What is the difference between a Ghost and a Spirit?

Basically, we believe that a ghost is the energy, (also described as the personality or soul) of a deceased person that has remained here on earth and is attempting to interact with the physical world. He or she may or may not know that they are dead, and the fact that they remain here among the living may or may not be a matter of choice.

A spirit is the energy, or "soul" of a deceased person that has transcended to heaven and has returned for any number of reasons, such as to offer guidance to a loved one, etc.

What is a Poltergeist?

Poltergeist is a German word which combines the verb "poltern" which means to make noise, rumble or knock, and the word "geist" which indicates a ghost or spirit. Therefore, a poltergeist is a noisy ghost, rumbling spirit, or any of the like. In the paranormal world, we refer to a poltergeist as a spirit or ghost that is able to interact with our physical world by moving objects, making noises, throwing things, etc. These types of entities are typically very disruptive to the home and an irritant to those that reside within it.

Can a Ghost hurt you?

When I was first asked this question, my answer was a quick and resounding, "no." But, then I thought about it some more and I realized it isn't that simple of a question to answer. For one thing, we have to note that we are referring to a ghost, and not a demon. A demon is a completely different type of entity all together. We also have to consider the definition of the word "hurt." Are we referring to only physical pain, or emotional pain as well.

If the latter is true, then I have to say the answer would be yes. Say for example a ghost is haunting the home of a very religious person, and that has been taught that ghosts either do not exist at all, or are all demonic in nature. If that person were to come face to face with a ghost, then the experience could disrupt their entire belief system, and that would be very disturbing and/or potentially very painful emotionally.

If we are only referring to physical pain, I have to say that the most I have personally witnessed is a person being scratched... and at most, that persons experience was only mildly painful. That being said, I have heard of other investigators being slapped, pushed, etc. Although I haven't personally witnessed this, I have to take the word of those investigators at face value... but again, the pain they actually experienced was mild at best.

This brings me to my last point. Most of the pain people experience when they come face to face with a ghost is the result of their own responses to the experience and not the result of the ghost itself. The person may trip and fall as they retreat from the ghost... or jerk up and bang their head on something. Many investigators hurt themselves while they are moving around a dark building and step on loose boards or other things they don't see. But that is not the same as being hurt by the actual ghost itself.

I guess the answer I will leave you with is the same answer I give to people I meet during my day to day adventures in the field of paranormal research. The vast majority of the time, a ghost either can not, or will not hurt you. Is it possible? Yes... it is, but those types of encounters are extremely rare, and definitely not worthy of the irrational fear people harbor for such a docile being.

Why do we specify that we do Paranormal Research, Haunting Investigations and Ghost Hunting in Oklahoma City? Aren't the three all basically the same thing?

No, the three are actually quite different from one another. Let me explain:

Haunting Investigations: This is the highlight of what we do, and the most important part of our mission statement. When our neighbors believe they have a haunting, (or other paranormal phenomenon) taking place in their home or business and request our assistance, we will evaluate their situation, and if we believe we are properly suited to assist them, we go to their aid.

From the moment we accept a case, our goal is simple; to help our client identify the source of the phenomenon they are experiencing, (whether it is found to be paranormal or otherwise) and to leave them feeling empowered, at peace and in control of the situation. We do this by:

1. Conducting a detailed interview,

2. In-depth research of the property,

3. A detailed investigation of the property using all of our experience, knowledge and state-of-the-art tools,

4. Thorough analysis of any evidence recorded during the investigation, including audio, video and photographs,

5. An follow-up meeting with our client whereas we will give to them a packet containing any paperwork, copies of all evidence recorded and a summary of the investigation along with our findings, conclusions & recommendations.

6. Follow-up meetings/investigations, as needed, for life.

Paranormal Research: A general term we use to define our serious research into any phenomenon considered to be beyond the range of normal experience or scientific explanation. This would include our Para-psychological studies, (study of the evidence for psychological phenomena, such as telepathy, clairvoyance, and psychokinesis) and our paranormal research which includes any other type of unexplained phenomena such as ghosts & hauntings, UFOs & extraterrestrials, bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, divination, witchcraft, astral projection and virtually any other type of unexplained mystery.

Ghost Hunting: Like most teams around the world that do what we do, we have a great time exploring potentially haunted locations throughout all of central Oklahoma. Ghost hunting is when we get together as a team and go searching for the evidence of ghosts. Although the term, "ghost hunting" has become a bad word among the paranormal investigation community, it is something we honestly enjoy doing and will continue to do every once in a while just for the pure enjoyment of it. That being said, when we take on the role of ghost hunters, we only investigate locations with permission from the property owners, and we always maintain impeccable standards, following very strict protocols so that any evidence we collect will stand on its own merits and is able to withstand the scrutiny of our peers.

Why do you guys always wear black to an investigation?

The reason we wear black is because most of our haunting investigations are conducted at night. During our investigations, we do everything in our power to maintain our "Night Vision," and our black clothing helps us to just that.

Imagine if we wore white; the flash of a camera, or the temporary illumination of a flashlight would light us up like, well... a ghost! Even after the room went dark again, any investigators that saw us would continue to have the image of us in their mind, (this phenomenon is called an "After Image") and they could easily misinterpret the illusion as an apparition.

So, you might think of our black clothing as "Camouflage for Ghost Hunters!"

What is the FindersCreepers "Dual-Recorder Technique," and why do you use it?

One source of false positives in EVP collection is when the investigators themselves speak to each other during the session. During a paranormal investigation, it is almost instinctive to speak in quiet, subdued voices. These murmurs can then be caught by the recording equipment, and during data analysis be mistaken as class B or C EVPs.

FindersCreepers Paranormal Investigations hopes to circumvent this problem with a redundant use of recording devices. Our objective is to utilize a second recording system for each researcher, with the sole aim of recording everything each researcher says during an investigation. We will do this by carrying not only our regular EVP digital recorders, but each team member will also have a second recorder with an attached microphone worn on a standard ear-piece. This second recorder is designed to record everything each investigator says throughout the duration of the investigation. Then, during data analysis, this second recording is synchronized with the EVP recording, and all of the noises are analyzed together. Any noise on the EVP recording that corresponds to spoken words on the sync-recording can then be ruled out as being the voice of the ghost-hunter(s). Noises and voices with no corresponding sounds on the sync-tape can then be more likely attributed to true EVPs.