About once a year I try to get a new piece of equiptment.  I have several different EMF detectors so this year I wanted somethin new.  And me being the EVP specialist I decided to look for one of the new real-time devices.  These make it possible to hear responses right on the spot.  This is highly beneficial in several ways, the most beneficial is that it lets us know if we are getting intelligent response's during the session.  It can help us know what questions to ask.  The Ramona Theatre is a good example of using real time and its advantages.  We investigated for hours and I never heard any noises until our last half hour there.  I really didn't even think the place was very haunted.  Then the next day I listened to my audio and I captured tons of crazy EVP's.  I wish i would have known the moment we captured them.  Anyways i came across a new device that can be used as a regular digital recorder.  It has a built in real time feature along with a built in Ghost box.  It was pretty expensive but isn't that what Tax refunds are for?  And I have been able to use the new device on several investigations now and there is no doubt it is worth every penny.  The Ghost Box alone makes it worth the cost.  You can't put a price on getting responses and knowing what they are right when you ask the questions.  I really think it will take The Society of the Haunted to the next level.  With our caliber of investigators this device will open new doors for us during investigations that I had never dreamed of.

I'm flying, therefore I write. It, at least, seems like a good time to write to me with the low hum of the plane's engines serving for white noise while cruising through the air. Oh, it's a little bouncy. After all, this is just a pint-sized jet from Oklahoma City to Houston, where I'll later connect to Cleveland. This is my second trip to Ohio this month as I've been encountering more employment opportunities out there than in Oklahoma.

This weekend will prove to be a busy one as I'll also be speaking with Society of the Haunted for OPERA at the Shriner's Center in Oklahoma City on Saturday at 1:00 PM, and that night we also have a paranormal investigation. Furthermore, my youngest son's 10^th birthday is on Sunday. I will be exhausted come Monday, but busy is better than boring.

While preparing for the OPERA speaking engagement, which will cover “unusual experiences” we've had, I was going through some old audio in order to find the crashing glass of a framed photograph at the Stone Lion Inn. For those that have readGhosts and Legends of Oklahoma, you'll recall the account in which I was walking up the stairs and another investigator had taken but a step up and between us fell the framed photo of Lizzie Borden. This made a fantastic racket over my audio recorder, but there was something else that caught my attention. This event happened only about two minutes after I caught the white wisp on camera that is pictured in the book.

One of the other noted events of the young evening was that of the bureau in the Stone Lion's entrance hall. For some inexplicable reason, the top middle drawer was open, and we casually noted it as we walked past to the Parlor Room, which is reportedly haunted with the spirit of a man in a top hat. Within minutes we were alerted to a type of knock from back in the entrance hall, and when we ventured out to take a look the drawer was closed. Johnny whipped out his Tri-Field meter, I started snapping pictures, and the photo of the white wisp was captured (although I didn't realize it until I started looking through the photos the next day). Two minutes later... crash.

I wonder why I didn't realize it before. It's not like I wasn't paying attention to what was going on at that moment. After all, I went back through all of this when I was writing the book. Perhaps it's one of those cases in which I was too focused on the individual events to recount for Ghosts and Legends that I wasn't taking a step back to soak in the whole picture. It certainly makes everything that happened at that time much more meaningful, and it's making me consider the other things that happened that night such as an upstairs door opening on it's own and the sudden wave of energy that nearly floored me in the library. Something that night was seriously trying to get our attention.

The Bible shows us that there was always a belief in ghosts. Some people think that ghosts are contrary to Christianity. I have even heard people say it is impossible for there to be ghosts because after we die we are judged. They quote Hebrews 9:27 which states “And in as much as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.” I would like to point out that he does not say how long after death this will be. If you read Acts 1:7 it states “He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.”

As a being created by God we are given the gift of free will that may also continue after we die. The choice to go into the light and be judged or to wander may be a God gift given as well. We learn in 1 Tim 2: 3, 4 that God desires all men to be saved. “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” How does anyone know for certain that through death and before judgment God has no other plans for any particular soul?

Old Testament

Saul had a medium conjure up the ghost of Samuel
I Samuel 28:15,
And Samuel saith to Saul, Why hast thou troubled me, to bring me up?

Job encounters a ghost
Job 4:14-17
Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake. Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up: It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?

New Testament

The disciples believed Jesus was a ghost. Jesus does not say they do not exist
Matthew 14:25-27
Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.

Saints manifested after the resurrection
Matthew 27:52-53
The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

Jesus manifested from the invisible to the visible in the same way as an apparition and they didn’t recognise him
Mark 16:12
…to two of them, as they are going into a field, walking, he was manifested in another form.

Saints manifested as well as Jesus spoke with the dead
Mark 9:4,
and there appeared to them, Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus

The disciples believed Jesus was a ghost and he said he was not like a ghost. Again they are not told they do not exist
Luke 24:39
See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.

We must test the spirits
1 John 4:1
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God..

We do not die
1 Corinthians 15:51
Behold, I will tell you a mystery; We shall not all sleep but we shall be changed.

After we die we are still open to the word of God
1 Peter 3 19
in which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison

I was on Facebook this morning and noticed several friends status that said to be very careful today. Why? Well today happens to be 11/11/11 and some people see great significance in these numbers. In the last few months I have been paying attention to the clock more and have noticed 1:11, 11:11 and 2:22. Those numbers pop up for me now all the time now even off the clock. I posted to my Facebook wall how weird that I was noticing these number combinations. I had several people message me with their theories on what it meant including that they were personal messages from angels.

Some people believe the number 11:11 is about ascension and the beginning of awareness of the code that it represents. Some believe we are in a time of a new beginning with the approaching date of December 21, 2012. I know several people getting married today perhaps because of the significance of the date marking their new beginning. I am going to use today as an opportunity for me to explain apophenia.

Apophenia is the human tendency to find meaning or patterns in randomly occurring data like the date 11/11/11. The condition feeds on itself because the more conscious you are of the pattern of something the more often you'll notice it and believe that it means something. The patterns can be found in everything we see and hear. We are hard-wired to find meaningful patterns because it helps in our survival. As an example is that the rustle you hear in the grass which could be a dangerous predator where we need to run. There are times however, when the patterns are really meaningless. As an example we can find faces on a textured ceiling, the clouds and anything pixellated like photographs.

People can find great significance in the patterns they find. The thoughts it brings up can range from a mild suspicion to full on paranoia. Speaking of paranoia sometimes there is a thin line between sanity and insanity. Apophenia is a part of psychosis which is a loss of contact with reality. That reality includes delusions which are false beliefs about what is taking place or who one is and hallucinations. However, apophenia has been noted in mentally healthy individuals.

People can be so steadfast in their belief in the pattern they find that it is hard to try to give them a rational explanation. These patterns people believe in can even be a life changing event for them! People have sold their homes, given away most of their possessions and have even committed suicide believing that the world would end on a particular day. There was a cult known as Solar Temples where letters after a mass suicide were found stating that they believed they were moving on to Sirius because of the patterns they found. Heavens Gate cult died in a mass suicide and believed they were exiting their human vessels so that their souls could go on a journey aboard a spaceship they believed to be following comet Hale-Bopp. This is obviously not healthy behavior. These people did not know they were deluded.

Some will understand the photograph is just a series of dots while others see the face on Mars. This formation is most likely the result of erosion, winds and other natural forces. People who believe in UFO's see it as proof of life in the universe and the explanation is a sign of a cover up by the government. I am not going to alter my life by putting tin foil all over the ceilings because of this photograph nor should you. There are people who belief that tin foil acts to shield the brain from emf fields, mind control and mind reading by alien life forms although there is no proof of this.

Conspiracy theorists believe in chemtrails where the government is deliberately spraying chemicals on us. These chemtrails are really contrails caused by airplanes exhaust systems. When the hot exhaust gases cool the surrounding air it causes a cloud of microscopic water droplets and ice crystals. The people who believe in the conspiracy will not listen to this rational explanation.

You find evidence of people genuinely believing they found religious figures in pieces of toast, the grain of cut wood or on a wall. Ebay has made some of these people famous through the sale of these objects. The Virgin Mary on toast sold for 28,000! Religious related psychosis is quite common but not treated. Who is to say what one is spiritually experiencing is real or not.

It becomes a problem when it crosses the line like it did with the Solar Temples or Heavens Gate cults. You should not blindly believe in someone who wants control of your thinking, personal assets and life like Marshall Applewhite.

Apophenia also is a huge problem in people who gamble which can be debilitating. A person who really believes in their pattern of numbers cannot stop betting and can lose everything. If you are stuck with a pattern and cannot stop unhealthy behavior it is time to seek help from a therapist.

Investigating with Society of the Haunted, we recently conducted an investigation at the old Frederick Army Air Field in Frederick, Oklahoma, which is now a part of the regional airport. Still standing is an old hangar dating to World War II with historic planes inside, including one that saw action during the war. This is currently maintained by the WWII Airborne Demonstration Team, which honors the WWII airborne soldier by actively parachuting out of vintage WWII planes in the same manner and style as the soldiers of the time. This is quite a unique and fantastic group!

After getting over the initial awe of being surrounded by history we could touch we began our investigation with an initial walk-through of the premises. While the location was teeming with paranormal activity, there were some unexplainable personal experiences throughout the night. When we first ventured up into the barracks area on the second floor, we were greeted with a stern male voice that declared, "Hold!" We immediately stopped on the narrow plank and sought out who called out to us, but no one was to be found. Within the barracks, Chris captured an unusual green ball of light in a doorway in one of his photographs that we were unable to replicate. It was near this doorway later when I was sitting on a cot that I felt like someone was pushing me from behind, but when I had Arielle take a picture of the area behind me the pushing stopped. In this room later we heard the sound of metal scraping or clanging. Ken and Mick went out into the hangar to try and recreate the sound, but they were unable to do so, and the way the sound traveled into the room we concluded that the noise came from inside the room. However, there was nothing in the room that could have made that sound.

Our most interesting experience of the night was actually toward the end inside the plane that had seen action during WWII. We ran an EVP session with a K-II EMF meter on the floor hoping we could get a spirit of the plane to interact with us. Nothing happened for quite a while. Then, when I mentioned that the Army Air Corp later became the U.S. Air Force and I had served six years the K-II meter lit up wildly, frantically flickering up into the red. We were ecstatic as whatever  was there began answering our questions through the K-II meter. Chris had a hunch about who our mysterious visitor may have been and asked if it was the navigator. Again, the K-II lit up wildly into the red. There were a few more questions answered with smaller flickers and then it died out, and we deduced that the spirit may have expended too much energy too quickly.

It was definitely a fantastic time, and we hope to get back out there soon!

In Minnesota an accident in August of 2011 sent two year old Jairden Loukota to the hospital. He was hit in the stomach by a golf club. When the hospital checked him out they found a cantaloupe size tumor growing in his liver that burst from the accident. Apparently he is seeing things now. This could be an indicator that he possibly had a near death experience. His Mother Megan stated “He kept asking me ‘Mom, who is that guy in the corner? There’s a guy in the corner. There’s light.” His mom thinks that it is angel but perhaps there is another explanation.

There is a range of experiences that happen with impending death. Some of these include detaching from the body, levitation, fear, peace and the presence of a light with loved ones inside the light. I had a case once where a mom took care of her adult child who had cancer for a few years before he passed away. He would ask his mom all the time who the man was sitting besides her. She would leave the room to cry because nobody was present but her. If I were in the same situation I would have been fascinated and would have asked many questions but not everyone has been exposed to the paranormal like I have. Not only was he seeing a man but his grandparents would visit him regularly. He had no idea they were no longer alive because he saw them as living. She also reported cold spots and saw shadows herself. After the passing of her son the activity continued on and off and was escalating when she finally decided to call me.

A number of the cases that I get have someone in the home that has had a near death experience. I believe that because of their brush with death it makes them more sensitive. Perhaps a doorway is open they are now a beacon for the other side to come to visit but we really do not know. Once I had a case where a woman had a near death experience and was from that point forward haunted by what seemed to be many different spirits. Those spirits were mostly negative causing her to alter her life in a way that was not healthy.

Since the beginning of time people have had near death experiences. In the earliest documented account Plato describes in The Republic a soldier's near-death experiences which included the afterlife and even reincarnation. The scientific community has been actively doing research on near death experiences for years. They have found many people share common experiences.

Here is a list of common experiences
An awareness of being dead
A sense of peace
An out-of-body experience including hovering over your body
A tunnel
A sense of moving through a passage
Being in the light or a powerful light
Communication with the light
Beings of light and deceased loved ones
Life review and unconditional love
Knowledge about the universe and everything
A decision to return to the living body
15% or more have a hell type of experience which includes
Barren place
Darkness
Beings or shadows moving around them like blobs
The feeling that they are going to hell
Hopeless and helpless

The cause these experiences are thought by some to be hallucinations from a surge of electrical activity, neurons dying, lucid dreaming or other natural causes. Others believe that the experiences are real and the stories are confirmation of an afterlife. A study of terminally ill patients found identical surges in brain activity moments before death. Is this proof that energy surges out of the body? Is this the body's one last ditch effort to revive the body? We do know that we are made up of energy which cannot be created or destroyed but can only be changed. Death is a transformation of that energy. The question that many people have is do retain any semblance of who we were when we were alive including memories. I happen to be a believer that our soul continues on and I have had many experiences to back it up.

As a nurse I have observed patients dying who have exclaimed things like "I was wondering when you would show up" or smile at an invisible someone who has come to apparently assist them. Even famous people exclaim interesting things as they are going through the process. A great recent example is that when Steve Jobs passed away he looked at his family then past them and his last words were then “Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow". Jobs was according to his biographer 50/50 on if he believed in the existence of God and hoped that there was some kind of afterlife. I would like to think he saw something miraculous and that he was delighted with it!