Ghost Hunting 101

This is a good example of matrixing. At first glance we thought there may be an

anomaly as there almost appears to be a face in the image.

We were able to debunk this photo after we located a picture taken of the same room.

You can see the black , red, and green graffiti on the wall that appeared as an anomaly

in the previous picture (the black and red "smiley face" was not considered part of the

anomaly). 5th floor, Waverly Hills, 2006

Orbs

The second phenomena we would like to examine are "orbs". Many people fall into the trap of capturing on film what appear to be small balls of light and believing they are evidence of spiritual activity, when often (if not most of the time) they are merely specs of dust or water vapor reflecting off of a camera's flash, or lit up by a video camera's light.

Legitimate orbs are collections of energy, and they occur naturally (after all, energy is all around us). True orbs will be visible to the naked eye (as opposed to only being seen when lit by a camera's flash), emit their own light, and have noticeable flight paths. While it is possible that some orbs do indeed represent paranormal activity, it is important to note that ORBS, IN AND OF THEMSELVES, ARE NOT NECESSARILY EVIDENCE OF A HAUNTING OR SPIRITUAL ACTIVITY!

Below are some examples of "orb" activity. Please don't fall into the trap of believing that every little speck of light captured on film is a paranormal anomaly (as so many amateur ghost hunters and even some established paranormal groups do). Below are images of dust and water vapor we have captured to illustrate how easy it can be to fall into the trap. The following pictures ARE NOT PARANORMAL!

Don't be fooled. These "orbs" are nothing but dust!

More dust!

Not the moon or an orb. Its just dust.

Yes....more dust!

Bugs...or dust...or both. But NOT paranormal!

Just a bug!

Types of Hauntings

Traditionally, there are three widely acknowledged types of hauntings: Intelligent, Residual, and Poltergeist hauntings.

Intelligent Hauntings

Intelligent hauntings are perhaps the most often type of haunting reported. In this circumstance, the entity is aware of itself, and aware of the living. The entity remains in a location for whatever reason, and continues to dwell perhaps as it did in life. Sometimes the entity manifests itself and even tries to communicate with the living.

Residual Hauntings

Residual haunting are often reported in locations marked by large-scale violence and tragedy (such as battlefields or mass genocide sites). A residual haunt can be thought of as a video set on repeat. An entity manifests at a particular location at a particular time and consistently repeats its actions. In this style of haunt, it is believed that the entity is unaware of itself or its surroundings, it is merely a form of energy that remains in a given location, bound by its location and circumstance of death. The energy that makes up its manifestation is residual; there is no consciousness attached to the apparition. Many people report witnessing the replaying of battles with ghostly manifestations. It is merely the leftover energy in the location playing itself over and over again.

Poltergeist Hauntings

Perhaps the most compelling type of haunt (especially where Hollywood is concerned) is poltergeist activity. While rare, dozens, if not hundreds, of incidents have been reported around the globe. Poltergeist haunts could be considered a subgroup of intelligent haunting in that the entity is certainly physically interacting with its environment, usually quite violently, and is therefore certainly aware of itself and the living. Objects are moved and often thrown, people are attacked, slapped, scratched, bitten, or assaulted in some other manner. It is believed that most poltergeist activity centers not necessarily around a location, but often around a living individual. Many reports have been made of families fleeing their homes due to such hostile activity, only to be confronted again with the same activity in a new location. While more rare than pure intelligent or residual haunts, poltergeist haunts are perhaps the most compelling of all haunts, as pure interaction between the spiritual world and the living is at play.
It should be noted, however, that many researchers attribute "poltergeist activity" to increased psychic "flare-ups", often brought on by changing and increasing hormones in pre-adolescent people (women are more common centers of activity than men).

iGHOST strives to put forth the best evidence possible and will not make any claim to the irrefutability of anything we post. We are more concerned with the quality of evidence we present rather than the quantity of evidence we present. Evidence is always subjective, and is open to individual interpretations. All we can do is display what we have captured, and let the public form their own opinions and draw their own conclusions. We will continue to post unusual pictures, EVP's, and video evidence as we collect it. We will also be sure to add more examples of our own evidence that we have "debunked" (disproved) in order to illustrate how some seemingly odd and unusual pictures can be mistaken for legitimate evidence when there is, in fact, a rational explanation.