Experience from a skeptic

[MrBene]

I'll go directly to the experience but before I want to give you a little background information in order for you to understand the way I approach the paranormal. First of all, I am skeptic. I have an open mind yes, that's why I am here and I am interested in the Paranormal field since I was really young but always, keeping an skeptic mind, trying to understand everything. Being an skeptic is not just denying everything saying "yeah, it's fake" or directly "not believing in anything", for me, being an skeptic is trying to reach a logical conclusion using the tools that science provides.

I live in a small city where nothing ever happens, so when I heard there was a "Paranormal Group" doing sessions to talk with ghosts I was interested in attending one of the sessions. After asking a few people I was invited.

First of all, they told me some background information of the group: the majority of the members were people who lost their sons and daughters, brothers, sisters, parents, etc. and they were trying to get in contact with them in order to get some relieve and comfort, so this person (the one who invited me) told me that since I was skeptic, I needed to be respectful with these people and their conclusions. So I did.

So, that night I saw for the first time a Ghostbox. I think it was not a commercial release of it, it looked more like a hacked radioshack radio, but it provided mostly white noise, not chunks or pieces of radio-talk shows or anything like that.

At the beggining, of course, I was expecting voices or similar but in the first 10 minutes nothing happened. They were asking questions, talking, but no answer. Suddenly a voice replied. It was a female voice, after that a male voice said "dieciseis" (sixteen), which I think it was the answer of a question someone asked. After that, the voices were saying other things, mostly non-sense (in my opinion) because their utterances were not connected with the questions they were asking.

After 10 minutes more, a male, deep voice took control of the conversation. His name was Pedro and he was talking in an audible and pretty clear spanish. Everybody was asking questions and this voice was answering them, although some of his answers (at least for me) didn't quite sound like the normal spanish phonetic, it was like, something very similar to what we believed the answer was but not accurate. I was thinking "well, there's a man with a walkie talkie-radio-something, probably outside or something, trying to sell me this" until a person from the group told me "Do you want to ask a question?".

Well, at first I was like "I just came here to watch" but then I figured out that none saw my t-shirt under my jacket so I thought it was clever to ask this, so I asked to the spirit "Pedro, do you know which colour my t-shirt is? Suddenly a different voice said "Amarillo" (yellow). It wasn't Pedro, it was a younger voice.

Of course, I almost shat my pants. I wonder how they could have guessed that, so I thought that maybe it was just luck. I don't think they took my question seriously (the group) since they were asking specific questions about their beloved ones, so I thought it was better to ask something related with my own family or friends that are not longer here. So I was prepared to ask about a friend of mine that past away in 2001 and a voice said "Martin está bien" (Martin is okay). I was shocked. Seriously shocked. The rest of the evening was a back and forth of non-sense and direct replies. I remained in silence thinking about how these things are even possible.

In conclusion, to be honest, it could have been a trick, a fake, an hoax but I got a direct reply stating the colour of my t-shirt and information about my friend when I didn't even say his name. So I don't know, what do you think about it? Can we consider ghostboxes something serious for investigation?

To illustrate, a video from a paranormal researcher using this device:

[media=]

[/media]

Edit: Many grammar mistakes. Sorry.

Edited August 1, 2013 by MrBene

[kannin]

interesting

[Himawari69]

I've heard of Evp before but never experienced the phenomenon myself. I do believe in these things as spirits are just energy and can influence special volumes in radio frequencies. Intresting post

[PlanB]

Interesting story and experience, thanks for sharing.

[Brian Topp]

As a skeptic and one who made franks box/spirit box, it is an autotuner but there are jerks who would intentionally tune to certain generated FM stations and have words looped (I can do this with my FM autotuner that attaches to my car stero and i hook my mp3 or cell to with aux cord).

As well you can pick up cell phone conversations.

[MrBene]

I also heard that there's an Android App called Echovox that has voices already added to the software or something like that. I've seen that some people use this App in their investigations, which, in my opinion, is quite odd.

[Brian Topp]

I also heard that there's an Android App called Echovox that has voices already added to the software or something like that. I've seen that some people use this App in their investigations, which, in my opinion, is quite odd.

From my experience from being a guest to a handful of "ghost hunters" and reading one articles, I call ghost apps a desperate attempt to capture ghosts since the hunters are only getting dust and evps.

[Subsonicjourno]

I had a similar experience to yours whilst on a ghost hunt in my local town. I too am very skeptical about ghosts as I always try and rationalize things, despite having several odd experiences ranging from figures moving, footsteps, taps going on and off on their own etc.., at the hunt the group decided to hold a seance complete with Ouija board. Now i had neer done one before and thought the whole concept was nonsense. Now I think differently.

Something occurred whilst we did it. I felt a coldness over my hand that touched the glass and the answers that came through were often nonsensical.

One man however who had only gone for a laugh was reduced to tears after something claiming to be his dead father came through and answered questions that were very personal to the guy. I literally saw a skeptical guy be reduced to a wreck in front of my eyes. Truth is I don't know what the hell happened, all I know is is that I cant explain it.

[imago]

I remained in silence thinking about how these things are even possible.

In conclusion, to be honest, it could have been a trick, a fake, an hoax but I got a direct reply stating the colour of my t-shirt and information about my friend when I didn't even say his name. So I don't know, what do you think about it? Can we consider ghostboxes something serious for investigation?

I find your post very interesting. To paraphrase Rupert Sheldrake very roughly, "people's attitudes towards experiments affect the outcome of those experiments". Can this not be applied also to faith - faith in divination; a kind of blending of the subconscious and synchronicity? I'm a little more familiar with the frequency-hopping radio scanners than the white noise generation of EVP; in my opinion, there are some very interesting Ghost Box sessions conducted by an American group called IPRA - published on Youtube - with sometimes sensational results, especially where a dialogue gets opened up with distinct voices/persona characterizing the communications, (one in particular, is their Ghost Box session at the 'Casa Madrid', in Chicago). I cannot fully conceive how it might 'work', although my intuition feels comfortable with it, somehow as a way of giving people a confidence to channel the subconscious or maybe acting as an interface that can attract a certain form of synchronicity. Perhaps there isn't an active channel with 'the dead' per se; maybe it's some kind of 'data imprint' lodged in some dimension or reality, that remains available to the remote-viewer/empath/shaman who is able to access it (?)

Edited August 24, 2013 by imago

[brlesq1]

Quite an experience. Have you been back?

[BlueBomber]

Good story.

[MrBene]

I haven't been back to those sessions. Since I am an skeptic I never was invited again lol. Apparently "my negative approach and attitude block ghosts will to show up and talk". Even though it was a weird experience and it give me some questions I still think that ghost boxes and such are just misinterpetations of something that is actually more real and human such as radio waves.

After that episode I read some articles here http://www.skepticblog.org/2012/05/14/ghost-box/ and I got a few answers.

[Occult1]

Nice to hear from an open-minded skeptic.

I've never come across a MiniBox or a ''spiritbox'' but I've read about some very interesting experience with them. Yours is another one to take note of.

It's fascinating because it answer direct questions, it hold conversations, give response that it can't possibly know. Plus, you speak not in a microphone or anything but in the air. it's not a transmitter or anything.

Maybe it can serve a a mean for entities to manifest themselves.

[Saturday]

Thank you for sharing your interesting experience. It's too bad the group didn't invite you back. Personally, I think if something paranormal is going to happen it's going to happen to skeptics and believers alike. I have never used a ghost box. Its good to hear a first hand account of one. Thank you again for sharing.

[Davros of Skaro]

Thanks for sharing.

I have tried EVP with tape,and digital recorders.

My results were never "Look here is proof",but I believe there is something to it.

The thing is with my experience it's never clear,and subject to the mind pulling sounds together even though it sounds like a direct intelligent response.

Once over a child's grave I recorded clearly a babies cry.I had to chuck it as evidence,because it was winter,dry,windy,and most likely a tree creeking (contaminated enviroment).

I know the very importance of skepticism,but I know for myself thru personal experience that there is a hyperdimensional reality.

We cannot of course like a good many people go around believing the heaps of bunk out there that unfortanately both falsers, and blind believers push.

Keeping an open mind to explore things of the unknown with the needed rational eye will push the envelop of our understanding.

The paranormal to me is ultrascience,or science we have no grasp on yet,and possibly not allowed to be known not just by our limited tools.

Just an example of one of my personal experiences that convinced me is as follows (keep in mind I know personal testimony is not

proof,but I am sharing to this great post);

About 25 years ago I was hanging out with a female friend.I decided to do an experiment.I made a homemade Ouija Board out of penned,and cut out letters.The Planchette was the scissors.With the letters spread out in an arc on a table I blindfolded the girl.

I made sure the blindfold was wide,light tight,and conformed to the face.I took the scissors,made several stabbing motions to her unkowing face,and knowing her personality she would have reacted,but she did not flinch.

The experiment in place I had her alone (I later found out that working Ouija alone is dangerous as per the lore) work the scissor planchette while I worked a pen,and pad to write things down.I asked questions while she started moving the point of the scissor to letters,and besides her hands,and arms she kept her body still with head straight.As the letters were written down sentences

started to form except certain vowels were "X's" or mispelled using the same letter in the mispell of the vowels.After a while the sentences reflected different personalities,and mentioned different deaths (even a drowning by sea).

Then I realised something that made me go from amazement to being scared that made me stop the experiment.The whole time I watched my friend in no way being able to see what she was spelling out with me continuesly poking my fingers at her,blocking her sight path,and her not strainning as if to peek.I looked at the sentences as a whole,and a chill ran down my spine that alerted me to danger.All the sentences had the same exact spelling that convinced me all these personalities (atleast 12 so I thought) was from the same thing.

I stopped it,and dumped the cut out letters in the garbage.We sat down on the couch,and then we heard three drawn out scratch sounds (nails on wood) from the area of the basement door from a nearby hallway.The rational thought on this sound is maybe a Raccoon got into the basement,but like I said the sound was drawn out as if to scare,and not like an animal exploring.I told my friend to ignore it,and we watched tv with nothing else happening.

I know it sounds like B.S.,and Looney Tunes,but I wanted to share.

Thank you OP.

Here is just one of my favorite Carl Sagan demonstrations (It's as if the skeptic is talking about Ghosts LOL!).

Edited September 10, 2013 by davros of skaro

[The Exodia]

fun reading xD