Articles

The following articles were all written by members of EPIC. They aim to be informative yet accessible to people who are curious about the paranormal and paranormal investigations.

Ghost Hunting 101: So, you think you might have a ghost? Do you hear strange noises at night, creaking footsteps on the stairs and experience cold spots throughout the house? More people than you would think experience these phenomena; next time you’re at a party ask how many people have encountered a ghost. If your experience is anything like mine you will find that nearly half of the guests will have some story to tell, whether they are skeptics or not. Read more...

Orbs: Dust in the Wind: There has been a lot of attention paid in recent years to the phenomenon known as "orbs." Orbs are the round, seemingly luminescent forms captured in many photographs. In many pictures, you can see multiple orbs, floating around, almost as if hoping some poor mortal will see them. Google any paranormal investigations website, and I'm sure that at least 9 out of 10 of the sites you find will have a section devoted to orbs. Read more...

Apophenia - Stuck in the Matrix: Apophenia, commonly known in paranormal studies as "matrixing," is a common phenomena in which the brain perceives a stimuli, such as an image or a sound, as something it's not. The human brain naturally attempts to find logic in the illogical, and will detect patterns, sounds, or smells that don't exist. Examples of this include seeing the Virgin Mary in a grilled cheese sandwich, or, in terms of ghostly activity, seeing a shape of a person or face in mist, a window, or some other object. Read more...

Trigger Objects: What are they, and how do they fit into the world of paranormal investigation? A trigger object is an inanimate object such as a toy, personal belonging, or other object associated with the deceased, which is used to attract the entity's attention or possibly capture the object in motion by creating possible physical contact of the object by the entity. Read more...

Electronic Voice Phenomena: Do spirits speak all around us, unheard by the living? Many believers in EVP think so. EVP is short for Electronic Voice Phenomena: unidentified voices that appear in electronic media recordings. Read more...

Anecdotal Evidence in the Case for Ghosts: A group of paranormal investigators was coming to talk to the public about investigative techniques and to display samples of evidence they had compiled, which led me to ask if anyone had ever seen a ghost. The nonbelievers among us quietly scoffed and looked amused while those who felt that they had had a legitimate experience jumped to tell me all about it. Read More...

Poltergeists: Unwelcome Guests: Stories featuring poltergeists typically focus heavily on raps, thumps, knocks, footsteps, and bed-shaking, all without a discernable point of origin or physical reason for occurrence. Many accounts of poltergeist activity detail objects being thrown about the room, furniture being moved, and even people being levitated. Read more...

Types of Ghosts: A ghost is a ghost is a ghost? Not by a long shot. Ghosts differ by type and here for your edification I have compiled a list of commonly seen (and to give skeptics their due, “not really seen”) kinds of ghosts, with accompanying explanations: Read more...

Conference House Field Trip: The Conference House, also known as the Billopp House, is a colonial mansion in the Tottenville section of Staten Island, N.Y. It's historically significant because on September 11th, 1776, Ben Franklin, John Adams and Edward Rutledge held a Peace Conference with British officials, in an attempt to stop the Revolutionary War. They failed. Read more...