There are people all over the Northeastern US who have been involved in the occult community who have been reporting that their dreams are more frequently “strange” and “prophetic” feeling. Is there something coming? Is it the stress of the economic downturn? Sun spot activity?
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I’ve recently re-purposed a couple video cameras and a wireless router to add to my investigation gear. At this point, I’ve probably got more stuff than most investigators not signed to a television deal, and I know how to use it all. Coupled with 25 years of experience investigating a wide array of paranormal phenomena, and I think I’m in a good position now to go gather data!
So with that and the severe inactivity of the group I usually work with, I figured I’d mention that I am available to work as a guest investigator for any group in the southern NH area. If you’d be interested in having me along, I can offer a “true skeptic” viewpoint as well as several methods of gathering data and analyzing it. I’ve got two wireless security cameras (one remotely adjustable and another IR illuminated) which can capture video and detect motion. I’m not famous and adding my name to your roster won’t get you screaming fans, but it will get you someone with serious experience and a level head.
If you might be interested, please email me at brian at arcanorum dot org and let me know what you’re looking for, when, and where.
Researchers in Japan have discovered that the human body does indeed give off light within the visible spectrum. The downside is that it is of such a low intensity, as to be invisible to the naked eye. Using extremely sensitive cameras, the scientists noted that the light seems to be related to the daily sleep cycles we all experience.
While not really giving any proof that the auras some people claim to see are such light, it does show some interesting pieces of the puzzle. Note that the intensity of the light is over a thousand times below the normal human threshold of vision.
I’d still like to see how this light fades at death if at all, as well as the effects of various meditations and other mental states.
The research is published in the online journal, “PLoS ONE” here. A good summary news article about the findings is here and the Slashdot comments can be found here.
If you’re looking for an EMF detector on the cheap, look to your local hardware store or home improvement department at your local bog box store.
You’re looking for a “non-contact voltage detector”. The one I found at my local Walmart was around $10 and looks kind of like a bright yellow blocky pen. These things are typically used to see if an AC circuit is “live”. They happen to work on the same principle as EMF meters and can be used to locate areas of very high AC EMF activity caused by non-paranormal devices like wiring, TVs, and computer monitors. They are great tools to rule out normal sources of EM radiation.
There is, of course, a down side. First, they are detectors, not meters. The audio signal and flashy light won’t give you an accurate measurement of the field. Second, they are not the most sensitive devices in the world, but they’ll do for locating the source of explainable AC EM radiation. If these things detect voltage where you spend a lot of time, you might consider moving away from the source of the radiation…
But for the price, and small size, these might be a good addition to your investigation kit.
I just got a new toy for investigations: a professional sound recorder.
This thing is amazing. I’m still in awe as to the sensitivity and relative ease of use.
It’s an “American Audio Pocket Record” which I got from Music123 here:
http://www.music123.com/Musicians-Gear-Pocket-Record-Hand-Held-Stereo-Digital-Recorder-582222-i1432656.Music123
These are on sale for $99 with free shipping. ($199 MSRP) Yes, they are not cheap… but OMG…
I began recording with the internal microphones and from about 4 feet I could *clearly* hear a VERY quiet whisper. It came with 2 lapel mics, headphones, USB cable, and AAA batteries. It is much larger than the audio recorders PEASE and TAPS usually use. This thing is a low end Pro Audio quality recorder meant for bands and it shows. There are 128 MB of internal storage and an SD card slot. The machine saves as 44KHz MP3 files by default, but can be set to save as WAV in 8k-44k sampling rates. It boasts a 5 hour battery life in record mode and a 6 hour playback life. It also comes with a line out and separate headphone jack.
I opened an MP3 file in Audacity and it worked first try with no hassles, no software to install, no drivers needed, etc.
I can’t wait to try and get some EVPs with this thing.
