Claims of the Paranormal 101

Claims of the paranormal, we have all heard this term before. Whether it be from books, movies, reality television, or from websites about the paranormal, we have all wondered what its all about. That is where this guide and all my years of experience comes in.

Paranormal claims simply put are “a report of a personal experience with the paranormal” . The term “Claim” is defined as “a statement of truth without concrete proof”. There are numerous claims of the paranormal made each year ranging from odd occurrences to malicious activity to even full on intelligent hauntings.

What Claims of the Paranormal do People Commonly Make?

Common causes of the paranormal include but are not limited to:

Disembodied Voices

Shadow Apparitions

Feelings of Dread/ Depression/ Anxiety

Activity Experienced on Certain Days/ Times

Odd Noises/ Occurrences

Though other claims are made these make up the majority of your common claims of the paranormal. As an investigator you will need to be able to easily identify these claims and know the common causes for them. As an enthusiast of the paranormal it is interesting to see and be able to identify and relate to the paranormal claims as it pertains to your own experiences.

Natural Causes for the Common Claims

What are some natural causes for these common claims of the paranormal? Some natural causes are but not limited to:

Mold

High EMF

Mind Altering Narcotics

Old Paint

Dust

Gas Leaks

Mental Illness

Matrixing

Some of these “Explanations” are delicate subjects, such as mental illness and mind altering narcotics. These should only be used when no other cause fits the claims AND there is no supporting evidence of activity found. In all cases try to avoid using these in your “reveal” to the client as it WILL damage your credibility and your professional reputation, resulting in closing the doors for future investigation groups.

Mold is one of (if not) the most common causes to claims of the paranormal due to its intoxicating and dangerous spores. High EMF following behind in second only because where everyone is sensitive to mold spores not everyone is sensitive to EMF. High EMF in a sensitive person will create the feeling of dread and anxiety and in rare cases hallucinations of apparitions, ”tip of the day” If it is mold and high EMF causing the claims advise the clients to fix these problems immediately, while EMF isn't life threatening mold is.

Old paint settles and its chemicals separate causing noxious fumes without an odor. These fumes cause all of the afore mentioned symptoms and cause severe hallucinations, you should advise the client to discard these hazardous chemicals as soon as possible. Gas leaks are the most dangerous of all, they cause dangerous states of hypoxia (pronounced: hi-pocks-ee-ah), a state of low oxygen to the brain causing hallucinations and eventually death, this should be fixed immediately and reported to the local authorities if construction is scheduled in the area.

Dust will cause most of the afore mentioned claims of the paranormal, while not causing hallucinations dust can cause a unhealthy living condition, especially for those allergic to it. Matrixing is by far the most interesting of all natural occurrences. Using your optic nerve and the brain's pattern recognition to formulate familiar shapes and figures from popular patterns is how matrixing works. Very similar to the “ink blot” tests given in psychological exams this natural phenomenon is also known as “Man on the Moon syndrome” made popular by the shadows and craters that form a “face” on the moon.

Mind altering narcotics and mental illness should be weeded out with your preinvestigation interview. These topics are not taken lightly or commonly referred to they are simply mentioned because they can be viable causes. Remember always when considering the use of these be careful because they WILL damage your reputation and credibility.

Avoiding Common Scams and Traps

Unfortunately in our current day there are a lot of nasty and skeptical people out there that will try to con you into coming to their “haunted location”. These people are trying to either ruin your experience in this field or set you up to ruin your credibility with the rest of the paranormal community. There are even people out there that might look to physically harm you, these are rare instances but in this day and age nothing is impossible.

Avoiding these scams and traps is very simple and anyone considering this field should know how to avoid them. Here is a list of common scams/ traps to recognize:

A Client Not Willing to Meet in a Public Place

Outlandish Claims of Full Bodied Apparitions

Claims of the Paranormal that Sound Like They're Far fetched

Clients Unwilling to Submit to an Interview

Always suggest a public meeting place for a first meeting with a client (I.e. A library or small cafe), anyone not willing to meet in public is suspicious. If the client is claiming how he sees full bodied apparitions everyday and how they play poker with him and interact with them everyday, they are plain outright lying to you. Full bodied apparitions are the most rare of all activity and anyone claiming to see them all the time is just trying to test your intelligence.

If the clients claims seem a bit far fetched they are trying to trap or scam you. A fake client will claim that the spirits are flinging things around and lifting people it is more than likely a scam or trap to get you to come to their location. Use your common sense here if it seems more outlandish than one would expect be weary.

Heres the big one, any client unwilling to sit down (in a public location) and submit to a preinvestigation interview should be turned away immediately. Simply explain to them that it is part of the process and if they are unwilling to meet then an investigation just isn't possible. These interviews are the basis for getting to know a client and them getting to know you as well as getting to see a location in the daylight and learning hot spots.

These tips are designed to protect you and your crew follow these faithfully and you will always be a step ahead. So what do you do if your client passes the tests and is still setting you up? Finish the investigation make notation on all audio devices that you are in a “fun house” and continue the night, it makes for good training and when you do your reveal simply smile and say you found all of their set ups and thank them for testing your analysis skills and powers of observation.

Thanks to your-paranormal-guide.com the ball is in your court. Feel free to refer to this page whenever you are confused about a claim and need guidance. Remember that while this is fun to always be cautious and let people know where you are and where you are going, carrying a cell phone on vibrate could come in handy as well.

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