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ASSESSING THE PARANORMAL WITH DR. STAFFORD PART 2

THE ELUSIVE ORB

Orbs remain one of the most controversial of paranormal phenomena.  The fact that orbs have become a serious consideration for paranormal investigators only since the advent of the digital camera is suggestive in itself. After 10 years of almost nightly research I have witnessed innumerable orbs, at times appearing in large clusters. These can and do appear not only in reputedly haunted sites, but virtually anywhere.

The most obvious cause of orbs I have observed is moisture – rain, fog, and clouds of humidity, often visible to the naked eye. Orbs can and do frequently appear in great proliferation in these conditions, and all are in motion, sometimes with clear tails of light.

Most researchers assume also that a variety of microscopic particles found in the air around us, such as dust and pollen, can create the appearance of orbs. Insects can be mistaken for slightly amorphous orbs as well.

There are some simple rules-of-thumb for orbs that are useful, but hardly enjoy the status of cosmic laws:

  1. The vast majorities – well over 90% — of orbs are clearly natural phenomena and have nothing to do with the paranormal.
  2. The more orbs that appear, the more likely they are natural phenomena such as humidity, which of course can appear inside as well as outside.
  3. Orbs in motion, especially those that appear to defy gravity, are more interesting, though air currents could conceivably carry orbs upward . . .
  4. When orbs appear around conditions that do seem to indicate paranormal activity – such as high EMF spikes or measurable cold spots – they are more suggestive of paranormal origin. When effects known to be paranormal cluster and coincide it is always more suggestive . . .
  5. Anecdotally, interesting orbs seem to show up more often around people who are having strong feelings or getting such readings, though the feeling criterion is obviously somewhat subjective. It’s interesting that on various occasions orbs have been observed on or around people and virtually nowhere else – something repeated that may not easily be explained by coincidence.

If most orbs are strictly natural phenomena, we can assume that will be established more firmly as evidence and demonstrations accumulate.

If there are paranormal orbs, what are they?  The simple answer is no one knows for sure. The orb or sphere is perhaps the simplest and most perfect form in nature. One cogent theory is that the orb may be a natural shape that is assumed by the disembodied energy essence of spirit. It may be a form in which spirit travels. I find this theory aesthetically appealing even if empirically uncertain. There is much still to be discovered about the ubiquitous orb.

Meet Pub Tour Guide Sarah Hines

How many people can say that their job requires them to sit in local pubs and tell visitors about resident ghosts? I certainly can! I do the haunted pub tours here in Saint Augustine, Florida. I’m a history major and anthropology minor at Flagler College, and I’ve been doing tours for 4 years now, and have had many, many experiences on these tours, at the college, and all around the city. On my tours, we go into four to five different haunted pubs, where our guests enjoy (often times discounted) drinks as they gather around to here the history and the haunted stories of the pubs we sit in. It’s a fun experience for all involved, and many people enjoy the company, often trading emails and face book names to keep in touch. Come and join us, hope to see you there!
Sarah Hines

Sarah

A POST COGNITIVE EXPERIENCE

Hey everyone! My name is Jamie and I am the manager of GhoSt Augustine and have been a paranormal investigator for over 10 years. I founded Historic Haunts Investigations several years ago and also studied Parapsychology under Loyd Auerbach.

What I am entering in our paranormal journals in a post cognitive experience that I have had since working for Ghost Augustine and moving to St. Augustine, Florida. Post cognitive experiences are when someone sees something from the past. Which is not always a pleasant experience?

It happens every time I go out on our hearse tour.  Since I moved here to St. Augustine my post cognitive abilities have been amplified due to the lay lines and high electromagnetic field here in this haunted city.

One of the stops on our nightly hearse ride is St. Augustine’s infamous Murder House. Back in 1974 a woman was brutally murdered on her front steps. I am not going to give you the details to the story because I want you to go on the Hearse Tour and experience it for yourself :o ) But, I will share my experience with you. Every time I go out there I see the woman being murdered!!!  I literally see the man come from around the corner of the house with a machete and attack the woman. I have never had any interaction with this spirit therefore I think it is just a residual haunting. This is something that will replay itself over and over whether anyone is there to experience it or not.  Last time I was out there the feeling and vision was stronger than ever before.  Maybe the woman is hanging around in hopes that justice will be served and the man will be apprehended?!

I have never been inside the house and wonder if I was able to go in if the spirit would try to contact me. Is she trying to tell me something personally or is she just replaying that horrifying experience over and over again? We may never know.

If you have time while in St. Augustine make sure you check out our nightly Hearse Tours!! I’m not saying you will experience what I experience but it is a great way to see the other side of St. Augustine. As we say about our hearse rides, give it a try before you die!

By the way, did I mention our hearses are haunted? That’s another story………….

~Jamie Roush

Manager GhoSt Augustine

jamie

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