Paranormal Investigations - A Thought

Posted on April 10th, 2007.

The phone rings….

It’s a colleague asking if I would consider investigating some reports of a ‘haunting’ in mid Cornwall.

My mind races…. of course I would be interested!

Then I stop to think….

In my eagerness to be part of an ‘investigation’ of some ‘reported’ phenomena am I in danger of forgetting that at the centre of this report are real people!

For whatever reason they have been moved to report something which has been occuring in their own home. The fact is that few of these kind of reports are out-and-out hoaxes so that means that the people have been moved to invite a stranger into their home to help ‘find out what is going on’…

So when I turn up with my camera, recorders and a range of measuring devices am I really thinking about the emotions and concerns of the people at the centre of the story or am I so wrapped up in my investigators role that I simpy want to focus on the ‘events’….

In most cases I have been involved in it is the people involved in the story who have been more interesting than the reported phenomena… and this ‘human’ dimension can be trampled over as enthusiastic psi-researchers strive to unravel the events as perceived rather than the people they encounter.

There is, perhaps, a need for all of those involved in PSI research to take a step back and consider the impact of their investigation on the people who are central to it. In doing so they will perhaps uncover some of the motivations behind the report and perhaps understand the particular emphasis belief systems have upon the reported observations.

I recall one investigation in particular…

A retired professional gentleman was being woken up in the night by strange noises. Things were being moved around the room. There was also an independent witness to all of these events…

The gentleman concerned was a skeptic and found these occurances very difficult to relate to his view of the world and what was possible…. BUT he had kept detailed records of the events and noted not only things like the weather; the traffic but also notes about his own emotional state. The gentleman was a retired GP had questioned thoroughly his own mental and perceptual state.

Now these are the kind of things which would get an investigators juices flowing….. a skeptic, with a medical background who has detailed records AND access to an independent witness of some of the events.

During my initial interview (… if I have been less of an investigator and more of a listener I maybe could have called it a ‘conversation’…) it became apparent that the good doctors beliefs on spiritual matters did not coincide with those of his long-time departed spouse. He was most definately an atheist whilst she had been a regular church goer and spiritualist.

With the initial work completed and following interviews with the independent witnesses (yes there were actaully three!) it was decided that I would stay with this gentleman for a few days in order to explore and possibly ‘measure’ the phenomena… which were nightly occurences and did not appear to have any immediately obvious physical (normal) cause.

It had been arranged that I would gather together additional recording equipment and later that month spend a three or four days as the doctors guest.

The week before I was due to visit him I had a late night phone call…

Something very dramatic had happened…

A door had been so violently banged by ‘unseen hands’ that physical marks had been left in it.
I went to visit the doctor and observed with much interest and growing fascination the fist-like dents left in the heavy oak door. Marks which would ahve been difficult for the doctor to create with his own arthritic hands….

We talked about the event and where he had been when it had happened….. it was then he decided that he did feel he needed to pursue the investigation any further…

He was now satisfied that there was ’something beyond this life’ and was happy that his wife had been trying to let him know that “everything was alright now and would we alright when they met again” …

He added that if I had been put to any trouble he would ‘of course allow me to continue with the investigation” for my own interest….

So here was my dilemma. As a researcher there were things going on here which would have been fascinating to get to the bottom of…. and YES I did want to continue…

As a human being there was no way that I could continue the research. This gentleman had reached his own conclusions (and some of the skeptics out there might add - misguided conclusions). The matter had been resolved for him and hence the investiagtion was no longer important.

Consider - what if I had taken him up on his offer and continued with the investigation and discovered nothing. Where that have left him with regards his sense of peace with his thoughts and with the possibility of meeting his wife again?

As investiagtors we have a responsibility to the people and well as to the phenmomena.

Alan

Footnote:

I did keep in touch with this gentleman for several months afterwards…. and this last comment is his…

“Since I have accepted that these things are possible, I have been at peace with myself and with the loss of my wife. I think that the events were there to encourage me to accept what my wife always believed…. I know I will see here again….”

The ‘events’ slowly died away and the good doctors nights were troubled no more.