Have you ever been laying on the grass looking up at the sky and seen a rabbit or a puppy in the clouds? According to scientists, you have just experienced Pareidolia in its most common form.

Often called "brain matrixing," Pareidolia is when a vague or random stimulus (often an image or sound) is perceived as significant. Thus, a cloud can become a puppy, or -- in the case of paranormal investigation -- a camera strap or thumb that strayed in front of the lens can become the ghost of Abraham Lincoln. We have all experienced this in one form or another. The reason, researchers say, is that humans are hard-wired to want to find patterns in the world.

A good example of this is the work of Japanese researcher Chonosuke Okamura. Okamura self published a series of reports titled "Original Report of the Okamura Fossil Laboratory," in which he detailed his examination of small inclusions in limestone samples dating back to the Silurian period. He claimed that when he looked at those rocks under high magnification, he found the fossils of hundreds of tiny animals: humans, gorillas, dogs, dragons, dinosaurs, and others. The kicker here is that none of the fossils was bigger than the period at the end of this sentence. His theory was that the only evolution life on earth had experienced was a change in size -- that we are all much bigger then we were millions of years ago.
 
Now I'm not sure what kind of doctor Dr. Okamura was, but I'm not buying it, and neither did the scientific community. Instead, he had almost certainly experienced a case of Pareidolia. He had seen what he wanted to see -- in this case, tiny fossils in the random patterns of the rock.

How does this relate to the paranormal field you ask? Well, it's obvious. We spend our time looking for the faces of spirits, and listening for voices that wouldn't normally be there. Sometimes, we find them. But is it possible that some of the "evidence" we find is just the result of Pareidolia?

If I had a nickel every time I've had a photo shoved at me while the person said "don't ya see that face right there? He's winking at us" I could retire to Hawaii. Once a fellow investigator says that, however, it's hard not to see what they want you to. Of course I see it now, you say. You just made me want to see it, so my brain did!

Now before my fellow investigators decide to burn me at the stake for paranormal heresy, let me say this: There are real photos of spirits and real recordings of EVP. The point I'm stumbling around to make is that we want to see those faces and we want to hear those EVPs very badly. It's what we spend thousands of hours and hundreds of dollars looking for, so anytime we look at a photo or listen to a recording, our brains want to see or hear a ghost there. Therefore, we must be doubly cautious when examining our evidence -- not only cautious of seeing what we want to see and finding what we want to find due to Pareidolia, but also cautious of getting so stoked about a piece of evidence that we potentially spread our Pareidolia to others -- excitedly demonstrating how that white smudge is definitely Abraham Lincoln's ghost if you close one eye and tilt your head. Left alone to their own initial take on the evidence, that fellow investigator might have pointed out the blurry "Sony" logo stamped across "Lincoln's" chest..

Of course, we all want to take that positive photo or record that perfect EVP. But,if we "cry wolf" at even the slightest blur or orb, soon we will be just another bunch of crazies worshiping the image of The Virgin Mary burnt into a tortilla.

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I had planned to stop by my stepfather's grave and drop off some flowers while I was on my way to work on Saturday morning. It was the one-year anniversary of his death and though I never really liked the man, I had promised my mother that I would do it. Mom was still laid up in bed after falling last month, she was trying to keep that insane cat she has from running out the front door when I had accidentally left it open. Who knew that you could break a hip tripping over a damn umbrella stand? I had felt so awful, after thinking about it I probably left the door open on purpose, I hate that cat. To start the day off really well, I had sometime during the night decided to turn off my alarm clock, don't ask. Anyway, after taking half a shower and brushing a couple of teeth I raced to work, completely forgetting about the flowers, and the promise I had made to good ole' mom.

She called me about noon to ask what kind of flowers I had left for her beloved. Instead of explaining to her how my day went, and risk making her cry, and believe me she would cry Mom had guilt trips down to an art, I lied. I felt really awful about it, but damn it's not like she would know whether I put the damn weeds there in the morning or evening and surely old Frank wouldn't care, he had stopped caring about anything a year ago when they threw the first shovel full of dirt in his face. So, after clocking out I stopped by a convenience store and bought some of those cheap flowers they keep for husbands to buy for their wives as they're picking up that six-pack for Friday night. The sign said "FRESH FLOWERS $5.99", fresh was obviously in the eye of the beholder, hell, Frank probably looked better than these flowers did.

I couldn't exactly remember where the grave was, I knew the area but not the exact plot, and after stomping around in the land of the no-longer caring for thirty minutes or so, I found him. It kinda surprised me when I noticed the headstone; it sort of jumped out at me, yea, you guessed it graveyards creep me out, don't they everybody? After all, they are filled with dead people! I walked up to the granite headstone and placed the flowers on top,

I stepped back to read the engraving and lost my breath. It no longer read "Frank Wiley" but instead read…but it couldn't. It made no sense. Where Franks name had been only moments ago was now replaced with my name. I stared in disbelief, my feet frozen in place and my mouth instantly drying to a crisp, I couldn't have uttered a syllable if my life had depended on it, my voice was gone. When I was finally able to move I looked around to see if anyone was there, maybe playing a really bad joke on me, but I was alone. I glanced back down and Frank's name was back on the stone.

Had I imagined it all, I don't think I did. I made my way back to my car dazed and in utter confusion. I have never told anyone this story until now. That day still haunts my mind and I don't think I will ever be able to explain it, but one thing I can say for sure is that I have not stepped a foot back into that graveyard since. Maybe it was Frank "messing" with me, letting me know that just because I can't see him, he is still here, watching and laughing.

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Most
of us who have jumped into this paranormal hobby have one thing in common, we
believe wholeheartedly that life exists beyond our physical bodies and we are
searching for answers. For me it was a search. I will readily admit that death
is a scary scenario for me. Until recently, I didn’t really believe in any god.
That left only one option after death, nothingness. I don’t know how you, the
reader, feels about just one day ceasing to exist, but for me it was an
unacceptable answer. Nobody wants to believe that when your body gives out
that’s just it, no trumpets at Heaven’s gate, no purgatory, no second chances,
only darkness and nothing else.

I want
to know what is going to happen to me, not
my body but the essence of what makes up Jason Hall in all his glory and
shortcomings.  There is a line from a
song that says “…You can’t tell me it all ends with a slow ride in a hearse.”
This sums up what I think, I refuse to believe that one day we will all just
cease to be. This is why I spend hundreds of dollars a year to traipse around
the state searching for proof of life after death.  It is not to prove it to the skeptics or my
friends, or for the ten seconds of sheer terror surrounded by four hours of
boredom. I do it because I have to know. I do it because I need to know.
Earlier this year I received an answer to my question and it was harder to
accept than I ever thought it would be.

It
was early spring, we were investigating the Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Booneville,AR.  I have always looked forward to this
investigation because it seems there is always something paranormal going on
there. The first time I went to Booneville in 2006, I captured some good
photos. I have one that actually looks like a face coming through the floor.
These kinds of photos are always good to get, but I wanted real proof. A photo
can always be explained away by a hundred different explanations: light,
reflections, shadows etc.  They can never
be one hundred percent verified. I left that investigation a little
disappointed that I hadn’t seen anything with my own two eyes. 

The
investigation this spring was very different, towards the end of the night Alan
was trying to make contact with the dowsing rods and contact is exactly what he
made. Alan made contact with a female on the fifth floor, after some yes or no
questions it was determined that this spirit wanted to take us to her room on
the fourth floor. To be honest I wasn’t very impressed at first, until she led
us to her room. We were all walking down the hallway on the fourth floor, Alan
asked her to point out her room as we were walking. All of the sudden the rods
swung to the left and pointed to room 445. 
Here is where I started feeling a little antsy, like something might
really be happening, and I was witnessing it. We walked into the room and Alan
started asking questions. It turns out she was a female patient who had died in
this very room, she had brown hair and brown eyes and children (when she was
alive). As I was watching this entire spiritual Q&A, I couldn’t help feeling
sorry for her. Why is she relegated to the place she had died, how depressing
is that? Is this what happens when we die? Are we stuck in whatever place we
are unfortunate enough to die?

Alan
talked to her for about twenty minutes, and the entire time my mind was racing.
I was truly frightened. I am not sure if I was scared of the fact that there
was an actual ghost in my presence or if I was scared of being like her when I
died. I just knew that these thoughts would be on my mind for some time. I
wanted to leave that room and that building as fast as I could, and never go
back.

This
was the first time in my three years of paranormal investigating that I had
witnessed something so surreal and frightening at the same time.  I had just started attending a church, I was
trying to feel out that route, and then this happened. These two things clashed
and there was no reconciliation in my mind. It seems I was asking questions
when I was not ready to receive the answers. I sent my final investigation
report to Alan along with a note that I was considering giving up my position
in Spirit Seekers. He told me to think about it and not to make a decision
until I could talk to him or Angie.

I
pondered all this for about a week. I had time to calm down and think about
things rationally, without the burden of fear. I finally concluded that I had
initiated this search and it would be irresponsible and cowardly not to
continue to seek, just because some of the answers made me uncomfortable. These
experiences have made me think, and thought for the advancement of knowledge is
always a worthy cause. As you can see I am still here, I didn’t quit. Because some
things you just cannot un-know.

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Most of us have had that feeling
when we walk into an investigation site. You know the one I’m talking about,
that tingly, hair standing up on the back of your neck feeling. To some of us
that can be an indicator of things that will happen that night, for others it’s
just the imagination running wild. I remember one night at Booneville I was on
the 4^th floor changing out a tape by myself, everyone else was on
other floors and yes I know we are supposed to be on the buddy system but hey I
was only going to be a minute right? The minute I got to the floor I
immediately felt as if I were being watched and any minute someone or something
was going to jump out and kill me. I was dead I just knew it.  About the time I was beginning to bolt for
the staircase several other members arrived on the floor. The feeling instantly
left me. There is power in numbers.  My
point is that our mind sees what it wants to, and most of the time it reads a
false positive.

This is why we can never completely
rely on our feelings when on an investigation. We must have scientific data to
back up or claims. Anyone can say that they have seen a ghost or that they were
touched, but we must, if we are to be taken seriously, have proof. In our chosen
path of enlightenment, many out there give the rest of us a bad name. We have
to separate ourselves from the “kook” faction.

We do this by using the scientific
tools at our disposal. What should we be doing first when we walk into an
investigation? We should be taking base temperature readings and running our
EMF meters through every room to establish a base EMF.  We should be finding out the history of the
location and the people that live there now. Never take anyone’s word on
anything “show me” should be our standard reply when told about something in a
certain location.

We must take many photos; these
photos can sometimes be our best evidence when backed up by other scientific
data. In my opinion, a general rule of thumb for a small site like a private
residence should be no less than two hundred photos. In a larger site like Booneville,
each investigator should aim for three to four hundred photos. I know this
seems like a lot to go through and check later, but that’s the nature of the
game we play. Ante up or fold your hand.

We all know there are certain
members of our team that have a gift. A “sense’ that allows them to see what we
are blind too, feelings which we are numb too. These are some of our most
important assets at any investigation. We should be following their lead, when
they sense something we should concentrate all of our scientific instruments in
that area. They provide us the map but it is up to the rest of us to capture
the X that marks the spot.   

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