The Ghost Detective

The Ghost Detective.

I do not wish to offend anyone. I think most people put ghosts and spirits into the same box, but this is a mistake as they are separate subjects. Both are purely natural in their origin and have no place in mysticisms whatsoever. Take away the religious context and you will start to see where I am going with this.

Let’s examine spirit. The natural world that we are part of has more power and complexity than we can possibly imagine. I believe that as human beings we all have an inner being, call it spirit, mind, or self, it doesn’t matter which. It is this inner being that continues after we die, as a natural progression, nothing mystical, it’s just natural. Ghosts are no more than recordings that play back to us when the conditions are right, natural conditions. Ghosts cannot interact with you any more than you can interact with a video. As human beings we allow our superstitions and beliefs to cloud our reasoning and judgment, and until we can separate fact from fiction we will never learn the truth. This is a very short summary of an extremely complex subject and one I am passionate about.

The fundamental part of all my investigating work and reports of Ghost activity is interviewing an eyewitness. I have interviewed hundreds of people over the past twenty years who have had paranormal tales to tell me. Some would be outspoken with their own theories to what lay behind the story being told. Others would need gentle encouragement to give the  hold complete story, shying away from detailed facts that are inportent and  would often include themselves. Those are the two main personality traits that any new investigators will come across, but are you being told the truth? Time has a knack of changing details in someone's memory.Elaboration sets in and we are told an imaginatively enhanced story's that, at their core hold some truth, but you need to clear away the frills to get to it. Try to get to the eye witness sooner rather than later and this is a key factor. Even after a few months the memory fades and details are lost. They may even be put under pressure by friends and family not to speak about their experience. After interviewing for a few years you become skilled in reading people extremely quickly. Reading people, not judging them, there is a big difference in the two. I try really hard not to judge people but it can be hard not to. When reading people look at the person’s expression, their reaction, are they open to your questions or do they seem overly guarded in their responses. Do they seem uncomfortable, or too relaxed? All these things point you in a certain direction and your questions can be tailored to suit the person sitting in front of you. Parapsychology plays a big part in my investigating and evaluating the information presented to you. Take your time, even if this means two or three visits. Get to know a little about the person you are talking to. Even now I still get caught out. It usually happens when the person you are interviewing has a deep seated belief that you are unaware of at the time. You can ask some searching questions to try to ascertain their beliefs, but there are some things people will not reveal. Deep rooted racism, religious extremism, mental illness kept in check by powerful drugs. I once interviewed a dear sweet little old lady who offered me buttered scones and hot sweet tea. I saw this lady turn into a seething explosion of hatred vented against a minority group in this country, then just as quickly she changed back and offered me another scone. Just when you thought you knew people! Here are some tips that may help you when interviewing people. Never take anything at face value so record every interview and play it back several times, as you analyse it you will be surprised at what you can learn. Sometimes it is the most mundane story that turns out to be the most interesting. Last but not least, be prepared for the unexpected. I still get a buzz when interviewing people. I hope I always will.

For many people the word paranormal means just one thing, ghosts. The word “paranormal” covers a multitude of subjects, many of which have been used to explain ghostly phenomena. Telekinesis, the power of mind over matter. Psychometry the ability of a person to sense or "read" the history of an object by touching it. E.S.P. The list goes on and on. But where do these paranormal beliefs come from. For the answer to this we need to step back in time and look at the beliefs of our ancestors. The Druids held belief in the power of the natural earth and used peoples superstition to assert their power. When the Roman invaders came they did their best to do away with the Celtic culture and replaced it with their own form of rule by suppression. But not all the Celtic rituals died out, some, like Halloween, has origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain. The ancient Celts believed that on October 31st, now known as Halloween, the boundary between the living and the deceased dissolved, and the dead become dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damaged crops. The festivals would frequently involve bonfires and the ritual burning of livestock. Now mix that with Roman festivals and Samhain was assimilated to the day of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and gardens who was celebrated around 1st of November, the time of the apple harvest. Bobbing for apples ring a bell? Then Christianity overcame the “Dark Ages”, and Samhain-Pomona Day survived this second “invasion”, again by being assimilated. Christian churches used to solemnize or assign special days for the formal commemoration of their chosen martyrs and saints. November 1st officially became All Hallows’ (literally,“all the holy ones”) or All Saints’ in 835. We don’t get rid of old beliefs, we simply use and mix them together to suit what the modern society feels is right at the time It is from these ancient beliefs, rituals and superstitions that we get our fear of the unknown.

If you think we are far to modern these days to believe in such things just ask someone to break a mirror, walk under a ladder or walk through a forest at night. We are not so far removed from our ancestors as we would like to believe. When trying to explore the world of paranormal phenomena it is imperative to remember that people are afraid and suspicious of things they do not understand. I have no religious or mystic belief and feel it would hinder me in trying to reach an unbiased opinion about cases I investigate. Just focus on the job at hand. It also helps to work with people who specialise within a given field. Psychologist, parapsychologists, historians and archaeologists all bring knowledge to a case without having their thoughts clouded. Such investigations are thorough and accurate, but very rarely believed by paranormal enthusiasts. It seems they want every case to be genuine and they enjoy the exhilaration that comes from being afraid. The fact is very few cases are what I would call genuine. Many are people fearing something that they have no understanding of, or they have been put into a situation that triggers their imagination. Don’t misunderstand me. I have seen and experienced things that have shocked me and caused me to question my own senses. I do believe there is a power within all of us that we do not understand or know how to use, yet. If you have an interest in the paranormal, study intensely, explore inquisitively, but above all, have total honesty