The paranormal world is shrouded in mystery, but there are a few things we're pretty sure about. Misconceptions are rampant in the mysterious and curious realm of metaphysics - from misunderstandings to blatant misinformation/myths, we've heard it all and we're happy to clear a few things up.
Claim: Ghosts Only Come Out At Night
The Verdict: This is false in a 'loose' way. See, we can't prove that spirits even exist yet, so we therefore can't say for sure whether this is true or false, much like we can't speculate formally on much of anything pertaining to spirits with true certainty. That being said, there's absolutely no reason to believe this to be true, theoretically. Many people experience paranormal phenomena in the daytime.
The reason investigators work at night is for a few reasons:
The atmosphere is quieter and contributes less noise contamination to evidence collection,
Some of our equipment works best in the dark (less chance of lens flare, shadows, etc),
We can be granted access to businesses/venues that aren't able to shut down customer flow for us during the day time,
Fans find it more spooky and enjoyable to watch. We like to give you what you want.
We absolutely can, and do, investigate during the daytime.
Claim: Ectoplasm Is Ghost Goo
What we know for certain is that Ectoplasm is an outer part of a single-celled amoeba. We won't bore you with the jargon but it is a very real facet of biology. But what about the Ghostbusters-style goo that apparently emanates from the orifices of spiritual mediums?
The Verdict: Nah.
Again, we can't prove that it's not real, but we certainly can't prove it is. Many attempts have been made to capture and test the "residue" that oozed from the holes of a medium's body and nothing verifiable has ever been found. The phenomenon is also barely reported now that it's not a fad, leading the scientific community to believe it's not a natural phenomenon. Almost every medium who reported this condition in the past was proven to be a fraud.
Claim: Old Or Abandoned Buildings Are Haunted
The Verdict: If we assume hauntings are real, there's no way this adds up. Just because something is conventionally spooky in esthetic, doesn't mean it's haunted. Expecting something to measure up to its looks is a recipe for confirmation bias and hysteria. Likely it's just an empty dilapidated building without trauma or death associated with it.
Claim: Ghosts And Hauntings Are Synonymous
The Verdict: theoretically false. If we assume ghosts exist, they would not be innately the same as the experience of a haunting. Not all hauntings contain spirits; residual hauntings for example consist of time loops and mirage-type scenes, rather than displaced souls.
In a residual haunting, the apparition/manifestation (visual, audio, etc) won't interact with current scenery (you). There's no intelligence or trapped consciousness in those types of hauntings. Poltergeist hauntings would also be considered non-ghost hauntings and we'll explain why.
Claim: Poltergeists Are Ghosts
The Verdict: Likely false. Compiling the data and patterns of all the claimed rowdy poltergeist hauntings starts to generate a few key observations that lead most to strongly believe they have nothing to do with ghosts:
These cases never involve apparitions or direct ghostly encounters/interactive evidence,
These cases almost solely occur in dynamics involving a pubescent girl or child,
The hormonal changes involved in puberty include electron activity fluctuations in the brain which may cause disturbances in the atmosphere outside the body, and acting similarly to a quantum vacuum.
Psychokinesis is a much more accepted and plausible explanation to such physical "hauntings". Evidence suggests that psi phenomenon caused/experienced by living humans is currently much more supported than the existence of ghosts.
Claim: Our Equipment Detects Ghosts
The Verdict: False. Our equipment is designed for mundane usage and we use it for exactly that. It detects disturbances and variations in the environment, not ghosts. Could ghosts be causing those conditions to change? Sure, potentially.
We make sure we're using our equipment scientifically in two ways:
We use it as part of our "process of elimination". We use it to measure and rule out mundane causes of claimed activity, by doing base readings and using it for active debunking.
We use multiple pieces in tandem to corroborate each other if something strange is caught that can't be ruled out as mundane, pairing audio with visual, etc.
We can't measure something we know nothing about. We couldn't begin to design a gadget that detects disembodied consciousness because we have yet to understand what consciousness is or what it's made of! There are so many gaps we haven't been able to fill yet to make certain advancements in research possible, and so for now we must walk before we run. Don't fall into marketing scams of "ghost detectors" or ghost apps.
Claim: Evidence Is Synonymous With Proof
The Verdict: Objectively false. Evidence is what is compiled in order to eventually surmount to the status of "proof". Evidence backs up a theory which backs up a hypothesis. Enough corroborative and verifiable evidence and eventually you may have indisputable, objective proof. We seek to gather the scientific evidence needed to prove or disprove the existence of ghosts, and we do this by being as diligent, thorough, and rational as possible when using the scientific method.
We hope you learned a thing or two about the mystifying world of psi and supernatural studies. Follow us on our adventures in data collection and spooky experimentation!
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