Are Paranormal Investigators Creating Their Own Ghosts?

February 17, 2021February 23, 2021 Alex Matsuo

For decades, paranormal investigators and ghost hunters have been exploring the unknown. Storytelling and research are part of the process. We learn about the legends and lore behind haunted locations and other ghost stories. These elements go hand-in-hand like peanut butter and jelly. Or, chicken nuggets and barbecue sauce. And, now I’m hungry.

Our minds are powerful tools. Is it possible to simply manifest your own thoughts with a self-fulfilling prophecy, or completely create your own entity? For the sake of sanity and keeping track of my own thoughts, let’s move forward with the idea that spirits exist in some form.

Stories, Legends, & Lore

We need the stories and the historical context to better understand what’s going on behind the reports of alleged hauntings. Is it be possible that as more people learn the stories, all of that energy collects and creates a haunting? This could very well explain activity from the ghost of a person who never existed. Let’s consider popular locations that host investigators almost every night of the year. Each night, we tell the same stories. Perhaps that expectation is what is actually haunting us instead of a spirit?

Take Gettysburg as an example. People visit the battlefield, and history is on repeat. From reenactments to films to paintings to ghost walks to museums to even just sitting in a restaurant, Gettysburg’s story is on repeat. That energy has not had a chance to just rest in over two hundred years. Could it be possible that the apparitions that we see are merely from our own minds?

Manifestation & Intention

The manifestation of thoughts and intentions is becoming widely popular these days. On social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok especially, there are creators providing exercises and meditations for the manifestation of intentions. While paranormal investigators aren’t necessarily going through this intense process, many do set their intentions ahead of time of what entities they want to engage with. They may picture specific people in their heads or just a general idea of who they want to interact with.

Thoughtforms and Tulpas

Several years ago, I want to say 2011, I was made aware of the theories of thoughtforms and tulpas. I actually covered this subject quite extensively in my book, The Haunted Actor, where I theorized that hauntings come from people, especially emotionally powerful people like actors. To put it simply, all tulpas are thoughtforms, but not all thoughtforms are tulpas. Clear as mud, right?

This is where I derail the idea that hauntings are tulpas. Tulpa is Tibetan word for a being that was created by mental discipline. It takes intense thought and concentration to manifest an entity. There is a specific intention behind a tulpa, and its creation is not an accident. I’ve also read that tulpas are created through dismantling one’s own psyche. Meaning one creates a tulpa together by piecing together parts of yourself to create this being. Essentially, a tulpa is your own creation from parts of yourself.

Thoughtforms seem to happen with a similar intention but seem to be more accidental. Also, there doesn’t seem to be parts of yourself being used for creation. For example, a bunch of people investigating the ghost of little Sally at the haunted asylum may be unintentionally creating Sally herself. Sally could very well be a real person, but her spirit isn’t what is haunting the asylum since she crossed over decades earlier.

Fun fact: I’ve also read that elementals are thought-forms. But that is a discussion for another time.

The Phillip Experiment

The Philip experiment was conducted in 1972 in Toronto, Canada by Dr. A.R. George Owen and the Toronto Society for Psychical Research (TSPR). The experiment was to determine whether subjects could communicate with fictionalized ghosts through human will. According to Dr. Owen, he believed that “Ghosts have an objective reality, but they are created out of the minds that see them.” Dr. Owen, who is a mathematical geneticist, lead the experiment while it was overseen by a psychologist named Dr. Joel Whitton.

The idea of the experiment would be that participants would make up a fictionalized ghost, and then try to make contact during seances. In case you’re wondering, yes, the 2014 film, The Quiet Ones, is loosely based on the Philip experiment.

The Participants

The participants of the experiment included eight participants, one of them being Dr. Owen’s wife Iris Owen. Other participants included:

Margaret Sparrow, former chairperson of MENSA
Andy H., industrial designer
Lorne, Andy’s wife
Al Peacocok heating engineer
Bernice M, accountant
Dorothy O’Donnel, bookkeeper
Sidney K., sociology student

All of the people who participated were members of TSPR.

Creating Philip

First, the group had to agree on a backstory for their ghost. They decided that the ghost’s name would be Philip Aylesford, and he would live in the 1600s during the time of Oliver Cromwell. He was an aristocrat, married to a cold woman named Dorothea, with whom he had a daughter. One day, Philip rode by a gypsy encampment and fell in love with a woman named Margo. He brought her back to secretly live in his gatehouse, and they had an affair. Eventually, Dorothea found out and accused Margo of witchcraft.

Afraid of losing his status and possessions, Philip did nothing. Tragically, Margo was sentenced to death and burned at the stake. Burdened by guilt and remorse, Philip committed suicide at the age of thirty.

Contacting Philip

The group started meeting weekly starting in September 1972. They would have informal gatherings where they discussed Philip, meditate on him, and visualize him. This went on for about a year with no results. However, it should be noted that the room was fully lit. Sometimes, the participants said they felt a presence in the room, but there was nothing extraordinary that would make them think it was Philip.

Then, the group decided to change the dynamics of their atmosphere and recreate a traditional seance environment. Dr. Owen dimmed the lights. They sang songs and pictured where Philip would have lived and what he looked like. Also, they managed to get antiques from the time period.

This seemed to have worked. Philip made himself known through a distant rap on the table. In traditional seance fashion, the group had Philip rap once for yes and twice for no. Eventually Philip was able to dim the lights on his own, create a cold breeze, and other incredible psychokinetic phenomenon. The group even did a demonstration in front of 50 people, and Philip delivered. However, the group was never able to make Philip materialize.

Continuing the Experiment

TSPR was so impressed with their results with the Philip Experiment, they attempted the experiment a few more times with different spirits. They managed to create and contact a French Canadian spy named Lilith. Instead of taking over a year to make contact, Lilith made herself known in just five weeks. The group also created a man from the future named Axel as well as a medieval alchemist named Sebastian.

In Australia, a group conducted what became known as the Skippy Experiment. With six participants, the group created the ghost of a 14-year old girl named Skippy Carmichael. According to the group, Skippy communicated mainly using raps and scratching sounds.

Final Thoughts

Even after all this, I’m not 100% certain what we’re communicating with in these haunted locations. Are we truly talking to a sentient beings created from our own minds, or are we talking to the souls of those once lived? Thanks to the Internet, these stories are more readily available than ever. This means that we will continue to read, meditate, and regurgitate these stories until we join the other side.

Even if we set up our intentions, could it be possible that we’re creating our own ghosts? Given that I can’t manipulate a K2 meter or a REM-Pod with my own mind, I have a hard time believing this. This is why I find equipment so faulty. If it is our consciousness that is manipulating the equipment, how come we can’t do it right now when we’re alive? What changes once we leave our physical body?

Sources

https://www.liveabout.com/how-to-create-a-ghost-2594058

https://livinglibraryblog.com/the-philip-experiment/

“Philip”. The Mystica. Retrieved 2015-01-16

John Robert Colombo (1995). Ghost Stories of Ontario. Dundurn. pp. 123

http://www.frontrowreviews.co.uk/news/the-story-behind-the-quiet-ones-the-real-life-philip-experiment/29720

12 Types of Hauntings You Need to Know About

January 27, 2021February 1, 2021 Alex Matsuo

One of the most common questions I get is all about the types of hauntings. To be honest, I don’t really think about it that much because…ghost theory is shaky. I can’t prove any of these hauntings exist. Also, everyone has their own theories about ghosts, spirits, hauntings, demons, etc. There may be some consistent ideas across the board, but everyone will have their own thoughts on the details.

With that in mind, the hauntings I’m going to talk about are ones that I’ve either run into a lot on the field or something I read about in my research. This is seriously just my opinion, and I’m always open to ideas and feedback. And if you disagree, that’s okay too! I would love to hear your opinion as well.

Residual

This is a haunting that’s most misunderstood as a conscious ghost. I like to think of residual hauntings like a broken record player that replays a moment over and over again. In my opinion, residual hauntings are leftover energy from what was there before. Have you ever walked into a room after two people were fighting, and you can sense the tension? That’s kind of like what a residual haunting is. Residual hauntings are caused by an emotional imprint of a traumatic event in the area (like Gettysburg). It could also be something where someone has a set routine for so long that they’re energy just keeps flowing, like someone getting a midnight snack at 3 am for 50 years.

Intelligent/Interactive

This is the type of haunting where we interact with a spirit. I tend to use the word “intelligent” haunting over “interactive” haunting. In this situation, you’re able to interact with a spirit. They are aware that you’re there and they are responding to you. While they may or may not be aware of the current time period, they are responsive. These types of ghosts are able to answer questions, (maybe) interact with equipment, and tell you their story. This is the type of spirit that most paranormal investigators encounter in the field. It is the type of spirit you will most often see on television.

Spontaneous Apparitions

This one might be my favorite type of haunting because it comes from the living. That’s right. Spontaneous apparitions come from the living. This is sometimes associated with out-of-body experiences, astral projection, just to name a few. It usually involves a person leaving their body as a way to contact someone. From my research, spontaneous apparitions aren’t usually intentional, which means that this could happen due to extreme stress or extreme desire to contact someone.

Thoughtforms & Tulpas

Okay, maybe THIS is my favorite one. It’s a tie between spontaneous apparitions and thoughtforms/tulpas. What this means is that we create our own apparitions, so to speak. We create our own objects or beings through intense thought. There are theories that the hauntings we experience at more famous locations are thoughtforms because all these ghost hunters have created ghosts through their own collective thoughts. I’m actually on board with this theory since the same stories seem to circulate around. There have been experiments all over the world dedicated to testing out this idea, with the most famous one being the Phillip Experiment in 1972.

Crisis Apparitions

Crisis apparitions are truly fascinating. The person who appears as the apparition is usually going through some sort of stress or transition, like dying. When you see a loved one right when they die, it is a crisis apparition. For example, someone reports seeing their grandmother in their home at 4 pm. Then, they found out their grandmother passed at 4 pm. But crisis apparitions are also seen as the person is dying, in an accident, trapped somewhere, extremely ill, or badly injured…meaning they are still alive. I’ve only seen one crisis apparition in my life after my grandmother passed.

Guardian

Guardian hauntings are fascinating to me. This is when you have your spirit guides, relatives, ancestors, etc. visiting you not only often, but they are causing disturbances. This is merely my personal opinion based on experience. When you have a guardian spirit haunting you, it usually means that there is something in your life that you need to change as soon as possible. Or, something disturbing is happening around you. The only case we had that involved a guardian spirit was when the client’s daughter was being abused by a relative right under their nose. Afer the relative was removed and arrested, the haunting stopped.

Poltergeist

In case you’re wondering, the 1982 movie Poltergeist gets it all wrong. Most people don’t associate poltergeists with ghosts or spirits. Instead, poltergeists come from our own minds. This type of haunting usually happens around teenaged girls going through puberty or women going through menopause. It’s a combination of hormones and extreme stress that causes a psychokinetic phenomenon. Poltergeists have also occurred with teenaged boys as well. Basically, you have to have extreme emotional stress in the picture. This phenomenon can cause objects to move, electrical disturbances, phantom voices, and even apparitions. In case you’re wondering, yes, poltergeists are extremely difficult to diagnose.

Deathbed Visions

We hear about deathbed visions or deathbed phenomena most often from nurses, hospice care, etc. Basically, from those who care for the dying. It is believed that as someone gets closer to death, they are visited by deceased friends and loved ones. Some even report seeing angels or even Jesus Christ. The dying person may even rise from a comatose state to declare their long-passed spouse is in the room. Or, they see the dying person talking to someone who isn’t there.

Elementals

These hauntings are confusing. Can we really call them a haunting? Well, maybe. I guess? Elementals are inhuman spirits that have been around for….ever. When one hears elementals, they may think of faeries, elves, sprites, will-o-wisps, the list goes on. What is interesting is that during my investigation days in California, we ran into quite a few elementals. Many elementals are tied with Native American legends, which makes me believe they’ve been around since the dawn of time. During my investigations in heavily wooded areas, I’ve experienced what I believe were elemental experiences. Finally, we usually associate elementals with nature.

Shadow Person

Shadow people are a strange phenomenon that seems that everyone knows about. Mainly because they have seen them. Shadow people are humanoid figures seen as dark masses. You can’t see any features on them like eyes, nose, mouth, ears, etc. They can be seen in your peripheral vision as well. While we usually don’t see features of clothing on shadow people, there is the fascinating case of “Hat Man.” People have reported seeing a shadow man wearing a hat. There are thousands, if not millions, of shadow people cases. While these apparitions are seen often, not a lot is known about them. Are they human? Could they be aliens trying to study us? Or, are they demonic? Well, we don’t know. They can also be seen as shapeless masses. Shadow people have also been seen moving through walls. My favorite shadow sighting is shadow cat sightings because animal spirits are adorable. You could even say there aren’t any hardcore rules when it comes to this phenomenon.

Demonic

Before I go into details, I need to shout this from the rooftops; demonic activity is rare. Like, super rare. Sadly, with mainstream television making it seem like demons are around every corner, people greatly misunderstand demonic activity. I’ve always found it interesting that folks who don’t believe in demons don’t encounter demonic activity. I truly believe that this type of haunting all depends on the mindset of the person. You could say that a demonic haunting may even fall under elemental spirits. They are not human, and they seem to possess incredible strength. When it comes to possession, we honestly can’t say only demons possess, or if possession is even real. Depending on your religious beliefs, your perception of demons will be different. I’ve seen Christians name Greek gods and goddesses as demons, while another religion may consider something else for demons.

Portal

This one is the least believable for me. Maybe it’s because I don’t really understand it? There are so many theories as to what opens a portal, how to close a portal, and all of that info is inconsistent. But I digress. A portal is basically an open door to some sort of spirit world where spirits are coming in and out as they please. You can imagine this is problematic for the person living with the portal haunting. When this happens, the urgency to close that portal is high. Many believe that portals are associated with sacred ground or places of religious worship. Either way, it’s interesting.

Tag: thoughtforms