By Russell White
P.I.T.T. / Paranormal Investigation Team of Tulsa

This article originally appeared in the November, 2004 online issue of Ghost Magazine in the Spirited Science: Mainstream Science Meets Paranormal Studies column. Posted with permission of Russell White.

Silently the wispy, transparent shape moved along the second floor balcony. Seeming to defy gravity it slowly floated to and fro, stopping occasionally as if admiring the art on the wall of the two hundred year old mansion. Transfixed, the couple followed along quietly snapping pictures of whatever it was. Pausing briefly at a door at the end of the balcony the shape seemed to quiver for a moment and then seemed to pour through the door for lack of a better description.

The couple then broke out into a sprint as they rushed towards the door and swung it open. The room behind it was empty, and except for a bone-chilling cold, seemed unexceptional.

“Did you get that?” the man asked.

“I got what looks like an orb in motion in the last pic, but the others don’t show anything.” the woman replied dejectedly.

What exactly is a ghost? There are probably more theories, beliefs and ideas concerning the afterlife than most any other concern of mankind.

Dependent upon your own personal beliefs, a ghost could be anything from a disincarnate soul, an evil spirit, a person that is trying to finish some unfinished business or even a surviving human information energy system. And where exactly do “orbs” fall into the whole picture?? Let’s look at this first.

Personally I feel that some orbs are indeed paranormal, while others are dust or moisture. I have visited a website where they have a video of a microwave oven that has a leak. This oven is spewing forth orbs that go through a wall and rise to and through the ceiling. Now does that mean orbs are not ghosts? No, it means that digital cameras and infrared video cameras see and process electromagnetic energy as orbs. If anything it should prove that all orbs are not dust or moisture. Spirits are widely accepted to be made of electromagnetic energy, the best I can make of it is that this type of energy signature is captured as orbs.

I once read one seemingly semi-credible transcript of an EVP session in which a clinical researcher had set up communication with what was thought to be a spirit (and I'm finding more and more lengthy conversations with spirits through electronic equipment as I research more and more). Anyway this female spirit was asked why her appearance changed. She told the scientist that her appearance (the fact that she was aware of her appearance I found interesting) reflected her moods. If she felt down or depressed she appeared as an old lady. If she felt good or playful she appeared as a young girl, but when asked what her idea of self or self image was as a constant (one of the researchers was a psychiatrist) she responded that she basically sees herself as a "ball of energy" and went on to say that it took a lot of energy to change her appearance.

Now is this transcript a pile of unmitigated bull-hockey? I don’t know because I wasn't there for the recording. Parts of it make sense to me however, for the following reasons:

1. Given that the energy of our existence can transcend death (it is a scientific fact that energy, once created continues to exist only undergoing modifications), then why couldn't our appearance be based on our "moods"? The human psyche surely doesn't stop feeling emotions just because our physical bodies cease to be animated.

2. If I were to ask you to picture yourself ... close your eyes now and bring forth your self-image. How many of you were naked? Probably no one. Our self-image includes clothing as we are taught from birth that we must cover our nakedness. This would explain why ghosts are seen with clothes.

3. If I were to visit with someone face to face, I can probably tell within a few minutes what kind of mood he or she is in. Psychological testing has shown time after time that we do indeed perceive ourselves differently according to our moods. Now if we lived in an entirely different realm of existence where the rules and laws of physics are something we can’t even comprehend, why couldn't our appearances change with our mood? Maybe that's why children are seen in places that no children were known to have passed, maybe it is an older spirit just feeling playful.

4. Through research I seem to find that there are theories that say spirits continue to evolve, which makes sense if you think about it. What kind of existence would it be to aimlessly float around an empty building? Granted to them maybe the building isn't empty, and who knows what kind of laws govern the passage or even concept of time over there. But I feel it would be somewhat misguided to even consider that once we change our realm of existence that our psychological and emotional growth stops. That would seem impossible. For our entire existence as humans we are constantly learning. From the time as infants that we learn to cry if we want something, to the time on our deathbeds that we face the reality that our existence as we know it is about to change forever. So why would we stop learning after death?

Basically it makes sense to me that orbs are either spirits as they "go about their business" so to speak, or new spirits that haven't learned how to manipulate their energy and be seen as an apparition or manifestation. Which brings to mind another question.

As my team leader Tonya is so fond of asking, “Why does no one ever report seeing the ghost of a caveman?”

Why indeed? Seems a very valid question to me. Now psychologically one could argue that a caveman was little better than an animal, and therefore probably didn't have a developed enough sense of self to have much of a personality. But then ... what about evolution? These humanoids certainly evolved and developed into the human animal as we know ourselves today and it didn't occur all at once. At some point they did become self-aware, and therefore did have personalities and became conscious of the world around them. All these things are part of what makes us individuals or gives us souls as some would say. So where are the reports of caveman ghosts?

Where are the reports of ghost from the biblical eras?
And ghosts from ancient Rome and Greece?
What about ancient Sumerian ghosts?
Egyptian ghosts?

Certainly the people from these civilizations were advanced enough to arguably have souls/consciousness; yet time and time again ghostly sightings seem to include only reports of people from a more recent time, is there a statute of limitations on hauntings?

It seems as I forge ahead down this path seeking answers, I instead end up with only more questions.