Showing posts with label ghost hunting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ghost hunting. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

The Paraplex: Making the Paranormal Normal

Paraplex As if there already aren’t enough reasons to visit New Orleans – free beads! – it now holds the world’s first interactive paranormal epicenter.

The Paraplex, a former funeral home located on the famous Canal Street, is fully-loaded with 4 ghosts and 40 thermal and infrared cameras, which parapsychologist Dr. Larry Montz will use to “prove these things exist.”

In the mean time, visitors can participate in “fear experiments,” private séances, and psychometry tests to see if and how psychic they are. (If they are psychic shouldn’t they already know?)

The Paraplex is also part museum, featuring the Freddy Kruger glove, the Honey Island Swamp Monster footprint, a vampire hunting kit, and dolls from vampire-writer Anne Rice’s collection. How appropriate.

But if all the lab is using to catch ghosts is cameras, how would this “proof” be better than that already found on Ghost Hunters or Paranormal State (assuming, of course, that those investigators aren’t just actors with a sweet team of Photoshop pros)?

Paraplex
I wonder if “scientifically” proving every haunting and ghost story as true – knowing the unknown – would make the whole idea of paranormality more scary, less intriguing, or make any difference at all.

On the other hand, say if Montz and his team actually catch these ghosts on camera, maybe the “paranormal” would no longer exist.

If the existence of ghosts, UFOs, and psychic abilities is proven, thus becoming scientific fact, wouldn't that render the paranormal...well, normal?

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Ghost Hunter's Tool Kit

For most people, seeing is believing. But if you ask me, it’s hard to be “rational” about odd banging coming from empty rooms, scratching sounds on the bedroom window, inexplicably moved furniture, or that feeling of someone standing behind you even when there’s no one else in sight.

To be honest, I’ve never actually seen a ghost. I’ve been to so-called truly haunted places – Centre Island’s lighthouse, Fort Erie’s fort, Fort Erie’s Doll Museum – and nothing, nada, zilch.

By “nothing, nada, zilch,” what I really mean is I didn't see anything. I do remember feeling really creeped out, but in all fairness, it could have just been the dolls. (C’mon, you have to admit dolls are scary!)

The point is, if you’re planning to do your own ghost-hunt, there are a few things you can bring besides your eyeballs:

1) A flashlight – Assuming you go at night, you’ll want to see where you’re going

2) A compass – Often when a compass is acting wonky, it means there are certain electromagnetic impulses interfering with it; these impulses are sometimes attributed to ghostly activity.

3) A camera – Images of floating orbs and even silhouettes can be captured by a camera even though you may not see them with your own eyes. Plus, it’s nice to have some form of proof if you actually do see something a little odd.

4) Extra batteries – According to pretty much every ghost-hunting show out there, ghosts gain energy from electricity. Don’t be surprised if your batteries die faster than usual.

5) A friend – Possibly the most important tool, they’ll help keep you calm and provide another witness should something happen…

Unfortunately, it’s always possible that the ghost footage you see on paranormal investigation shows and the internet is fake. This video is one of the better ones I’ve found. Fake or not, it sure gave me a scare.

(Best to watch at night.)

Monday, January 26, 2009

10 Places to Scare Yourself

graveyardHave I ever been to a cemetery at night? Once.
Would I ever go alone? Hmm...probably not.

Whether you’re a skeptic or a firm believer in the spirit world, a clichéd cemetery is just one place where you can test its existence – and your own bravery.

From the hours of Creepy Canada, Rescue Mediums, Most Haunted, and all those other ghost-hunting shows I’ve watched (with the lights on of course), I’ve come up with a top 10 list of potentially haunted places - or at least where creepy stuff tends to happen.

10. Cemeteries (duh)
9. Ships/Docks
8. Hotels
7. Castles/Forts
6. Churches
5. Schools
4. Country Roads
3. Jails/Prisons
2. The Woods
1. Houses

Visit The Shadowlands if you want to search the most haunted places in Canada. But keep in mind, it may involve a lot of scrolling down to find the city you're looking for.

Investigate if you dare...


(Image: Grihan.com)