My girlfriend (born in Derby, possibly the most haunted city in England) has been a Ouija board user since her teens, and I have always straddled that line between entertainment and paranormal phenomena. I am also a sound expert with extensive recording equipment experience and knowledge, and most importantly an open-minded skeptic. We have recently become ghost hunters here in South Florida ... mainly for the fun of it! And what fun it is! Our services are free.
I've performed many mentalism performances, but have never performed a seance for pay, and I have personally discovered, as have other performers who have written about seances and performed them, that you don't need any gimmicks or any tricks whatsoever.
In our ghost hunting team we have a K2 EMF reader, we use Digital Dowsing equipment (the new wave of paranormal investigations) like the iOvilus and the emFX for the iPhone/iPad/iPod, as well as their PX handheld device (looking forward to their upcoming ITC app). We also use a Sony digital recorder for possible EVPs, a Ghost Box (or Frank's Box), Pendulums, dowsing rods, the Ouija board, and our innate and very human psychic abilities!
Let me tell you ... with all this going, we always get some kind of result. Stuff comes through: the EMF meters register strange peaks at specific and relevant moments, the iOvilus speaks relevant words (usually relevant to the environment we are investigating, though it sometimes shoots off many unrelated words as well), the digital recorder picks up EVPs on occasion, things like strange noises, whispers, growls, unknown voices ... where they come from, I truly don't know; the Ghost Box often answers your questions, no kidding. Ask for a name, it replies, ask the spirits questions and answers will often be revealed, it's an interesting tool.
And all this without having to fake or gimmick anything.
Last night we conducted a sort of seance in my home. Nothing came out of the digital recorder, no EVPs, but AFTER the Ouija spelled out names and words, the iOvilus, which we have no control over, sounded relevant words to what was coming through the board. The K2 EMF reader was near the board, cell phones and 2-way radios were off, and yet it spiked during curious moments. For instance, we asked the Ouija if anyone was there who wanted to communicate with us. The planchette went to "yes". We asked for a name, the planchette didn't move. The iOvilus said "No". The EMF reader spiked twice. We asked the spirit if it had lived in that land. The planchette went to yes, the iOvilus said "Home". Cool.
After a bit we stopped with the board and began using the Ghost Box:
Is there anyone here? Give us a name: "George".
Are you the same one we were just communicating with on the ouija board? "Very different".
And on it went. I even asked about
how the Coral Castle had been built, and it replied "It's wide open!". The Coral Castle IS wide open, and I'm not sure what this means, but I'll ask again. In fact I have a series of interesting questions I plan to ask in an upcoming contact session. Keepin' it real....
So what is all this stuff coming through these paranormal tools? I don't know. Is it our own energy? Incredible coincidences? Other kinds of unmeasured energy? Contact from a different dimension? Spirits? Our wild imagination? Not sure, but stuff does comes through and makes for a fun time had by all!
THE EQUIPMENT:iOvilus: The iOvilus is based on the same method of ITC communications as the highly controversial Ovilus no longer produced.
The iOvilus produces speech based on changes to sensors in the iPhone or iPod Touch. Simply, the idea is that an outside force can affect a change that registers a response. Instrumental Trans Communications "ITC" is not new, however, the methods used to try and achieve it are changing greatly. The iOvilus is simple to use; start the app and listen to what is said. Remember, the environment drives the output of iOvilus using a 1000 word dictionary to achieve ITC Communications.
If you get an iOvilus, I suggest you place it down somewhere and leave it mostly alone. If you handle it too much, swinging it around, it will capture all kinds of things in its environment and become very active, spewing words that may not have anything to do with anything. That's been my experience. If you choose to hold it in your hand, then don't move around too much and you should get more significant results. Keep in mind that the instrument will sometimes go in a machine gun life frenzy, listen to it, it may be trying to tell you something.
I just turned mine on and asked if there was a spirit nearby who would like to use it to communicate with all of us here at Alchemy Moon. It said "Drone ... about".
Then after a couple of minutes, it said "Black". I asked if this had anything to do with Alchemy Moon's future, is it "black"? After a moment it replied: "Dime". I asked if this meant AC was going to make money? And what about the "black" reference? C'mon spirit, come through! Give me something to work with here! It then replied: "School" (Chris?), then "Chair". I was getting confused so I asked the visiting spirit to please sum it all up for this particular conversation: "Flow". Makes sense to me....
emFX:The iPhone has a 3 axis magnetometer do not confuse this with a tri-field device. Each axis reads emf the same way just oriented differently. In the 3 axis mode emf is calculated by taking the square root of the absolute value sum of all 3 axis. Single axis mode returns the highest absolute value of the three axis.
Using a 3 axis magnetometer emFX has several functions. The Main display show the current EM value in nano Tesla or milligauss. The main display also shows the minimum, average and maximum values. The mode selector allows switches between nano Tesla, milligauss or Yes/NO ITC Mode. ITC Yes/No mode talks! An average value is calculated. If the sampled value is greater then the average by the selected % the word 'yes' is spoken. If the sampled value is less then the average by the selected % the word 'no' is spoken. Words will only be spoke when the level returns to the average for a few seconds before going higher or lower.
Axis selector allow 3 axis in a RMS averaging or Single Axis, Single Axis the highest absolute value of the three axis will be used. In milligauss mode the LED's also light with the same scale as several popular EMF meters used for paranormal investigation.
Note: The led scale changes in the nano Tesla range. 1 milligauss = 100 nano Tesla.
K2 EMF Reader:Detects the ELF range (50 to 1,000Hz) & VLF range (1,000 to 20,000Hz) * Five level milliGauss ranges * 50 & 60 Hz operation * 9Vdc Operation * Single Axis * Accuracy of ±5% at 50-60Hz * Instantaneous Response To EMF Fluctuations & Spikes.
The Ghost Box (Frank's Box):The argument has been made that Thomas Edison was working on a ghost communication device – a ghost box of sorts, to contact the dead. However, there are many Edison experts that would argue that it was only legend, a myth that is untrue.
Many believe that a Ghost Box is the first two-way communication device between the earthly realm and the spiritual realm, Frank’s box truly was the first of its kind. Frank’s Box is a ghost box that produces random voltage to create raw audio from an AM tuner, where it is then amplified and then fed into an echo chamber and recorded. In short, ghost boxes such as Frank’s box create audio bits and white noise that ghosts and/or spirits can then manipulate into forming words – real time two-way communication. Frank Sumption was the original inventor of the ghost box, as he conceived of the idea by experimenting with Stefan Bion’s EVPMaker software to record EVP, and was also inspired by an October 1995 Popular Electronics Magazine article that asked, “Are the dead trying to communicate with us through electronic means? Try these experiments and see for yourself.”
The “Ghost Box,” as it has come to be known, is an electronic method of sprit communication best categorized under Instrumental Transcommunication (ITC). ITC is the use of electronic video and audio equipment to communicate across dimensions with discarnate human and animal spirits, and other entities that claim nonhuman status.
It is the random audio that allows the spirits and other entities to form their voices. White noise works because of this random principal, but random material that contains human speech frequencies and fragments works much better, and more consistently, possibly because some kind of resonance on the quantum level is taking place—akin to using the quantum soup of the universe as a carrier.
The ghost box can be used for EVP, as it can be recorded, then analyzed for messages from spirits and ghosts. However, what makes the ghost box unique is that it can be heard audibly through either an external speaker or headset, where responses from the other side can be heard and responded to live – not unlike chatting with someone by walkie-talkie. It does require the user to train his or her ear to hear the messages that are brought forth, as the noise and audio bits can at times be somewhat distracting. But if one experiments long enough with a ghost box, it will become apparent that the audio sound bites and white noise will begin to be manipulated to form answers to questions, phrases and more. For this reason alone, it is recommend to record all sessions and listening to them later. Upon playback, one might be amazed at what is captured in the audio.
The function of the ghost box and how it works seems to be affected by the strength of radio signals in an area. Poor signal quality reduces the ability for spirits and ghosts to make contact through the device. Perhaps there is not enough audio bits to be manipulated successfully for real-time communication. That would indicate that enhancing the antenna on these devices could improve results by the researcher.
The biggest debate over the ghost box might be just who in the heck is coming through these devices? Are they spirits? Ghosts? Demons (the religious ask)? Aliens? Our own projected thoughts? The research continues in this area, but many believe both ghosts, spirits and beings from another realm are making contact through the ghost box. Experimenters have received positive, good messages, as well as negative and cursing messages. This would indicate that perhaps the range of messengers who are able to manipulate this device into audible words is broad. Some believe that there are spirits from the light called “controls” or “operators” who work to establish contact and can bring other spirits and ghosts forward through the ghost box. Some of these same operators have been recorded coming through different ghost boxes by different people in different geographical locations. This would lead one to think that operators are involved from the other side in order to try and organize a grid of control and functionality. Whatever the case may hold to be true, it does appear that one’s connection with the other side seems to influence how good and what type of results will be experienced through the ghost box. It just may be that those who are recording the best results might be psychic in nature, truly connected with the spirit realm prior to the existence of any ghost box.
PX:The PX is 1/2 Ovilus and 1/2 Paranormal Puck ... ALL ITC
Speech is formed by environmental changes! Can run stand-a-lone or with a computer, built in speakers.
The Ouija Board:"Ouija knows all the answers. Weird and mysterious. Surpasses, in its unique results, mind reading, clairvoyance and second sight. It furnishes never failing amusement and recreation for the entire family. As unexplainable as Hindu magic—more intense and absorbingly interesting than a mystery story. Ouija gives you entertainment you have never experienced. It draws the two people using it into close companionship and weaves about them a feeling of mysterious isolation. Unquestionably the most fascinating entertainment for modern people and modern life."
With these words, William Fuld (businessman, designer, toy maker, with no branch factories or offices) invites you, the American people, to enter the strange, twilight world of Ouija, the Wonderful Talking Board.
The Automatism Theory:
The clinical term is "ideomotor response." You may not realize that you are moving the message indicator, but you are. This is similar to automatic writing, also known as automatism, a well-understood psychological phenomenon. A spirit medium, in years past, would hold a pencil in one hand and pay no attention as it wrote furiously. Some believed that these written messages came from the spirits. Others felt that the messages came from a clever medium. At any rate, most proponents of the Automatism Theory think that it is very possible to move the planchette unconsciously. They claim that the Ouija board opens a kind of shortcut from the conscious to the subconscious mind. Collective automatism occurs when more than one person is operating the board. Automatists sometimes use the Ouija board as a tool for special humanistic psychotherapies as a way to foster growth by releasing ideas from the depths of the inner mind. This was particularly popular during the human-potential movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
The Spiritualist Theory:
Ouija messages obviously come from forces beyond our control. You contact or "channel" these entities through the board. They are discarnate spirits, ghosts, or other ethereal beings who have a purpose for contacting the living. Many advocates of the Spiritualist Theory think that there is no harm in contacting the other realm because most spirits are basically benign and have important information to share. A few of these same advocates will perform elaborate cleansing rituals before using the board, just in case they run into a stinker. Other Spiritualist Theory supporters, often religious fundamentalists, believe that no one should ever use the Ouija board. Malevolent forces may masquerade as good and cause emotional damage, even death to the user of the board. They offer as proof the many accounts of spirit possession reported by "experts" on the occult and demonology. The absence of any actual emergency room admissions for these Ouija board tragedies does not discourage this kind of thinking.
In the end, debates are not likely to settle the matter in favor of either theory. Science will continue to press for conclusive evidence in what is, essentially, a faith-based state of affairs. For every argument one way, there is a counter to the contrary. For example, skeptics think that blindfolding or handcuffing a medium so that the board cannot operate proves the Automatism Theory. Spiritualists point out that this simply indicates that the board will not work if the medium is handicapped, not whether the messages originate from the medium or the spirits. That the spirits need human eyes to see the letters, and human hands to touch the message indicator, is blatantly obvious, they will say. The planchette does not move unaided. The spirits guide it through the medium. The board has no power of its own but is just a tool to facilitate spiritual communication. And so it goes.
There's real mystery behind some of these things ... science can't explain all these mysteries yet. For now, true mysteries they remain.
Apart from the interesting ghost hunting, I plan to construct a contact session/seance official performance here in my area also using some of the techniques I have learned from Bob Cassidy and Paul Voodini. There are rumors that I may join with Theodore J. Grab in England later this year for a special and one of a kind experience! Good times!!!!
Please share any comments!
Subject: Ghost Hunting 
