Stone Tape Theory
Originally,
it is believed the term came from a 1970’s BBC drama called The Stone
Tape. Parapsychologists then began to use the term ‘stone tape’ to
describe a theory that the materials found in stone or brick may certain properties
suitable for recording images and/or sound.
It is believed that the stones and ground etc are able to absorb energy from living beings. Under certain conditions, the absorbed energy can be replayed, just like a video recording.
Most hauntings usually stem from an emotionally charged scene such as a murder or time of distress on the part of the participant. It is this scene that has somehow managed to imprint or record itself onto the environment in which it took place – this is usually a building but it is not always the case.
It has been suggested that in order to replay this recording it needs to be triggered by a person who sends out the right signal – usually a highly emotional or distressed person. The replay can be visual or audible but the recording is not interactive, aware of the ‘trigger’ or present surroundings in any way. Mediums often refer to this as a residual or imprinted haunting.
Should this theory be true then it opens up all sorts of exciting possibilities. Imagine being able to find the signal that can reply scenes from the past. Think about how much history could be embedded in surviving buildings from pyramids to modern accommodation. History could be rewritten as new facts emerge from the stone vaults.
Whether these recordings suffer the same fate as videotape and over time degrade, to reveal faint images or quiet sounds and eventually lost is yet to be discovered. The Stone Tape theory however may help to explain some of the ghosts that appear but don't fit in with their current surroundings or interact with us - unlike their spirit counterparts.
There is a counter argument in that the Stone Tape theory has no scientific basis and therefore it is just a term used by paranormal enthusiasts. When it comes down to the basic mechanism for recording, it seems incredible that the environment can capture and replay full motion, three-dimensional, full colour and sound when there is nothing that comes close to this by today’s technological standards.
When you look at how recordings are made, they usually follow a sequence, tape and DVD’s all lay down their information in a chronological sequence. When replayed it will follow that sequence as it was laid down. If, say, a whole murder scene that includes sound and colour information was to take place, how on earth could the environment record and store so much information so quickly and accurately? How, when it is replayed does the stone know the right sequence to replay it – such as forward from the beginning and not from the end and in reverse? This must surely involve some degree of intelligence or programming?
When you start to analyze the practicalities of recording such scenes it seems less plausible, especially when in some circumstances most of the original environment has been removed, buried or destroyed, yet the scene still pays perfectly with no skips, jumps or gaps!
After saying all this, something must have happened for people to witness what they claim to be a paranormal scene. If indeed the environment did capture the scene and record it so perfectly then maybe it’s time scientists got involved, as the potential for discovery is fantastic. So until definitive proof is discovered to prove the theory true or false, I personally find the theory a good explanation so long as I don’t dwell on the technicalities!
Further Reading
Institute of Paranormal Research