiasts waiting on a railroad bridge for the return of a spectral locomotive. Well, the tragedy occurred when an all too real came down the rolling down the tracks.

‘Ghost train’ hunter killed by train in North Carolina

Please remember to use good judgment. Nothing is worth the risk of becoming a ghost yourself.

Sometimes a ghost story can be used to start an investigation that leads to a injustice being corrected. Hopefully, this will cause the record to be set right for these people and their families.

We spend countless hours doing research, digging through microfiche, squinting at census records and bouncing ideas off each other. Often, we uncover information that completely unravels the urban legend or debunks a ghost story, but it usually opens up doors to a more interesting story. Like they say “Truth is stranger than fiction”.

Grandfather’s ghost story leads to mass grave.

Likewise, I find myself often watching T.V. shows about ghosts. I enjoy the stories for what they are – entertainment. The problem comes when you start looking into the actual facts of these stories. Often, the tales are impossible to research because they fail to give important details such as names and dates.  Do stories that are unsubstantiated have less value than those with verifiable facts? I suppose it depends on your outlook.  If all you’re looking for is entertainment, then no.  But if you’re looking for something more, something deeper, you have to be able to weed out the urban legends and get down to the bones of a story.  That is where historical research comes in.

I know we don’t update the website very often, but that isn’t because we’re not active.  While you won’t find us posting endless hours of EVPs or countless orb photographs, that doesn’t mean we’re not hard at work.  We’re usually plodding away in search of a stray fact, some dusty truth hidden below the fantastic tales told by so many websites and books.  Here is where we conduct most of our paranormal investigations:

Yep- we do most of our investigating at the local library.  You’d be amazed what you can find in there! The items in that image are the tools of the trade that often get overlooked when you drop by a ghost hunting website and check out their recommended equipment. A pen, some paper, old newspapers on film and a microfiche reader. They pair nicely with HeritageQuest, NewsBank and Ancestry.com. In fact, it doesn’t need to get much more high-tech than that to debunk most ghost stories we come across.  Fact checking the tales is tireless, often unrewarding work.  Often, we discover some tidbit of information in an old newspaper article or locate a headstone that proves without a shadow of a doubt that the tale we’ve been investigating is, well, complete make believe.  It can be quite a let-down, and being the voice of reason when everyone else wants to hear a good story can be daunting at times.  It’s a bit like being a detective, a genealogist, a historian and a lawyer arguing an unpopular case all rolled into one.

Despite all that, there is sometimes a reward; a pot of gold at the end of the research rainbow.  A good example of this can be found in the Boston House.  We’ve been researching the claims attached to the building for years.  Many of them have proven to be nothing more than a really great story to tell around a campfire.  Yet as we debunked those tales, a different picture emerged.  The Boston House has been dubbed haunted for many, many years- something well documented in the local papers.  Those reported paranormal encounters pre-date the currently popular explanation for the hauntings.  Even more interesting is the fact that the home played host to a number of tragedies, any of which could have resulted in paranormal activity.  Finally, as if it were icing on the cake, many credible witnesses have come forward over the years to share their experiences.  These experiences create the perfect situation for furthering the investigation; specific claims that can be investigated on site.

I often wonder how other groups work through their cases.  I find it hard to believe we’re alone in the stacks, the odd group out as we sift through the sensational stories to find the gems that call for further investigation.   I can only hope there are, and that groups with this methodology prevail in finding out the truth behind all the ghost stories we love to tell.

]]> http://thegrimsociety.com/2010/08/11/ghost-stories-versus-historical-research/feed/ 0 http://thegrimsociety.com/2010/08/01/the-psychology-of-the-paranorma-part-ii/ http://thegrimsociety.com/2010/08/01/the-psychology-of-the-paranorma-part-ii/#comments Sun, 01 Aug 2010 17:10:39 +0000 luna http://thegrimsociety.com/?p=143 “…if you don’t believe in reincarnation, then the odds are that you have at least felt a ghostly presence behind you in an “empty” house. Or that you have heard loved ones speak to you after they passed away. Or that you have a lucky shirt. Or that you can tell when a certain person is about to text you, or when someone unseen is looking at you. For if you have never had a paranormal experience such as these, and believe in none of the things that science says do not exist except as tricks played on the gullible or—as neuroscientists are now beginning to see—by the normal workings of the mind carried to an extreme, well, then you are in a lonely minority. According to periodic surveys by Gallup and other pollsters, fully 90 percent of Americans say they have experienced such things or believe they exist.

This excerpt is taken from Newsweek (Monday, November 3, 2008).  Are you surprised to find that 90 percent of Americans claimed to have had a paranormal experience or to hold to the belief that the paranormal exists? I wasn’t, but researchers sure are.  They continue to study the phenomenon, flabbergasted by the idea that in today’s modern, science-based world people continue to cling to these archaic beliefs.

In 2006, researchers Neil Dagnall, Andrew Parkera and Gary Munley published an article titled, “Paranormal belief and reasoning” in the scientific journal Personality and Individual Differences.  The article addresses the psychology of the paranormal, and the abstract’s first sentence shows exactly where the document is headed:

“This paper examined whether belief in the paranormal is linked to a general weakness in probabilistic reasoning, or whether belief in the paranormal is directly linked to the perception of randomness (misrepresentation of chance).”

Probabilistic reasoning, also known as probabilistic logic, refers to problem-solving techniques that center on “the use of probability theory for weighing evidence and inferring conclusions.”¹

Interestingly, the results of the study weren’t what one might expect.  Instead of proving that those who believe in the paranormal have a weakness of probabilistic reasoning, they found that weakness was a deficit in perception of randomness. From the article:

“These results suggest that paranormal belief is not associated with a general weakness in probabilistic reasoning but arises from a specific deficit associated with perception of randomness (misrepresentation of chance).”

In the article,”Putting Randomness in its Place,” author Gennady Stolyarov II addresses this topic further.

” A widespread misunderstanding of the meaning of the term “randomness” often results in false generalizations made regarding reality. In particular, the view of randomness as metaphysical, rather than epistemological, is responsible for numerous commonplace fallacies.

To see randomness as metaphysical is to see it as an inherent aspect of reality as such―as embedded inextricably in “the way things are.” Typically, people holding this view will take it in one of two directions. Some of them will see randomness pejoratively―thinking that there is no way reality could be like that: chaotic, undefined, unpredictable. Such individuals will typically posit that, because reality cannot be random, it must therefore be centrally planned by a super-intelligent entity, such as a deity.

Others, however, will use the metaphysical perception of randomness to deny evident and ubiquitously observable truths about our world: the facts that all entities obey certain natural laws, that these laws are accessible to human beings, and that they can inform our decision-making and actions.”

This view isn’t unique; in fact, if you search Google Scholar for ‘paranormal weak mind,’ you’ll turn up roughly 5,000 results. So the question becomes simple- in the face of all this scientific proof to the contrary, how and why is it possible that these paranormal beliefs continue to thrive

The Grim Society on Youtube.com

Here is a video of us using an EMF meter to track a high field reading.

According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosphy, Mental Imagery is quasi-perceptual experience. This means that it resembles a perceptual experience, but occurs without the appropriate triggers- scent without a source, piano music without a piano, etc.

The argument from a scientific standpoint, as it appears to me at least, rests on the heels of perception. Not everyone’s brain will interpret stimuli in the same manner; therefore, many ‘paranormal’ experiences are merely normal experiences interpreted differently.

This altered perception is often described as mistaken or illusive perceptions (such as seeing a small bush some distance away and, because it is dark and indistinguishable, perceiving it to be a bear) or as plain imagining- like seeing a shape in a cloud. As an example, check out the picture below:

What do you see?

Did you see a duck? Or was it a rabbit? Both?  It’s all in the perception, and that is why no individuals ‘mental imagery’ experiences can be credited as being scientific proof for an encounter with the paranormal.

The thing I find most interesting about this out-of-hand dismissal of so-called mental imagery can be found in the fact that scientists themselves can’t really figure out what mental imagery is; they’re not sure what causes it, they don’t know if it has a singular purpose or if it is simply a part of the ‘way we work’. There are several active theories that attempt to explain mental imagery, but each one is highly contested by other theories.

Which leads me to wonder if perhaps our inability to understand and quantify paranormal experiences is due to a lack of ‘belief’ in the experiences, or a deeper inability to understand the workings of our own minds.

For a long while the Fort has been neglected. Not even a historical marker to honor the long extinct tribe or the soldiers that were later stationed  there. The burial mounds concrete steps and dense undergrowth combined with poor lighting had turned the Old Fort Park into something of a “Lover’s Lane”. Our group has made several investigations at the site with promising results, but when we were there several months ago to film a school history project for my daughter, it appeared that one of the local gangs had been there and “tagged” the trees and steps.

We had decided to scratch it off our list due to safety concerns. No investigation is worth risking one of our investigators becoming a ghost themselves. However, several weeks ago the city came through and completely cleaned out the dense foliage on the indian mound. I’m not sure of their reasoning, whether it was because of the gang activity or  to honor the requirements of being a National Historic Site. Either way, it is sad to see these 100 year old trees cut down, but it may return the park to a place that is safe to visit and investigate.

Steps to the top of the mound in May 2008.

Indian Mound late 1890’s

Looking up the mound today

Ancient oyster shells and other debris from midden mounds laying on the ground around the entire park site.

]]> http://thegrimsociety.com/2008/09/21/old-fort-cleaned-out/feed/ 0 http://thegrimsociety.com/2008/09/16/it-dont-mean-a-thingif-you-aint-got-that-swing/ http://thegrimsociety.com/2008/09/16/it-dont-mean-a-thingif-you-aint-got-that-swing/#comments Tue, 16 Sep 2008 21:56:18 +0000 luna http://thegrimsociety.com/2008/09/16/it-dont-mean-a-thingif-you-aint-got-that-swing/ I thought I would share this entertaining little story with you…

My family and I recently rented a house located in downtown Fort Pierce. The house itself was rather unremarkable; it had been a rental for some time and despite being updated after the hurricanes of 2004, had fallen into a near state of disrepair. Built in 1901, sadly, the old girl was starting to show her age. My wife and I took one look at the hardwood floors and the Mediterranean Revival architecture and knew it was for us. No matter the faults, the house had character and history that new houses just can’t match. We quickly signed the lease and started moving our stuff.

Shortly after the grueling process of moving finally ended, I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of music, very faint and seemingly distant. I didn’t really give it to much thought because there are several restaurants and bars in the downtown area and I simply assumed the music was coming from one of those local watering holes. A week or two later, I was awakened again to the music playing. This time I was more awake- it was close to 1:30 am. Annoyed because I had to work the next morning, I was sure the music was a bit louder this time but it still wasn’t distinct enough for me to figure out what it was. Again, I chalked it up to one of the pubs or a rude neighbor and tried to get back to sleep.

It was a couple weeks later that the music started again, and this time I recognized the tune. In the middle of a still night, I could distinctly hear World War II era big band music. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind about it this time; in fact the song was “In the Mood” by Glenn Miller. With the music so loud I could recognize it, I passed annoyed and went right to angry. It was 3:00 am, I had to get up early and none of the bars were open. I assumed that one of my kids had fallen a sleep with the TV or radio on, so I climbed out of bed, wandering around the house searching for the source of music. I was startled to find that no TVs, no radios were playing. Now I was certain that the culprit behind the music must be one of my neighbors, possibly taking a trip down memory lane after a few adult beverages.

So now its 3:20 am and I am wandering around the neighborhood searching for the source, probably looking like a complete madman as I tried to locate the ’swing’ sound up and down the block. Oddly, I couldn’t even hear the music outside. Somewhat confused, I made my way home, and you can probably guess that as soon as I got back inside the house, I heard the music. Baffled, I gave up and made my way back to bed, but sleep was hard to come by. The music really wasn’t a problem, but my brain was running through all kinds of weird atmospheric oddities that might cause the sound to be bouncing off buildings.

A few days later the music woke me up just before 2:00 am. I practically jumped out of bed and started searching again- this time I would figure it out! Inside, outside and up and down the street. No music anywhere but inside the house. I went from room to room and figured out that the sound was loudest in the master bedroom; outside the master bedroom, no sound. By this time, I was starting to suspect maybe something was at work other than a unattended radio.

At this point, it might help to understand a little history of Fort Pierce. During WWII, Fort Pierce was the home base for the US Navy’s Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT), groups of men who were the predecessors of the modern SEALs. The UDT were training on our beaches for the D-Day Invasion, charged with clearing the landing beaches of obstacles so the landing craft could deliver their human cargo. Many of the private homes in town housed officers that did not stay on the base, which was located just across the bridge from this house, or hosted social events for the soldiers.

I don’t know of any specific casualty counts based on the units that trained in Fort Pierce, but since they were some of the first Americans on Utah and Omaha beaches I have to assume they suffered significant casualties. As you can imagine, I spent the next hour or so lying in bed and wondering about those men in the UDT before finally drifting off to sleep again.

It was about a month before I heard it again. Clearly, plainly—no doubt. I lay in bed actually bouncing my foot to the sound of Glenn Miller and I knew for sure that something was going on. We hadn’t had any other incidents while we lived in the house; no knocking or banging, no strange shadows or feelings of being watched. In fact, the house felt very much like home from the first day we moved in.

The latest incident was the one that decided to tell my wife about the music. As I was relaying the story, she got a strange look on her face and said she had a dream, “that we were at a party and they were playing big band music”. After a rather interesting discussion, we decided not to do an in-depth investigation because we didn’t want our kids to start thinking of the house as “active”. We did decide that I would keep a DVR next to the bed from that point on so I could turn it on the next time I was awakened.

Unfortunately, before the music came again the landlord was served foreclosure papers from the bank and we found ourselves packing while looking for a new place to rent. I didn’t hear the music for over a month. The last time I woke up was the second to last night in the house, but we had already packed and moved most of our belongings including our DVR, cameras and EMF Meter.

By the time we moved, I had heard the music about a half dozen times. Always between 1:00 and 3:00 am. It makes me sad to think of the probable fate of the little house. The last time I was in the house, I quietly said “Goodbye” to the house and anyone who might still like to listen to Glenn Miller late at night.

The typical American home has a background magnetic field level that falls in the 0.5 mG to 4 mG range. Keep in mind that the strength of an electromagnetic field in a room will depend on the sources in the room- the more sources, the higher the reading might be.  It also depends on how far away those sources are and how many are running at the same time.  As we covered in the post, “The EMF Meter- Pseudoscience or Valid Tool,” walls generally do not block magnetic fields, so an electrical appliance located near a wall (or in a closet) can extend its magnetic field into the room on the other side of the wall.

What we have not delved into as of yet are the reputed side effects of exposure to these electromagnetic fields, something very important to those who have an interest in the paranormal.  While there is still a lot of debate surrounding EMFs, some people report a variety of health symptoms which they claim are related to exposure to them from sources such as power lines and household appliances. The strength of the symptoms can be minimal or life altering.

Because of the increase in cases involving this sensitivity to electromagnetic fields, the medical community has given the illness the general name “electromagnetic hypersensitivity” or EHS. The World Health Organization (WHO) is currently investigating EHS.

Symptoms of Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity

Neurological: headaches, dizziness, nausea, difficulty concentrating, memory loss, irritability, depression, anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, weakness, tremors, muscle spasms, numbness, tingling, altered reflexes, muscle and joint paint, leg/foot pain, “Flu-like” symptoms, fever. More severe reactions can include seizures, paralysis, psychosis and stroke.

Cardiac: palpitations, arrhythmias, pain or pressure in the chest, low or high blood pressure, slow or fast heart rate, shortness of breath.

Respiratory: sinusitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma.

Dermatological: skin rash, itching, burning, facial flushing.

Ophthalmologic: pain or burning in the eyes, pressure in/behind the eyes, deteriorating vision, floaters, cataracts.

Others: digestive problems, abdominal pain, enlarged thyroid, testicular/ovarian pain, dryness of lips, tongue, mouth, eyes, great thirst, dehydration, nosebleeds, internal bleeding, altered sugar metabolism, immune abnormalities, redistribution of metals within the body, hair loss, pain in the teeth, deteriorating fillings, impaired sense of smell, ringing in the ears.

As paranormal investigators, one of the first things we check when visiting a home with reported paranormal events is the strength of the EMFs in the home.  With side effects such as those listed above, its easy to see that many of those events can be attributed to electromagnetic fields.

A perfect example of this can be seen in the case below.

Property Information : Residential Home in Port Saint Lucie, FL Number of Residents/Occupants: 2 Adults, 1 child

Occupation of Residents: Electrical Worker and Homemaker

Religious Beliefs: None

Number and Type of Pets: 1 Dog

Year Built: 2000

Total Square Footage: 1752

The homeowner reported the following activity in the home:  Feeling of Being Watched, Cold/Hot Spots Felt, Footsteps Heard, Human Figure Seen, Non-Human Figure Seen, Orbs Seen, Unexplained Noises, Unfamiliar Smells, Voices Heard.  In addition, the homeowner was being treated medically for headaches and dizzyness.

Conclusion:

After visiting the home, it was found that there were extreamly high readings for EMFs originating from the wall shared by the kitchen and the laundry room.  Gauss readings in the laundry closet reached as high as 167, while on the kitchen side near two seperate outlets they reached 60.   According to “EMF In Your Environment,” published by the EPA 1992, the average readings for the laundry room are as follows:

LAUNDRY/UTILITY ROOM SOURCES

Distance From Source    6″    1’    2’    4’

Electric Clothes Dryers
Lowest                             2    -    -    -
Median                             3    2    -    -
Highest                             10    3    -    -

Washing Machines
Lowest                             4    1    -    -
Median                             20    7    1    -
Highest                             100    30    6    -

It is important to note that these measurements are in units of milligauss (mG), and dashes in columns mean that the magnetic field measurement at this distance from the operating appliance could not be distinguished from background measurements. A mG is 1/1000 of a gauss; the readings taken in the home’s laundry room were in gauss- thus giving a result that was 163,900 mG higher than the EPA’s highest measurement.  Armed with this information, the homeowner can now approach the problems in the home from a new viewpoint and work towards remedying the situation.

As you can see, the meter will give off an easily read result that allows the source of a field to be traced.