Paranormal Investigators: Past and Present: Arwin John Gonzalez

"Journey To The World Of Paranormal"

with Arwin John Gonzalez



Hailing from Ipoh, Malaysia, Arwin Gonzalez is the founder and lead investigator of Malaysian Paranormal Research.

Arwin became interested in the paranormal as a child after experiencing and seeing some strange occurrences. He also lists the “Ghostbusters” movie as being a major influence in his direction for seeking answers to what happens after we die.

It is Arwins goal as a paranormal investigator to find the answers that many of us seek, is there an afterlife, and what is the soul?

I asked Arwin;
 “How has becoming a paranormal investigator changed your life?"

Arwin:“Being able to understand death is not the end, but rather a beginning of the next level of life. My view and perspective on spirits have changed, unlike many (that) say spirits are evil and demonic, but I find spirits are just humans without body and do retain emotions and feelings.”


Arwin finds it deeply satisfying researching the history of locations he is going to investigate and then being able to validate his research findings through various different methods during his investigations.
He also finds he tends to dream a lot about upcoming investigations, only to find his dream coming true, and a sense of deja vu coming over him whilst investigating.



Arwin has spent much time in the media spotlight, featuring in magazine and newspaper articles, documentaries and even as a guest on Ghost Hunters International,
 (watch the episode here:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8tjNSvl-_A&feature=player_embedded   )





Arwin with the cast from Ghost Hunters Internatio



Arwin lists Cemeteries, Pudu Prison and Kellies Castle, the subject of the Ghost Hunters International episode he was in, as his favourite locations to investigate and three of the four places he was most impressed with. The fourth being a private school he investigated.


Arwin has seen many paranormal phenomena in his time investigating including the formation of ectoplasm right in front of his face. The ectoplasm shaped itself into a face like structure and approached Arwin, as it started to enter his body and dissolved. Arwin stated that the ectoplasm felt cold to the touch.


Amongst the vast amount of evidence Arwin has archived in his collection, his proudest achievement is a photograph of a dark apparition caught during a gaol investigation.
Arwin states that his favourite piece of equipment to use is his much trusted Sony handy cam, “Because, without documented proof, nothing is substantial”. He also adds that being able to see in the infrared spectrum is very valuable to his investigation techniques.

John also has a book available about his many investigations, his established techniques and various paranormal phenomena, it is very reasonably priced and is available at:
http://www.malaysian-paranormal-research.org/store.html



You can visit Arwins Website on the following link
Website: http://malaysian-paranormal-research.org/

Interviewed, researched and written by:
Allen Tiller

www.eidolonparanormal.com.au © 2012                                                     
All photos used with permission and remain the property of their respective copyright owners.

Paranormal Investigators: Past and Present: Guy Lyon Playfair

"Poltergeist Investigator"

Guy Lyon Playfair

Born in India and raised in England, by a Mother who was a member of The Society For Psychical Research, it wasn't hard for Guy Lyon Playfair to accept that there are things out there that cannot be explained.

In 1973, Guy joined The Society For Psychical Research himself, and in 2004 was elected to the organisation's council. Guy emigrated to Brazil and spent fourteen years as a freelance journalist there, whilst there he also became a member of Brazils IBPP research group.

The author of many books about psychic powers, the unspoken communication of twins, Uri Gellar and many other topics, Guy is probably best known for his book on the Enfield Poltergeist Investigation in 1977 – 1978.

A family of five, consisting of a Mother, two daughters and two sons were facing daily occurrences of phenomena in their house. Representatives of The Society Of Psychical Research, Maurice Grosse, and Guy Lyon Playford began investigating the house, and the claims of fraud associated it with it.

It was found by the investigators that at least 26 inexplicable occurrences happened that cannot be explained by current science. Included in these phenomena were; moving furniture, pools of water on the floor, flying marbles, physical assaults and fires which spontaneously ignited and extinguished themselves.

Amongst other phenomena, was one of the young girls using her false vocal cords to speak, for hours on end. Whilst apparently possessed by an entity named “Bill”. A man came forward who claimed to be Bill's son, recordings were made by the BBC, but when the film crew went to check their recording equipment they found the metal inside of their recorders bent, and their recordings erased.

Also during this investigation, Guy caught one of the young girls faking phenomena, to see if she could “catch out” the investigators, but not one try of trickery fooled either investigator.

There is plenty of controversies still about this particular case, for more information on the Enfield Poltergeist case, you can purchase Guy Lyon Playfair's book “This House Is Haunted”.

Much of guys work has centred around psychics and psychic powers. For over 30 years he has studied the concepts associated with telepathic communication and, written many comprehensive papers and books about the subject. One of Guys books, “Twin Telepathy” is written about the link twins have, where one can, in an entirely different hemisphere of the planet, feel the other's pain. The book delves into research conducted on shared emotions and thoughts, and even shared physical bruising!

Here is a short quote from Guy, after being questioned by Steve Volk on the Skeptico website

Steve Volk: “What’s your best guess, at this stage, after all these years, on what poltergeists, or ghosts, are.?”

Guy Playfair: ”The short answer is that there are two possibilities. Either they are some kind of discarnate entity – which I certainly don’t rule out – or else they are an entirely unknown force that emanates from the human mind. How it works we simply don’t know. We can only observe its effects. I think there’s quite strong evidence that it’s some kind of so-called spirit or discarnate entity, kind of drifting blobs of exo-intelligence, if you like. But that is an extremely controversial opinion and not many people share it.”

A few of Guys Books:

• The Indefinite Boundary.
• The Cycles of Heaven: Cosmic Forces and What They Are Doing to You.
• This House is Haunted: The Investigation of the Enfield Poltergeist
• The Haunted Pub Guide
• If This Be Magic
• The Geller Effect
• Twin Telepathy.
• New Clothes for Old Souls: World Wide Evidence for Reincarnation.
• Chico Xavier, Medium of the Century.

A documentary on “The Enfield Poltergeist”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7VpVbD8p_s

Researched & Written by:

Allen Tiller © 2012

www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

Paranormal Investigators: Past and Present: Barry Porter

Barry Porter

Born in Parramatta in Sydney's Western suburbs, Barry “Bazza” Porter had two paranormal occurrences in his childhood that shaped his fascination with cryptids and ghosts. When six years old Barry witnessed a spirit form in his bedroom, then four years later at the age of ten, witnessed a “Doolagahl”, a Yowie, near his house.

Educated in NSW, Barry is a mad Parramatta Eels NRL (rugby) Supporter, and a Christian Pastor, Barry is a part of the Christian Cryptozoology And Paranormal Study Group, a group that features members from around the globe interested in Cryptid and Paranormal events from a Christian viewpoint, which also features such noted members as "The Paranormal Pastor" - Robin Swope.

Working as a minister for the Church, Barry has experienced a lot of paranormal phenomena, from objects moving of their own accord whilst delivering ministry, to people being choked with invisible hands which Barry describes here:

“I've seen a couple of people choking from invisible hands where you can see the finger marks on their throats as you do the exorcism.”

Through being a minister Barry has come across many people needing help after having negative paranormal experiences. This led to Barry researching and investigating a number of cases in Australia, including cases at Bowen Mountain, and at a Chinese restaurant in Caringbah. Barry has seen many things in his time in the Church and as an investigator, including, Shadow People, Angelic and Demonic beings, and has been choked by unseen forces, through all of this Barry has not lost his faith, nor his positivity.

When we asked what his best piece of evidence was? Barry replied, “I kinda got slimed, well...my eye was slimy and half my body went numb when an apparition passed through me, but apart from moving cans and things being thrown around, nothing tangible that can be analysed like a photo or anything.”

Barry also has a great sense of humour, as this reply to an interview question we asked him will attest.

What is your favourite piece of equipment, and why? “ Those meter thingies..that go "whooosh" when you crack whips and there are convict spirits present....I'm not very technical.”

Barry and the team at Christian Cryptozoology And Paranormal Study Group do great work in Australia, you can keep up to date with the team via their blog at:

http://www.ccapsg.blogspot.com.au

Or if you would like to learn more about Barry, you can follow this link to a 2010 interview on

http://www.ccapsg.blogspot.com.au/2010/07/getting-to-know-ccapsg-interview-with.html 

Eidolon Paranormal have been working with Barry, Bryony and team now for a couple of years, and have become good friends. CCAPSG is one of the most honest and thought-provoking teams in the community today, even if you do not identify as a Christian, this team still has something for you, check them out today!

Researched & Written By:

Allen Tiller © 2012

www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

Dr Masaru Emoto - A Message From Water

A Message From Water

Dr Masaru Emoto, Japanese Scientist, Author and Entrepreneur, have you heard of him before? You may have if you watched the documentary “What The Bleep Do We Know?”. Dr Emoto claims that our consciousness can alter the molecular structure of water.

Dr Emoto has published a number of volumes on his theories and included many photographs to back up his claims, but many “professional” scientists claim Dr Emoto's work is pseudo-science, that his claims violate the laws of basic physics and that his methodologies, research and experiments are flawed and cannot be used a valid proof of his claims.

What is it that Dr Emoto claims that has caused so much controversy in the scientific community?

Dr Emoto has claimed, through his experiments, that water molecules have the ability to change through the influence of our thoughts, both conscious and unconscious.

Dr Emoto claims that if human thoughts are directed to water before it is frozen, the image of the frozen water crystal will either be ugly or beautiful dependant upon the thought-form channelled at the water, negative or positive.

The Doctor claims that you can achieve the molecule change through simple acts such as prayer, music or attaching written words to the container the water is to be frozen in.

He further states that since the body is 76% water, that wearing negative symbols on our clothing can also influence the water in our bodies, thus influencing our minds.

This, in turn, makes it important, in Dr Emoto's mind that the type of jewellery you wear does influence the water in your body in a negative way.

There are other scientists who have made similar claims to Dr. Emoto, Pjotr Garjajev has made claims about human DNA being influenced by expressed words and sentences. His theory states that basic DNA-alkaline pairs and language are of the same structure, that Human language can influence DNA.

Both men’s theory would lend credence to the faith-based beliefs of affirmations, prophecies and hypnosis, and why this particular belief system has a strong effect on the human body and mind.

Dr Emoto and his theories are not without criticism, James Randi, world-renowned sceptic, offered Dr Emoto one million Dollars in 2003, if his claims can be proven true in a double-blind study ( A double-blind study is an experiment where neither the subjects nor the experiment administrators know the critical aspects of the experiment, therefore guarding against bias or placebo effects).

A triple-blind study was eventually produced, however, even with elaborate protocols and testing, the results were inconclusive as to whether or not Dr Emoto's claims are valid.

Whether or not his claims are valid, Dr Emoto has a vast range of supporters that loyal to buying his “Indigo” water from him, at $35 for 30ml – that’s a lot of money!!

With that in mind, do you think Dr Emoto's claims are valid?

Tell us your thoughts in the comments below

written by

 Allen Tiller © 2012

www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

Paranormal Investigators: Past and Present: Aaron Goodwin

“Big Steppin”

Aaron Goodwin

Born in Portland, Oregan U.S.A. On April 1^st 1976, Aaron Goodwin started his career making videos with friends. Soon he started making videos and advertisements for local business to try and create a portfolio for himself. Before long Aaron was a cameraman for the UFC and filming behind-the-scene premieres in Las Vegas.

Zak Bagans and Nick Groff needed a cameraman for a project they were working on. Nick knew Aaron and introduced him to Zak, the trio then worked on filming the first documentary of Ghost Adventures at the Goldfields Hotel in Nevada, and other locations.

At the time of filming Aaron did not believe in ghosts and has been quoted as saying; “I never really thought twice about ghosts”, since that statement he has become an investigator and his tune has changed, recently stating in an interview “(I'm) A hundred percent – no, a thousand percent – believer”.

Aaron is often used as a trigger object during Ghost Adventures episodes, often left in rooms by himself in the dark, with only a night vision camera and his senses, which often leads to some of the most dramatic and entertaining scenes in the series.

Within the Ghost Adventures series, Aaron and other team members are often seen using modern ghost hunting equipment, such as the Mel Meter, The Ovilus and Full Spectrum and U.V. Cameras.

One of the techniques employed by Ghost Adventures is the re-enactment of events that have happened in the various locations the team visits, we have seen the team dressed in Confederate clothing amongst other costumes utilised as trigger objects.

Aaron has also cited his paranormal investigations as a partial cause for the break-up of his marriage, and Zak and Aaron have also stated that certain spirits and demons cause havoc with any potential partners they engage with. (Zak delves into this topic further in his recent book)

Aaron has reported being “partially possessed” on two separate occasions after investigations at The Winchester Mystery House, and at Bobby Mackay's Music World.

During the investigation at Preston Castle, Aaron was scratched by unseen forces, the crew on-site thought the scratches resembled the ones Zak Bagans suffered at the first Bobby Mackey investigation.

In the season 6 episode titled “The Winchester Mystery House”, the team conduct an experiment where they link the Mansion, Bobby Mackey's and the Washoe Club together by video link. It is during this episode that an already fatigued Aaron becomes visibly agitated and physically ill.

During the episode multiple, EVP's are captured in two different locations at the same time, in both Aaron is mentioned by name by the voices recorded

Away from investigating, Aaron Goodwin started his own brand, “Big Steppin”. He had since his school days, “big stepped”, often in school hallways, really slowly past windows and doorways. After school finished Aaron started “Big Steppin” in public.

Recently Aaron started his website “Aaron Goodwin Collections”, selling his “Big Steppin” branded merchandise, old videos he has made, artwork and photography.
You can check it out here:

http://agoodwincollections.com/ 

We at Eidolon Paranormal have spoken to Aaron, and we must say he is one of the most approachable, likeable and nicest guys we have had the pleasure of meeting through the paranormal community.

Aaron continues to work on Ghost Adventures, with new episodes being released as this is written, you can find Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel or on DVD.

Researched and Written By

Allen Tiller © 2012

www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

Paranormal Investigators: Past and Present: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

“The Great Detective”
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Born on 22^nd of May 1859 in Edinburgh Scotland of English and Irish parentage, Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was destined to be one of the worlds great writers.

Arthur's parents lived below the poverty line, with his father a reported alcoholic, his wealthy uncles supported Arthur and sent him to a Catholic preparatory school, followed by Stonyhurst College then a Jesuit school in Feldkirch, Austria.

Arthur also studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh. It was around this time he began writing short stories, one of which was published in 1879 “The Mystery of Sasassa Valley”, only a few months later his first non-fiction article was published in the British Medical Journal; “Gelsemium as a Poison”

Whilst his father was suffering at the hands of a psychiatric condition, Arthur sailed the world as a ship's surgeon on the SS Mayumba, it whilst on this voyage, he completed his doctorate on the subject of “tabes dorsalis” (1885), within a few more years his father had passed on from his illness.

In 1906 Arthur had a succession of deaths in his immediate family that affected him deeply. Firstly his much-beloved wife Louisa died, followed closely by the death of his son, his brother, his two brothers-in-law and then his two nephews.
 Arthur became deeply depressed and sought refuge from his depression in the newly popular spiritualist movement that had flooded Great Britain.

Arthur became friends with various popular psychics and mediums, attending as many conferences and seances as he could, he became a member of both, “The Ghost Club” and “The Society For Psychical Research” and befriended illusionist Harry Houdini. In 1925 he opened “The Psychic Bookshop” in London.

Arthur’s investigations and research covered a wide range of topics, but his own personal experiences were few and far between.

He wrote in a book titled “The Whispering Ghost” in 1930 of a personal experience with “Old Hag Syndrome” a phenomenon often written off by today’s paranormal investigators as “sleep paralysis”.

 In the book Arthur tells of how he was facing a wall when he awoke and could not move, he could feel a “presence” in the room and that “The presence was not of this world”...

Arthur then describes how he heard footsteps approach him across the wood floor and a voice whisper “Doyle, I come to tell you that I am sorry”.

Arthur was convinced he knew who the phantom visitor was, but did not elaborate any further, other than to say “ It was a certain individual to whom I had tried to give some psychic consolation when he was bereaved. He rejected my advances with some contempt and died himself shortly afterwards. It may well be that he wished to express regret.”

From this intrusion into his bedtime habits, Arthur presented his theory that a spirit when materialising, needs to draw energy from a material source, and this is what rendered him unable to move whilst the entity was in his presence.

The Doyle family and two friends may have actually seen a ghost when the group set out one night to visit a church. The family and friends sat in the dark in an allegedly haunted Church where Arthur noted: “There was a dull haze of light, a sort of phosphorescent cloud, a foot or so across, and about a man's height from the ground”

The most famous of cases associated with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was that of the “Cottingley Fairies”

Arthur was commissioned to write an article in 1920 for The Strand Magazine, an article about fairies for the Christmas issue. Arthur had learned of two photographs taken by Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, that pictured the girls with fairies in the garden. Arthur contacted the family and asked for permission to use the photographs for his feature. Impressed that the author of Sherlock Holmes, would consider the families photographs, they gave permission for publication.

The photos were inspected by experts at the Kodak company who stated they “could not find any evidence of the photos being faked” but, the company refused to offer a certificate of authenticity as their findings do not prove conclusively that the photos are genuine, just that they haven't been tampered with.

More can be read about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's experiences and belief with the Cottingley fairies in his book “The Coming of the Fairies”

On the 7^th of July 1930, Sir Arthur Conan Ignatius Doyle was found dead in his house in East Sussex, of a heart attack, his final words were to his wife “ You are Wonderful”.

After his death much controversy persisted, not being a “Christian”, but seeing himself as a “spiritualist” his body was buried in Windlesham Rose Garden, but later he was re-interred, with his Wife in Minstead Churchyard, Hampshire. The couple were buried outside the Churchyard, in unconsecrated ground.

With the graveyard being extended, the couple now lies amongst the newer graves.

The Epitaph on wooden plaques that are no longer accessible to the public reads: (in part):

“Blade straight

Steel true

Arthur Conan Doyle

Born May22nd 1859

Passed on 7^th July 1930”

What is written upon the current headstone reads (in part);

“Steel true

Blade Straight

Arthur Conan Doyle

Knight

Patriot, Physician

and man of letters”

Researched and Written by

Allen Tiller © 2012

www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

Insects and Photography

Insects and Photography

written for The S.A. Paranormal Meet-ups 28/7/12

Insects are often flying and crawling about in many locations paranormal investigators visit, whether it be cemeteries, abandoned buildings, or even private homes, hotels and mansions, it doesn't matter where you go, the likelihood of a flying insect being present is high.

Most investigators don't even factor in their presence, being more interested in getting EMF readings and other measurements before starting their vigils and EVP sessions.

 At Eidolon Paranormal, we take into consideration the fact that many flying insects may be present at a location and we try to identify them, and if possible take photos of them in action for later comparison, as this is not always possible we have invested in some bug catchers from Toy's-R-Us. 

We place bug catcher in the location to collect a sample of insects, which we can then identify at a later time, making it possible to compare and disregard many photography anomalies based upon the structure of the insect in comparison to orbs and other phenomena in our photos and videos.

There are ways to attract the insects towards your camera for photos, a black light, or insect bug zapper placed underneath the front of your camera tripod will attract certain bugs and moths, allowing you to take the photos you need for later comparison, or you can use our own method from above

What you will notice in your photos is that the “orbs” created from insects are usually of an irregular shape, the further from the camera, the “rounder” they will appear.

If the insect is close to your flash it will usually reflect back to the lens causing a glowing effect around the insect, but the body of the insect or its wings will usually have shape and definition, but appear glowing and distorted when compared to an insect photo taken without the flash.

Some insects will appear very small and will look like a solid object inside a glowing orb of colour, after trialling the experiments above, you will soon see how to distinguish different types of smaller insect orbs.

Another common orb is a white orb with a brown “face” like appearance within the orb, in Australia these can often be attributed to Mosquitoes, the smaller body of the mozzie creates less “feedback glow” from the flash but still makes an orb shape, and it's legs often create the illusion, combined with the torso, of a “face" within the orb itself.

For more on Pareidolia please visit our website here: Eidolon Paranormal

Many amateur ghost teams and spiritualists post photos of insects online claiming they are “Angels” or “fairies” when quite clearly they are insects, in some of the ones we have come across, even right here in Australia, they are clearly insects, such as moths and gnats.

Eidolon Paranormal is currently undertaking a survey in a local haunted “hotspot” where we are collecting insects at different times of the day/night and in different seasons, to establish the types of flying insects in the area. We are hoping to create an online database for our website, so people that visit the hotspot with little photography knowledge, thinking they have caught something paranormal, can then compare their photo's to our database and debunk their own paranormal photography themselves.

Photo's of our field trips to collect data will be posted at intervals over the coming months.

One of our Bug Catchers

I would like to thank "MidNite Walkers Paranormal Research Society"  for allowing us the use of some of their photographs for this particular blog

http://midnite-walkers.com/

Allen Tiller © 2012

www.eidolonparanormal.com.au