Is there a difference? Many people would ask that and the answer is most definitely YES. The difference is like night and day. Lets look at the differences.
A "Ghost Hunter" is someone who goes out for the sole purpose of finding ghosts or evidence of ghosts. They do not use any evidence they may obtain for any purpose other than validation of a paranormal presence. Also, most have no knowledge of what to do about a ghost if they do indeed come across one. This makes it very unsafe for a "Ghost Hunter" to be out there doing residential investigations. They will generally make the situation worse for the occupants of the location.
Now there is nothing wrong with being just a "Ghost Hunter". That is the way most investigators get their start. There is nothing wrong going into places like cemeteries or public haunted locations just to see what you find. Its a great way to build experience and knowledge just don't try to help other people until you understand how to deal with what you may find.
A "Paranormal Investigator" is someone who actively "Investigates" the paranormal. They don't do this just because they want to see a ghost or know its there. They do it because they want to understand what they find, learn how to help people who are having issues and become a professional in this field. A "Paranormal Investigator" will spend many research hours looking at the history of a location, dig into personal backgrounds of the living and the deceased, search police reports, tax assessors records, library records and conduct countless interviews before even stepping foot onto a property they are investigating. If they discover a location is haunted, then that is where the big separation from a "Ghost Hunter" is most noticeable. Now the "PI" must figure out why the activity is happening and determine a course of action to help his clients deal with whats going on.
A typical "Ghost Hunter" will visit a location one time, a Paranormal Investigator case typically runs from 3 months to a year.
As always please feel free to leave me feedback.
Jimmy Morris
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Episode 1: Types of Hauntings
We all hear the word haunting or haunted but what does that actually mean? What does it mean when you say that house is haunted? Ask many people what a haunting is and they will tell you its someplace that has a ghost. Well, the fact is if that was the case nearly every house would be haunted because nearly all houses has a ghost there at one time or other. Spirits are generally all around us, we only notice them usually when they are trying to make themselves known to us. We will discuss why you may be seeing ghosts in a later blog. Lets get back to this topic.
There are many types of hauntings, each one different than the next. Below we will talk about the different types. Now here is where some of you may disagree as I have heard different investigators break down the types differently and some who don't break them down at all. One thing you will find in this field is that you need to be tolerate of opinions that differ from your own. Until this all becomes a proven science, any of us could be proven wrong about anything one day so always try and keep an open mind.
Personally I have broken down hauntings into 6 types. 3 of the most common and 3 least common. Lets explore them.
Type 1 "Active Haunting" This haunting deals with the actual spirit with its full consciousness trying to interact with you. It is aware of itself and of your presence and actively seeks to engage you. You see this alot in paranormal investigating.
Type 2 "Residual Haunting" This haunting is very different from type 1. A residual haunting is basically spirit energy that has been imprinted on a certain area and the actual activity repeats itself over and over without ever changing. Usually this is due to something tragic happening at a certain location. The energy of the spirit will show itself and repeat the same thing over and over. Maybe its an apparition of a woman running in the woods. The actual spirit or consciousness of the woman isn't there, only the clip of the last few moments of life. This type is less common than type 1 but you still run across it quite often if you investigate alot.
Type 3 "Poltergeist Activity" Now there is a bit of speculation out there as to what qualifies as "poltergeist activity". Many will tell you its caused by the strong energies by pre-teen females who are capable of transmitting their energies to create physical events near them. Another speculation is that they are irritated spirits that just want to harass you, hense the word poltergeist is German for noisy ghost. My personal opinion is they are simply spirits that have learned to harness and control enough energy to be able to manipulate physical objects in the living world. This would fall into one of the 3 less common occourances.
Type 4 "Demonic" Demons are entities that have never lived on earth in human form. Some say they are extraterrestrial inter-dementional creatures. Now some will say how can they be an ET. Well, by definition an ET or Alien is classified as a being not of this earth. If a demon never lived as a human on earth then by definition it would be an ET. Also, even God who wasn't of the earth because he created it by definition would be an extraterrestrial being. Despite the movie culture and ghost hunting shows on cable would like you to believe, demonic hauntings are very very rare. Many investigators who spend their lives in this field will probably never encounter a true demonic haunting. One thing I find funny in this field is that I will get a call from people who are convinced they have a demon stalking them yet they can't make the time for us to come out because they have a dinner party that weekend. If there were a demon in their lives, dinner parties would be the last thing on their mind. I will not go into detail this time about how you tell if its a demonic haunting as we will cover that on another post. Needless to say that if you ever encounter one it will not take you long to know it. In the rare event you do, you will need professional help from a trained member of the clergy. Demonics are not something to be played around with by ANYONE outside of trained clergy demonologists.
Type 5 "Animal Hauntings" Animals are sometimes our very best friends in life and in death, like humans, their spirits live on. In my experiences and those of others, many animal spirits have been encountered. Personally I have documented more animal spirit cased involving cats than any other animal. Investigations I have gone on where the client is saying they feel something getting on the bed or the couch next to them has often turned out to be an animal spirit. This is in the category of less common.
Type 6 "Doppleganger" Dopplegangers are spirits that look exactly like someone else. It doesn't have to look like you. It may mimic a friend or a relative. Many believe that the appearance of a DG means something bad is about to happen to that person. The name Doppleganger is also German and is two words, Dopple meaning double and ganger meaning walker. In America we have combined the two words into one but still the literal meaning is "Double Walker" or evil twin. This is one you don't hear much about. Please feel free to chime in and let me know what you think and by all means ask questions if you have them.
Thank you for following the blog and I look forward to the next one.
Jimmy Morris
Texas Paranormal Research
Ghost Chatter Radio
PAST
Type 1 "Active Haunting" This haunting deals with the actual spirit with its full consciousness trying to interact with you. It is aware of itself and of your presence and actively seeks to engage you. You see this alot in paranormal investigating.
Type 2 "Residual Haunting" This haunting is very different from type 1. A residual haunting is basically spirit energy that has been imprinted on a certain area and the actual activity repeats itself over and over without ever changing. Usually this is due to something tragic happening at a certain location. The energy of the spirit will show itself and repeat the same thing over and over. Maybe its an apparition of a woman running in the woods. The actual spirit or consciousness of the woman isn't there, only the clip of the last few moments of life. This type is less common than type 1 but you still run across it quite often if you investigate alot.
Type 3 "Poltergeist Activity" Now there is a bit of speculation out there as to what qualifies as "poltergeist activity". Many will tell you its caused by the strong energies by pre-teen females who are capable of transmitting their energies to create physical events near them. Another speculation is that they are irritated spirits that just want to harass you, hense the word poltergeist is German for noisy ghost. My personal opinion is they are simply spirits that have learned to harness and control enough energy to be able to manipulate physical objects in the living world. This would fall into one of the 3 less common occourances.
Type 4 "Demonic" Demons are entities that have never lived on earth in human form. Some say they are extraterrestrial inter-dementional creatures. Now some will say how can they be an ET. Well, by definition an ET or Alien is classified as a being not of this earth. If a demon never lived as a human on earth then by definition it would be an ET. Also, even God who wasn't of the earth because he created it by definition would be an extraterrestrial being. Despite the movie culture and ghost hunting shows on cable would like you to believe, demonic hauntings are very very rare. Many investigators who spend their lives in this field will probably never encounter a true demonic haunting. One thing I find funny in this field is that I will get a call from people who are convinced they have a demon stalking them yet they can't make the time for us to come out because they have a dinner party that weekend. If there were a demon in their lives, dinner parties would be the last thing on their mind. I will not go into detail this time about how you tell if its a demonic haunting as we will cover that on another post. Needless to say that if you ever encounter one it will not take you long to know it. In the rare event you do, you will need professional help from a trained member of the clergy. Demonics are not something to be played around with by ANYONE outside of trained clergy demonologists.
Type 5 "Animal Hauntings" Animals are sometimes our very best friends in life and in death, like humans, their spirits live on. In my experiences and those of others, many animal spirits have been encountered. Personally I have documented more animal spirit cased involving cats than any other animal. Investigations I have gone on where the client is saying they feel something getting on the bed or the couch next to them has often turned out to be an animal spirit. This is in the category of less common.
Type 6 "Doppleganger" Dopplegangers are spirits that look exactly like someone else. It doesn't have to look like you. It may mimic a friend or a relative. Many believe that the appearance of a DG means something bad is about to happen to that person. The name Doppleganger is also German and is two words, Dopple meaning double and ganger meaning walker. In America we have combined the two words into one but still the literal meaning is "Double Walker" or evil twin. This is one you don't hear much about. Please feel free to chime in and let me know what you think and by all means ask questions if you have them.
Thank you for following the blog and I look forward to the next one.
Jimmy Morris
Texas Paranormal Research
Ghost Chatter Radio
PAST
Monday, June 8, 2015
P.A.S.T. Blog (Paranormal Association of Spirit Trackers)
The PAST blog features regular posts regarding all aspects of the paranormal as it pertains to ghosts. This will include reports on paranormal activity happening around the globe as well as tips and tricks to improve your paranormal investigating abilities. I encourage feedback on my blogs and will try and address any questions in subsequent blogs. Also, if there is a topic you are interested in, please contact me and I will make a blog about it. It is my hope that this blog will serve to educate people with an interest in this field and to help new people become professional investigators. Followers of this blog will have the opportunity to become part of the PAST team as a 'Roving Member". As a "Roving Member" you will be given tasks to complete and study that will help you become a great investigator. Afterwards, we will discuss what you found and learned during your tasks. Experienced investigators are welcome to apply for Roving Membership as well. No matter how good you think you are, there is always something new to learn in this field.
Please share this blog with your friends as we need a lot of feedback from all of you out there. First official blog coming soon.
Jimmy Morris
Texas Paranormal Research
P.A.S.T.
Ghost Chatter Radio
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