Communication Methods
During an investigation, a popular way to induce paranormal activity is through attempts to communicate with any ‘spirits’ that may be present. Although this is not a scientific approach, it's an option that may provide the investigator with a means to get evidence. How the investigator interprets that evidence is unique to them and their beliefs.
Some investigations invite mediums and psychics to provide a communication link. Some investigations are purely scientific and employ a range of measuring gadgets to capture evidence. Some incorporate both methods to get a balanced view.
There are a number of ways in which people believe they can communicate with the spirit world, a number of them are briefly described below.
Calling:
A
person will simply call out to the room and ask if there is a spirit present
who is willing to communicate. Usually the caller will ask for a response that
is either auditory such as knocks or taps, visual such
as lights or manifesting to some degree or physical such as touch
someone in the room or move an object.
How responses are interpreted are solely down to the people witnessing it.
Sceptics may be quick to dismiss taps as coincidence, so repeat requests for
confirmation by asking for specific responses such as tap on a bell or a glass
rather than at random, anywhere in the room. A response from a specific request
as suggested is harder to dismiss.
Pendulum:
A pendulum can be used to answer simple questions.
A pendulum is often a light chain with a stone or crystal attached to the bottom.
The user pinches the end of the chain and lets the pendulum hang freely.
The user programs the pendulum by asking it to show which way it swings to mean yes, no and maybe. Once this is established the user can then ask questions and the pendulum should respond, directed by the spirit, with yes, no and maybe answers.
From a sceptics point of view the user may not be aware of slight movements
they are making and in turn add motion to the pendulum. Additionally, they
may subconsciously create the answer they want to hear while interpreting the
response as paranormal.
Dowsing
Rods:
Two equal size ‘L’ shaped
rods are held steady in the hands of the dowser. It is believed that a spirit
can use its energy to move the rods in answer to questions put to it. It
works in a similar way to the pendulum. The rods can be made professionally
or from wire coat hangers - either method is believed to work if used correctly.
It’s easy to dismiss these methods as movements created by the person
holding the item rather than spirit intervention. There have been occasions
where violent or sudden movements have occurred that have left the cause unexplainable
such as rods spinning round or the pendulum being tugged out of the person’s
hand. This is not definitive evidence of paranormal activity but it does warrant
further investigation to see if it can be repeated and recorded.
Ouija Board:
Feared by a lot of people,
the Ouija Board is another tool for communicating with ‘spirits’.
Some say the board attracts evil spirits and bad luck; others say if used
properly they are fine. The spirit in this case will push the planchette
over a letter in order to spell out a message.
On the other hand, it is believed the ideomotor effect is responsible for
the movements. This is basically a muscular movement that is initiated by the
mind independent of volition or emotion and can give the impression that the
planchette is being moved by a force beyond the control of the people who are
taking part. The Ouija Board is also open to abuse from participants who may
find humour in falsifying the event.
Glass Divination:
This is similar to a Ouija Board except
a glass is used as a planchette and there is no lettered board, just a smooth
surface. A member of the group asks questions and the glass moves accordingly.
This method of communication is subject to the same scepticism as the Ouija
Board as the participants could move the glass while others believe they are
witness to a paranormal event.
It is important that the participants place their fingers lightly on the glass and allow it to move freely and not to influence its movement in any way. There have been occasions where the movements have been so forceful that the glass has flown off the table. But as with all of these methods of communication, there is no hard evidence to say this was purely paranormal regardless of how honest the participants are. It may even be Extra Sensory Perception at work!
Table
tipping:
A group sits or stands around a table with
their fingers lightly placed on the top. Someone requests that if a spirit
is present to move the table in response to questions or tip it, raise
it or shake it. Usually with this method of communication, that goes back
to the 1800's, knocks and raps can be heard too, usualy from the table itself.
In order to prevent participant fraud as much as possible, place a light tablecloth
on the table. This will indicate if anyone is forcing the table as opposed
to letting it move freely. If there is a spare person or camcorder, have them
monitor the event with the freedom to see under and around the table.
Séance:
A
group sits in a circle or around a table, usually holding hands to form an
unbroken chain or with hands flat on the table with hands touching their neighbour.
Often a medium will call out for a spirit to make itself known. These are often
conducted in low light conditions that is believed to help focus energy as
well as add to the atmosphere of the room. The latter comment alone makes me
wonder how much psychology is at play during the event.
This is similar to Calling but the combined energies
of the group are believed to make it easier for the spirit to communicate.
The medium and group usually ask for protection before commencing to help
fend off ‘evil or malevolent
spirits’. The spirits are said to communicate via the caller and are
sometimes sensed/seen to walk around the group and stop at particular people
that interest it.
Medium:
A medium is person who claims to be able to contact
and receive messages from people who are dead and are now in spirit form. They
are usually more sensitive to feeling emotions or sensing and seeing the spirit
of a person and therefore able to speak to them. Mediums claim that messages
are often symbolic and need to be interpreted, some see images or can hear
various sounds, but most often claim that there is no direct conversation,
which is why messages are often vague, or inaccurate.
It is also believed that spirits occupy a different
frequency, like radio stations, hence why we are unable to see them. Mediums
claim they can tune in to the relevant ‘spirit frequency’ in
order to contact them.
Automatic
Writing:
This is when a
person takes a writing instrument and paper and allows a ‘spirit’ to
control their hand in order to write or draw on the paper. The person should
sit quietly and allow their mind to wander and not pay attention to the writing
until it has ceased.
Whether this is the work of a spirit, the subconscious mind or fraud is open to debate.
Examples of writing that I've seen range from scribble to articulate and neat
writing that is claimed to be a completely different writing style to the person
undertaking the experiment. Sometimes images are drawn instead of words, again
with completely different levels of style, interpretability and method of drawing.
EVP Electronic Voice Phenomenon:
It is believed by some that
the voice of a spirit can be captured on a recording device. In order for this
to work, a person would ask a question out loud and leave their recording device
on to capture what some people may perceive to be a response. Sometimes this
response appears appropriate for the question; sometimes it seems completely
random or indistinguishable.
This method of communication is open to corruption
due to the vast amount of radio waves, signals, interference or cross modulation
that can be picked up as well as natural sound waves that can be mistaken
for the voices of the dead. There have been some interesting EVP’s
captured and examples of these can be found online Here. Whether or not these are genuine examples of
spirit communication is up to the listener.
Crystallomancy:
This is when a person stares into a glass,
window, water, a mirror, or any shiny, transparent or reflective object to
induce self-hypnosis (crystal balls come under this method).
It is believed that by inducing self-hypnosis the person wishing to communicate is putting themselves on the same level as the spirits and are able to communicate or receive information directly to or from them. Some people believe they are opening a doorway that allows spirits to find it easier to reach the living by thinning the barriers between each plain.
This method is open to criticism as again, there is no proof that the people are not just tapping into their own thoughts, hearing and seeing what they would like to see or hear or simply manifesting their own fears!
As you can see, there are many ways in which to communicate with the spirit world. Whether you believe any of these are plausible or just purely ridiculous, they have all been used for many years and continue to leave people wondering about their authenticity and accuracy.
You’ll just have to decide for yourselves if you try any of these and get results. I’d like to hear your views on the forum if you’d like to share them.
More detailed guides to undertaking these methods of communication can be found online. Remember; always be cautious of messages you receive and DO NOT assume them to be from spirits - either good or evil! If there are a few participants, quite often the message can be created by one of them (or yourself) whether they or you are aware of it or not.