Orbs,spirit essence or dust particles?

Whenever we look at reports from investigations the word “orb” is one of the most widely used. But what is an “orb” ? In its true sense it is a circle of light, however we tend to use the word to describe moving lights caught on camcorder and unexplainable lights caught on digital camera, basically any light source that cannot be explained. Therefore maybe the term “light anomaly” would be more appropriate. So, what are the theories about these strange lights? I would like to start by saying that were I to discuss all the theories at this time this report would turn in to a trilogy therefore I will attempt to give a basic outline of this vast subject. The Believers Theories For many who believe in spirit a light anomaly is thought to be the early manifestation of a spirit, the early stages of it trying to show itself if you like. They are also in some cases believed to be life forms that travel in groups and are believed to be the human soul or life force of those that once inhabited a physical body here on earth. By some, it is also believed that ghosts prefer the form of an Orb (ball of light) because it takes less energy than full manifestation, moving objects etc.It is considered possible that small orbs take up the least amount of energy and apparitions and other fuller shapes take up the most. It is thought that more small light anomalies are caught on camera in the warmer months as in the colder parts of the year ghosts find it easier to take on shapes other than orbs. The thinking behind this is that in the colder months there is the most static electricity in the atmosphere which spirit can use to help them manifest or show themselves in different ways. The Theories Against It has been proven that certain logical reasons can explain some light anomalies caught on camera. The best known of course is dust. Dust is 3 dimensional and therefore able to reflect light. At the right angle, a camera flash or infra-red light will bounce off a dust particle and create an “orb” effect. Insects too can create this result as can spiders webs. When you consider that much investigating is done in old buildings there is usually a fair amount of dust and insect activity. Moisture in the air can also create “orbs”. On a recent photograph we captured what appeared to be thousands of orbs, however, when we got a similar result at a later date a common factor was noted, the air was full of moisture with a light mist. Another thing to bear in mind is how light can reflect off a camera lens. On some photographs what are initially thought to be light anomalies are discovered to be nothing more exciting than the flash bouncing off a surface. When using camcorders it is important to note that one camcorder will pick up infra-red glare off another even though this is not visible to the human eye, this can cause the effect of strange lights on the screen. Where does this leave us ? As investigators this leaves us with an obvious problem, when do we consider “orbs” to be paranormal. As a group we all have our own thoughts on this however there are some things on which we all agree. If we have been in a room for some time and no light anomalies have been caught and then, with no environmental changes, we have “orbs” appear we feel it is unlikely to be dust as if dust was in the area it would be fair to suggest that it would be picked up regularly in that area. We have studied dust particles caught on camera and they are usually very hazy and move in no set direction therefore when we get very bright lights that move virtually in a straight line horizontally or vertically we tend to rule out dust or indeed insects This also goes for certain orbs we get on camcorder that actually flash as they move across the screen. Insects tend to be easy to distinguish because on close inspection it is actually possible to see the wings, also the flight pattern of an insect is easily recognisable. Of most excitement to us is the light anomaly that seems to go one way across the screen and then return following the same vertical or horizontal line, this would be impossible for an insect or dust particle. Another example of when investigators get particularly excited by orbs is when they seem to appear on request. Many groups, including ours, have had instances where for a long period of time no light anomalies have been caught, and then, seemingly in response to a request for a sign, an orb is captured on film. For some, this will be seen as coincidence, for others proof that it is a sign from spirit that they are there with us. As with most paranormal topics the light anomaly issue is one which may never be fully explained. We can find many situations where “orbs” can be disproved as in any way linked to spirit, however proving those times when they may be is almost impossible. What would it take to answer the question for once and for all? I guess we won’t know that until it happens if indeed it ever does.

Ghosts are the mind's way of interpreting how the body reacts to certain surroundings

Ghosts are the mind's way of interpreting how the body reacts to certain surroundings, say UK psychologists.
A chill in the air, low-light conditions and even magnetic fields may trigger feelings that "a presence" is in a room - but that is all they are, feelings.
This explanation of ghosts is the result of a large study in which researchers led hundreds of volunteers around two of the UK's supposedly most haunted locations - Hampton Court Palace, England, and the South Bridge Vaults in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Dr Richard Wiseman, of the University of Hertfordshire, and his colleagues say their work has thrown up some interesting data to suggest why so many people can be spooked in the same building but provides no evidence that ghosts are real.
Clustered experiences
In Hampton Court - alleged to contain the ghost of the executed Catherine Howard, 5th wife of Henry VIII - the volunteers were asked to face their fear.
They had to record any unusual experiences, such as hearing footsteps, feeling cold or a presence in the room, as well as marking the location and intensity of the experience on a floor plan.
Before this, candidates were also asked to reveal any prior knowledge of hauntings at the site.
The researchers then examined the distribution of unusual experiences.
In a "normal" setting, you would expect the ghostly encounters to be evenly spaced, but in classic haunting, they would be clustered around certain places.
The results were striking: participants did record a higher number of unusual experiences in the most classically haunted places of Hampton Court, areas such as the Georgian rooms and the Haunted Gallery.
And in the Edinburgh vaults, the result was the same - the vaults considered most haunted were the locations where the most unusual encounters occurred during the study.
Environmental cues
The researchers interpret this as evidence that hauntings are a real phenomenon because they are concentrated in specific places over time.
Indeed, it is known for people from different cultures to consistently report similar experiences over perhaps hundreds of years.
"Hauntings exist, in the sense that places exist where people reliably have unusual experiences," Dr Richard Wiseman told BBC News Online. "The existence of ghosts is a way of explaining these experiences."
But are the ghosts real? Dr Wiseman and his colleagues are not so sure.
They claim, somewhat paradoxically, that the hauntings exist but the ghosts do not.
"People do have consistent experiences in consistent places, but I think that this is driven by visual factors mainly, and perhaps some other environmental cues," he said.
Sensitive people
Making detailed measurements at each place, such as temperature, light intensity and room space, Dr Wiseman thinks that people are responding unconsciously to environmental cues and the general "spookiness" of their surroundings.
He cites examples of mediums successfully indicating haunted areas of buildings with no prior knowledge of them.
Spiritualists interpret this as evidence that the ghosts are there, but another explanation is that the mediums are simply more sensitive to the environmental cues that result in haunted feelings - not sensitivity to the ghosts themselves.
Sceptics have long maintained that ghostly encounters are influenced by a person's knowledge of the place and its history, the "prior knowledge hypothesis".
But this study refutes that explanation, as the statistics showed that prior knowledge did not affect the areas in which strange experiences were recorded.
"We found little if no evidence that people's prior knowledge mattered," said Dr Wiseman. "If anything, it made them veer away from having experiences in the known haunted sites."
Dr Wiseman and colleagues report their data in the British Journal of Psychology
source http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3044607.stm