Post by icon636 on Jul 17, 2008 16:59:04 GMT -11
The previous episode brought back GHI with a bang and not a little fan controversy, and that did nothing but whet my appetite for the next installment. I’m endlessly entertained by the “Ghost Hunter” franchise, because I like most of the people involved and it keeps my investigative instincts on their toes. I get most of my enjoyment out of the chance to consider how I would handle and interpret similar evidence, or what I might have done differently.
One topic that has always fascinated me is the intersection between folklore and reality. What appears as a flight of fancy to one person could be the foundation of belief for another. Very often, reported paranormal activity falls within such grey territory, and it becomes a challenge to find the seed of truth within the constructs of myth and tradition.
As such, it’s also important to understand the context of the folklore. In this episode, two items of pagan tradition were highlighted: the Green Man and the Black Dog. Oddly, the one person with the regional background to know the context in some detail managed to interpret one of those items incorrectly. The legends surrounding the Black Dog were generally correct, though they run a pretty wide gamut in the lore of the Isles.
Unfortunately for Barry, the Green Man, while quite the popular pagan icon, was also fairly common in many churches throughout history. Barry is apparently forgetting that the Church, for much of its existence in the British Isles, regularly co-opted the existing religious ceremonies, holy days, and icons in the interests of “facilitating” the conversion process. Which means Barry was dead wrong when he insisted that the presence of the Green Man was a significant sign.
In the end, it meant very little, but it does highlight that drawing the wrong conclusions from local folklore and tradition can lead investigators down the wrong path, possibly wasting valuable time. It’s really just an extension of a problem that can come whenever any client’s suppositions and interpretations are accepted without a grain of salt.
Case #1: St. James Theatre, New Zealand
Theatres can be a real pain to investigate. The acoustics of the building are designed to carry noise and amplify subtle sounds. Even those most experienced with such a building can be fooled. It doesn’t surprise me that the team heard things now and then, and that they couldn’t pinpoint a source. This is especially true in Barry’s case, because he seems to overreact to some sounds.
The main piece of evidence here was the apparent EVP, which seemed to be a response to a question. In this case, Rob was impressed because the whisper was captured on more than one recording device. In most cases, I prefer correlating evidence from more than one source, but EVPs are an exception. By the nature and physics of sound itself, I tend to interpret anything caught on more than one recording device to come, most likely, from a natural ambient source.
In this case, the whisper is so low that interpreting it as female may not be conclusive. I imagine that the team would have checked, but couldn’t it have been one of the cameramen or sound guys following the team around? After the fact, it might have slipped everyone’s mind. It’s pure supposition, but I’m not so sure that it can be dismissed as impossible, especially since the response makes sense if it had come from someone working with the team at the time.
Case #2: Woodchester Mansion, England
Setting aside my feelings on Barry’s knowledge of the local folklore, a couple items were notable on this investigation. The “evidence” from the basement is awfully subjective. I did find it interesting that the EM meter was reacting in that particular location, since those models are generally well-shielded from stray RF signals, but I agree that the behavior of the meter was only suggestive, not definitive.
The EVP was a bit less impressive, because I think there’s a lot of interpretation involved. The “growl” wasn’t loud enough to be absolutely confirmed as an animal growl, so it doesn’t necessarily support the claims of a Black Dog experience. I was left to wonder if the team would have been as impressed with the sound if they hadn’t heard the tales about the Black Dog in the first place.
I also had reservations regarding the “blue ball of light”. The video footage looks just like a bug flying down towards the floor, and I imagine there will be quite a bit of criticism as a result. Even if it was, in fact, a blue ball of light floating in the room and up the stairs, that doesn’t mean that it’s paranormal in nature. Whenever I hear about glowing balls of light, the piezoelectric effect comes to mind.
The piezoelectric effect is the result of energy released from certain minerals and materials based on changes in mechanical stress. Materials like quartz or limestone will release energy when stress is applied or released, for example, and that will result in balls of light. It’s a well-known principle, but it does get overlooked by many paranormal investigators. It would be worth exploring whether or not the materials of construction or the geology of the region lend themselves to such an effect.
As such, I was not quite as impressed as the GHI team was. I probably would have been intrigued enough to want a solid follow-up investigation to get more information, but I wouldn’t have been quite that enthusiastic. But, since we now know very well how the team reacts to certain kinds of “evidence”, Rob’s eventual pronouncements were not particularly surprising.
John Keegan
Reprinted with permission
Original source: c. Critical Myth, 2008
All rights reserved
Link: www.criticalmyth.com
One topic that has always fascinated me is the intersection between folklore and reality. What appears as a flight of fancy to one person could be the foundation of belief for another. Very often, reported paranormal activity falls within such grey territory, and it becomes a challenge to find the seed of truth within the constructs of myth and tradition.
As such, it’s also important to understand the context of the folklore. In this episode, two items of pagan tradition were highlighted: the Green Man and the Black Dog. Oddly, the one person with the regional background to know the context in some detail managed to interpret one of those items incorrectly. The legends surrounding the Black Dog were generally correct, though they run a pretty wide gamut in the lore of the Isles.
Unfortunately for Barry, the Green Man, while quite the popular pagan icon, was also fairly common in many churches throughout history. Barry is apparently forgetting that the Church, for much of its existence in the British Isles, regularly co-opted the existing religious ceremonies, holy days, and icons in the interests of “facilitating” the conversion process. Which means Barry was dead wrong when he insisted that the presence of the Green Man was a significant sign.
In the end, it meant very little, but it does highlight that drawing the wrong conclusions from local folklore and tradition can lead investigators down the wrong path, possibly wasting valuable time. It’s really just an extension of a problem that can come whenever any client’s suppositions and interpretations are accepted without a grain of salt.
Case #1: St. James Theatre, New Zealand
Theatres can be a real pain to investigate. The acoustics of the building are designed to carry noise and amplify subtle sounds. Even those most experienced with such a building can be fooled. It doesn’t surprise me that the team heard things now and then, and that they couldn’t pinpoint a source. This is especially true in Barry’s case, because he seems to overreact to some sounds.
The main piece of evidence here was the apparent EVP, which seemed to be a response to a question. In this case, Rob was impressed because the whisper was captured on more than one recording device. In most cases, I prefer correlating evidence from more than one source, but EVPs are an exception. By the nature and physics of sound itself, I tend to interpret anything caught on more than one recording device to come, most likely, from a natural ambient source.
In this case, the whisper is so low that interpreting it as female may not be conclusive. I imagine that the team would have checked, but couldn’t it have been one of the cameramen or sound guys following the team around? After the fact, it might have slipped everyone’s mind. It’s pure supposition, but I’m not so sure that it can be dismissed as impossible, especially since the response makes sense if it had come from someone working with the team at the time.
Case #2: Woodchester Mansion, England
Setting aside my feelings on Barry’s knowledge of the local folklore, a couple items were notable on this investigation. The “evidence” from the basement is awfully subjective. I did find it interesting that the EM meter was reacting in that particular location, since those models are generally well-shielded from stray RF signals, but I agree that the behavior of the meter was only suggestive, not definitive.
The EVP was a bit less impressive, because I think there’s a lot of interpretation involved. The “growl” wasn’t loud enough to be absolutely confirmed as an animal growl, so it doesn’t necessarily support the claims of a Black Dog experience. I was left to wonder if the team would have been as impressed with the sound if they hadn’t heard the tales about the Black Dog in the first place.
I also had reservations regarding the “blue ball of light”. The video footage looks just like a bug flying down towards the floor, and I imagine there will be quite a bit of criticism as a result. Even if it was, in fact, a blue ball of light floating in the room and up the stairs, that doesn’t mean that it’s paranormal in nature. Whenever I hear about glowing balls of light, the piezoelectric effect comes to mind.
The piezoelectric effect is the result of energy released from certain minerals and materials based on changes in mechanical stress. Materials like quartz or limestone will release energy when stress is applied or released, for example, and that will result in balls of light. It’s a well-known principle, but it does get overlooked by many paranormal investigators. It would be worth exploring whether or not the materials of construction or the geology of the region lend themselves to such an effect.
As such, I was not quite as impressed as the GHI team was. I probably would have been intrigued enough to want a solid follow-up investigation to get more information, but I wouldn’t have been quite that enthusiastic. But, since we now know very well how the team reacts to certain kinds of “evidence”, Rob’s eventual pronouncements were not particularly surprising.
John Keegan
Reprinted with permission
Original source: c. Critical Myth, 2008
All rights reserved
Link: www.criticalmyth.com