Debunking

We conducted an investigation in a location we've visited a few times last night.  The last time we were at this site, one of our Gauss meters started going off almost as soon as our set-up was finished.  It was laying on a fireplace mantle in clear view of our camera (you can see footage here.)  We spent a good deal of time trying to figure out what was happening.  We changed batteries, we swapped out which Gauss was in the spot, and we checked the readings on other EMF meters.  Only the Guass was reacting and even when we swapped out meters, we got the same reaction from the other Gauss.  We could not figure out what was happening.  When we checked with our client, he confirmed that there was no electricity in that wall and said that the high tension lines which were in the alley behind the wall were not live.  We knew one of our top priorities last night was to further investigate that place.

We set a Gauss meter in the spot as part of our set-up, and it started going off immediately.  We completed set up, gave the space a few minutes to settle, and on our first watch investigated that room.  Two investigators checked with other meters and were able to get a high reading against that wall, if the meters were held at a 90 degree angle to the wall.  When we set the Gauss meter upright, instead of laying flat on the fireplace mantle, we got no reaction from it. 

Our investigation continued and we were able to step out onto a fire escape which went right below the high-tension lines.  We took a meter out and got a high reading off the lines.  Our client says they are not supposed to be live, but whether they're running current or not, they are generating high levels of EMF, enough to make us conclude that they are the reason for the Gauss meter's reaction.

It's hard not to feel a little disappointed when something like this is debunked, but we really shouldn't.  We did good work.  We didn't assume that the reason for our meter's reaction was paranormal.  We worked diligently to find an explanation.

We look forward to reviewing the evidence from this investigation and to prepping for our next, taking place later this month.

After a quiet few months, things are heating up for the ECIPI team.  This past weekend we were privileged to be part of Magna Cum Murder XIX.  On Friday afternoon we presented a panel, "PI Means Paranormal Investigator," in which we outlined our approach to paranormal investigations for an audience of mystery writers and readers.  The panel was well received.  We not only got great questions during the question & answer period, but had several people stopping us throughout the weekend to ask questions and share stories.

For Halloween, we were invited to contribute to the Jungle Red Writers blog by author Hank Phillipi Ryan.  Writing the blog was a fun challenge, and responding to comments and questions has been very enjoyable today! 

We have two investigations set up for November, both returns to places we've worked before.  We're looking forward to seeing if any of our previous experiences repeat themselves as well as to introducing a friend to ghost hunting!  We'll share results here once they are available.