Sue St.Clair and Matthew Didier's Paranormal Blog

We've often said that one of the truly annoying things about many (thankfully not all) in the "paranormal community" is the intense focus on effect rather than cause... the over-concentration on recording 'spooky sounds' or snapping the photo that shows a blurry shadow that shouldn't be there, and when they have something, the work stops. They present and then dislocate their shoulders patting themselves on the back for the "good work" they've done...

In our eyes, this isn't half the work that needs to be done...

...and this post is not another rant...

...well, save that first bit.

No, what needs to be done now is to find out why and how.

Why is there a strange sound caught on my tape or recorder? How did it get there since I didn't hear it when I was recording and/or I can't account for it because no one or no thing should have made the sound that I recorded?

Why is there a strange shadow in my picture? How did it get there since I can't account for it in any way to the best of my abilities?

You see, the photo and recording are the effect... it's the cause, if discovered, that will actually move the understanding of these things forward.

It's simple to display things and say, "Wowee!" and stop... it is much more difficult to look into the real mystery and find answers... it's even more difficult to look into those possibilities if they don't jive with a cherished belief or faith...

...but that's science... or, more appropriately, that's what science should be. Ignoring personal preference to find the patterns in things and then explain them with a neutral or "agnostic" eye.

This really should be vital... because if we are all trying to get close to the same goals in the paranormal, (a better understanding of events considered paranormal in nature,) then we need a predictive model.

Here's how that works... it's really about "Step Three" below...

Step One: Odd event occurs.

Step Two: Odd event happens in a way that it can be captured in some way or measured.

Step Three: Odd events can be predicted (as to when they're happening) to allow for continued and third-party measurements and observations.

Step Four: Through predictive models, the root cause for the events can be examined and hypothesis/experiments worked up to move from hypothesis to (possibly) genuine theory.

So, going back to "Step Three" above, we really need to be able to predict when and how things will happen in order to find those patterns and move forward into possible "accepted" explanations for certain kinds of paranormal events.

I hated putting accepted above in quotes, but I do know there's a large portion of the interested populace who feel no explanation is needed because it's already determined... Sadly, the one's that are firm in their belief that UFOs are all aliens and/or ghosts are the spirits of the dead as examples are blissfully unaware that there's an equal number that feel all UFOs are wind-caught plastic bags and/or all ghosts are hallucinations... Neither is right... and neither are wrong... unless it's proven... but still, they feel that they don't need to work towards a greater acceptance and understanding of their own point for that massive majority of people, those that need substantiated evidence, to make a decision...

Sorry, I digressed into a semi-rant there... I'm back now...

In order to gain access to equipment and resources, we need to be able to say to certain communities (especially academia) that we have found a predictive model, we are starting to measure the events, and we do have a working hypothesis and experiment to find out if we're on the right track... and we need to be able to reproduce these events for anyone... especially for peers to work with for possible other hypothesis and efforts.

The predictive model is essential... because no one with an IQ better than a treat one might find in an unclean cat box doubts that people do experience things they feel are paranormal... it's truly the causation of these experiences where there is discord amongst most.

Is it all hallucinations or worse? Is it mistaken identities? Is it wishful thinking? Is it "supernatural"? Is it something else?

Once we can predict things, we can start to unravel the mystery and examine it properly.

It with this in mind why I do keep going on about Dr. Barrie Colvin's recent work...

If you're really, Really, REALLY interested in the field of ghosts, hauntings, and poltergeists... or even anomalous sounds... his work should really be at the top of your "Interest List" at the moment.

This could not only "prove" (empirically) that recorded poltergeist rappings are not "natural" in causation as we currently understand it, but looking at the overall possibilities, it may allow us to start looking into sound and how sound travels (environmental variables, etc.) and possibly help build that elusive predictive model for recording these things...

That's exciting to me personally... and might be to you... and should be to serious investigators and researchers.

So, to anyone out there "looking into things"... remember...

Look for patterns. Try to figure out a way to predict events. Document all you can...

...and please share when possible so we can all work together.