PRRS

Over the past few years I have noticed that in some of my recordings and occasionally with my own ears I have heard clicking there doesn't seem to be any explanation for. These clicks do not originate from any one location but throughout the home or area being investigated. In other words it isn't coming from equipment or any known source; it seems to come from the space around us. Interestingly those clicks have followed me home and stayed with me for several days. The first time this happened I came home from the investigation and left the next day for a week long camp out three hundred miles away. My son and I sat in a booth in a truck stop and overheard a couple guys ask each other if they heard clicking noises. Our destination was impossible to get to so we got a room for the night so we could fight the melting ice and snow during the day. The clicking followed us to the hotel room and then to the farm the next day. The farm land is primitive with no electrical power for at least a mile. Once the van was shut off there was nothing running, no alarm clocks, zip zero electronics running. Totally amazed we took a walk through some of the 360 acres we had access to and the clicks went with us. In my book there is absolutely nothing electronic that can be blamed at this point and probably the number one reason I still search for an answer to the clicks we sometimes hear on investigations.

I have had many people from all over the United States send me audio files to listen to for evp and I have heard these clicks in several of the recordings I have listened to.

For several years now I have noticed in the Sallie house that on certain investigations there were times that the clicking was very noticeable and happened often. Some of the theories were that it had to do with a guest investigator we had visiting with us, static electricity, moisture in the air in a haunted house you name it. No theory we came up with completely explained the phenomena.

We actually video taped a sensitive walking through the house on one of our investigations that would stop at the door to a room and make clicking sounds. We played the video back and this person didn't remember doing any clicking. Thinking it might have been anxiety or feeling self conscious in front of a camera we were not sure at the time of its significance if any. We had no choice but to remember the experience and file it away until we had more information or something else to go on. If it was significant it would of course come to us again at a later time.

Not long ago this person became quite sensitive to demonic entities and demonic hauntings. Someone riding with them said on the way to an investigation they slipped into a trance where they started to make clicking sounds. Remembering that we had talked about this several years before and that I had quite an interest in the significance of the clicks, I was contacted. The investigation they were going to that evening turned out to be a demonic entity.

Could it be that the clicking is some type of communication between demonic entities; between a demonic and sensitive human or is there something else in this equation we still need to put this all together? For the past couple of weeks I have tried to shoot holes in this theory but haven't been able to, it actually seems plausible. I am not ready to say this is for sure what is going on because I think there are still way too many unknowns and many other possibilities we just haven't thought of. Remembering the number of times I have had the clicks follow me home from an investigation makes me want to find another explanation quickly.

Are there any investigators out there sensitive to the demonic that have noticed this correlation? If so could you please let us know about your experiences?

Thank you,
Renae Leiker

The experiences with the paranormal I have had in my life time have always made the subject quite interesting to me. I never have enough answers for all my questions and I am always checking results against new situations and locations. My experiences with the Sallie house over the past several years encouraged me to upgrade equipment and specialize in the evp department. After a couple years I actually had the chance to meet and work with a couple of very good psychics that verified much of the information I had talked about with the Pickman's. I am sure not all of my questions will ever be answered about the Sallie house but I plan to take the what I have learned to compare with other extreme hauntings. ~ Renae

If you hang out in paranormal circles long enough, you are bound to come to the conclusion that there are as many methods of research as there are groups out in the field today. Everyone has their preferred style, complete with a battery of reasons why they have developed it. Some groups would even have you believe that there is only one right way to proceed with paranormal research - their way, of course. I disagree. At this stage, when the science of paranormal research is still in its infancy, nothing has been proven or disproven definitively.

If a group would like to claim that their ways are gospel and their methods should be held on high as the paragon of paranormal proficiency, they certainly may . . . but let them prove it first. Where is their outstanding evidence? I'm not talking just compelling, I mean real, undeniable conclusive evidence - a full body apparition caught on tape, for instance. Where is their Nobel Prize for Science? Where is their million-dollar grant?

You mean they don't have ANY of these things? Then how do they know they're right?

There are no experts in this field - not yet, anyway. There is no one person or group that has it all figured out. We are developing theories, and doing great research on a lot of different aspects, but we have barely scratched the surface. Each breakthrough brings with it a multitude of new questions. Only through real diversity of technique are we going to stumble upon the answers.

As long as progress is being made, as long as an understanding is closer than it was when you began, there are no wrong systems, only the chance for flawed execution. When teams don't properly vet their theories before heralding them as law, or base their research on someone else's faulty assumptions, their experiments themselves are insufficient, not their aims.

Real progress can only be made through individual research, through asking "why" and "how", not just "what" and "when". Without echoing the conclusions of others, it is the responsibility of the researcher to add to the discourse and break new ground.

It's true that many groups don't follow these principles. But most of the groups I've met do, and do so in vastly different ways. The fact that they all strive for real, incontrovertible evidence, debunk activity caused by natural means, and try to elevate the level of the community as a whole means they are all doing it right.

Katie Harper has been investigating and researching the unexplained for over ten years. With an eye toward the scientific method, her greatest question has always been not only what, but how and why. She believes very strongly in both transparency and accountability in the paranormal field and values research and analysis over speculation and sensationalism.

Katie is co-founder of The Northeast Spectral Science Society, and specializes in both occult matters and photography, including the analysis of photographic anomalies for the group.

I often hear a lot of people talk about the paranormal investigation community with a touch of unhappiness, which is a shame, because really we are all here to investigate. Some of us may use different techniques - but does different mean wrong? After all, if you have 10 scientists trying to find the cure for cancer - ALL of which do things differently - doesn't that just mean you're using the process of elimination to find the best results? So here are my tips to keep you or your team on course:

1. If you're in this for the money - there isn't any. Paranormal Investigation is a charity, educational and information based practice. There are plenty of shows out there - most of which have paved a brighter future for teams to be more accepted within their respective communities. Teams that got a T.V. deal and such just happened to be at the intersection of right place and right time. And good for them, why not have paranormal investigators receiving a little moment in the sun for providing a service for people who 10 years ago may not have had anywhere or anyone to turn to or even a place to start.
2. Come together. If you are having differences in investigation practices of teams around your area then try coming together first in a friendly environment (e.g. BBQ, coffee house, ect.) get to know each other as people first then investigators. Generally first impressions are wrong, don't judge other teams for doing what you yourself may be guilty of.
3. PARANORMAL INVESTIGATION IS NOT A COMPETITION - it's not "survivor" . You can and will tear apart a group faster than anything by making everything a competition. If another group gets to investigate a hotel you wanted to investigate then be happy the owners are allowing anyone to research the claims. Besides a secondary investigation by another team could validate your findings making your evidence all the more concrete. It's about the research not the addiction to add another notch to your investigation belt.
4. Get out there! Go into your community as a team and participate in community functions. It doesn't really matter what your into- there is always a means to involve yourself in socially important outings. Fund raisers, walk-a-thons, neighborhood bike rides, zombie walks - whatever! You'd be surprised just how receptive people can be -cause everyone's got a story about the paranormal.
5. Communication! Not everyone is good at it, surprise right! I should have listed this first but hindsight is 20/20. Keep the lines of communication open at all times. Weather it is with a client, team members or other teams. If you choose to ignore people they can get the wrong impression of your intentions and that is never healthy for a team or the community. Keep in touch with your team members and other teams that you have worked with.
6. Educate yourself on what's happening in your field! Go to conferences, meet ups and most of all listen to other investigators. No one is the oldest and most astute investigator. We are all learning, creating and changing the field when we glean from our experiences.
7. Research and why it really matters most! Above all - the most important part of what you do is research. If you are not prepared to throw everything into helping your clients and team be successful- then slowly set away from the E.M.F. detector! Research will be the bread and the butter of your team. If your team is really good at the investigation itself but slow to examine and analyze tapes, video and instrument readings then you may need to re-prioritize. Sure the hunt is fun, creepy and maybe even scary - but the most important part of the investigation is your teams conclusion. Science is tricky like that- there may be a theory that the house you're investigating is haunted, but but until you can produce enough non-debunkable evidence to back up that theory- it's only speculation.
8. Care for your members and family first! Take care of the people who care for you - it's really as simple as that!

Pass this on! If you found this perspective helpful please share with others, we are all working toward the same goal.

Lisa Abney is the co-founder of Haunted South Paranormal Research

Paranormal Responsibility - Posted 11/25/08
Written by Katie Harper
This article originally appeared on www.nespectralscience.com on October 15, 2008.

The FYI on the CPI - Posted 11/23/08
Written By Jenny Stewart