Investigating The Paranormal On A Personal Level

[Haunted Lady]

Most of you know by now, I absolutely believe in and stand by the experiences I share here. I wanted to post a little something as to why I think these experiences are tangible. I know myself to be spirit sensitive. Is this a confirmation though, that something is real? Absolutely not. Is what you feel a confirmation that an experience is paranormal? Hell no.

Iv'e heard alot of members here say they think they must be crazy (personally I don't like that word) or that they worry about how they will look to others if they share here, or with friends or family. I have had these same concerns over the years, and came to the conclusion that it's important to always confirm personal experiences.

Whether anyone wants to hear it or not, sometimes it really is just in your head. I won't lie that there is a real possibilty that might be the case. If you think you may have lost your mind, there are ways to either confirm or debunk a personal experience. Do your homework, it will reveal the truth. In any case where one truly questions their mental health, psychological testing isn't a bad idea.

First, I want to suggest keeping a log or journal of suspicious activity. Include dates, times, weather conditions, moon phases, and who is present when the activity occurs. Were lights on or off? As much information as you can think of...write it down, then be consistent with subsequent info you record. Over a period of time, you can reflect over the entries, and see if a pattern has developed.

If you choose to shoot photos or use recording equipment to document activity, also enter your findings in your log. Did your photos reveal an unusual presence in the pictures, maybe even a person? Do your recordings offer any electronic voice phenomenon (EVP's for short) that may be of use? Sometimes EVP's reveal a date or year, or even a name. Use that information for your next step.

Secondly, do your homework! Libraries, local historical societies and city or county property managers have a wide array of information available to the public at no charge. The deeper you dig, the more you can learn. Don't forget if names are revealed during your documentation to check death records and census reports. The more history you can gather together, the better. It is tedious, time consuming and boring work. It is through this work however that evidence is gathered.

I personally choose to share only the experiences that I have been able to confirm through the techniques above. If I can't prove it, chances are good it was my mind playing tricks on me. Being one who is aware of the spirit realm, sometimes I admit I am 'overly attentive' and that many times there is a simple and rational explanation. The following story is a perfect example of this. It is my own personal story, one where I was able to debunk what I may have claimed parnormal otherwise.

We moved into our new home a little over three months ago. Shortly after, I began feeling strange tremors...this shaking from beneath the earth that rumbled through the house in almost a growling tone. The windows shook and rattled. It happend again and again. I even noted and photograped a crack in the wall above a doorframe that seemed to be getting longer. With every successive photo, it was evident that the crack was in fact elongating. Each time the earth would rumble, my heart would pound and my mind would reel. What do you think, ghost of the civil war past, or demonic presence?

I began to keep a log. I wrote down the time of day that each instance occured. I documented how long the tremors lasted. I asked family members in the home if they had felt it too. My husband confirmed that he had as well experienced the phenomenon. I didn't stop with just this personal confirmation though. I wanted to know what it was. Something was most certainly occuring, I just had no idea what.

The human imagination is an incredible thing. I could have stopped there and taken just this odd little series of 'earthquakes' and turned it into a best selling novel. I could have let my mind make up a hundred different suppositions, deciding any of them might be right. Instead...I packed up pen, paper and laptop and headed off to the local library. There, in a matter of just an hour or so I found the truth.

I live 2.5 miles from a limestone quarry. You can't see it from the highway. It's entrance is nothing more than a gravel driveway. In order to mine limestone, dynamite is used to dislodge sections of the stone small enough to be processed into the varying sized rocks and gravel the quarry supplies to its distributors.

I had noted in my journal that the tremors occured at the same time every day. If a tremor occured in my home on Monday it would occur each day that week. If no tremor happened on Monday...there would be none that week.

By knowing and logging this pattern, I was able to learn that the quarry is bound by law to report the time of dynamite blasts prior to thier occurance, to the US Geological Society. For ease of recording purposes, every blast is sheduled and reported to occur at 2:15 pm Central time. Federal law requires use of dynamite to be entered with the USGS, so that richter measurements which are monitored constantly will not alert the public to potentially dangerous earthquake activity. There is a warning system, and dynamite interferes with such readings.

I share this because it is a perfect example of how research can many times offer explanations to what we may otherwise believe to be paranormal activity. Much of what we experience can be explained, and we have a responsibility to ourselves, our families, and our communities to always seek the truth.

I have also through these simple research techniques, been able to confirm paranormal activity. My childhood imaginary friend had a name. I hadn't thought about it much until one night I was sitting with my mother discussing some of the spirits which have travelled through my life. Mom suggested I look up my old imaginary friend, to see if he really existed. Curiousity got the better of me. My imaginary friend's name was "Biggie", and he was a soldier. He had only told me his first name once, but even as an adult I remembered it. The search was on.

United Stated Census records of my birthplace, led me to the name of my childhood friend. A search of death records, stated this man died in 1957. Further investigation led me to an obituary. He had been an Army infantryman, and had fought in World War 2.

I was 3 or 4 years old, and my 'imaginary' friend was my constant companion for several years. I had no knowledge of the actual existence of this man and yet I knew details that could not be explained, had they not been told to me by a reliable source.

This is what I mean when I say, I believe a personal experience is real when it can be confirmed. With that confirmation comes self assurance and sound peace of mind. I invite you to find your truth, explore and investigate. You just might hold your head a little higher, and be more sure of yourself in your walk and your life path.

[UglyNRude]

Excellent post but I'll take it one step further, and give people a few places to look for things that may have happened in the past.

When doing research for an investigation people sometimes aren’t sure where to look. I usually start with the internet and when I exhaust it I then go to local Library and Historical societies and go to the County Clerks office. When doing your google search vary your words and searches. Sometimes an address will work but a property tax number is needed . Some times you will need the property owner to accompany you. This varies with the county.
Now some online sources that I find interesting to just even look through.

Cyndislist this is a great genealogy as well as other categories.
http://www.cyndislist.com/

General Disasters This site is fun to just go through and read about all disasters North America had. With over 12,000 listed.
http://www3.gendisasters.com/

Bing Maps I love this to look an area over before an investigation to see how the land is layed out. To see nearest railroads, cemeteries, factories, neighbors. Just find the location and click on birdseye view.
http://www.microsoft.com/maps/isdk/ajax/

Now I like to use this to find old maps for an area I am researching.
http://www.searchforancestors.com/map/us.html
You may find others but this has a nice selection and its free. I will point out when doing research you may find the county or town name may have changed over the years so always look deeper.

I also search for the county history, the town or village history and sometimes even the address can be rewarding. These searches can be fun as some will even show detail down to wedding gifts around the late 1800’s They explain ways of deaths, and even ways of suicides.

[Haunted Lady]

Thank you UNR! You have added some excellent points of reference. I will certainly look into these and how they might be ulitilized for a difficult search I am working on right now, as well as for the future. You truly bring a plethra of knowledge to this forum, and it's much appreciated.

[ShatteredWake]

Quote:Iv'e heard alot of members here say they think they must be crazy (personally I don't like that word) or that they worry about how they will look to others if they share here, or with friends or family. I have had these same concerns over the years, and came to the conclusion that it's important to always confirm personal experiences.

When I first started, I never really talked to anyone about it. But, I have no reason to keep it a secret. It's interesting to me and to others, so why worry? People can give me a funny look or laugh. . . but, I don't think I'm a very weird person. Just an interesting one.

Quote:First, I want to suggest keeping a log or journal of suspicious activity.

Absolutely. Knowing what happened when something paranormal happened can not only help to give strength to the story, but a recreation of it for further evidence is easier if you know what happened. I always carry a little notebook with me to record the happenings, then convert them to documents on my computer.

Quote:Secondly, do your homework!

Another fine point. If you know what happened where you're going, if you know what you're getting yourself into, and if you know whom you'll be meeting, it can actually help you find more experiences.

[Graveyard Hound]

I share anything I do with others I have worked with before or are more knowledgeable about investigations than I.

[jdub50081]

When I was growing up, I always thought that I was the only one who can hear the voices. It wasn't until I met a girl when I was 16 that had medium abilities. We were walking in a park near my house when I heard a low mumble behind us. We both turned at the same time. Thats when I knew I wasn't alone. Since then I have been comfortable with my 'gifts' and honestly I don't care what other people think of me. Crazy? Yeah, maybe a little....but aren't we all? I still use my gift on the investigations I go on, but sometimes it gets us into trouble as the spirits realize I can hear them (intelligent ones, residual hauntings obviously a different story) and sometimes react in ways that I do not wish them too lol. Thank you Haunted Lady, for posting this. I just wish I had found this site earlier! Its nice to be able to talk to people with similar interests and gifts on here. UNR, I really enjoy your outlook on it all as well. Having someone who thinks as you do really helps when it comes to possible de-bunking. Thanks to everyone on here, I am going to try and be as active as I can, posting EVPs and pics from investigations here in Hawaii. I have some REALLY creppy pics and Class A EVPs, but I am a little hesitant to post them yet.

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