Simply my opinion.

This is just my opinion and I do not wish to offend anyone.  I think most people put ghosts and spirits into the same box, but this is a mistake as they are separate subjects. Both are purely natural in their origin and have no place in mysticisms whatsoever. Take away the religious context and you will start to see where I am going with this. 

Let’s examine spirit. The natural world that we are part of has more power and complexity than we can possibly imagine. I believe that as human beings we all have an inner being, call it spirit, mind, or self, it doesn’t matter which.  It is this inner being that continues after we die, as a natural progression, nothing mystical, it’s just natural. Ghosts are no more than recordings that play back to us when the conditions are right, natural conditions. Ghosts cannot interact with you any more than you can interact with a video.  As human beings we allow our superstitions and beliefs to cloud our reasoning and judgment, and until we can separate fact from fiction we will never learn the truth.  This is a very short summary of an extremely complex subject and one I am passionate about.  

It’s still a puzzle, as yet unanswered.

Recently, while reading an article about haunting's in peoples homes, I was reminded of a case I investigated over a two years period. In a mid terrace house in the town of Kettering, Northamptonshire, I came across what I can only describe as the most baffling array of paranormal activity I have ever witnessed. The owners of the house were middle aged, hard working, and as honest as they come. When I first met them it was clear they were suffering horrendous problems. They had been sleeping downstairs in the living room for over eighteen months for fear of nightly attacks in their bedroom from an unseen assailant. No, this is not a nightmare on Elm Street, this is real. The attacks were mainly aimed at the male and extremely violent. His legs were covered in bruises and scratches inflicted as soon as he fell asleep. Their bed would lift and be carried across the room and the wife would be woken by having her hair pulled violently. Seeking the relative safety of the downstairs rooms the couple were just about holding on to their sanity. During my first interview with them footsteps were heard running about upstairs and bedroom doors could be heard slamming shut, but on investigation the upper rooms were found to be empty. Downstairs our hair was being pulled and odd sounds were coming from the kitchen, it was like being in a haunted theme park. Over the entire investigation we photographed, videoed, and made sound recordings that would leave even the most seasoned investigators stunned. I threw everything I could into the investigations, from spiritualists to psychologists, mediums to faith healers, nothing worked. Then we noticed a pattern emerging. The more people around the less activity there was, so we took just three people on an investigation and it worked, the activity grew stronger. This baffled me at first, I thought the opposite would be the case, the more energy in the house the more activity. It then became apparent it was specific people who made up the small group that evoced the most activity. Then a theory came to mind, could the activity be telekinetic. This theory was strengthened when family history came to light concerning the couples childhood. Even though unrelated, as children they showed uncanny similarities. He played with toys that moved by themselves. She saw objects move in the house. Both were told by their parents these were ghosts that visited them. After marrying the couple lived in several houses over the years and each one became haunted The theory of Telekinesis seemed to fit but I was still uncomfortable with certain elements of the case. Photos of apparitions, full sentences recorded from unseen people joining in on our conversations, how could this be? Is it possible for someone to imprint thoughts onto a digital or tape recorder? Can you transfer images from the mind into a digital camera? We think we know so much, and yet we know so very little. Maybe you have your own theories on this case. Whatever the outcome I will still go over to see the couple who have now become good friends. Somehow the activity is less of a fear for them now. The violence has stopped and the activity that remains seems to spur the couple on to study the phenomena. It’s still a puzzle, as yet unanswered.  

　Adrian Perkins.

Just when you thought you knew people.

A fundamental part of investigating reports of paranormal activity is interviewing an eyewitness. I have interviewed hundreds of people over the years who have had paranormal tales to tell. Some would be outspoken with their own theories to what lay behind the story being told. Others would need gentle encouragement to give the complete story, shying away from detailed facts that would often include themselves. Those are the two main personality traits that you will come across, but are you being told the truth? Time has a knack of changing details in someone's memory. Elaboration sets in and we are told an imaginatively enhanced story's that, at their core hold some truth, but you need to clear away the frills to get to it. Try to get to the eye witness sooner rather than later. Even after a few months the memory fades and details are lost. They may even be put under pressure by friends and family not to speak about their experience. After interviewing for a few years you become skilled in reading people extremely quickly. Reading people, not judging them, there is a big difference in the two. I try really hard not to judge people but it can be hard not to. When reading people look at the person’s expression, their reaction, are they open to your questions or do they seem overly guarded in their responses. Do they seem uncomfortable, or too relaxed?  All these things point you in a certain direction and your questions can be tailored to suit the person sitting in front of you. Psychology plays a big part in investigating and evaluating the information presented to you. Take your time, even if this means two or three visits. Get to know a little about the person you are talking to. Even now I still get caught out. It usually happens when the person you are interviewing has a deep seated belief that you are unaware of at the time. You can ask some searching questions to try to ascertain their beliefs, but there are some things people will not reveal. Deep rooted racism, religious extremism, mental illness kept in check by powerful drugs. I once interviewed a dear sweet little old lady who offered me buttered scones and hot sweet tea. I saw this lady turn into a seething explosion of hatred vented against a minority group in this country, then just as quickly she changed back and offered me another scone. Just when you thought you knew people! Here are some tips that may help you when interviewing people. Never take anything at face value so record every interview and play it back several times, as you analyse it you will be surprised at what you can learn. Sometimes it is the most mundane story that turns out to be the most interesting. Last but not least, be prepared for the unexpected. I still get a buzz when interviewing people. I hope I always will.

Adrian Perkins.   

Timeless belief

For many people the word paranormal means just one thing, ghosts. The word “paranormal” covers a multitude of subjects, many of which have been used to explain ghostly phenomena. Telekinesis, the power of mind over matter. Psychometry the ability of a person to sense or "read" the history of an object by touching it. E.S.P. The list goes on and on. But where do these paranormal beliefs come from. For the answer to this we need to step back in time and look at the beliefs of our ancestors. The Druids held belief in the power of the natural earth and used peoples superstition to assert their power. When the Roman invaders came they did their best to do away with the Celtic culture and replaced it with their own form of rule by suppression. But not all the Celtic rituals died out, some, like Halloween, has origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain. The ancient Celts believed that on October 31st, now known as Halloween, the boundary between the living and the deceased dissolved, and the dead become dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damaged crops. The festivals would frequently involve bonfires and the ritual burning of livestock. Now mix that with Roman festivals and Samhain was assimilated to the day of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and gardens who was celebrated around 1st of November, the time of the apple harvest. Bobbing for apples ring a bell? Then Christianity overcame the “Dark Ages”, and Samhain-Pomona Day survived this second “invasion”, again by being assimilated. Christian churches used to solemnize or assign special days for the formal commemoration of their chosen martyrs and saints. November 1st officially became All Hallows’ (literally,“all the holy ones”) or All Saints’ in 835. We don’t get rid of old beliefs, we simply use and mix them together to suit what the modern society feels is right at the time It is from these ancient beliefs, rituals and superstitions that we get our fear of the unknown. If you think we are far to modern these days to believe in such things just ask someone to break a mirror, walk under a ladder or walk through a forest at night. We are not so far removed from our ancestors as we would like to believe. When trying to explore the world of paranormal phenomena it is imperative to remember that people are afraid and suspicious of things they do not understand. I have no religious or mystic belief and feel it would hinder me in trying to reach an unbiased opinion about cases I investigate. Just focus on the job at hand. It also helps to work with people who specialise within a given field. Psychologist, parapsychologists, historians and archaeologists all bring knowledge to a case without having their thoughts clouded. Such investigations are thorough and accurate, but very rarely believed by paranormal enthusiasts. It seems they want every case to be genuine and they enjoy the exhilaration that comes from being afraid. The fact is very few cases are what I would call genuine. Many are people fearing something that they have no understanding of, or they have been put into a situation that triggers their imagination. Don’t misunderstand me. I have seen and experienced things that have shocked me and caused me to question my own senses. I do believe there is a power within all of us that we do not understand or know how to use, yet. If you have an interest in the paranormal, study intensely, explore inquisitively, but above all, have total honesty .

Adrian

                 Snippets from Ghost Detective IV

Snippets from The Old Black Lion

 Interestingly things seem to happen to people within the pub when they first start living or working there. After a few months things calm down. One of the new managers heard a loud bang one evening from down in the cellar and decided to check it out. The door to the lower cellar was wide open, this is usually kept closed. Thinking if left open it would happen again he placed a beer barrel against it and left. During the night he heard a loud bang from deep within the pub. Thinking it was down in the cellar he decided to investigate. Opening the top door he descended down into the first cellar. The door to the lower cellar was wide open and the heavy barrel had been tossed aside like a child's toy. A few days later I phoned my friend Lewis Dellar. He also has a love of history, and a surprising liking for exploring underground. We arranged to go back to the Old Black Lion with the equipment to do a full inspection of its lower chamber. Lewis brought along a structural engineer just in case things got a little unstable. Our return to the pub was to prove even more interesting than even I thought it would be. Descending into the gloom once more we switched on our torches. What we saw made us stop in our tracks. The memories of peoples stories, of tunnels and secret passage came flooding back. We had hit the jackpot, or had we? The structural engineer tested the walls and ceiling to see if they were safe and we were ready to begin. The chamber ran North to South and seemed to be in good order. On the wall to the far side, south, the block work seemed to be intact and original in its construction. However the wall to the north side had been rebuilt sometime during the 60’s or 70’s, but why?

Snippets from GHOST BULL AT FAWSLEY PARK

We were joking about things saying; knowing our luck tonight if we hadn't pulled in our fishing lines a monster of a fish will probably have taken our camp and pulled our fishing rods in!!! Suddenly, when we were half way across the field there was an almighty roar behind us. We all turned around quick and saw a tower off mist rising from the ground to about 15ft high, and it was taking on a shape. My immediate thought was it looked like somebody on horseback. The horse rearing up, and under it was a long horned bull. The horseman was trying to kill the bull with a sword or something. Within seconds the three of us all shone our flash lights at it but our light beams passed straight through it as if it wasn't there!!!

Snippets from The Barley Mow

One member of staff saw a young woman sitting at table there in the restaurant while she was walking to the kitchen. She knew there was nobody meant to be in there at that time so she went to see the managers and told them what she had seen. Sure enough when they followed her to the restaurant, through the window they could see the girl sitting alone at the table. She had long hair and seemed to be deep in thought. They only looked away for a second but when they looked back she had completely vanished.

Snippets from  Salcey Forest

I decided to ask for a volunteer to go off about twenty yards into the wood alone armed with a recorder to see if they could encourage some activity. One young lady stepped forward and took the recorder. I asked her to record all the time and to switch her torch on so we could keep her in view. What she recorded was unusual and something I had not come across before. After walking a short way she began asking any spirits around her to communicate in any way they could. She began to experience blurring of her eyes, so much so she became unable to focus and began to get disorientated. At the same time this was happening I was watching the light from her torch and could see two other lights about six feet off on either side of her. The lights were rotating as if walking around her.