One of the things that concerns me as a paranormal investigator/afterlife researcher is how our work might make the living feel. I often worry the relatives of the spirits  with whom we communicate might feel our research is disrespectful.
After all, I'm not sure how I'd feel if someone told me they believed my beloved grandmother haunted popular paranormal "hotspot," and people came through there every week to poke and prod at her in an attempt to communicate. My wish for everyone I love woul...
Continue reading ...

by Karen Frazier
 
I wind up in a lot of conversations with people about why I am involved in paranormal research. While everyone's answer to this question is different, when I talk to the guests on my radio show who are involved in paranormal research, the answer often centers on searching for an explanation for anomalous experiences in childhood or young adulthood.

Having such an experience can certainly trigger the quest for understanding about the paranormal. It did for me. While the story I...
Continue reading ...

by Karen Frazier

I've spent a majority of my life studying the afterlife. While paranormal research is probably the most obvious way to do this, it is actually the most recent subject in my ongoing pursuit.

As a child, I grew up with the traditions of the Christian church. I questioned those beliefs from an early age, however, because some things just didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. 

You see, along with an insatiable curiosity about the origins of the human soul, I also absolutely adore ...
Continue reading ...

by Karen Frazier

Photo used under Flickr creative commons license (c) Aunt Owwee

When we research the paranormal, we sometimes forget that the devices we carry may be unfamiliar to spirits. I know in my investigations of the Wellington avalanche disaster site when I've used things that appear quite modern (such as laser grids or very bright lights), the spirits have indicated via a ghost box they are a little afraid of those items. This isn't surprising, given the spirits at Wellington are like...
Continue reading ...

by Karen Frazier


A Samson Zoom H4n high-definition audio recorder

When I first started investigating the paranormal, I tried a number of audio recording devices. What I quickly discovered was how much the sound quality varied from recorder to recorder. Audio recorders range widely in price and quality, from about $40 to over $200. 

My first audio recorder was a cheap one - I spent around $40 for it. Using that audio recorder, I noticed I captured a lot of whispery voices. So many whispers, in fa...
Continue reading ...

by Karen Frazier
 
A simple and inexpensive Radio Shack hack ghost box (Radio Shack 12-469)

Can the dead communicate with us through a field of white noise? That's the theory behind the ghost box, a piece of equipment that seeing more common use with many paranormal researchers.

The concept behind the ghost box is quite simple: a normal transistor radio is modified so it rapidly sweeps the stations of either the AM or FM band instead of remaining on one station. This creates a field of white nois...
Continue reading ...

by Karen Frazier

 

So you have things that go bump in the night in your house, and you're starting to get a little concerned. Maybe you've learned some investigation techniques from watching paranormal television shows, or even from reading this blog. So what should you do? Should you investigate your house?

Our fearless leader, Patty Valdez, strongly cautions against making this move, and I agree with her. 

Shortly after we moved into our house, I had a group of friends over for dinner including...
Continue reading ...

by Karen Frazier



Imagine this: You are sitting in your home enjoying a little peace and quiet when a noisy band of people burst through your front door. They are carrying all sorts of stuff you don't really recognize - it looks like something out of science fiction. Some of it is so unfamiliar, it frightens you a bit. You try to ask who they are and what they want, but you can't seem to make them hear, see, or understand you. Instead, they start roaming all around your house without permission...
Continue reading ...

By Karen Frazier

Paranormal research falls under the broader category of parapsychological research, which is a subset of the social sciences (psychology, anthropology, sociology and others). Also called psychical research, parapsychology examines paranormal phenomena such as ghosts, hauntings, psi (psychic energy), reincarnation, and near-death experiences. 
 
Cultures throughout history have maintained a rich mythology surrounding death, spirits, unexplained phenomena, and the afterlife. It ...
Continue reading ...

by Karen Frazier

As anyone at SSPR will tell you (particularly our fabulous technical lead, Billi), I'm not great with the equipment. Some might even suggest I am somewhat of a disaster with it. When I speak at conferences, I often joke about not being allowed to touch the team's equipment because I inevitably drop it, break it, or flat out can't use it. So far, no one has corrected me.


Billi, wisely keeping me away from the technical equipment
 
I'm the same way around the house. I can use our b...
Continue reading ...