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Looking For Answers

© Janice Oberding

Science has DNA down. We're able to travel from one end of the earth to the other in a day's time. Technology has advanced us to the point that more and more of life's mysteries are being solved and explained. And yet many of the answers as to the whys and whyfores of ghosts and hauntings still elude us. We can surmise, photograph, analyze, and interpret, but definitive answers are sadly lacking. Maybe ghost hunters have no one but ourselves to blame.

A question I'm asked often is "How do I know it's a ghost and not something else entirely?" The best course of action is probably to assume that it is anything except a haunting. When all other possibilities have been ruled out, what is left could possibly be a genuine haunting.

All to often what is at first considered a genuine haunt turns out to be something very different. An example that comes to mind is the following story I was told by a local psychic ghost hunter recently. This person and her group used to go out on regular ghost hunts, complete with meters and cameras and other detecting instruments. One night the group was staying at a haunted hotel. Out of boredom they decided to play a "gag" on one pal by pretending to be ghosts. So they banged around, made suspicious noises and in general tried to convince their friend that a ghost was very near. If there is humor here, I can't see it. After all, if we want to be taken seriously then we must conduct ourselves seriously. Incidents like this do nothing but destroy credibility.

EVP is an amazing phenomenon that is gaining in popularity. Recently a friend came to this area and attempted to get some EVP at a well-known haunted building. The weather was uncooperative, road conditions were so bad that I was unable to meet her at the site. Later she played her recordings for me and I couldn't believe my ears. The sounds she recorded were astonishing. Especially so, when you consider she was taping with a small voice activated tape recorder in the empty attic of the building. Are these genuine ghost voices attempting to speak from the grave? At this point I can't honestly say. Certainly EVP needs to be looked into more fully.

There is much to learn and know in the field of ghosts and hauntings. None of us has all the answers, but if we persevere with open minds and honesty perhaps someday we will know more.

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