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STRANGE OCCURRENCES NEWS - Bookmark this page (IE)

9th March 2010:
Bottled Ghosts Sell for $2,800

The bidding was up to $5000 last night when the auction closed but the highest bids turned out to be illegitimate.

The winning bidder was finally the company Full Life, makers of an electronic cigarette substitute. Visit www.fulllife.co.nz to vote on the fate of the ghosts in vials.

The story on Stuff site

Expired TradeMe auction for the two ghosts.

5th March 2010:
Ghosts in Bottles Auctioned on Trade Me

The auction for two ghosts allegedly trapped in small bottles of holy water - the spirits of a man and a girl - is running on Trade Me (the NZ equivalent of Ebay).

As I write, the bidding has passed NZ$1500 and the auction runs until Monday night, 8th March. Profit from the sale of the bottled ghosts (after the cost of the exorcism is covered) will be donated to the SPCA.

There are pages of interesting questions and comments on this auction, which the seller has done a terrific job of answering.

Although we at Strange Occurrences are sceptical about the nature of the item being sold, we offer the seller and eventual successful buyer our support and best wishes for donating to a great cause. Well done.

31st January 2010:
Facebook Group Tops 100

Well the Strange Occurrences Paranormal Investigation Facebook group page hasn't existed long but membership numbers have mushroomed. There are now a couple of discussion threads on there too, so it's a good place to discuss your own paranormal experiences and/or places you know of that have had strange things happen in them.

And the spot prize for posting the number of Jones's went to... [drum roll] Denise Durkin, with the correct answer of 5.

17th January 2010:
New Ghost Photos Received

Here's one of a series of photos we've just had sent in for analysis. It's not a competition of any kind, but this is one of the coolest photos we've seen!

Our preliminary analysis here.

Other very cool photos we've received here.

If you or someone you know has a possibly supernatural photo, email it to us: j.d.gilberd@gmail.com

12th January 2010:
Practical Photography Magazine Ghost Photo Article

Pick up this mag for the article. It's on the bookshop shelves now.

They are looking for more photos from readers for possible future publication.

Practical Photography Magazine

29th December 2009:
TV3 Nightline video clip passes 10,000 downloads

In less than three months this clip of Strange Occurrences investigating paranormal activity has reached over 10K internet viewers!

6th December 2009:
Radio NZ Documentary by Justin Gregory

Spectrum radio programme

23rd November 2009:
Radio NZ Documentary to Air on 6th December

The 25-minute radio doco made by Justin Gregory during our last investigation at Inverlochy House will air on Radio New Zealand at noon on 6th December 2009, just after the news. This is a thoroughly professional production, not without humour, and with a strange event at its centre.

Alia, Justin and James conducted an EVP session during which one of our EMF meters seemed as if it responded to questions. The jury is still out, but the event was caught well enough in Justin's commentary. We intend to repeat the experiment with additional meters and a video camera in the near future.

Spectrum radio programme

23rd November 2009:
New Strange Occurrences Group Page on Facebook

The New Strange Occurrences Facebook page holds astounding images such as those from our first ever barbecue. Join now, before it's too late!

But seriously, we'll use Facebook to put up photos and events relating to our more public investigations and other work, material that's too loose to put on this precious website :-)

11th October 2009:
Podcast of Skeptics Conference Paranormal Talk

OK, this has been live for a few weeks but it's taken me this long to get up the courage to listen to myself speaking. Decided it's not as horrendous as expected so have posted the link: James Gilberd's talk.

Most of the photos referred to are here and a more detailed explanation of orbs can be found here. I am in the process of writing up the photographic analysis stuff, which may eventually appear in the NZ Skeptics Journal. If that happens, a link will be posted.

www.skeptics.org.nz has links to podcasts of some of the other talks at their onference.

5th September 2009:
TV3 Nightline features Strange Occurrences

A huge Thank You to Angela Varelas of the Museum of Wellington City & Sea for swinging things at very short notice to make the museum available for us to investigate and film in, and for staying at work very late while we all did our stuff.

This was our second "night at the museum" and we feel that the history of the building and its contents are very much alive in the present and it is a fascinating place to visit both at night and during the day. Futher investigation is warranted!

John Watson and Tori (behind the camera) were both a pleasure to work with and showed great interest and curiousity in what we were up to. There's a lot more work than you can see behind that final clip. Cheers.

"But there are sceptics..." Yes. James Gilberd will be talking at the NZ Skeptics Conference in Wellington, September 25-27, about that very thing!

TV3 Nightline story of Strange Occurrences investigating two Wellington locations in September 2009, or go straight to the video.

3rd September 2009: Strange Occurrences appearing on TV3

We've been busy lately, boosted by coverage in Wellington's Capital Times (Aug 26th-Sept 1st edition), and that's been picked up by the TV3 Nightline crew. All going well, The Nightline feature should run either this Friday, 4th September or over the weekend on TV3 News.

We revisited the Museum of Wellington City & Sea last night, and we examined an inner city basement on the Tuesday evening - a location that has shown signs of a possible ghostly presence. We don't know what is really going on down there yet so further investigation is being scheduled.

Link to video/story is now on item above this one.

17th August 2009:
Crystalshed Investigators give public talk in Masterton on 26th August

"We spent some 2 years ghost hunting mainly in Masterton and Tararua regions with groups of clairvoyant and spiritual people. We had much success with these groups, including seances and table tipping.

"My wife, clairvoyant Kathy McBride, will be giving a public talk and slide show of 80 or so of our best photos in Masterton on the 26th August."

The venue for the evening the Red Cross Centre, 30 Church St, Masterton. It's opposite the police staion( almost). 7pm - Admission $10-00.

Sorry, no links or graphics, as the site www.crystalshed.co.nz is no longer on the net.

14th August 2009:
Paranormal Themes Explored in Photography Exhibition

While artist Pippa Sanderson makes no claim of actual paranormal content in her photographic works, they are an exploration of the supernatural dimension that is possibly present in any situation, especially in rooms, hallways and staircases of older buildings.

By using outdated Polaroid film and a Polaroid "Spirit 600" camera, and including or encouraging lens flare patterns and other photographic 'faults', Sanderson's photographs attain a spooky quality suggestive of the presence of entities and atmospheres normally unseen.

'Quest' (the title comes from the Quest Hotel in Wellington) shows at Photospace Gallery, 1st floor, 37 Courtenay Place, Wellington from today until 12th September 2009. Hours: Wednesday-Saturday 11am-4pm. Free admission.

Photospace Gallery home page

9th August 2009:
NZ Skeptics Conference in Wellington 25-27 September

If you're the kind of person who likes to weigh up the available evidence and arguments before reaching a personal position - a critical thinker - then you musn't miss the NZ Skeptics Conference.

This year, James Gilberd of Strange Occurrences will give a presentation on paranormal investigation methods
and the photography of ghosts.

More info, registration form etc

27th July 2009:
Another Ghostly Art Exhibition!

Vent #8 - Spirits, Ghosts and Gremlins - shows at Thermostat Art Gallery, 186 to 187 The Square, Palmerston North, 1st August to 20th August. It features many works by many artists, all on the theme of the supernatural.

Go to www.thermostat.co.nz for location, contact details, gallery hours. At the time of this posting, there doesn't seem to be any info about this particular exhibition. Perhaps after 1st August...

See below (21st June) for info about supernatural-themed exhibitions at Te Manawa Gallery, P.Nth and Photospace Gallery, Wellington.

16th July 2009: NZPI hosts Radio Talkback

On Wednesday nights from 22nd July, NZPI will host a talkback show on New Zealand's Access Radio.

The NZPI Paranormal Radio Show with Brad Scott
Wednesday night at 11:00, Access Radio 783AM

www.accessradio.org.nz    nzparanormal.com - posting

16th July 2009: Most Haunted Ghost Girls clip

Ghost Girls Caught on Tape
YouTube video from Most Haunted TV show.

We're not great fans of the Most Haunted TV prog. currently screening on TVNZ TV1 Friday nights, but this is uncanny.

From some the 3000-odd comments to date, the feeling seems to be it's a heat reflection picked up by the Infra Red camera being used. (The IR camera makes heat sources appear lighter, hence the two girls walking are white.)

Thanks for putting me onto this clip Brad.

8th July 2009:
"From outer space to out of this world"

TVNZ TV1 Close Up piece on (i) the shadow-ghost videoed in Michael Jackson's house, and (ii) Close Up speaks to Donna Sowerby and skeptic Felicity Goodyear-Smith about Hawera tape showing (allegedly) the ghost of a neighbour's fluffy cat.

View the piece and see what you think. Our opinion is withheld :-)

2nd July 2009:
UFOs Over Wellington Harbour?

This photo was taken by a student on one of our Photospace photography courses.

Go to our Strange Photos page for larger photos and our analysis.

We are always interested to receive your unexplained photographs for analysis and opinion.

21st June 2009: Spooky Exhibition at Te Manawa Gallery, Palmerston North

Artist/curator Pippa Sanderson's exhibition The Blue Room featuring 13 artists' interpretations of the supernatural opened yesterday at Te Manawa, Palmerston North. The exhibition runs until October 11th, with an artist's talk on July 11th at 2pm.

See article on Stuff.co.nz

Photospace Gallery in Wellington will be showing Pippa Sanderson's exhibition 'Quest'. The photographs were taken on outdated Polaroid film and are suggestive of supernatural events and presences. This exhibition will run from 14th August to 12th September 2009.

8th June 2009: NZPI Podcast

Friday night, with the remains of a terrible head cold and sounding like Deirdre Barlow from Coro St, James Gilberd spoke to Brad Scott of NZPI (mostly) about Strange Occurrences old school approach to paranormal invesigation. Go to NZPI Podcast Issue 3.

"Whatever equipment you use, it's only a bit of gear. You have to have it connected to your brain."

The first half of this is an interesting discussion with Ben Green. Looks like Brad will be recording these regularly, so it's a spot to watch.

6th June 2009 : Square Orbs!

Took this shot recently on a Sony Cybershot DSC P32, 3.2 megapixel digital compact with a fixed f2.8 lens, f=5mm. The orb (a highlight reflection from a dust particle or other tiny object close to the flash) takes on the shape of the lens aperture, which is usually round (full aperture, not stopped down), but in this case the aperture has closed down a stop, to f4, (from the file metadata) and the orbs have become the shape of the aperture blades, a square or diamond.

27th May 2009: NZPI expands, new website

NZPI now adds 'New Zealand and Australia Paranormal Investigations' to its title, and has a totally new website. Check out http://nzparanormal.com.

Founded in Wellington by Brad Scott, this group has grown to cover much of NZ and is now expanding operations to Brad's native Australia. Auckland-based Dan Robinson has taken over managing NZPI's New Zealand setup.

We extend our goodwill to NZPI and hope to offer our support and assistance to them when called upon. In the spirit of competition for territory, we have had our differences in the past. Now those differences are laid to rest, we can all get on with what we're doing and help each other out. All the best guys.

4th May 2009: New Zealand's ghostly photos.

Unimpressed by the international "Ghostly Photos" competition, Keith Lynch of The Press, Christchurch,
is scouring NZ for our own ghost photos.

Here's what he has so far:
www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news

10th April 2009: Due to the way that paranormal investigation has become popularized this century, through television and many websites and publications, a number of rather unscientific assumptions have taken root and are frequently held up as truths. Here are just a few of them: ...[read more]

29th March 2009: BBC News, Scotland:
Castle figure wins 'ghostly' competition

Without seeing a higher resolution image, it just appears to a person standing in the window - probably a tourist. 'Period costume' is a bit of the stretch of the imagination, yes? Or, as suggested, it could be light hitting the rough stone wall just inside the window, picking out something that looks like a human face - a pareidolia effect - see Strange Photos.

CNN version, also showing some other "ghostly" photos.

SKY News article - as above.

27 March 2009 (updated 29th March)
- Strange happenings in Mt Cook tramping hut: www.Stuff.co.nz - Oddstuff

Here is the Radio NZ Checkpoint interview. "Just an editorial note: Checkpoint doesn't believe in ghosts."

Page 99 of Unexplained New Zealand has an account of an unusual experience in the very same hut, in 1913 (The author found this account in the book 'Peter Graham - Mountain Guide'):

"I carried on, and eventually arrived at the hut, opened the door and entered. I lit the lamp and as I did so there was movement in the inner room like someone moving about on the bunk...
I flung the door open - no one there...
When I put the billy on to boil the Thing in the next room moved again. I went to the window to look down the path I had come up and as I approached it there was a curious sound. I stepped back, and then forward again. Again this sound. I later discovered that the floorboard was slightly loose.
Feeling better, I sat down, but the Thing moved again...The sound continued: for all the world like a man turning in his bunk. This was too much. I took a candle in one hand and my ice-axe in the other, and then I hesitated, thinking someone might rush me when I opened the door. I pushed the door open very steadily and walked in. My hair really stood on end then - again, nothing there. I looked under the bunks; I couldn't get over it. I went out, closing the door firmly."

Later, and still aware of the presence, he continues:

"I was just dozing off when I felt it was moving again and this time there was a difference. I could feel it was creeping up - those bare feet were creeping slowly, slowly and quietly towards me. Turning, I jumped quickly out of my bunk, striking a light as I did so. I did see something by the door - but only a tea-towel strung across the piece of string provided. I removed this and looked out the window before returning to bed. The movement next door started again...."

The book then mentions that three other guides and some others back at The Hermitage had had similar experiences. So, with this historical context, it appears there is a genuine mystery!

3 February 2009 - Collaboration with Phoen-X PRI

As a result of recent publicity, there has been an upswing of interest in paranormal investigation. And while it may happen that we agree to disagree with Phoen-X on some aspects, (notably 'orbs', see below, and apostrophes! - sorry Clint :-), our two groups continue to work together closely. We will be cooperating on a number of investigations over the next few months and we regularly consult each other on other issues, such as submitted photographs and investigation methods and data.

And both teams are growing, with Phoen-X PRI now having a geographical spread covering much of North Island. This, and the range of skills and experience we now have, is of benefit to those who consult either investigation team.

Strange Occurrences and Phoen-X PRI look forward to many fascinating and exciting investigations together.

28 January 2009

Television NZ's TV1 Breakfast news programme has picked up on photographs taken during an investigation of the Hawkes Bay Opera House on 24/1/09.

This investigation was led by the Phoen-X PRI team, and James and Mark from Strange Occurrences were also there by invitation. The investigation was very well reported on by several articles in Hawkes Bay Today, including a front page piece.

Strange Occurrences have seen but not examined the televised photographs in question, and we are not at this stage offering an opinion on them. We feel that they must be considered within the context of other data recorded during the investigation.

Sean Aitkin from Wellington Photographic Supplies went on the TVNZ Breakfast show to explain the orb photos in question. See the item here.

We would just like to make clear the Strange Occurrences general position on orb photographs; that is, we feel that most are not indicators of paranormal activity, but rather are caused by the camera flash reflecting off dust particles or other airborn objects. This page has an explanation, and the other site pages linked from it go into more detail.

(The cropped-in photo on right was created at home by fluffing a pillow in front of a compact digital camera, with flash. The orbs are in no way connected with the departed dog!)

24 January 2009

The Canvas magazine supplement of the Weekend Herald, 24th Jan. ran an article on our investigation of Inverlochy House, Wellington, as its feature article.

Thanks are due to journalist Alan Perrott who travelled down from Auckland to spend the afternoon and night with us as we worked on the investigation.

We enjoyed reading "Everything but the Ghoul" and we feel the tone makes it amusingly readable at the same time as conveying a lot of good information. It is a fair assessment of the way things went on the night.

Of course, we don't actually refer to ourselves as Ghost Busters; that's just used tongue-in-cheek :-)

Part of the article - actually just the "Getting Into the Spirit" sidebar - on the NZ Herald site.

November 2008

We are proud to announce our association with Clinton Lawson's Manawatu-based investigation team Phoen-X Paranormal Research & Investigation

We are now fully cooperating with Phoen-X PRI, with the complementary makeup of our two groups bringing a wider range of knowledge, experience and skills to investigations. We work together well, and we believe this association will benefit all who approach either group for assistance.

October 2008

Some of you may have seen the article on our group in The Dominion Post Indulgence supplement, October 25th 2008. We would like to thank Nikki MacDonald for her writing and Phil Reid for his excellent, creative photographs. The publicity was a boon to us.

We hope that readers appreciate the humorous tone of the piece, as it was always intended as a Halloween feature. Although we are doing this work essentially as a hobby, we do take our paranormal investigation seriously. And just to clarify, the equipment referred to as an 'electromagnetic flare meter' is actually an EMF meter.