History of EVP

One of the world's most respected scientists, Thomas Alva Edison, believed that it would one day be possible to build a machine that would help humans communicate with the dead. He once said:

If our personality survives, then it is strictly logical or scientific to assume that it retains memory, intellect, other faculties, and knowledge that we acquire on this Earth. Therefore ... if we can evolve an instrument so delicate as to be affected by our personality as it survives in the next life, such an instrument, when made available, ought to record something.

Unfortunately, Edison did not live to see his invention take shape.

In 1949, Marcello Bacci of Italy began recording voices with an old tube radio. People would come to Bacci's home to talk with their departed relatives. A few years later, two Italian priests named Father Ernetti and Father Gemelli were trying to record a Gregorian chant on their magnetophone, but the machine kept breaking. Exasperated, Father Gemelli looked up and asked his father for help. To his surprise, his dead father's voice answered from the magnetophone, "Of course I shall help you. I'm always with you."

EVP Researchers

One of the most well-known EVP researchers of the 20th century was a Swedish opera singer, painter and film producer named Friedrich Jurgenson. His interest in electronic voice phenomena was sparked one day in 1959, when he recorded the sounds of birds singing in a forest. When he played the tape back, he heard a female voice say, "Friedrich, you are being watched. Friedel, my little Friedel, can you hear me?" It was the voice of his dead mother. Jurgenson went on to record many other voices over the next four years, and he published two books: "Voices From the Universe" and "Radio Contact with the Dead."

Dr. Konstantin Raudive, a Latvian psychologist, heard of Jurgenson's experiments several years later. At first he was skeptical, but then he tried the technique himself and wound up recording many voices, including that of his deceased mother.

In the 1960s and 1970s, EVP became a legitimate, if controversial, arm of paranormal research. American researchers George and Jeanette Meek and psychic William O'Neil recorded hundreds of hours of EVP with radio oscillators. They claim to have worked closely with another scientist, Dr. George Jeffries Mueller. The only catch was that Mueller was deceased.

Sarah Estep, one of the most outspoken EVP researchers, started the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomenon (AAEVP) in 1982. She claims to have communicated with thousands of ghosts, as well as with aliens.

Researchers around the world continue to investigate EVP. Their findings are documented on dozens of Web sites, as well as in books. 

hey CJW we are glad you found us if you want to share the wave and let us listen you can always email us at www.tuscparanormal@yahoo.com and please keep coming back  =)

Hello, this is my first post as a result of my first visit to your site.  I am an individual fascinated by the exploration and analysis of evidence obtained by paranormal groups.  I, unfortunately, live in an area where people who share my interest are rarely found.  I downloaded the EVP "Old Man" and loaded it into an audio editing software that I have on my laptop and I have a hypothesis on what is being said. After working with the track a little bit (Noise reduction, etc., etc.) I hear "Hey, which one of you lost your mother?" I will admit that when I listened to it after I ran it through the software it gave me a chill...which is one of the things I love about this field of study.  Thank you!! I look forward to your feedback!!!

-CJW

Paranormal activity: reaching the other side

By Steven Nalley

Arts & Entertainment Editor

I hear breathing, laughter, and see shadows moving in the night is my house haunted? I have a link to a Glog that tell the story. i will post that. The girl's name is Winnie, and i think she is trying to protect me from what killed her. The thing that killed her was the butcher. Her cat is named marshmallow but at night when i see her she is black. is it all in my imaginiation or what? What can I do to know short of making you come here?

http://limegirl1308.glogster.com/Ghost-of-my-house/

Ok. on the the house where the piano starts to play!! I may be wrong but I beleive that y'all could find out, but I beleive right before the piano plays there is a gaseous object that goes by the door!!?? I was hoping that you could maybe observe that andd tell me more about!! That's only if y'all want to and have time!! My name is Michael Meyers and i was at the journalism camp that y'all spoke at. I was the one that asked you (Mrs. Tracey) what you did!! If that helps at all.? But alrighty you can tell me if y'all find out or if y'all even do it either on here or at yahoo.com my e-mail is mike_mike481@yahoo.com. Thanks alot for telling me and all of the others there about y'alls experiance with spirits and ghosts!! That was very interesting to me and when i turn 18 I will be filling out an application to join y'all!!

♥ Michael Meyers ( yes that is my real name)

There's nothing outlandish involving Cottondale, Alabama in the daylight hours, but this town is visited by stressed spirits of former times. Some of the passed away decline to stay underground in this city. Some residents declare there are no ghosts, but everyone who has a home in Cottondale is not alive.

These are some of the spooky things that have happened here recently.

A gentleman with a sizeable hole through his chest is every now and then noticed taking in the scenery at Camp Horne Lake Dam late at night. Regardless of what people say, this ghost undeniably is frightening; one that is rather not interrupted.

A female's body having a dog's head is known to have been observed on numerous instances in Beatty Branch holding a cranium. Well, this is a hostile ghost that you wouldn't wish to bump into at midnight.

A man having the head of a demon may once in a while be spotted in Arnolds Shoal before sunrise shouting.

A female in flames, hauling a fuel bottle has frequently been seen struggling to say something around midnight by a mailbox in Cottondale.

The ghost of a grower sporting a hat is known to have been made out on one or two occasions in Billy Joe Young Field very late at night trying to grab something. In any event, it's a chilling phantom that any sensible person wouldn't wish to run into.

The ghost of a young-looking air force pilot may be spotted over and over again marching through a trailer in Cottondale.

A young girl having on a blood-splattered prom dress has every now and then been observed walking through a residence in close proximity to Cottondale.

A lady with a blue face has allegedly been witnessed on a few instances staggering through a Cottondale vicinity churchyard.

A man having a machete in his head may every now and then be distinguished shouting people's names in Lake Lurleen State Park right by the ranger station. Locals here who have distinguished this ghost declare this ghost may very well be a renowned former time native of Cottondale. Whatever people state, it without a doubt is a menacing spirit that should be avoided.

The ghost of a mail carrier was seen appearing frightening by a deserted highway near Cottondale late at night. The phantom nodded to the onlooker. Locals claim that this ghost is almost certainly the undead ghost of a person who used to dwell here in Cottondale.

A female figure materialized

The ghost of a baby who drowned when it fell off a wagon as it crossed an old wooden bridge could be seen every night at midnight. It appeared as 2 eyes about 12-16 inches from the ground. It never appeared at the same location. It has been seen by hundreds of people...car loads at a time, I saw it on several visits to the site. The ghost was friendly and welcomed visitors. The old bridge has since been torn down and a new one built in it's place......the baby's ghost is no longer there, unfortunately.
Submitted by Carolyn

You could assume that Cullman, Alabama is exactly the same as any other municipality in the US of A, but underneath the surface there are strange things happening. There have been lots of occurrences with spirits from another dimension. Skeptics don't have faith in the local ghost reports, but frightening things undoubtedly go on here in Cullman in the moonlight hours.

These are some of the spooky things that have happened here recently.

A lady with worms crawling out of her nose has often been spotted slurping unleaded from a fuel pump at a fuel station in Cullman. Some of the folks here say this phantom is that of a person who resided here in Cullman many years ago. Well, it's a chilling ghost that is preferably not disturbed.

The ghost of a chained up female is repeatedly made out at Carl Budweg Dam after midnight

A female having the head of a demon may regularly be perceived in Carrol Acres Park after midnight dragging a corpse over the grass. It's been alleged that this precise ghost loves terrifying foolhardy people who have the guts to disturb the silence in Cullman.

A woman carrying her head beneath her arm may be perceived over and over again verbalizing into the night as if somebody else was nearby. In any event, it's without a doubt a bloodcurdling spirit that you wouldn't wish to bump into on a dark night.

The phantom of a guy having half his head absent is every so often noticed on the water's edge of George Lake smoking a pipe. If you talk to the local residents, this ghost loves scaring folks who come seeking ghosts in Cullman.

The spirit of a youthful woman wearing a blood-splattered wedding dress is rumored to have been noticed on a handful of instances walking a Great Dane at midnight on a shady Cullman lane. No matter what people articulate, this is a nasty ghost that you shouldn't go looking for.

me and tracey were thinking that after sloss maybe the group should take some time off from investigations and work on fund raisers to build back up the groups finances .............. what do y'all think ?????????

lmao i just realized dr vaugh is my mom and dads doctor

By Tommy Stevenson Associate Editor

Aleister Crowley  (1875-1947) 

Written and compiled by George Knowles.  

Aleister Crowley was perhaps the most controversial and misunderstood personality to figure in the new era of modern day witchcraft.  Known by the popular press of his time as “The Great Beast” and “The Wickedest Man in the World”, Crowley was a powerful magician, poet, prophet and famed occultist.  He was also a one-time witch, though most of the elders of the craft would discredit him the title.

Crowley like many great men before him, was a man before his time.  He lived in a society that could little understand him or appreciated his latent genius.  His writings so shocked the peoples of his era that he was robbed of the praise that it merited, and as a poet he never received the recognition he deserved.

Schoolboy, aged 14 

Crowley was born on the 12th October 1875 in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire.  His parents Edward Crowley and his wife Emily were wealthy brewers and the epitome of respectability.  They were also devout Christians and staunch members of the Plymouth Brethren sect.  They brought up young Crowley in an atmosphere of pious religious narrow-mindedness, against which he constantly rebelled.  His whole life thereafter seems to have been a revolt against his parents and everything they stood for.  His father died when he was 11 years old.

Crowley's Father and Mother

After the death of his father, Crowley inherited the family fortune and went on to be educated at Trinity College Cambridge.  There he wrote and studied poetry.  He loved the out-doors life and was a capable mountain climber, in pursuit of which he attempted some of the highest peaks in the Himalayas.  In 1898 he published his first book of poetry called "Aceldama, A Place to Bury Strangers In", a philosophical poem by a 'Gentleman of the University of Cambridge' in 1898'.  In the preface he describes how God and Satan had fought for his soul and states:  “God conquered – and now I have only one doubt left – which of the twain was God”?

It was while he was at Trinity that Crowley became interested in the occult and with his roommate Allan Bennett, they began to study whatever they could.  Crowley soon discovered that he was excited by descriptions of torture and blood.  He liked to fantasize about being degraded and abused by a 'Scarlet Women', one who was dominant, wicked and independent.

One of the books he read about this time was by the author 'Arthur Edward Waite', entitled “The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts”.  It hinted at a secret brotherhood of occultists and Crowley became even more intrigued.  He wrote to Waite for more information and was referred to "The Cloud upon the Sanctuary – By Karl von Exkartshausen".  This book tells of the 'Great White Brotherhood' and Crowley determined he wanted to join this group and advance to its highest levels.  Later that year on the 18th November 1898, he and Bennett both joined the 'Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn', the elusive Great White Brotherhood (see 'S.L. MacGregor Mathers and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn').

In 1899 Crowley is reported to have become a member of one of “Old George Pickingill’s” hereditary covens situated in the New Forrest, although apparently he was not welcome for long (see 'Old George Pickingill').  It is alleged that he obtained his 'Second Degree' before being dismissed due to his contemptuous attitude toward women, failure to attend rituals with regularity, his personal ego and sexual perversion (Crowley had a bias toward homosexuality and the bizarre, shocking during his time even amongst witches).  The priestess of his coven later described him as “a dirty-minded, evilly-disposed and vicious little monster!”

As well as being dismissed and outcaste by the New Forrest witches, all was not well within the Golden Dawn.  By this time Crowley had moved out of Trinity Collage without earning his degree, and taken a flat in Chancery Lane, London.  There he renamed himself 'Count Vladimir' and began to pursue his occult studies on a full-time basis.  Crowley had a natural aptitude for magic and advanced quickly through the ranks of the Golden Dawn, but the London lodge leaders considered him unsuitable for advancement into the second order.  Crowley went to Paris in 1899 to see 'S.L. MacGregor Mathers', the then head of the Order and insisted that he be initiated into the second Order.  Mathers at the time was experiencing growing dissension to his absolute rule from London, and sensed in Crowley an ally.  To the consternation of the London lodge he readily agreed to Crowley's request and initiated him into the second order.

However their allegiance was an uneasy one, for Mathers like Crowley was a powerful magician and both were intensely competitive.  Mathers taught Crowley 'Abra-Melin' magic but neither attained any of the grades of the A\A\.  They quarreled constantly and allegedly engaged in magical warfare.  Mathers is said to have sent an astral vampire to attack Crowley who responded with an army of demons led by Beelzebub.  In April 1900, Mathers due to problems within the London lodge, dispatched Crowley back to England as his 'Special Envoy' where he made an abortive attempt to regain control.  Shortly thereafter both Mathers and Crowley were expelled from the order.

Crowley began to travel, mostly in the East studying Eastern Occult systems and 'Tantric Yoga'; he also studied 'Buddhism' and the 'I Ching'.  Then for a time he lived in an isolated setting near to Loch Ness in Scotland.  In 1903 he met and then married Rose Edith Kelly, sister of the well-known artist Sir Gerald Kelly.  She bore him one child.  While they where on holiday in Egypt the following year, April 1904, he and Rose took part in a magical ritual during which he alleges to have received a message from the God's.  As a result of this communication he wrote down the first three chapters of his most famous book “Liber Legis, the Book of Law”.  This book contains his oft-quoted dictum:  “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.  Love is the Law, Love under Will”, upon which Crowley based the rest of his life and teachings.

Rose Edith Kelly  -  Crowley's first wife

In 1909 Crowley began to explore levels of the astral plane with his assistant, a poet called “Victor Neuberg”; they used 'Enochian' magic.  Crowley believed he crossed the Abyss and united his consciousness with the universal consciousness.  He describes the astral journeys in “The Vision and the Voice”, which was first published in his periodical “The Equinox” and then posthumously in 1949.

Never far from controversy in 1909 through to 1913, Crowley serialized the secret rituals of the Golden Dawn in his magazine 'the Equinox', which he also used as vehicle for his poetry.  Mathers who had written most of the rituals and who was still his greatest antagonist, tried but failed to get a legal injunction to stop him.  His action only served to gained Crowley more press publicity and notoriety.

By now Crowley was fast becoming infamous as a Black magician and Satanist, he openly identified himself with the number 666, the biblical number for the antichrist.  He also kept with him a series of 'Scarlet Women'; the best known of these was Leah Hirsig, the so-called “Ape of Thoth”.  Together they would indulge in drinking sessions, drugs and sexual magic.  It is believed that Crowley made several attempts with several of these women to beget a 'Magical child', none of which worked and instead he fictionalized his attempts in a book called “Moonchild”, published in 1929.

Leah Hirsig  -  the “Ape of Thoth”

In 1912 Crowley became involved with the British section of the O.T.O. (the Ordo Temple Orientis or Order of the Temple of the East), a German occult order practicing magic.  He then moved and lived in America from 1915 to 1919, moving again in 1920 to Sicily where he established the notorious Abbey of Thelema at Cefalu.

In Sicily he proceeded to involve himself in Italian occultism and in 1922 became the head of the 'Ordo Temple Orientis'.  However (as he routinely did) he began to attract more bad publicity.  The press denounced him as “The Wickedest Man in the World” because of the alleged satanic goings on in the Abbey.  It has now come to light that many of the allegations were false and were no more than press sensationalism.  However their effect had serious repercussions for Crowley.  In 1923 Mussolini the then ruler of Italy stepped in and expelled him from Sicily.

Crowley wondered around for a while visiting such places as Tunisia and Germany before settling for a time in France.  While in France he engaged as his secretary the services of another aspiring magician 'Israel Regardie'.  Regardie would later become famous himself and played a prominent role in exposing the complete rituals of the 'Golden Dawn' to the public (see Israel Regardie).  Crowley continued to travel around Europe during which time he picked up a growing heroin addiction, a habit he would suffer from for the rest of his life.  Back in England in 1929 he met and married his second wife 'Maria Ferrari de Miramar'.  The marriage took place in Leipzig, Germany.

Maria Ferrari de Miramar and Crowley

In 1932 Crowley met with 'Sybil Leek' another famous witch and became a frequent visitor to her home.  Sybil a hereditary witch was only nine years old at the time and later wrote in her autobiography "Diary of a Witch" - (New York: Signet, 1969), that Crowley talked to her about witchcraft.  He taught her the words of power and instructed her on the use of certain words for their vibratory qualities when working with magick (see Sybil Leek). 

Already notorious and well known to the press, Crowley then became involved in a famous and sensational libel case.  In 1934 before Mr. Justice Swift, he sued Nina Hamnett a prominent sculptress.  Nina had published a book “Laughing Torso” (Constable and Co., London, 1932) in which Crowley alleged she had libeled him by saying he that the practiced black magic.  As the case proceeded the other side produced such evidence of Crowley’s bizarre life-style and scandalous writings (as they were considered at that time), that the justice was horrified.  Crowley lost the case and was forced into bankruptcy, much to the delight of the popular press who again had a field day.

Crowley in his room in Jermyn Street, Piccadilly circa 1943

In his penultimate year 1946, a mutual friend 'Arnold Crowther' introduced Crowley to 'Gerald B. Gardner'.  His meetings with Gardner would later lead to controversy over the authenticity of Gardner’s original 'Book of Shadows'.  It was alleged that Gardner paid Crowley to write it for him?  But this has now been discounted.  While it did contain some of Crowley’s writings, this was the result of Gardner and Crowley comparing notes on rituals used in 'Old George Pickingill’s' covens in the New Forrest area.  Doreen Valiente in her book "Witchcraft for Tomorrow” does much to shed light on this controversy.

Crowley near the end of his life

At the time of his meetings with Gerald Gardner, Crowley was a feeble old man living in retirement at a private hotel in Hastings, barely kept alive by the use of drugs.  It was here that he passed from this world into the next on the 1st December 1947.  Unrepentant and unbowed he left this world with a final snub at the society that had so misunderstood him, he left instructions that he was to be cremated and instead of the usual religious service, his 'Hymn to Pan' and other extracts from his writings was to be proclaimed from the pulpit.  Finally his ashes were to be sent to his disciples in America.

In many ways Aleister Crowley was not a well-liked man, but he influenced and had an effect on the build up to the new era of modern witchcraft.  His knowledge of witchcraft and magick was profound and without question, and he has passed on that knowledge through his books.  In today’s more liberal society more and more of Crowley’s books are being reprinted as we begin to appreciate his strange genius.  Indeed some of his books have now gained classical status.  These include: Gnostic Mass and The Book of Law (New York: Samuel Weiser, 1977) from which portions of the well known “Charge of the Goddess” were written by Doreen Valiente.  Other books include: Magick in Theory and Practice, 777 And Other Qabalistic Writing and The Book of Thoth to mention just a few. 

Sources

  The Encyclopedia of Witches &Witchcraft  - by Rosemary Ellen Guiley.

An ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present  - By Doreen Valiente

Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft  - By Raven Grimassi

Witchcraft for Tomorrow  - By Doreen Valiente

First published on the 03 October 2003, 19:47:18 © George Knowles

I am in the process (a slow one) of getting the reseach that I have in a binder for the team.  I have some information on a few places, but we need to get more on these places if possible.  I know that several member take their recorders to investigations and when the client is speaking to the team about the history or even the stories of the places it is being recorded.  If you don't mind me listening to them to compose a written document to put in the research binder I would appreciate it.  Most of what information that I have it hand written from books from the Tuscaloosa County Library and pamplets.  I would like as much input on this as I can get.  I know that Wendy has done a lot of research.  Thanks Wendy you are great!!  I would like to use these information sheets as a hand out to guest at the open houses when they ask about a place.  Please let me know either by email, phone call, or even just respond to this form post. 

Out of all the places that our members have been which one of those places do you believe to the most haunted places that you have ever been.  This  includes all those members who have been to places before that the team has not investigated or has investigated.

I think that the most haunted places that I have ever been to was the SD Allen Nursing Facility in Northport.  There is so much activity there the times I have been that even includes the daytime too.

What is yours?  Share it with everyone and lets see if we all the same thoughts. 

Because an EVP is by definition an "electronic phenomena," if a vocal approximation is heard without the use of any electronics, even if it is at the time a recording is being made, it is not an EVP. Even if the same sound is heard on the recording device when the audio is reviewed afterwards, it is still not an EVP because it was in its initial form audible without the aid of electronic devices. In these cases, the vocal approximation can be classified as a "disembodied voice," but again, it is not an EVP.

Similarly, a non-vocal sound (percussive, mechanical, structural) that is not heard by investigators during a recording session but is heard on the recording media later in review is also not an EVP. The sound is an audio anomaly, however, and a captured sound does not need to be an EVP to be classified as possibly paranormal. Further review and analysis of the recording is required to make that judgment. But for the purposes here of defining an "EVP," the audio anomaly must: 1) be of a vocal nature and 2) must only have been heard in playback of the recording in order to be classified as an EVP.

FURTHER CLASSIFICATION OF EVPs:

Once a sound has been definitively identified as an EVP, further classification is useful in acknowledging an EVP's reliability. The fewer technical manipulations and subjective interpretations required to hear and identify the nature of an EVP, the more reliable it is as paranormal evidence data. There are three generally accepted classes of EVP, with Class A being the most reliable and Class C being the least.

CLASS A
The EVP can be heard during simple audio device playback without earphones or the use of audio processing software. Reviewers will also generally agree on what exactly the vocal approximation is with minimal discussion (i.e., words are clearly distinguishable, or sobs/laughter/etc. are clearly of a human vocal nature and cannot readily be attributed to other sources).

CLASS B
The EVP can be heard during audio device playback, but requires headphones to distinguish content, and reviewers may not all initially identify the same content (i.e., words may be muffled or confused; one reviewer may hear crying while another hears laughter, etc.). Class B EVPs will not need audio processing or filtering in order to be identifiable (as soon as any kind of audio processing must be applied to a recorded sound to make it identifiable as an EVP, the classification of that sound becomes a Class C).

CLASS C
The EVP can be heard during audio device playback but requires the use of headphones and amplification and/or additional software processing to be clearly identified. In order for a Class C EVP to remain a Class C rather than a non-EVP audio anomaly, it is best that, after the audio file has been "cleaned up" as much as possible, there remains no question about the content of the file. If reviewers still disagree about the content of what's being heard, the sound can no longer be classified as a reliable EVP and should then be termed an inconclusive audio anomaly of possible vocal nature.

Agent - A living person at the site of a haunting.  Some human agents act only as witnesses to paranormal events while others are believed to be the method by which the hauntings occur.  Some agents may cause phenomena to increase, while others may be the entire source of the activity.  How this works is yet unexplained.

Audio Anomaly - Any sound (vocal, percussive, mechanical, etc.) heard with the ears and/or audio recording equipment that is not immediately identifiable within the context of the recording environment.

Cold spot - An area where the temperature is lower than the surrounding environment. Cold spots are believed to be created when a ghost is presence within that area. It is believed that the cold spots are created when ghosts pull energy from their surroundings in order to manifest.

Disembodied Voice - A vocal approximation (e.g. speech, crying, laughing) that can be heard without aid of an electronic device; can be heard by many people at the same time.

EMF -A force given off by electric charges, found in anything that uses electricity. The higher the spikes in the unexplained electromagnetic field levels, the more potential there is for paranormal activity. In addition, the higher the levels of explained electromagnetic field, the more likely that people will make mistaken reports of paranormal activity. (Read the article.)

Entity - A disembodied "consciousness" commonly referred to as a ghost, or spirit.

EVP - "Electronic Voice Phenomena" - A specific class of audio anomaly typically defined as a disembodied vocal approximation (statements, questions, whispers, growling, screams, shouts) imprinted on a digital or analog audio, or audiovisual, recording media (cassette recorder, digital voice recorder, camcorder, etc.).

Active EVP Recording - Actively asking questions to get responses from entities while using audio recording equipment.

Passive EVP Recording - Allowing audio recording equipment to run without actively asking questions to get responses.

Ghost - Generic term used for a number of different supernatural entities.

Haunting - A repeated manifestation of supernatural phenomena in a specific location.  The activity may appear as physical apparitions, sights, sounds, smells or cold areas.  Hauntings may continue for years or may only last a brief period of time.

Intelligent Haunting - Activity that takes place around people or locations that is caused by an intelligent or conscious spirit.  Best defined as the personality of someone who has died and whose spirit has not crossed over to the other side.  This spirit will interact with witnesses at a location and attempt to make its presence known through repeated phenomena of sights, sounds, feelings and the movement of physical objects.

Matrixing - Natural tendency for the human mind to interpret sensory input (that which is perceived visually, audibly or tactilely) as something familiar or more easily understood and accepted, and in effect mentally "filling in the blanks." (See Simulacra)

Parapsychology - The avenue of paranormal studies and research relating chiefly to psychic abilities (e.s.p., telepathy) and spiritual phenomena.

Pareidolia -(from Greek para, amiss, faulty, wrong + eidolon, diminutive of eidos appearance, form) is a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (usually an image) being mistakenly perceived as recognizable. Common examples include images of animals or faces in clouds, seeing the man in the moon, and hearing messages on records played in reverse. (See Simulacra)

Phantom - Another name for “ghost” or “spirit” although, interestingly, many use the word “phantom” to refer to ghosts that have been seen wearing cloaks or robes.

Phenomenon (Phenomena) - An event that is an outward sign of the working of the laws of nature or an extraordinary happening.

Poltergeist - Literally means “noisy ghost” in German. It is believed that the knockings and movement of objects is caused by an outward explosion of kinetic energy from a human mind.  Usually, the agent is an adolescent girl or individual under high stress. Most poltergeist outbreaks are short-lived. 

Residual Haunting - Psychic imprint of a scene that is repeatedly played out, and in which the witness of the phenomenon essentially is peering into the past. The ghostly participants of these time-displacements often seem unaware of their living observers.

Simulacra - A word used to describe the faces and shapes that are often reported in photographs and in almost any kind of inanimate object including doors, buildings, clouds, trees and bushes.  Usually, it is nothing more than the imagination of the witness making the texture of the object into a face or figure.  (See Matrixing)

Spirit - A discarnate being, or ghost, that exists in an invisible realm; existence apart from, or transcending, the purely physical; also, the life-force of an organism. Spirit commonly refers to a ghost.

Supernatural - Events or happenings that take place in violation of the laws of nature, usually associated with ghosts and hauntings.

http://www.examiner.com/x-4872-Pittsburgh-Paranormal-Examiner~y2009m3d13-How-to-do-a-blessing-or-concecration-rite-for-the-extrication-of-paranormal-phenomena

I think that Mike should swing the Incense censur.

That was me.  I don't know why it disappeared.  If I ever move back to Boston, I am so living there.

There are several places around the state of Alabama that probably has not been investigated yet.  I will be trying to work a few or even trying places to find on the research side and then had the information over to one of the Case Managers.  If anyone knows of a place that needs more research done on let me know.  I have got a lot of information on several places, but I will have to take the time to type it up and submit it.  Just got a full plate right now, but getting back to normal here.  Let me know what you think about any place and I will try to find out more about it!! 

A good Idea is to post a member profile or a five question and answer for the newsletter to let people get to know each member and to let them know a little bit about the person.