Q: Can Demons materialize themselves as humans or animals?

A: Yes, although their ability to do so seems limited. Also, seemingly as a rule, even on the rare occasions where they manifest themselves in photographs, they are never "complete"...that is to say, either a body part is missing (eyes, legs, or the entire head, etc.), or they are disfigured in some noticeable way. Perhaps this is God's cosmic law at work, commanding that they must in some way display that they are not of human origin.

Sudden Death

It is believed by many that when a person dies suddenly, as in a car accident or by a gunshot, they may not be aware that they died. This is much like when we cut ourselves, but don't notice it until we see the injury. This sudden death can leave the spirit somewhat confused. He or she cannot communicate with us & perhaps, has lost the concept of time. This leaves them to wander the area where they died, not fully understanding the predicament they are in.

Often times when these type of spirits are encountered, they are dressed as they were when they died & seemed confused as to what is going on around them. These spirits may at times manipulate various objects so they might be noticed, as if they're reaching out for our help. Unfortunately for them, it is believed that they are stuck here until somebody from our side makes contact & informs them that they have died. If they can be convinced they have died, then they move on to the next life or whatever may lie on the other side. But contact , as in interaction with the spirit, is most often not made. People, by nature, fear what they do not understand. So most people will run away or move, leaving the spirit to dwell an eternity wandering the place of their death. 

Charged Emotions

This theory suggests that an intense emotional event, such as a murder, suicide or a tragic loss of a loved one, can cause a person or persons to leave an electrical imprint on the surrounding area. Our brain is constantly releasing small electrical discharges. It is believed that during an intense emotional time, these discharges intensify. They become powerful enough to go beyond the boundaries of our body & imprint themselves onto objects in the immediate area. These imprints effectively record the details of the event that has transpired. It then takes the right person to come into the area & "playback" the recording.

This works much like a cassette recorder & tapes. Almost all the sounds in the world can be recorded onto a substance called ferrous oxide, or more commonly known as, rust. Sounds are converted into electrical impulses that are placed on the rust. When we put the tape into a cassette player & hit the "play" button, we hear what has been recorded. We can listen to this over & over again, whenever we replay the cassette.

Now imagine the electrical impulses escaping from the body of some pour soul who was murdered. This event happens in an old house. The energy spreads out & imprints itself on rust. Rusty nails, screws, handles, hinges & other metal objects that show signs of rust. The event is now recorded on the house or objects. Now imagine years later a new family moves in & begins some renovations to the old house. Walls are torn down, floor boards are ripped up or perhaps cabinets are replaced. All these renovations disturb the imprinted rust, perhaps sending out small vibrations into the air. Vibrations that go unnoticed by most, but for a few open-minded people, events that transpired unfold before them. This could happen with voices yelling, begging some unseen murderer to spare a victim's life, or the horrid event could play out like a movie before the viewer's eyes.

                                                                                         

This type of encounter always unfolds in the same way, replaying the exact same occurrences. In most cases, there is no interaction between the living & the dead. But, like I mentioned earlier, there are always exceptions. Some cases have reported the replay ending suddenly, usually if a living person gets too close or enters the room where the event is replaying. A few even report that when viewing a apparition, it may notice the viewer & then suddenly disappear.

SARBAJEET MOHANTY(LEAD INVESTIGATOR,IPT)

Demonic Possession.  It's extremely rare that you will ever hear of a full-fledged demonic possession. But it is something that all ghost hunters need to be aware of & briefed on. Full possession requires an "invitation" in order to gain a foothold. However, there are activities that can be construed as an invitation. i.e. Ouija boards, séances, etc. A person with heavy addictions, depression or someone who is desperately lonely are more apt to be targets. When any type of invitation is construed, whether implied or direct, it may very well be acted upon by such evil entities. Even with all that, it's still rare that evil will triumph successfully, but it is possible in some cases. Ghost hunters are somewhat susceptible because of the nature of their work. 

Addicting habits can be contradictory to your ghostly pursuits. Examples would be heavy addictions to drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, etc. These things in excess make you vulnerable & susceptible to attack. The attack stems from the entities attraction to your addictions & also because of your weakness. Mind altering substances are particularly enticing to them. 

The Cross : Creepy Story

A few weeks ago, some friends of mine from school died suddenly. Some others went insane. The doctors tried to pass it all off as mental illness, but I know the truth. They were possessed by something.

When I was in school, I used to hang around with a group of boys in my class. There were five of us altogether – (Danny, Mitch, Eric, Hugh, and myself). We never payed much attention to our schoolwork and spent our time ditching class and getting up to mischief. The teachers hardly even noticed our absence and our parents never suspected a thing.

One day, Danny and Mitch told the rest of us about a creepy urban legend they heard regarding a house that was near our school. The father of the family had gone insane and hung himself. When his wife and kids discovered the body, they were so traumatized that they couldn’t stay in the home again. They abandoned the house and it had lain vacant ever since.

We were so curious that we immediately decided to check it out. The next day, we all snuck out of school after lunch and went to the house. When we got there, we were surprised to find that it was just a normal-looking home. You would never have suspected that someone had committed suicide in the place.

Danny and Mitch went in first and the rest of us followed close behind. We went into the kitchen first and rummaged through the drawers and cupboards to see what was inside. There was nothing much of interest. Going upstairs, we explored the bedrooms, but most of the furniture had been removed.

Just then, Eric noticed something in the hallway. There were two small windows at the very end. They were high up, almost touching the ceiling. It seemed strange because there was another room behind the windows, but no door to access it.

Standing on each other’s shoulders, we opened one of the windows and all of us managed to climb through. There was a musty smell in the air. It stank of damp and dry rot. The moldy wallpaper was peeling off the walls. It was empty except for a desk in the corner with a black box sitting on top of it. On the wall above it, hung a large wooden cross.

The strange thing was that the desk, the box and the cross had all been painted completely black.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” said Danny, as he walked over to the desk and examined the box.

Mitch was picking at the wallpaper. “This place gives me the creeps,” he said with a grimace.

Danny flicked the latch on the black box, opened the lid and looked inside. “I wonder what this is!” he exclaimed.

Just then, I happened to glance down at the floor. There was something carved into the wooden floorboards. It was some sort of symbol that covered the entire floor. A five-pointed star with a circle around it. I recognized that symbol.

It was a pentagram.

Mitch pulled a long, sticky sheet of wallpaper off the wall. As he did so, it crumpled to the ground, revealing what was behind it. Underneath the paper, the wall was covered with inverted black crosses.

Danny lifted something shiny out of the box. It was a small, golden chalice.

“There’s something in it,” he croaked. “Some red liquid… I think it’s blood…”

At that exact moment, the black cross above the desk burst into flames. Everybody froze. We all started to freak out.

Danny turned as white as a ghost. He was still holding the chalice in his trembling hands. His eyes rolled back in his heard and his tongue hung out of his mouth as if he was choking. Mitch started screaming in terror. He began climbing up the wall and crawled out of the window. I was right behind him, hoisting myself up and throwing myself through the narrow opening. I fell into the hallway on the other side, almost landing on top of Mitch.

Hugh managed to clamber out through the window as well, his eyes wide with fear. I could hear Danny’s voice screeching on the other side of the wall. Eric appeared at the window. He was clutching onto the ledge with one hand, while his other arm flailed wildly.

“My leg!” he cried. “He’s got my leg!”

I grabbed his arm and tried to pull him through. We could hear Danny in the room, moaning and howling like a dog. Eric was in a blind panic, struggling and screaming for help.

“My leg! My leg!” he kept screeching.

We all pulled as hard as we could. Eric came tumbing out through the window, and we all fell in a heap on the floor. He was shaking, crying and whimpering. I looked down at his leg and was horrified to find that there was a huge chunk missing from his calf. The flesh had been torn away from the bone.

“He bit me,” Eric wailed pitifully.

“Call an ambulance!” I shouted.

Hugh scrambled to his feet ran to get help. Danny continued yelling and screaming in the other room. We were too scared to peer in the window and check on him. We all exchanged frightened looks.

“I think he’s possessed,” said Mitch.

We sat there on the dusty floor and waited, listening to the tortured screams of Danny. He was like a wild animal, charging around like a crazed beast. He was uncontrollable, screaming, crying and bouncing around the room.

Eventually, an ambulance arrived and the paramedics attended to Eric’s wounds. The police came too and when they saw the crazed state that Danny was in, they called for backup. The ambulance took Eric to the hospital. Our names and addresses were taken and we were driven home by two officers.

We never saw Danny again. There was a rumor at school that his parents had to put him in a mental hospital. The police came and talked to our parents many times after that, but they never told us what they were discussing.

Of course, we were all grounded for the rest of the year. In school, we were on our best behavior, not wanting to get into any more trouble.

One day, I was called to the principal’s office. When I opened the door, I was shocked to see Mitch and Hugh sitting in front of the principal’s desk. Their faces were ashen. As soon as I closed the door behind me, the principal began speaking.

“Eric is dead,” he announced.

I couldn’t believe it. Then, I realized I hadn’t seen Eric for days. I thought he was just absent from school. It turned out that he had collapsed and died of a heart attack. He was only 14 years old. The doctors couldn’t explain it. Nobody could.

Mitch, Hugh and myself left the office that day with a heavy feeling in our hearts. We were the last surviving members of our group. We didn’t speak to each other. There was nothing to say. The haunted expressions on our faces spoke volumes. After that, we all sort of drifted apart.

During the summer holidays, I happened to run into Mitch’s sister at the mall. As soon as she set eyes on me, she broke down in tears. She told me that Mitch was dead and Hugh had gone insane.

Mitch hung himself in his bedroom. He told his parents he was going to bed and locked the door. He was found with his head shaved. His hair had been glued, piece by piece, to the ceiling. His eyes and mouth had been sewn shut with a needle and thread.

Hugh was found crawling down the street naked. He was laughing hysterically and grinning like a maniac. He couldn’t close his eyes. When paramedics sedated him and brought him to hospital, they discovered he had cut off his own eyelids.

At that moment, I knew that we were all cursed and now, I was the only one left.

A few days later, I was struck down by a mysterious illness. I had a fever and was confined to bed. All I could do was lie there. I couldn’t eat or drink anything. It felt as if something was squeezing my chest and crushing me, trying to turn me inside-out. I was sure I was at death’s door. The whites of my eyes turned black. I was in so much pain that I didn’t care if I lived or died. I just wanted it to be over.

One night, Danny came to me in a dream. He had withered away to nothing. All that was left was skin and bones. His skin was charred and blackened and his eyes were completely white.

“You’re the last one,” he whispered.

“Yeah,” I replied.

“The only one who remembers what happened on that day,” he said.

“I know,” I replied.

“You should come here,” he said. “You belong with us.”

“Where are you?” I asked nervously.

“You know where we are,” he chuckled. “We’re in hell.”

Pay attention to your dreams. Entities will use this relaxed state of mind & body to try & influence or torment it's targeted victim. Use whatever wording is necessary (according to your own spiritual beliefs) to command such an intrusion to cease. Command it in the Holy name of your God or Higher Power.  

Direct vs. Non-direct Contact/Communication

The big dispute, as some have called it.  Direct contact is usually referred as someone using themselves as a tool to make a direct contact or link with an entity/spirit/paranormal energy.  This involves a very good understanding of how to communicate, how to close off communications, & how to protect oneself.  Typically tools such as Ouija boards, Séance Agents, certain forms of Tarot, & some regular Agents fall into this category as they require an operator (someone to communicate through).  There are those who believe that this form of contact can be not only bad but also very dangerous.  Using a tool that invokes/provokes a spirit/entity/energy to use oneself opens a portal that may not be easily closed.  This is not to say that all people believe it bad. 

There are some who have researched & protected themselves in many ways towards the use & understanding of these tools.  They have trained or been trained properly to communicate through these tools using themselves as a portal & know how/when to stop.  There are many recorded cases where amateurs who have used these tools & were not knowledgeable enough about them have been hurt, abused, or even died.  Some groups believe that this is an evil way of trying to gain a scientific approach (where there are no scientific means available) in contacting/provoking the paranormal world.

Non-direct or Indirect contact is kind of the opposite.  Typically these tools are things such as disclosed Agents, Recorders (audio/video), Dowsing Rods, etc.  These are items that allow someone to record or contact the paranormal world without becoming part of the tool.  In the case of disclosed agents, whether they can hear, see, or speak with entities, spirits, or energies, they do not during an investigation.  They typically record all the information seen, heard, or felt & then relay that information back to the investigating group.  This keeps them from influencing others or incorporating themselves into a haunt or paranormal situation outside the scope of scientifically investigating.  Much like how audio/video recorders record the information to be reviewed, a disclosed Agent does the same with notes (written or mental) outside of the investigation or during a review.  Tools, such as Dowsing Rods & simple Tarot Cards designs, are designed to channel, seek, & find paranormal activity or energy, but they do not directly involve the person using them as an agent.

Note: It is the view of most Paranormal Investigators, that forms of direct connect are not permissible during an investigation. That is not to say that we do not acknowledge their uses or capabilities, only that we feel these forms of contact can lead to: a greater misunderstanding/confusion or a potentially bad scenario for the investigation, investigators, or others who may be present.

Using the Cell Sensor on Investigations

Just like the Tri-field, all the groups Cell Sensors should be used on every case. They can be placed in stationary positions all around the location & it can be carried as you walk around too.    Putting in a stationary spot allows it to monitor an entire area just like the Tri-Field meter does.   Use these settings when using the meter:

In a stationary position:   Set the meter to High & place the meter on a flat surface. Place the probe’s tip facing the area you want to cover.

Walking around with meter:    Set the meter to High but if you continue to get false/natural readings then switch to the Normal setting.    The Normal setting will usually work best when walking around in an indoor location.

An important tip with the cell sensor is how to hold the probe.  Never hold the probe by the wire.  Holding the probe by the wire will give you false readings.  Please keep this in mind when using.

Imaginary Friends

One theory I've developed concerns the imaginary friends of small children. I believe that spirits are all around us, we just lack the open-mindedness to acknowledge that they are with us. I feel that this is because we are "programmed" when we are young by adults, that told us that there are no such things as ghosts. I was taught that when we died, we went to heaven or hell. The subject of ghosts never came up. Imaginary friends fall under this same programming. Parents will teach the children that their "friend" is not real, & they should stop talking to themselves. This is the kind of thinking that closes our minds to anything that is not flesh & blood or solid as a rock.

When we are born, we know nothing of the concerns & worries of the world. We have no rules to abide by, thus we have no preconceived notions of what is supposed to be real & what is supposed to be imaginary. We don't even know what imagination is. So, I believe that babies & small children are the best chance a spirit has to communicate with the living. There have been numerous documented cases where a child or baby has been moved from one spot to another, or an infant has gained possession of toys that were no where near them. Many people have watched a baby move it's eyes around, as if following someone or a child suddenly laughing for no obvious reason. Perhaps that child is seeing a grandparent who passed on before getting a chance to see their grandchild.

What about children who are heard having long conversations with an unseen friend? Most can be attributed to an overactive imagination, but there are a few cases in which children have gained information they could not have known. A woman once wrote me about her son. Apparently the young boy had an imaginary friend. One day the boy told his mother that her stomach was glowing. His friend said that his mommy was going to have another baby & the he would have a sister. The next week the woman found out that she was indeed pregnant. Sometime later, a baby girl was born. Perhaps imaginary friends are more real then we give them credit. 

Q. What is the marker thingie called in planchette?

A. The proper name is planchette (plan-'shet) from the French word for "little plank." Some believe that the actual inventor's name was Planchette. Wouldn't that be a coincidence? If French is hard for you, call it a message indicator. Under no circumstances call it a carriage, center dome, cursor, do-hickey, doo-dad, eye, fulcrum, glide, glider, guide, heart, letter finder, locator, marker thingie, marker, mover, paddle, palmier, plachet, plaque, planchard, plantain, platent, plinth, pointer, receptor, shuttle, slider, seer, spade, speaker, stylist, stylus, triangle, or trivet. That is considered very bad form. And whatever you do, never, ever call it a "puck." If you don't know why, we suggest you look that word up in your dictionary. On second thought, call it anything you please. If it sounds interesting & enough people use it, we will eventually list it here