This photo taken during an investigation by the Southwestern Paranormal Society last year in Mesquite shows what ghost hunters often refer to as an “orb”

Out of 20 or so investigations done, this paranormal group have found about 3 cases in which something happened that they could not debunk. Goes to show you how these reality TV shows keep getting “evidence” on every episode.

“If there’s something strange in your neighborhood, who you gonna call?”

The Southwestern Paranormal Society.

That’s the name of the local group which has dedicated itself to investigating strange phenomena around the Virgin Valley, and beyond.

At first, you might think Mesquite would be an odd place for a paranormal organization to exist.

After all, the majority of homes around town have been built in the last 10 years, hardly the kind of digs ghosts traditionally favor for haunting.

At least, according to the movies.

But as the group has discovered, the age of a building has nothing to do with occurrences of the unexplainable.

While the Southwestern Paranormal Society was founded two years ago to help prove or disprove the existence of strange phenomena, their biggest challenge is to dispel the erroneous information which continues to spew out of Hollywood every other month.

“Ghostbusters was a great movie,” said Matt Allison, a member of the organization, “But it didn’t do us any favors.”

Allison, along with group co-founder Richard Powell, explained that the toughest part of the job is often just dispelling the public’s perception of what the group does.

“We are serious about this. That’s the hardest part to get across to people,” Allison said.

“Getting people to take it seriously. That’s the challenge,” Powell agreed.

Fortunately, with the arrival of several shows on television over the last couple of years, the study of paranormal activity has gained some credibility.

Or at least a greater public acceptance.

One such show on the A&E channel is “Paranormal State,” which follows investigations of the unexplainable by Penn State University’s Paranormal Research Society.

While the group is actually one of the university’s clubs and not part of the school’s curriculum, its acknowledgement by the prestigious college gives the group and the show some credence.

Another popular show is “Ghost Hunters” on the SyFy channel, which follows The Atlantic Paranormal Society (T.A.P.S.) as they investigate, debunk, or confirm instances of paranormal activity.

These reality shows help balance some of the unrealistic facets of “ghost hunting” which appear on the silver screen.

One of the biggest departures from the movies is the approach of true paranormal work.

Instead of frightened teenagers investigating strange noises from the attic armed with nothing more than a Ouija board, an abundance of hormones, plenty of lung power for screaming, and a dying two-cell flashlight, SPS is comprised of adults with a mature perspective, an open mind, and plenty of high-tech gear.

“It’s all scientific,” Powell said, explaining that the group doesn’t use Ouija boards or mediums to find the truth.

“I don’t have any ‘gifts’ and we’re not psychics.”

In fact, it appears the members are universally blessed with one overriding attribute:

Patience.

A lot of the job involves waiting.

Usually, for nothing.

Members of the Southwestern Paranormal Society

After taking time to deploy their equipment, including cameras with night vision capability, a multi-track Digital Video Recorder, various Electro Magnetic Field sensors, digital air thermometers, Electronic Voice Phenomenon monitors, and digital audio recorders, the team then settles in for silent waits that can stretch on for hours.

Then, more tedious and time consuming work awaits them back home, as they pore over the data, review every frame of the video recordings, and cue up the amplified audio.

Unlike the movies, where ghosts appear and objects fly around the room, much of the real discovery comes when the investigators are reviewing the tapes and photos.

In the last two years, the group has done 15-20 investigations.

In that time, they have only encountered three instances of phenomena that couldn’t be explained by normal circumstances, and those instances came while the crew was analyzing the data.

The first was an investigation in January of 2008.

After the crew set up the cameras in a bedroom where residents had reported paranormal activity, they headed back to the living room.

Long after the room was empty, one of the video cameras moved.

And it wasn’t a motorized, moveable camera.

The investigators discovered this movement later, while reviewing the video.

The second incident involved some still photos taken with a digital camera.

SPS co-founder and lead investigator Leddie Potter was taking random background photos of a room while Powell set equipment.

In a string of 15 shots, photo after photo showed the walls and furniture in the room and hall, along with members of the team checking out the area.

Nobody noticed anything out of the ordinary during the setup, and nothing odd showed up in the camera’s viewfinder.

But while examining the photos later, a blurry white image appeared in a hallway where Powell was standing in one of the pictures.

Such instances were easily dismissed back in the old days of photography as flaws in the film or mistakes made during development.

However, this was a digital camera.

Professional ghost hunting organizations like TV’s T.A.P.S. refer to such white blurs as “orbs.”

According to an article found on the T.A.P.S. website, many such incidents on film can be caused by dust particles or light reflections.

However, the article goes on to explain that true orbs are a sign of paranormal activity.

The third and most compelling unexplained incident investigated by the Southwestern Paranormal Society occurred last year at an apartment in the Falls, a subdivision in Mesquite.

During the pre-investigation interview, the residents of the apartment reported encountering the spirit of a small Indian girl, around three or four years of age.

The SPS crew came in with their cameras and equipment and began their work.

During the hours spent on site, the crew didn’t encounter anything out of the ordinary.

In fact, during one lull period, Powell dropped a flashlight.

To make sure that the sound wasn’t misinterpreted on the audio recording during later analysis, Powell said “I dropped a flashlight.”

After the evening ended without incident, the crew began the laborious task of examining all the photos, video, EMF and temperature readings, and audio recording.

At the point in the audio recording where the flashlight gets dropped, and just an instant before Powell’s words, the voice of a little girl is heard on the recording saying something which sounds like “flashlight.”

On old tape recorders, such an occurrence could be attributed to “voice bleeds,” which happen when someone records something new over an old recording.

This was a digital recorder, without tape.

While believers might immediately spring on such incidents as indisputable proof of ghosts and spirits, the members of the SPS simply categorize these as “unexplainable.”
Allison, who has been tapped as the group’s “Debunker,” is charged with finding logical, rational, scientific explanations for any out-of-the-ordinary findings.

He previously worked with a similar paranormal group in northern California.

“98% in this field is explainable,” Allison said.

“My role usually comes at the end. My job is proving things away, trying to come up with every possible explanation.”

On the topic of the little girl’s voice on the recording, Allison said “I asked 100 questions, and I couldn’t explain it.”

Occasionally, when the group has found something that can’t easily be ruled out like the blur in the photo, they will send the data on to the T.A.P.S. team.

In fact, according to Powell the group’s goal is to eventually become a member of the T.A.P.S. “family,” which is the organization of officially sanctioned paranormal investigative organizations around the country.

Currently there are 93 such recognized agencies around the country, in 43 states, including one in Las Vegas and another in Reno.

While the investigations can be exciting, there is little money in ghost hunting.

In fact, the Southwestern Paranormal Society doesn’t charge anything for their services.

And while they don’t capture ectoplasmic goo in nuclear containment chambers, the group does offer one thing to those who contact them:

Peace of mind.

In the movie “Ghostbusters,” the kitschy tagline is “We’re ready to believe you.”

While it’s not as simple as that, the fact that a local organization is prepared to treat paranormal activity in a professional way is a positive for those experiencing the unexplainable.

“People are afraid that other people will think they’re crazy,” said Paula Powell, Richard’s wife and SPS member.

By listening and investigating incidents in a scientific manner, SPS finds that the residents are often relieved just to have someone take them seriously.

And while the group may not always be able to give concrete answers or confirm the existence of paranormal activity, they can at least provide some support.

“We’ll bring in church or religious people to bless the house, just to give some comfort,” Allison said.

Powell also mentioned that residents can be calmed by the reassurance that nothing is going to happen to them.

“It’s not like the movies, nothing is going to kill you,” Powell said.

But most important of all is the fact that “they don’t get laughed at.”

The Southwestern Paranormal Society welcomes inquiries from those experiencing possible paranormal activity as well as those interested in the study and investigation of the paranormal, and invites people to e-mail them at [email protected] or [email protected], or they can call and leave a message at 345-2081

Full source: Mesquite Local news