GOOD GHOST, BAD GHOST?!
There's a lot going around the paranormal circuit these days about Demons and Demonology. Demonology has been around a long time but is now making a resurgence. The new A&E show Paranormal State seems to find a Demonic entity on every episode. Every time a curtain blows in the breeze "OH NO, IT'S A DEMON, BETTER GET LORRAINE WARREN!! And because it is such a foul and ominous being, it's name cannot be spoken out loud or you risk the possibility of attack, or worse, possession. Give me a break. Frankly, I can't even watch the show anymore and neither can any other credible, self respecting paranormal investigator I know of. There's another fellow I just heard of who, for a price, will check out your new office or soon to be home for any signs of resident ghosts. He might be the real deal but anyone who charges people in need in the paranormal business loses credibility with me as a researcher or investigator and becomes merely entertainment. In any event, I am not saying these types of Demon beings do not exist, I am saying that if they do, they are very few and extremely far between. I am well aware that very harmful and dangerous attacks are not uncommon and can be launched by malevolent spirits or poltergeist but I just can't get passed the Demon thing.
At The New England Society of Paranormal Investigators (NESPI.net) we have utilized an opening and closing prayer on every single investigation we have ever done. And will continue to employ this practice. I don't pretend to understand how this actually protects us from anything other than Catholic Demons but I always feel a little better after we do it anyway. The point I'm trying to make is that I believe many of these so-called attacks are really your standard, garden variety spirits, and not necessarily angry Demonic entities, working very hard to get someone's attention. Having logged thousands upon thousands of hours communicating with the unseen through Electronic Voice Phenomena I feel well qualified to render these opinions. I have had EVPs come through onto my computer's hard drive of all types from the guttural, growling voice that threatens all kinds of horrible retribution to the "nice-as-pie" 35 year old mother of two who was a teacher and loves it where she is. By the way, if you have an aversion to foul language, EVP work may not be for you!
Let me try to explain with an example. Annually, The New England Society of Paranormal Investigators receives numerous RFI's (Request for Investigations) and CFA's (Call for Assistance) from all over New England. Recently, we responded to a CFA from upstate Maine. Usually, CFA's are lot more urgent in nature and require immediate analysis as how to proceed. A preliminary interview must be done to gather certain facts which help determine in analysis as to how we should proceed. This is what separates NESPI as a professional and scientific research organization from those weekend ghost hunt clubs who go right in, set up their equipment and begin asking all the wrong questions. First of all, many times an improper investigation in itself is perceived as an attack by the already angered and frustrated entity. This results in escalated activity putting the client in a much worsened position. The ghost hunt club goes home and the property owner is left holding the bag. These groups should only do outside investigations as they are not experienced and don't have the training to work on this level. Remember, before allowing anyone to enter your property for a paranormal investigation make certain to:
- Check their references.
- Ask what type of equipment they use.
- Review their evidence from past investigations.
- Think of them as an employee you are about to hire.
Okay, back to China, Maine. We received this CFA from a woman; who we will call Jan, who had several strange happenings in her current home of 17 years. Being the mother of three boys she was no stranger to seeing a bath towel lying on the bathroom floor. What she wasn't used to is having it hung back up on the towel rod by itself. This happened on more than one occasion while only she was alone in the house. Another time she felt she was being watched and looked up from her computer and peered down the second floor hall to see a dark shadow duck into another room. Again, while she was the only person in the house. She says things are escalating and she wants help now. We hear this kind of thing all the time but because Jan is a Nurse we gave her statement more credence. She is trained to observe and stay cool. She is educated and has been taught how to think and reason. She is very articulate. From our point of view at NESPI, this is a valid case and we needed to assemble a team.
The NESPI Team consisted of Lead Investigator Michael Astin, Lead Investigator and Tech Manager Mike Medeiros, Investigators Bill Martin and Andrew McIntyre. I need to back up here and explain that Andrew McIntire is also our liaison to the INsight group. This is an elite group of powerful sensitives and clairvoyants who work in concert, anonymously, to assist those who need their "special" type of help. We have worked with them on many occasions and found them to be uncannily accurate. They have only recently stated that NESPI and Andrew will be their only source of outside contact. We at NESPI are extremely pleased to be so honored in this manner.
Prior to the team leaving for Maine, Andrew has consulted with and had already been informed by INsight exactly how the interior of the structure is laid out, the décor, what entities are present, why they are there and the color of the front door. Andrew decides that a phone call to Jan is in order to at least verify or disprove some of the INsight information. He tells Jan based upon what he has learned that one of the spirits residing in the house is a little boy, maybe 10 years old, named Geofry, and spelled with one f. He lives in an area under the stairway which Andrew physically describes and explains Geofry is upset because he is being ignored. Jan is a little taken aback as she tells Andrew that she and her husband remodeled the house 17 years ago and enclosed the area under the stairs which is exactly as he described it. She also informs Andrew that her oldest son has just left for his first year at college. Andrew then tells Jan there is a second spirit in the house that has been with her for many years much like a guardian angel type of arrangement. This is an older man and he said "he knows you saw him in the hall". The really interesting thing here is that neither Andrew nor INsight had the story of Jan seeing the shadow in the hall! We only gave them the address.
The team arrives at the house after a 5 hour drive and the front door is the exactly as described as is the rest of the layout of the house.
Following a quick dinner of pizza and soda, the equipment is set up, the owners leave the premises and the investigation begins in chief.
Investigator Andrew McIntire begins revealing more information to the team of what has become known to him through INsight. He informs everyone that the second guardian angel type spirit is actually a deceased family member (husband's Grandfather). The reason he has been so agitated of late is because he has a very important message he wants to get to Jan. Apparently, the message is that within the next few weeks Jan will have to make a decision that will have dramatic but unseen repercussions in the future. His intent is to make certain she knows of the importance of those repercussions.
At one point during the investigation, while engaged in EVP work, Investigator Mike Astin feels a blast of warm air on his neck along with a hissing sound. He feels that something is speaking to him but can't make it out. He is a little unnerved and needs to leave the room to get some air. Everyone follows as Mike looks a little pale and concern mounts about what happened to him. Andrew makes a quick check with his contact at INsight and is told that the grandfather is now a little agitated at a question asked by Investigator Astin and yelled "GET OUT" in his ear.
This is a case in point from earlier when I said many times things done by good ghosts with good intentions are blamed as attacks or malevolence by evil spirits.
Mike re-enters the same room and squares things away with the grandfather and the investigation continues. A short time later the owners come home and Jan begins doing some EVP work with the Team. She is also holding K2 meter which lights up. One flash for "yes". Two flashes for "no". At this point the investigation turns to a personal level which cannot be reported here. Suffice it to say that the K2 meter proved itself indispensable and reacted immediately and frequently to Jan's questions. Many questions were answered and many EVPs were caught.
Three weeks later the activity was still very low but present. When we asked Jan if she had been faced with a decision of the importance and magnitude described by the Grandfather, she replied, "yes", and that she now understood. However, the decision was of such a personal level she chose not to share it with us.
It has now been several months and according to Jan the activity level is increasing once again. NESPI is assembling a Team. This time we are taking our new FLIR Thermal Image Camera.
I'll keep you posted!
