Do people take the title of “Parapsychologist” too lightly in this day and age?

Parapsychology itself started around the mid 19th century. It was pioneered by scientists and scholars who were psychical researchers who were bringing a true scientific approach to an abstract dilemma. Fast forward to the present day and what do we have? People who can operate a camera and tape recorder calling themselves “parapsychologists”.

Of course I’m generalizing here. There are plenty well known scientists that do provide a valuable service to the paranormal. Then there are those that really make you wonder what on Earth are they thinking.

Take for instance this clip about a haunted home in Lima, Peru. The homeowner, a middle aged lady, claims that her and her son are being tormented by spirits that reside in the home. Footsteps, voices, and shadows walking through the hallway are the frightening events that are keeping them awake at nights.

Rosa Arellano and her son Rodrigo sought help from the parapsychologist team ‘Contacto Esoterico’. The team is made up of parapsychologists Félix Rivera Torres, his daughter Graciela and son Juan.

What the Peruvian news program reported on, was of a supposed image that they had managed to capture while investigating the home a few days before.

I will loosely translate part of the video below. It won’t be as annoyingly theatrical as the voice of the reporter.

Reporter: What you are seeing is not a recreation nor a fabricated camera trick. It’s the photograph of a ghost. It’s the spirit of a little girl who died in this house in Magdalena, and who has remained here in the shadows, hidden between the walls of the home. A world that is not alive, but that is observing us through the windows….of this possessed house…by ghosts.

It happened just a few hours while in the middle of absolute darkness, and accompanied by parapsychologists Félix Rivera and his two kids: daughter Graciela and son Juan.

Rosa Arellano and her son have been living here for 25 years, but could no longer continue living in the home…in peace.

Rosa Arellano: It’s the sensation that someone sits on the bed while I’m laying down. She [little girl ghost] also is with me when I’m asleep. Then I saw a grey mass [floating on top].

Reporter: According to Mrs. Arellano, in that house: spirits roam, doors creak, footsteps can be heard in the hallway at midnight and a shadows watches them.

Rodrigo (son): I would see a figure…or sense that something is near me…and it just stays there.

Reporter: All of sudden, while we were preparing to ascend the staircase something supernatural walked across the second story hall. There was no one up there.  Who was making these noises?

Video noises: 1 minute 48 seconds

Reporter: We had to be prepared for everything. In that place, many people died in mysterious ways.

Felix: Well, we were able to detect up to 4 different entities. The first is a male.  The second is a female……

Fast forward to minute 3:22

Reporter: These images were authenticated by the a television show owned by Universal

Felix: When  I sent these to ‘Ghost Hunters International’ images of this caliber, they authenticated them. This is why they came down….

I think I’ll stop there with the translation. Two red flags just went up.

First flag: I looked at the pictures of the supposed “ghost” of the little girl. Click on the image to view the “ghost”.

Second flag: The “parapsychologists” contacted Ghost Hunters International.

Now, why would any decent researchers who have the title of parapsychologists submit evidence to Ghost Hunters International? To authenticate the photograph? for scientific analysis or for recognition and validation?

I’m not being a wet blanket here, but what did you see when you examined the photo of the supposed ghost?

It was clearly the image of a human. A female to be exact. But did you notice the light source? It appears that the parapsychology family made a really amateur and idiotic mistake.

The team apparently managed to capture the reflective image on the glass door of one of their members. There is a camera flash on the upper right side of the door that you can see bouncing off and it helped illuminate the torso of the female member who was apparently video taping through the room, thus being softly illuminated by the camera’s LCD screen.

Either that or the ghost has their own spot light following them.

With this quality of paranormal evidence presented almost daily; my condolences to real parapsychologists and investigators out there.