I saw this story last week, and I didn’t blog about it because honestly, it angered me. I was hoping that a few days absorbing it would quell the anger, but no such luck. I have no problem with paranormal groups presenting their findings, to the client, to the media, anyone. But I do have an issue when groups present their findings as “proof.” Last month, Sanger Paranormal Society presented some findings that would only generously be defined as “interesting” and called it proof of the existence of Bigfoot. they even called a press conference. Now comes this story of a paranormal team parading a blurry photo around on a local TV newscast and calling it “proof” of a ghost.
Ghost? Or camera malfunction?
A local paranormal team claims it found evidence of ghosts inside of a historic Harrisburg home and they showed that evidence only to CBS 21 News.
This is the first time that a paranormal group did an investigation at the historic John Harris Mansion on Front Street. Members with S.P.I.R.I.T. Paranormal out of Reading say they can prove it’s haunted. Their special devices detected high readings as soon as they came in Saturday night.
” I had walked into the office from across the parlor, where the mirrors are, and every picture I took was blurry. I could not get one picture to focus in that room,” Lora Shirey, senior investigator, S.P.I.R.I.T. Paranormal.
A closer look showed who the ghost may be, the daughter of a former home owner.
” If you come here and look at the picture, of Margarita, you have the same forehead, hairline and dark eyes,” said Lora.” This picture was captured here. She was in motion.”
Lora then took us upstairs, to the former servant quarters, where previously she met Luisa.
” Luisa, are you here ? Can you tap on something, make a loud noise?” asked Lora.
The former servant ghost didn’t respond then. But earlier, she did let them know she was there.
” We heard loud noise, bang, when I asked if it was Luisa right over here, in this area,” said Lora.
But that’s not all Lora heard.
” As we were leaving that room, we actually captured a woman’s voice saying, don’t go,” said Lora.
The paranormal team will investigate through the night, hoping to find even more evidence of ghosts. To see the evidence, click “find it” on the home page of this website.
I think the paranormal field has enough blurry photographs by now. Is this one interesting? Mildly. But this is more likely human error in taking the photo or a mechanical malfunction within the camera than anything paranormal. Perhaps it is a ghost, but it is not “proof.” If there are other, more rational explanation, than doesn’t it make more sense that one of those would suffice? The problem with paranormal evidence is that we don’t know what these things are that we are catching. Is an EVP a random radio signal? A voice of a spirit? Or just some natural phenomenon not related to either that we simply haven’t discovered yet? This photo isn’t proof of anything, merely an anomaly. And for this CBS station to report it as “proof” is really poor journalism. I’m not sure if S.P.I.R.I.T. Paranormal claimed this to be proof or it the reporters put those words in their mouths, but either way, it’s irresponsible and detrimental to a field that is already trying very hard to find some shred of credibility.
21 News.
