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Who Ya Gonna Call? Ghost Hunters & Hunting

The investigation was very quiet for me, but I much prefer the ghost clubs method of doing vigils, it was mostly sitting still in the dark, no go there and do some ouija then there and do the human pendulum, like a commercial ghost hunt.


The downside of that is you are given a form when you arrive, in which you are meant to fill in your name (I managed that) your group number (I made do with the group leaders name) and the time and location of any event (I just wrote nothing to report, but had a good time) I felt really guilty handing my report sheet in at the end of the night.

The top ghost club man told us at the end where staff of the museum had experiences and feelings, but couldn't go into any detail as the council had told it's employees not to, then added now we had laid the groundwork the council would be happy to let commercial ghost hunters into the museum. So the council do not want to "imply a belief in the paranormal " but are willing to take the money of investigators of the paranormal.
 
Interview with some Singapore-based 'ghost hunters'

A lot of the usual gadgets stuff, the idea that ghosts are made of 'many different energies and spectrums of light', explaining why they allegedly show up on EMF meters, and this, which is interesting:

Boyd believes that cultural lenses and individual fears may affect our perception of entities.

NB: “My case studies have shown that ghosts can appear as animals and can manifest into entities that one fears most. Maybe that’s why I’ve never seen a pontianak. I don’t believe in her existence.”
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(I had to look up pontianak. It's a kind of vampire that is the ghost of a woman who died in childbirth/while pregnant.)

Also 'physical evidence' in the form of (self-inflicted?) scratches and scars (photos on page).

NB: “I did something at Pulau Ubin and we heard this female entity sing…I thought the voice was beautiful, and then the people that were in my team then, said that it was one of the most horrible things they’ve heard. I was very attracted to this voice and then after we got back, every night for a week I would wake up with a fever at about 3am and the fever would last for about an hour.”

Boyd also recounted an incident at Kubor Kassim, a Muslim cemetery, where he was choked by a entity.

When asked what it felt like, he told us that it felt like a real hand.

He explained that he used to be very “garang” (Malay for impulsive and foolhardy). As a result of his aggressive or disrespectful behaviour, he sustained injuries, such as slaps and scratches:
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Half way through a ghost hunt at colchester castle, quiet so far but lovely location
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This was my second ghost hunt with the ghost club, and I am really enjoying the way they do things, I was in a group of 4, instead of the 15 odd in a commercial ghost hunt, and we spent the night sitting quietly in the dark, no messing about with silly gimmicks.

On one vigil I heard the noise of furniture dragging and a cough from rooms above, but I am certain it was living humans responsible. The last vigil, in the Chapel, resulted in lots of quiet clicking noises, I presume these to be display cabinets cooling down, and one loud knock, in the centre of the floor, in the direction I was looking at, no idea what could have caused that.

It was an excellent night, in a really interesting castle .
 
Just found this whilst watching a clip of a 1977 RTÉ documentary on Janet and Stewart Farrar, there's some interesting stuff on the RTÉ archive page.

Ghost Stories From The Ghost Hunters 1985

Maggie O’Kane meets two ghost enthusiasts who tell tales of ghostly goings-on in haunted houses.
Kevin Fitzsimons is a sixty nine year old semi-retired tour operator. Instead of taking to the garden to keep himself busy during his retirement, he has taken up ghost hunting.
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http://www.rte.ie/archives/2016/1026/827067-ghost-enthusiasts/
 
Not sure if this has been mentioned on the Forum in this or any other thread but I've just caught a charming half hour fictionalised documentary on Talking Pictures TV (Freeview 81). Made in 1965 with the film purportedly 'lost' for a while it featured the greatest (in my opinion) Miss Marple of all time, Dame Margaret Rutherford investigating Salisbury Hall in Herts. I think the programme was called 'Salisbury Hall: The Ghost of Nell Gwyn' and was directed by a horror writer called Frank de Felitta, alongside Ms Rutherford were her husband, Stringer Davis, who I am pretty sure played her 'minder'/best friend in the Miss Marple films and a chap who professes to be a sensitive/medium (didn't catch his name). As I stated, it's not shot as a straight documentary but the eery background music and slight hamming it up from the leads did not detract from the story. The then owners, The Goldsmith Family (of banking fame perhaps) are interviewed stating that they hadn't personally witnessed the ghost of Nell Gwyn but read out an encounter by one of Winston Churchills staff I think, from some years before, which was pretty hair-raising. They did say the house had at least one other spirit in residence that they had been made aware of, not surprising given I believe the place dates back to the 16th century. Great stuff (in B&W), they should've made a series !
 
Tol from Leeds said:
Not sure if this has been mentioned on the Forum in this or any other thread but I've just caught a charming half hour fictionalised documentary on Talking Pictures TV (Freeview 81). Made in 1965 with the film purportedly 'lost' for a while it featured the greatest (in my opinion) Miss Marple of all time, Dame Margaret Rutherford investigating Salisbury Hall in Herts. I think the programme was called 'Salisbury Hall: The Ghost of Nell Gwyn' and was directed by a horror writer called Frank de Felitta, alongside Ms Rutherford were her husband, Stringer Davis, who I am pretty sure played her 'minder'/best friend in the Miss Marple films and a chap who professes to be a sensitive/medium (didn't catch his name). As I stated, it's not shot as a straight documentary but the eery background music and slight hamming it up from the leads did not detract from the story. The then owners, The Goldsmith Family (of banking fame perhaps) are interviewed stating that they hadn't personally witnessed the ghost of Nell Gwyn but read out an encounter by one of Winston Churchills staff I think, from some years before, which was pretty hair-raising. They did say the house had at least one other spirit in residence that they had been made aware of, not surprising given I believe the place dates back to the 16th century. Great stuff (in B&W), they should've made a series !
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Is this it? It's been on my youtube watch list for a while now.



EDIT: The Ghost of Nell Gwyn segment starts at 21 minutes in.
 
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I was AT niddry street vaults on a ghost hunt last night, most of the time all that could be heard was the WOOOMMPAH WOOOMMPAH from the night club next door, so no atmosphere and no chance of hearing anything unusual, not a recommended place to ghost hunt.
 
titch said:
I was AT niddry street vaults on a ghost hunt last night, most of the time all that could be heard was the WOOOMMPAH WOOOMMPAH from the night club next door, so no atmosphere and no chance of hearing anything unusual, not a recommended place to ghost hunt.
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titch said:
I was AT niddry street vaults on a ghost hunt last night, most of the time all that could be heard was the WOOOMMPAH WOOOMMPAH from the night club next door, so no atmosphere and no chance of hearing anything unusual, not a recommended place to ghost hunt.
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*sucks teeth* Ah, now, I can see where you went wrong there. You should've taken someone along with an infallible ability to attract ghostly activity, like, ooh, how about Yvette Fielding? There'd've been stones flying around from nowhere and sheets of marked paper twitching galore.
 
escargot said:
*sucks teeth* Ah, now, I can see where you went wrong there. You should've taken someone along with an infallible ability to attract ghostly activity, like, ooh, how about Yvette Fielding? There'd've been stones flying around from nowhere and sheets of marked paper twitching galore.
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I did stand in the doomed haunted stone circle of death. It didn't work so far
 
Just had an email from the ghost club, they are running a ghost hunt at the denny ship tank, Scottish maritime museum, I put my name forward immediately, but with only 20 spaces available I doubt I will get on it, which is a shame as it seems an interesting and unusual place for a ghost hunt
 
It's been years since I was on an investigation. However, I am reading a great book called "A Paranormal Casebook" by Loyd Auerbach (ISBN 1-9331770-4-7). He is a Paranormal Investigator who worked out of JFK University's Parapsychology department. He also founded the Office for Paranormal Investigations in California. His approach seems really interesting and I would like to try it out on a series of investigations.

He has basically split all ghosties/hauntings into 3 categories and I have to say, it's a compelling argument and easy to understand. He also gives examples of documented cases they have investigated and solved using this methodology.

He argues 3 categories:

1. Hauntings - these are replays of a person/scenario repeating and cannot be interacted with. However, they are triggered by the person viewing them and are not "dead people" coming back. They are just videos being replayed. They can be seen by multiple people but is the old "tuning in to the right frequency" thing.

2. Apparitions- the survival of consciousness. An intelligent energy which can be interacted with. The communication is all telepathic but is experienced as a real event. They can be seen, heard, smelled and touched however they are not really there. They can leave physical marks/scars/scratches on people but this is psychosomatic.

3. Poltergeist - In this case, not a noisy spirit but a noisy psychic energy manifested by a living agent. It is Psychokinetic in nature and can lead to objects moving, disappearing/reappearing, water spouts, popping noises, voices etc. It is usually a manifestation of stress or anxiety. Not necessarily from teenage girls but from anyone suffering a mental burden who cannot express it or has trouble processing it.

So basically, he is saying that all of them are forms of psychic energy and 2 of 3 are created/manifested by the viewers own psychic energy. Only apparitions are actually "ghostly" in nature. His methodology is basically facilitating the viewers own acceptance of the events and then suggesting a way to redirect the psychic energy or to diffuse it.

He tells of one case where a family was plagued by water spouts/splashes appearing out of nowhere accompanied by a loud popping noise. The family had called in the local water company to look for leaks, causes of excessive condensation, blocked pipes etc but after a long investigation including the insurance company, no causes could be found for the water appearing. It would splash on the ceiling, the walls, popping as if a water ballooon had suddenly smashed against something. The Paranormal investigators observed all family members whilst the water was popping into existence and no-one was doing it. The author realised that it only happened when the teenage boy was present. So in a private telephone call with the son, he discovered that the boy was feeling unable to confront his parents about their pressuring him to compete in different sports. As soon as the parents relented, the water spouts stopped appearing. They were a physical manifestation of the sons anxiety.
 
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titch said:
Ghost hunting at the grenadier tonight, it's a tiny pub and it will be packed with noisy, over- excited ghost hunters, I am expecting to be disappointed
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Are ghosts introverts then?
 
Ringo said:
It's been years since I was on an investigation. However, I am reading a great book called "A Paranormal Casebook" by Loyd Auerbach (ISBN 1-9331770-4-7). He is a Paranormal Investigator who worked out of JFK University's Parapsychology department. He also founded the Office for Paranormal Investigations in California. His approach seems really interesting and I would like to try it out on a series of investigations.

He has basically split all ghosties/hauntings into 3 categories and I have to say, it's a compelling argument and easy to understand. He also gives examples of documented cases they have investigated and solved using this methodology.

He argues 3 categories:

1. Hauntings - these are replays of a person/scenario repeating and cannot be interacted with. However, they are triggered by the person viewing them and are not "dead people" coming back. They are just videos being replayed. They can be seen by multiple people but is the old "tuning in to the right frequency" thing.

2. Apparitions- the survival of consciousness. An intelligent energy which can be interacted with. The communication is all telepathic but is experienced as a real event. They can be seen, heard, smelled and touched however they are not really there. They can leave physical marks/scars/scratches on people but this is psychosomatic.

3. Poltergeist - In this case, not a noisy spirit but a noisy psychic energy manifested by a living agent. It is Psychokinetic in nature and can lead to objects moving, disappearing/reappearing, water spouts, popping noises, voices etc. It is usually a manifestation of stress or anxiety. Not necessarily from teenage girls but from anyone suffering a mental burden who cannot express it or has trouble processing it.

So basically, he is saying that all of them are forms of psychic energy and 2 of 3 are created/manifested by the viewers own psychic energy. Only apparitions are actually "ghostly" in nature. His methodology is basically facilitating the viewers own acceptance of the events and then suggesting a way to redirect the psychic energy or to diffuse it.

He tells of one case where a family was plagued by water spouts/splashes appearing out of nowhere accompanied by a loud popping noise. The family had called in the local water company to look for leaks, causes of excessive condensation, blocked pipes etc but after a long investigation including the insurance company, no causes could be found for the water appearing. It would splash on the ceiling, the walls, popping as if a water ballooon had suddenly smashed against something. The Paranormal investigators observed all family members whilst the water was popping into existence and no-one was doing it. The author realised that it only happened when the teenage boy was present. So in a private telephone call with the son, he discovered that the boy was feeling unable to confront his parents about their pressuring him to compete in different sports. As soon as the parents relented, the water spouts stopped appearing. They were a physical manifestation of the sons anxiety.
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Missed this post til now and it covers what I have come to believe regarding these sightings. The water splashing events are a twist though. Strangely when I worked in the insurance industry and saw thousands of water damage properties , there were a couple where the water source could not be identified. I wonder whether in fact if this was the explanation.
 
Coal said:
Are ghosts introverts then?
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well last night they certainly where, they made me look like an extrovert just by their none appearance, it was a very quiet night, but there were only 10 ghost hunters so at least it wasn't unbearably noisy and crowded, and yes, i did have three pints of timithy taylors so that may have put a gloss on the night.
 
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I may be (for the first time ever) organising a paid Ghost Investigation thing next Halloween at a haunted castle. We'll provide equipment and so forth. Titch - any advice from the punters perspective?
 
Ringo said:
I may be (for the first time ever) organising a paid Ghost Investigation thing next Halloween at a haunted castle. We'll provide equipment and so forth. Titch - any advice from the punters perspective?
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At the risk of being flippant, talk a lot of nonsense about spirits and how the more energy you put in the more results you will get, have lots going on, ouija board , table tipping etc, as that's what most people on a ghost hunt seem to want and expect. But constantly ask people if they would like to go on a vigil on their own or in a small group, just incase you get somebody like me who is happiest sitting in a dark place with Nothing but a torch and voice recorder for company.
 
Ooo and if you see a lonely ghost hunter, go and chat to them, I have given up on ghost hunts unless I can drag friends along ,as it's to embarrassing to be the only Billy no mates ghost hunter, desperately hoping for a txt message to show that , yes you do have friends.
 
How long are you usually there? Do they provide snacks, tea coffee etc?
 
Ringo said:
How long are you usually there? Do they provide snacks, tea coffee etc?
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The length of time varies, on average they start at 9pm and finish at 2 or 3am , drinks and snacks are always provided, always tea ,coffee and bottles of water, foodwise biscuits and crisps are always available, some companies also give guests lovely home baked cakes.

I would recommend bringing spare torches, there are always one or to guests that will forget to bring one
 
It's normal procedure for the punters to get divided in groups (make sure friends are kept together) then each group is taken to one area, where under the guidance of a team leader they will do ouija boards, planchette, human pendulum etc then move to the next room to do scrying, or calling out.

They are normally 2 or 3 breaks during the night and at most locations you are given an hours free time to do what you fancy.



If I have remembered it right, you are not too enthusiastic about mediums, but taking one along is something to consider, for no other reason then it's what the public want, sadly most people on a commercial ghost hunt are out to be entertained first, ghost hunting comes second.
 
Ringo,

..As soon as the parents relented, the water spouts stopped appearing. They were a physical manifestation of the sons anxiety...

Isn't this sort of screaming out a rather obvious question ?

Something which seems to have been passed over. Possibly the most important aspect.

INT21.
 
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