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"Whatever else, indeed, a 'ghost' may be, it is probably one of the most complex phenomena in nature."
F.W.H.Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research.
Fisher's ghost

TACTICS:
Our Aims, Approach & Equipment

Page contents:


Aims: The primary aim of Strange Occurrences is to help people who have experienced or observed phenomena they can't explain.
In doing this, we hope to:

Fake skull, ©J.Gilberd 2009


"Only the closed mind is certain."
Dean Spanley (film)

Fisher's ghost Our Approach to Investigations:

What makes Strange Occurrences a little different to some other paranormal investigation groups is that we do not come from the common position of faithfully believing that ghosts exist and then attempting to prove it. Rather, we do not know if ghosts really exist or what the true nature of a ghost really is.

We do know, however, that people have very real experiences of ghosts. Some of us in the team have had them. We are trying to understand what causes people to have these experiences, and whether ghosts are "in the mind" or part of a wider reality. These of course are big questions that have puzzled mankind for centuries, so we don't expect to find any easy answers. But perhaps through exploration and investigation we can get some tiny clues as to what might be going on, and share those ideas with the wider community.

ghost on stairs

Paranormal events are usually sporadic and unpredictable, sometimes totally random; quite the opposite of the controlled, repeatable events that are amenable to testing by established scientific method. For this reason and also because much so-called research into the paranormal is conducted using unscientific methods, the entire field of paranormal investigation tends to be regarded as pseudoscience - literally, 'false science'.

We agree; this is largely true. While we can develop and test hypotheses, it is not currently possible to develop proper theories because we do not have controllable phenomena to experiment with. For example, we cannot validate a theory that predicts that when a spirit materialises there will be a temperature drop, because we cannot reliably produce a spirit to test the theory on.


House on Haunted Hill 1958 movie poster Vincent Price public domain sourced

Method:

We strive to develop a scientific method and approach suited to studying spontaneous phenomena, particularly ghosts. In the meantime we can at least avoid working with an assumption-driven, belief-led approach (see essay link below). By the same token, we are not hardline debunkers either. That would involve the belief that ghosts absolutely do not exist - a fixed position - and we endeavour to be open minded.

We collect evidence, make observations and develop hypotheses to explain them. We always look for the most natural explanation and never assume a paranormal cause. We do not jump to conclusions; rather, we're prepared to remain objective and go where the evidence leads us.

Completely unnerved, I leapt to my feet - an illustration from Poe - The Fall of the House of Usher - by Ernst Wallcousins During an investigation we usually record video footage, digital and analog sound, and we take still photos; this is for documentation as well as in the hope of obtaining hard data as evidence of paranormal activity.

We examine all our recordings closely for unusual effects. A single inexplicable thing caught on tape or film won't prove there's a ghost, but if it coincides with unusual EMF readings, temperature fluctuations and things we observe with our own senses and feelings, the cumulative evidence may suggest that something strange is occurring.

We employ a method of examining sites that involves some investigators having no foreknowledge of the reported experiences or the history of the site. This enables us to later weigh their more objective observations against those of investigators who are looking for a specific thing. We also work in pairs or groups during investigations, never alone. This is for safety reasons as well as for evidence-gathering and corroboration of observations.

ghost on stairs


Media coverage of Strange Occurrences investigations:

TV and radio:


Jo Davy talks to Jim Mora on National Radio, 28/11/2011

Canvas cover 24/1/09 Selected print articles:



Essays on this site:


Equipment; technology & how we employ it:

Here is a selection of the gear we regularly use. The most often used equipment is ready in a single 'Go bag' that can be carried by one person to an investigation. The rest is brought in as required, depending on the nature, size and complexity of the investigation. We don't always take the DVR camera system, for example, and the oscilloscope only comes out when really needed, or as a prop to make a more interesting press photo :-)

Trifield EMF meter © Strange Occurrences 2008 Natural EM meter © Strange Occurrences 2010
EMF meters       Natural EM meter

Parabolic microphone © Strange Occurrences 2010 Thermometers © Strange Occurrences 2008
Microphones        Thermometers

electronic voice recorders, EVP © Strange Occurrences 2008 Panasonic DV cameras © Strange Occurrences 2008
Recorders         Cameras

Paranormal investigation tool kit © Strange Occurrences 2008 Paranormal library © Strange Occurrences 2008
    Tool kit       Library + NZ Books

Oscilloscope and video monitors © Strange Occurrences 2008 two-way radios © Strange Occurrences 2008
Oscilloscope, monitors  Communications, safety

DVR surveillance system © Strange Occurrences 2008 Night vision scope © Strange Occurrences 2008
DVR system       Other stuff


free public domain clip art HEY - WE'VE BEEN BURGLED! - See this page for list of paranormal investigation equipment stolen from our place in Wellington on 30th December 2011.

We would dearly love to recover this equipment, so if you come across it, please email us and/or contact Wellington Police.


Although we have some high tech equipment, (yes, we've finally buckled and got a DVR system...) we are more influenced by the famous "ghost hunters" of the 19th and 20th centuries; William James, Henry Sidgwick, Frederic Myers, Harry Price, Elliott O'Donnell, Andrew MacKenzie (a Kiwi!), Peter Underwood, et al. We take ideas and lessons from their low-tech methodology and combine it with the New School approach employed by investigation teams such as TAPS. (Having said that, I'm sure the TAPS guys also respect the old school methods.)

The danger of taking too much equipment to an investigation is that the employment of it tends to dominate proceedings. It can become a distraction from what you are actually trying to achieve. You can spend a good part of the available time setting up a DVR system, troubleshooting it and packing it down afterwards, taking away from precious investigation time. And, being honest, how effective are DVR systems in capturing paranormal phenomena?

Harry Price's kit

"Whatever high-tech equipment you use, remember to connect it to your brain, otherwise it's useless."

Investigator Benson Herbert in his laboratory, with assistant.


For more, in-depth information about how the Strange Occurrences team approaches and conducts paranormal investigation, please purchase our book: SPOOKED - Exploring the Paranormal In New Zealand which will be available in good bookshops in NZ from 5th August 2011.


"A deeply emotional thought, for example, may have capabilities little dreamed of by its conceiver; effects not merely transient nor confined to a lifetime, nor limited to any definite number of years nor to any limited space."
Elliott O'Donnell, from 'Haunted Britain', 1948.


Contact: j.d.gilberd@gmail.com - James Gilberd.


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