Today, Saturday, August 31, I had a great Skype Interview/conversation with Bob St. Andre, and members of the Massachusetts Paranormal Research Group. What an amazing and talented group. We shared experiences, theories, and investigation techniques. There's a great diversity in the group, too. If anyone in central Massachusetts needs paranormal assistance, please give them a call. They're amazing!
A little about them from their website: The Massachusetts Paranormal Research Group
is an all volunteer organization. Our mission statement is simply
this: We will assist people who are experiencing paranormal activity,
events or episodes and provide them with a solution or explanation for
their specific encounter while adhering to strict policies and
guidelines to protect their confidentiality.
http://www.tmprg.com/
Moved to www.robgutro.com /I am an author, paranormal investigator & medium with Inspired Ghost Tracking. I can receive messages from ghosts or spirits (who have crossed over). As a scientist, I explain the paranormal with energy. Known as a Pet Medium; but work with human ghosts and spirits, too. My books teach you how to recognize signs from spirits.* AWARD-WINNING - 2021,2022 and 2023 BookAuthority Best New Grief Ebook for Pets and the Afterlife 3
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Ghostly Pets of Hampton Court Palace, England
I recently visited Hampton Court Palace in England, and there are a number of human ghosts there, but
there are two animal ghosts that have become famous. While researching
this blog, I also learned that one of the kings that followed Henry VIII
granted a special position to a certain breed of dog.
THE PHANTOM DOG -According to Hampton Court Palace's book "Is the
Palace Haunted?: Palace Phantoms" - there's a dog that has been seen
and heard at the King's Staircase in the William and Mary section of the
palace. Queen Victoria had banned all dogs from the palace except
"lap-dogs, but this ghostly dog is reputed to be a mongrel dog. No one
has a clue if this dog was a pet or a guard dog, but reports from State
Apartment Warders (people that work in that part of the building) and
others during the 1990s indicated that a ghostly dog had been seen and
heard.
A GHOSTLY CAT - The old information center has been reported several times by information center staff and visitors. Especially during the 1980s and 1990s, visitors reported having to step over something and that was a white cat! However, there were no cats in the palace. Here's our Video from 2010 of the location where the ghostly cat has been seen: Hampton Court Ghost Cat Area
KING CHARLES II THE DOG LOVER- History shows that King Charles II was a dog lover. Under royal decree, King Charles II granted King Charles Cavalier Spaniels (named for him obviously) the ability to go anywhere in Parliment buildings. The royal decree was referred to as the 'commons dogging charter.' Of course, he was displeased with Parliment, so this was one way of getting at them. Charles II was the king of England, Scotland, and Ireland and lived from (May 29, 1630 to Feb. 6, 1685. His father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall Palace in London on January 30, 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War.
It was obvious that he had an affinity for dogs since a painting of Charles II as a child depicts a small dog on his lap, that resembles a Charles Cavalier Spaniel.
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| A ghostly dog? Cr: Engagget.com |
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| The King's Staircase: Phantom Dog Hangout |
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| Ghost cat Credit: www.pxleyes.com |
A GHOSTLY CAT - The old information center has been reported several times by information center staff and visitors. Especially during the 1980s and 1990s, visitors reported having to step over something and that was a white cat! However, there were no cats in the palace. Here's our Video from 2010 of the location where the ghostly cat has been seen: Hampton Court Ghost Cat Area
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| Charles II as an infant in 1630, painting attributed to Justus van Egmont |
KING CHARLES II THE DOG LOVER- History shows that King Charles II was a dog lover. Under royal decree, King Charles II granted King Charles Cavalier Spaniels (named for him obviously) the ability to go anywhere in Parliment buildings. The royal decree was referred to as the 'commons dogging charter.' Of course, he was displeased with Parliment, so this was one way of getting at them. Charles II was the king of England, Scotland, and Ireland and lived from (May 29, 1630 to Feb. 6, 1685. His father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall Palace in London on January 30, 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War.
It was obvious that he had an affinity for dogs since a painting of Charles II as a child depicts a small dog on his lap, that resembles a Charles Cavalier Spaniel.
Saturday, August 24, 2013
ARTICLE: How the ouija board really moves
As a scientist, I'm always looking for ways to explain or confirm the paranormal. This article from BBC News on July 29 provides an interesting explanation of how the ouija board plancehette moves. I think that some of it is our motion, but some may also be from the thoughts of ghosts and spirits on the other side. I've found that Ouija board use tends to open doors to any type of ghost or spirit- and some of them are not good. I'd be curious to hear what you think.
Rob
The mystery isn’t a connection to the spirit world, but why we can make movements and yet not realise that we're making them.
Ouija board cups and dowsing wands – just two examples of mystical items that seem to move of their own accord, when they are really being moved by the people holding them. The only mystery is not one of a connection to the spirit world, but of why we can make movements and yet not realise that we're making them.
The phenomenon is called the ideomotor effect
and you can witness it yourself if you hang a small weight like a
button or a ring from a string (ideally more than a foot long). Hold the
end of the string with your arm out in front of you, so the weight
hangs down freely. Try to hold your arm completely still. The weight
will start to swing clockwise or anticlockwise in small circles. Do not
start this motion yourself. Instead, just ask yourself a question – any
question – and say that the weight will swing clockwise to answer "Yes"
and anticlockwise for "No". Hold this thought in mind, and soon, even
though you are trying not to make any motion, the weight will start to
swing in answer to your question.
Magic? Only the ordinary everyday magic of consciousness. There's no supernatural force at work, just tiny movements you are making without realising. The string allows these movements to be exaggerated, the inertia of the weight allows them to be conserved and built on until they form a regular swinging motion. The effect is known as Chevreul's Pendulum, after the 19th Century French scientist who investigated it.
What is happening with Chevreul's Pendulum is that you are witnessing a movement (of the weight) without "owning" that movement as being caused by you. The same basic phenomenon underlies dowsing – where small movements of the hands cause the dowsing wand to swing wildly – or the Ouija board, where multiple people hold a cup and it seems to move of its own accord to answer questions by spelling out letters.
This effect also underlies the sad case of "facilitated communication", a fad whereby carers believed they could help severely disabled children communicate by guiding their fingers around a keyboard. Research showed that the carers – completely innocently – were typing the messages themselves, rather than interpreting movements from their charges.
The interesting thing about the phenomenon is what it says about the mind. That we can make movements that we don't realise we're making suggests that we shouldn't be so confident in our other judgements about what movements we think are ours. Sure enough, in the right circumstances, you can get people to believe they have caused things that actually come from a completely independent source (something which shouldn't surprise anyone who has reflected on the madness of people who claim that it only started raining because they forget an umbrella).
You can read what this means for the nature of our minds in The Illusion of Conscious Will by psychologist Daniel Wegner, who sadly died last month. Wegner argued that our normal sense of owning an action is an illusion, or – if you will – a construction. The mental processes which directly control our movements are not connected to the same processes which figure out what caused what, he claimed.
The situation is not that of a mental command-and-control structure like a disciplined army; whereby a general issues orders to the troops, they carry out the order and the general gets back a report saying "Sir! We did it. The right hand is moving into action!". The situation is more akin to an organised collective, claims Wegner: the general can issue orders, and watch what happens, but he's never sure exactly what caused what. Instead, just like with other people, our consciousness (the general in this metaphor) has to apply some principles to figure out when a movement is one we've made.
One of these principles is that cause has to be consistent with effect. If you think "I'll move my hand" and your hand moves, you're likely to automatically get the feeling that the movement was one you made. The principle is broken when the thought is different from the effect, such as with Chevreul's Pendulum. If you think "I'm not moving my hand", you are less inclined to connect any small movements you make with such large visual effects.
This maybe explains why kids can shout "It wasn't me!" after breaking something in plain sight. They thought to themselves "I'll just give this a little push", and when it falls off the table and breaks it doesn't feel like something they did.
Article: BBC News Story from July 29, 2013 on What Makes the Ouija Board Move
Rob
ARTICLE: How the ouija board really moves
The mystery isn’t a connection to the spirit world, but why we can make movements and yet not realise that we're making them.
Ouija board cups and dowsing wands – just two examples of mystical items that seem to move of their own accord, when they are really being moved by the people holding them. The only mystery is not one of a connection to the spirit world, but of why we can make movements and yet not realise that we're making them.
 |
| Ouija board. Credit: www.ghostgirlparanormal.com |
Magic? Only the ordinary everyday magic of consciousness. There's no supernatural force at work, just tiny movements you are making without realising. The string allows these movements to be exaggerated, the inertia of the weight allows them to be conserved and built on until they form a regular swinging motion. The effect is known as Chevreul's Pendulum, after the 19th Century French scientist who investigated it.
What is happening with Chevreul's Pendulum is that you are witnessing a movement (of the weight) without "owning" that movement as being caused by you. The same basic phenomenon underlies dowsing – where small movements of the hands cause the dowsing wand to swing wildly – or the Ouija board, where multiple people hold a cup and it seems to move of its own accord to answer questions by spelling out letters.
This effect also underlies the sad case of "facilitated communication", a fad whereby carers believed they could help severely disabled children communicate by guiding their fingers around a keyboard. Research showed that the carers – completely innocently – were typing the messages themselves, rather than interpreting movements from their charges.
The interesting thing about the phenomenon is what it says about the mind. That we can make movements that we don't realise we're making suggests that we shouldn't be so confident in our other judgements about what movements we think are ours. Sure enough, in the right circumstances, you can get people to believe they have caused things that actually come from a completely independent source (something which shouldn't surprise anyone who has reflected on the madness of people who claim that it only started raining because they forget an umbrella).
You can read what this means for the nature of our minds in The Illusion of Conscious Will by psychologist Daniel Wegner, who sadly died last month. Wegner argued that our normal sense of owning an action is an illusion, or – if you will – a construction. The mental processes which directly control our movements are not connected to the same processes which figure out what caused what, he claimed.
The situation is not that of a mental command-and-control structure like a disciplined army; whereby a general issues orders to the troops, they carry out the order and the general gets back a report saying "Sir! We did it. The right hand is moving into action!". The situation is more akin to an organised collective, claims Wegner: the general can issue orders, and watch what happens, but he's never sure exactly what caused what. Instead, just like with other people, our consciousness (the general in this metaphor) has to apply some principles to figure out when a movement is one we've made.
One of these principles is that cause has to be consistent with effect. If you think "I'll move my hand" and your hand moves, you're likely to automatically get the feeling that the movement was one you made. The principle is broken when the thought is different from the effect, such as with Chevreul's Pendulum. If you think "I'm not moving my hand", you are less inclined to connect any small movements you make with such large visual effects.
This maybe explains why kids can shout "It wasn't me!" after breaking something in plain sight. They thought to themselves "I'll just give this a little push", and when it falls off the table and breaks it doesn't feel like something they did.
Article: BBC News Story from July 29, 2013 on What Makes the Ouija Board Move
Saturday, August 17, 2013
2 Interesting Books on the Paranormal
Over my summer vacation I read two good books on the paranormal. One was about Earth-bound ghosts and the other was a medium's experiences with spirits (who have crossed over). Both are well-worth picking up."THE WORLD'S MOST HAUNTED PLACES" - by Jeff Belanger is a very interesting and informative read. Jeff takes the reader to haunted places all over the world. Recently, I went to Scotland and experienced first hand the "Southbridge Underground Vaults" of Edinburgh, Scotland. Jeff provides a photo of each place, references and interesting stories. The book is subtitled "From the Secret Files of GhostVillage.com" - and it's worthwhile for anyone interested in the most haunted places on Earth.
- About the Author: Jeff Belanger (jeffbelanger.com) is one of the world's most visible and prolific paranormal researchers. Since 1997, the former journalist has interviewed thousands of eyewitnesses to paranormal occurrences. He is the author of a dozen books on the paranormal; the founder of Ghostvillage.com the Web's most popular paranormal destination, according to Google, and a noted speaker and media personality.Belanger is the series writer and researcher for Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel. He's been a guest on more than 200 radio and television programs including: The History Channel, The Travel Channel, PBS, The Maury Show, The CBS News Early Show, National Public Radio, The BBC, Australian Radio Network, and Coast to Coast AM.
"FOREVER WITH YOU" - by Medium Patrick Mathews was a refreshing read. Patrick has written two books and this is his second (I'm going to read his first soon). I totally agree with Patrick's view of "Heaven" as being all around - and not a fixed "place." Spirits come and go all the time, and can see what we're doing and guide us in daily decisions. Patrick also touches on suicides, religion, reincarnation, spirits, ghosts, and much more. He covers a number of topics that I covered in my books (Ghosts and Spirits and Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead). I highly recommend Patrick's book and would love to meet him in person.About the Author - As a medium, lecturer, teacher and
author, Patrick Mathews has helped countless people around the world with his gift of communicating with those in spirit. Mathews has appeared on numerous national television and radio shows, including the Ryan Seacrest Show, WGN’s Steve Cochran Show, and has been featured on ABC News and PBS. Patrick has also been the featured medium on the hit television shows Most Haunted and Most Haunted Live!.Visit Mathews online at www.patrickmathews.com.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Announcing a Brand New Paranormal/Fantasy Series: In the Lies of Men by I.R. Harris
My friend I.R. Harris, author of the "Bound Trilogy' has done it again! She's issued the first in another great series called "Legion." She'll be appearing with me again this year at the Baltimore Book Festival on Sept. 29th -so please come out and meet her. You can check out her book on-line and I urge you to pick up a copy. It's another AMAZING story that will take you away, and get you involved in the characters that you'll think you've met them in person. I can't say enough about her writing! - Rob Gutro
Brand New Paranormal/Fantasy Series: In the Lies of Men by I.R. Harris
The Legion Series Book 1
(Createspace, Paperback, 9781480295414, 632pp.)
Publication Date: June 28, 2013
Description
From the author of The Bound Trilogy comes her next epic fantasy series, The Legion.
Fired from the job she loves, with no money and no prospects, Aidee returns to her hometown of Thorne Bay, Alaska to find her footing. A quiet fishing village with a history of Inuit Elder magick, Aidee's little hamlet attracts tourists from around the world who hold a gruesome intrigue for the massacre that occurred in the town. After years of being away she quickly realizes all too soon that she's been expected to return and that she's not the only one still trying to wash the blood of the past from her hands...
TO PURCHASE THE BOOK ON AMAZON: http://tinyurl.com/otsvomz
OR THROUGH INDIE BOOKS :
http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781480295414
Fired from the job she loves, with no money and no prospects, Aidee returns to her hometown of Thorne Bay, Alaska to find her footing. A quiet fishing village with a history of Inuit Elder magick, Aidee's little hamlet attracts tourists from around the world who hold a gruesome intrigue for the massacre that occurred in the town. After years of being away she quickly realizes all too soon that she's been expected to return and that she's not the only one still trying to wash the blood of the past from her hands...
TO PURCHASE THE BOOK ON AMAZON: http://tinyurl.com/otsvomz
OR THROUGH INDIE BOOKS :
http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781480295414
About the Author
I.
R. Harris is an Adult Fantasy author who considers Ireland to be her
second home. She has recently returned to the mountains of Western North
Carolina after receiving her MA in Peace, Conflict and Sustainable
Development from the University of Limerick in the Republic of Ireland.
Harris is constantly drawing upon those experiences abroad throughout
her writing process and her love for the outdoors and for travel has
inspired her particular advocacy for the dissemination of knowledge
through various creative processes. She is the author of two adult
fantasy series, The Bound Trilogy and The Legion Series, and she has
participated in the Author’s Tent at the Baltimore Book Festival where
her Trilogy debuted and sold out. Harris prides herself on utilizing the
amazing artistic talent within her North Carolina community and has
partnered with local artist Clint Hardin for her current series, The
Legion.Sunday, August 4, 2013
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RESIDUAL AND INTELLIGENT GHOSTS?
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RESIDUAL AND INTELLIGENT GHOSTS?
Residual energy is basically like a thumbprint of emotions left behind from people who lived or dwelled in a place. Think of it this way, if you built a house and walked through it for the first time, your feelings of excitement would leave an "emotional imprint" in it. If you were proposed to in a house, brought your new dog home, or heard you got into the college you wanted, all of those things would leave an imprint of emotional energy. An imprint, however, cannot communicate with you. It's like static electricity.
The Josiah Quincy House in Massachusetts has residual energy. When I visited I saw ghostly images of horse-drawn carriages pulling up in front of the house, as if coming to a big event. Some event that had a lot of emotional energy- enough to leave a "thumbprint" of energy behind.
Intelligent Haunting - An intelligent haunting is basically the energy of a person, a ghost, lingering in a place that can interact with the living. The ghost can answer questions (on digital recorders), move things, change temperatures in a room when it's trying to manifest, stop a clock, and cause magnetic fields to increase. Ghosts are beings of energy after all.
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| Josiah Quincy House in Mass.: Residual Haunting |
Residual energy is basically like a thumbprint of emotions left behind from people who lived or dwelled in a place. Think of it this way, if you built a house and walked through it for the first time, your feelings of excitement would leave an "emotional imprint" in it. If you were proposed to in a house, brought your new dog home, or heard you got into the college you wanted, all of those things would leave an imprint of emotional energy. An imprint, however, cannot communicate with you. It's like static electricity.
The Josiah Quincy House in Massachusetts has residual energy. When I visited I saw ghostly images of horse-drawn carriages pulling up in front of the house, as if coming to a big event. Some event that had a lot of emotional energy- enough to leave a "thumbprint" of energy behind.
Intelligent Haunting - An intelligent haunting is basically the energy of a person, a ghost, lingering in a place that can interact with the living. The ghost can answer questions (on digital recorders), move things, change temperatures in a room when it's trying to manifest, stop a clock, and cause magnetic fields to increase. Ghosts are beings of energy after all.
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Rob Makes Cover Story of Bowie Life Magazine: Beyond the Grave
Back in May I was contacted by the publisher of a
new magazine called "Bowie Life Magazine" to write an article about my
experiences with ghost hunting and the paranormal. The debut issue came
out this week- and features the article and includes lots of pictures. It includes the Inspired Ghost
Tracking Group and mediums Barb Mallon (www.barbmallon.com) and Ruthie
Larkin (beantownmedium.com).
- I must say that I was shocked that they put me on the cover, and used all the photos...but I'm pleased with it. In fact, I already heard from a college student that is interested in Inspired Ghost Tracking and I emailed him back.
Here are the pages (starting with the cover) if you'd like to read it.
(You can also check out my books: "Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead" and "Ghosts and Spirits: Insights from a Medium" on Amazon.com. - Rob Gutro)
- I must say that I was shocked that they put me on the cover, and used all the photos...but I'm pleased with it. In fact, I already heard from a college student that is interested in Inspired Ghost Tracking and I emailed him back.
Here are the pages (starting with the cover) if you'd like to read it.
(You can also check out my books: "Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead" and "Ghosts and Spirits: Insights from a Medium" on Amazon.com. - Rob Gutro)
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