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The Shady Science of Ghost Hunting 65

The Shady Science of

Ghost Hunting

Continued from Page 64

Just as using a calculator doesn't make you a
mathematician, using a scientific instrument
doesn't make you a scientist.

Devices that don't work

In 2003, while I was investigating a haunted
house in Buffalo, New York, the owner of the
house asked me what equipment I planned to
use. He had glanced in my duffel bag, which
contained two cameras, a tape recorder,
notebooks, a tape measure, a flashlight, and a
few other items. Perhaps he was expecting to see
a Negative Ionizer Ghost Containment backpack
undetermined sound to a "bad feeling" to a If ghosts exist, why are we no closer to finding
like the kind Bill Murray wore in Ghostbusters.
blurry photo, can be (and has been) considered out what they really are, after so much research?
An EMF meter is among the most evidence of ghosts. The evidence for ghosts is no better
common devices used by ghost hunters today. I I was even at one investigation where a today than it was a year ago, a decade ago, or a
spoke to Tom Cook, of TomsGadgets.com, a ghost supposedly caused a person's mild century ago. Ultimately, ghost hunting is not
British purveyor of "scientific" paranormal kits headache. Because the standard of evidence is about the evidence (if it was, the search would
for the enterprising (and gullible) investigator.
so low, it's little wonder that ghost hunters often have been abandoned long ago). Instead, it's
Starter kits begin at £105 (US$180) and reach up
find "evidence" (but never proof) of ghosts. about having fun with friends, telling ghost
to £500 (US$850) for a custom ghost-hunting
stories, and the enjoyment of pretending you are
kit. (Negative Ionizer Ghost Containment packs
Reality check searching the edge of the unknown. (It's also
were not listed.) about making money selling "Ghost Hunters" T-
I asked Cook what, exactly, the scientific
The whole idea of ghosts runs into trouble as shirts, books, and videos.) Ghost hunters may be
rationale was behind the equipment he sold.
soon as a little logic is applied. spinning their wheels, but at least they are
"At a haunted location," Cook said,
There's not even agreement on what enjoying the ride.
"strong, erratic fluctuating EMFs are commonly
ghosts are—or might be. A common claim is
found. It seems these energy fields have some that ghosts are spirits of the dead who have been About Benjamin Radford
definite connection to the presence of ghosts.
wronged or murdered. Let's inject some real-
The exact nature of that connection is still a
world statistics into that assumption and see Benjamin Radford, of Skeptical Inquirer science
mystery. However, the anomalous fields are easy
what we get. magazine, has investigated ghosts and the
to find. Whenever you locate one, a ghost might If murder victims whose killings remains paranormal for over a decade. []
be present.... any erratic EMF fluctuations you
unsolved are truly destined to walk the earth and
may detect may indicate ghostly activity."
haunt the living, then we should expect to Reader’s Favourite Picks
In the final analysis, Cook admitted,
encounter ghosts nearly everywhere. According
"there exists no device that can conclusively From The ‘X’ Zone
to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, roughly a
detect ghosts."
quarter of all homicides remains unsolved each Broadcast Network Shows
year. (In fact, fewer homicides are solved now
Uncomfortable reality www.XZBN.net
than in the past; in 1976, 79 percent of
homicides were cleared, down to 64 percent in
The uncomfortable reality that ghost hunters 2002.) There are about 30,000 homicides in KEVIN RANDLE - A Different Perspective
carefully avoid—the elephant in the tiny, America each year. - Guest: Jim Penniston - Rendlesham Forest
haunted room—is of course that no one has ever
Using the most recent numbers, that's https://www.spreaker.com/episode/19655144
shown that any of this equipment actually
about 11,000 unsolved murders per year, and
detects ghosts.
110,000 over the course of only ten years, and DR. BERNIE BEITMAN, MD -
The supposed links between ghosts and
probably well over million over the course of the connecting with Coincidence - Guest: Kiana
electromagnetic fields, low temperatures, twentieth century in America alone. Fitzgerald - Synchronicity, Mania and Music
radiation, odd photographic images, and so on Where are all the ghosts? https://www.spreaker.com/episode/19571937
are based on nothing more than guesses, And why aren't they helping to bring
unproven theories, and wild conjecture. If a their killers to justice, with so many crimes PATTI CONKLIN - Healing Within -
device could reliably determine the presence or unsolved? Why would they hang out in scary Guest: Dr. Laurie Nadel - Psychological
absence of ghosts, then by definition, ghosts
mansions instead of directing police to evidence Aspects of Pain Management
would be proven to exist. I own an EMF meter,
that would avenge their murders? https://www.spreaker.com/episode/19522049
but since it's useless for ghost investigations—it
For that matter, why are ghosts seen
finds not spirits but red herrings—I use it in my
wearing clothing? It's one thing to suggest that a SHARON LYNN WYETH - Know the
lectures and seminars as an example of person's spirit has a soul that can be seen after Name, Know the Genius in You - Guest:
pseudoscience. The most important tools in this death; but do shoes, coats, hats, and belts also Madeline Gerwick - Prospering with the
or any investigation are a questioning mind and have souls? Logically, ghosts should appear Universe
a solid understanding of scientific principles. naked. The fact that they don't suggests that https://www.spreaker.com/episode/19528372
The ghost hunters' anti-scientific illogic people's ideas of what ghosts are—and what
is clear: if one area of a home is colder than
they look like—are strongly influenced by social ROB McCONNELL- The ‘X’ Zone
another, that may indicate a ghost; if an EMF
and cultural expectations. (For an excellent Radio/TV Show - Guest: Dr. Shelley Kaehr -
meter detects a field, that too may be a ghost; if
discussion of this, see Richard Finucane's book Edgar Cayce's Egyptian Energy Healing
dowsing rods cross, that might be a ghost. Just
"Ghosts: Appearances of the Dead & Cultural https://www.spreaker.com/episode/19577762
about any "anomaly," anything that anyone Transformation.")
considers odd for any reason, from an