I’ll be honest with you.  Business has been quiet.  The BHAPS eight-hundred number hasn’t been ringing off of the hook.  My e-mail has been dormant (other than the obligatory “ED treatment for men”, “You’ve won 12,000,000 dollars in Nigerian currency, etc.).  All in all, things have been stagnant.  Why is this?

Here’s a little experiment for you:  Next time you’re at work having that morning chat with your co-workers, mention a place you’ve heard was haunted.  Give a few details/interesting claims.  I can just about guarantee you’ll receive an abundance of stories and/or personal experiences regarding the paranormal in some living quarters, somewhere at some time.  Some may even step forward and bravely reveal their own experiences.

My question is this:  The paranormal is a relatively comfortable conversational piece (in an informal, “fun” way).  There are countless people who will readily give up information regarding what they have experienced or heard, or what those close to them have experienced.  Naturally, I wonder, if there are so many experiences out there, why is business slow?  Why do so many fail to step forward?  Does it take a demonic presence interrupting home life by throwing things, changing the channel to Martha Stewart and clawing the homeowners before someone steps forward?  I think not. 

I can only theorize that people fail to step forward to a professional organization regarding their claims due to apprehensiveness for whatever reason.  I wonder if people share these stories in a non-formal setting simply because they know that their claims are their own; there is no objective analysis of what they’re saying.  It is simply an interesting story…usually, a story that is told without question (and they’re fun to tell, too).

Therein lies the problem.  These people have legitimate stories with nothing to back them up!  Do these people wish to leave their stories as simply that, a story?  I know personally I’d want more.  This is where I experience great confusion amongst those that claim they have experienced the paranormal.  My natural question is, “Don’t you want some hard evidence?”  

Apparently, most don’t.  People fail to seek professional involvement for a plethora of reasons, and I certainly cannot fault anyone for their decision to keep their experience “their own”.  However, I do find it curious that so many people have such claims, yet fail to introduce these probable paranormal claims to those that formally investigate it.  Then again, I’m sure there are many people who have recognized what is going in their residence and simply accept it.  I applaud their fortitude.

No, this isn’t some desperate attempt at advertising to have the readers contact my organization.  Secondly, it is by no means an attempt to make those experiencing something feel that they have to contact someone who “specializes” in this field.  Above all, it is a curious inquiry I have pondered.  It makes me wonder:  Do people really accept the paranormal?  Insomuch that they feel contacting an outside agency is futile?

Well, if that’s the truth, I’ve got to say that I’m impressed with the general knowledge of the public regarding the paranormal. 

However, if it is fear that keeps these people from stepping forward, please know that there is help out there.  Don’t be afraid to call, my message box has been lonely and empty. 

‘Til next time…

 If you feel that you are experiencing paranormal activity and would like help, please contact BHAPS at:  Help@BHAPS.com or feel free to call us toll-free at: 1-866-510-6130. 

I revealed a few blogs ago that I had experienced the paranormal in my own home.  I also revealed the fact that my German Shepherd, Zeus, seemed to realize the encounters as well as I did. 

My question here is “why?”

Is there a reason that the domesticated friends we call our pets are capable of seeing that which we tend to shrug off?  Is it their innocence?  Is it their color-blindness?  What is it?

I think it runs along the same lines as a child who is convinced of his “invisible friend”.  We laugh it off; think it’s cute, and move along.  Is there more to it?  Is it the simplicity of the unadulterated mind which allows one to see that which “isn’t there”?  I can’t help but wonder if our adult minds aren’t so convoluted with tasks, taxes, bills, worries, troubles that we have essentially “numbed” ourselves to that which is all around us…I know, I tend to go out on a limb. 

There must be a reason as to why each time my wife and I have experienced paranormal activity in our home, it seems our dog was aware of it before we were.  There must be a reason as to why children are more prone than adults to see a situation which appears paranormal and give an explanation regarding its cause.

I have a lot of thoughts on a lot of things.  I look at all possible evidence before I come to any conclusions.  That being said…I can’t come up with a single thing to deduce why domesticated animals and children seem to have a “heads-up” on the paranormal.

Okay, no witty ideas of my own on this one…I’m reaching out to the readers…

Any insights on this?

Ignorance, closed-mindedness; call it what you’d like.  It’s plagued the human race for ages.  In the early 1400’s, it was a generally accepted “fact” that the world was flat.  I mean, come on, it looks flat, so it’s gotta be, right?  After all, what we see, is.  Right?   

The greeks suspected that the world was round as early as 500 BC http://octopus.gma.org/space1/nav_map.html.  It took the voyage of Christopher Columbus and finally Magellan’s voyages to finally prove that indeed, this flat-looking landscape is actually a giant sphere.  People were astounded and amazed.  How many thousands of years had passed in human history with the general public being completely ignorant and misinformed of the world they had lived in?

I tend to parallel this history lesson to the current state of peoples’ belief in the paranormal.  I know, I know, we can’t scientifically measure the paranormal like Magellan was able to scientifically measure the earth (not yet at least).  But that’s my point. 

Simply stated, the people hundreds/thousands of years before Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan did not have the means and/or motive to set out and embark upon a mission of proof.  Sure, there were boats, but the capability of traveling trans-world was not of interest or simply unattainable given the technology of the time.  I honestly feel that this lesson of the past accurately defines the status-quo of the paranormal.

How could the Greeks (Pythagoras in particular) have assumed that the world was round 2,500 years before Magellan and Columbus went out and proved it?  Simple.  He looked at the evidence around him.  He studied the differences in altitudes of stars, and how ships appeared on the horizon…he looked at what the not-so-obvious was telling him.  Many labeled him a fool.  I can’t help but wonder if Magellan’s bones chuckled in his tomb the day Columbus proved his theory.  

The world of the paranormal is much the same.  We have claims, stories, assumptions, less-than-ideal evidence, a lot of ideas, and a lot of people who call us nuts.  No one has put a pen to paper though and drawn out the official “map” yet, though.  I don’t believe this will happen for a long, long time.  But I believe it will happen.

I understand why many people consider the paranormal hogwash:  they have never experienced anything paranormal in nature (not that they have identified at least), they’ve heard all of the overly-embellished stories and claims, and tend to look at things through an objective eyepiece.  Hard to fault them for that.  However, it is the closed-minded ones who will absolutely write off any possibility whatsoever of an alternate existence that tends to get under my feathers. 

Who are we to question the idea of something beyond what we see?  The people in Pythagoras’ era could not see that the world was round.  It was out of their physical capability.  They only saw that which was in front of them and what they had been taught.  However, they labeled the world as being flat and considered it truth.  Ignorance?  Closed-mindedness?  The “Human Condition”?  I don’t know, but this type of self-important thinking is what has made the paranormal the hush-hush topic it is today.  People believe they ”know” what is before them, without having taken the proper steps to support their claims.

To the skeptics, please consider:  The world was flat until proven round.  It was foolish to consider anything else prior to the truth coming out.  Some came forward with evidence and stated “I think it may be different than what you’re assuming”.  They were laughed at and labeled as fools.

That’s all us paranormal “nuts” are saying:  “We think it may be something different than what you’re assuming”.  Maybe someday my bones will chuckle when some no-named pioneer finally ”draws the map” and proves that indeed, the other side exists.

‘Til next time…

If you feel that you are experiencing paranormal activity and would like help, please contact BHAPS at:  Help@BHAPS.com or feel free to call us toll-free at: 1-866-510-6130.    

      

To start off, Ouija boards are easily misconstrued as being benign based soley on the fact that they’re marketed under the all-too-familar name of “Parker Brothers”.  I mean, come on, Parker Brothers offers Star Wars, Trivial Pursuit, Balderdash and a host of other fun-inducing games on a regular basis.  I would wager that nine out of ten American homes have at least one form of entertainment stuffed away in their closets with ”Parker Brothers” slapped somewhere on the side of the box. 

Surely, a “Ouija Board” bearing the Parker Brothers label is as harmless as a friendly game of “Balderdash”, right?  Wrong.

Unfortunately, commercialization in this country has led consumers into a false sense of security.  If it’s sellable, it’s legal and safe, right?  Not so fast.

The Ouija Board is simply a medium used for contacting spirits, or those who have passed before us.  It doesn’t matter if it’s a plywood board one has gathered from his garage, or a full-fledged ceremonial piece used to contact the “Elders”….either way, it is a spiritual medium used for communication from “beyond”.

Herein lies the problem with Ouija Boards.  The Ouija offers the user the ability to communicate within a plane of existence other than his/her own.  It is one of the most widely used forms of communication with the dead.  Since it’s induction in 1200 BC, the Ouija Board has been the topic of great stories, incredible claims, and shrouded in a cloud of secrecy and shame.

Let me share with you my one and only encounter with a Ouija Board…

It was summertime during the nineties in Minnesota (I’m guessing ‘94 or ‘95) when I had my first very personal experience with a Ouija Board.  I was huddled around the board with a group of my closest friends; Geoff, John, Anne and myself.  I can’t recall where the board came from or why we even decided to pull it out, but it seemed like a fun idea at the time.

But first, some history. 

Earlier that day, my friend John (my best friend) parked his bicyle in the driveway.  Sometime later his mother backed out of the driveway and ran over his bike with her minivan.  It was completely crushed and beyond use.  It was both humorous and sickening at the same time.  It had been the “hot topic” of the day.  Of course we had given John quite a bit of harassment over the course of the day regarding his mother running over his bike.  John, the long-suffering soul he was, took it with some discontent, but understood our jest and laughed along with us. 

It wasn’t until we played with the Ouija Board that this seemingly innocent occurence would foster a great deal of trouble within my heart.

Here we all were, huddled around the Ouija Board, asking questions, laughing, playing, enjoying the moment.  We had earlier promised one another that we wouldn’t move the Planchette…I guess that promise only goes as far as trust (by the way, the “Planchette” is the triangular-shaped device used which moves around, answering the questions of the user). 

We quickly became bored, even though it seemed we were getting a genuine response from the board.  Naturally, we were all looking at one another under a great deal of scrutiny, thinking that someone had to be moving the game piece. 

I decided I’d ask a few controversial questions (well, they were controversial at that time).  I asked the Ouija Board, “Will John’s stupid mom run over another one of our bikes today?”  We received a prompt “yes”.  Amongst doubt and a general sense of “this is B.S.”, John’s mother pulled into the driveway and ran clean over my bicycle.  We were speechless.  This all happened within five minutes of me asking the question.

Okay, maybe it was chance.  Maybe we got lucky.  But this, coupled with our second question is what really has stirred in my mind over the years.  My second question, out of desperation of some sort of activity was “Who will be the first among us to die?”  The Planchette quickly arranged itself so its pointer directed itself towards John. 

John was killed on December 17, 2006 by a drunk driver.  All of us attended the funeral.

I will not, by any means, say that my experiences with a Ouija Board are evidence of its ability or motives.  What I will say is this…

There are many paranormal investigators coming to the same conclusion:  Ouija Boards offer a pathway for “low spirits”….spirits of unknown motives and origin…spirits which may prey upon the weak, curious or uneducated…spirits which are self-centered in nature…spirits which provide the “listener” intriguing answers, but ultimately offer little fulfillment in the end.  They may predict the future, provide incredible facts or even give the participant a sense of completion and understanding, but in the end, they are a self-serving entity.

Parker Brothers doesn’t want you to know that their simple little board game carries the potential of devastating its users.  Just remember that.

 ’Til next time…

If you feel that you are experiencing paranormal activity and would like help, please contact BHAPS at:  Help@BHAPS.com or feel free to call us toll-free at: 1-866-510-6130.