Investigation #2

To protect those involved, I will not disclose locations and names pertaining to any investigations. But I will be as detailed as possible regarding my personal experiences for the sake of knowledge.

We were told that a news crew may be following us on this investigation doing a story to be aired on Halloween. I was a bit nervous seeing as I was the newest member of the crew.

The location is relatively old, dating back to the early 1900s but as beautiful as it was when it first opened its doors. We broke up into teams taking different floors of the building.

Just my luck, the camera crew picks my team to follow first. I just did my best to pretend they weren't there. With a camera guy hovering over my shoulder I did an initial EMF sweep of the room while my partner followed with an audio recorder. We continued with my camcorder (with newly-bolstered nightvision) photos and asking questions for possible EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena).

We continued the search being rotated to different parts of the building throughout the night.

Then it happened...

While walking into one room I heard something in my right ear. It sounded as if someone had just come up close to me and whispered something. It sounded like "Hi. How are you?" I turned to find no one there but a male team member to my left. I didn't think too much more about it.

Upon review of the audio later, there it was, "Hi. How are you?" Wow. I fully expected not to experience anything for quite sometime. So, for something like this to happen so quickly kind of threw me for a loop. Catching an EVP is one thing, but combine caught audio with a personal experience means so much more to me.

The Facts:
- The audio was caught on two different devices: my video camera held in my right hand and my audio recorder held in my left hand
- The audio level of the 'whisper' is much higher on the video camera than on the audio recorder
- I heard something at the time which is evident by my immediate reaction also recorded

So in analyzing this trying to narrow down the source of the area I've come up with the following:

Being that the audio level of the 'whisper' was higher on the video recorder (in my right hand) that the audio recorder (in my left hand) I have to deduce that the source of the noise was in the room. If it had been something from the outside or further away, the levels would have been more similar if not the same.

I'm not sure what to make of this yet, but it sure makes me wonder.

What I'm reading...

Ghost Hunting: True Stories of Unexplained Phenomena from The Atlantic Paranormal Society

Great book for fans of Ghost Hunters or anyone interested in real-life paranormal experiences.

My First Field Investigation & Meeting The Team

I recently went to an orientation to meet other members of the Florida Ghost Team. This orientation was both educational and confirmed that I was joining a team very serious about their work. I came out of there confident I was on the right path. That night was to be my first field investigation with FGT.

I spent the remaining day with the founder, Shaun Jones, and a few of the veteran members walking around town getting to know them. We had lunch and discussed our beliefs and experiences. I realized that the people I had met carried with them much the same beliefs as myself. Like me, they believe in the possibility of paranormal activity, but work to prove such in an analytical manner.

On to the investigation...

To protect those involved, I will not disclose locations and names pertaining to any investigations. But I will be as detailed as possible regarding my personal experiences for the sake of knowledge.

Good thing this was a field test for me because I spent most of the time fighting with my equipment. I had a mini-dv camcorder, and digital camera. I learned quickly that the standard 'NightShot' built into my camcorder was little effective in the extreme dark. That being useless, I resorted to snapping photos with my still camera. Doh! The batteries kept dying. Damn rechargaebles! A learned lesson there too.

I also learned that a flashlight is a staple.

My team leader had an audio recorder and an EMF detector. He was very helpful in giving me tips along the way and thoroughly explaining what he was doing in great detail. I owe a lot to him - more than a few sets of batteries that he lent me throughout the night.

I learned a lot about looking for sources of noises. With claims of voices being heard, we noticed numerous windows and cracks lead to the outside which seemed to be a likely source.

I left that night encouraged to trudge on with the new-found experience with the team.

Findings...

I have one photo out of the lot that has something on it I can only describe as a white blob of light. I wouldn't even call it an 'orb' as it is not a circular shape - more like an upside-down Mickey Mouse. But it's small and full white with no transparency. A picture I took only seconds before it shows nothing but a wood ceiling in the spot. Nothing reflective in the immediate area. However, the light upon examination has a light purple aura on one side and yellow on the other. It could be a bug. I suppose it could look like a fly with wings. But would the flash reflecting off a bug produce that aura? I don't know.

That prismatic effect leads to me believe that it's probably some kind of reflection. From what, I do not know.

Got Some New Equipment

So, I went and got a few things to aid in my investigations. As learned in my first investigation, my camcorder doesn't do much good in the dark. So I got an infrared light that attaches to my Sony Mini-DV. I also purchased an audio recorder for EVP work. Oh, and a flashlight!

Sony HVLIRM Battery IR Light
A must-have for nightvision with a camcorder. It attaches right to the boot and is self-powered. This thing puts out some great light!


Olympus MB Digital Voice Recorder
Out of all the recorders I looked at this one stood out because the device itself plugs right into your computer with a USB connection. Most have a wire you have to keep around - not this one. It also records almost 70 hours.