CSPI FAQ
A: In short, a ghost is an entity or spirit that has left our plane of existence.
There are typically two types of ghosts or entities we refer to as being either residual or intelligent.
A residual ghost/entity acts as though it is a recording. It may appear in a particular place, at a particular time, performing a particular action. A residual simply loops through its actions without any reaction to the environment around it and may appear to walk through walls, where once upon a time there was a door, or perform a task that it once did in its past life repeatedly. These type of entities are harmless and are not a safety concern, though they can still rattle a few nerves.
An intelligent ghost/entity can interact with its environment and be of much more interest. An intelligent entity can appear in manifest itself in many forms. They are usually the ones the seem to appear from the corner of ones eye, or look like a dark shadow, or sometimes as flashes of light. Sometimes, they are not seen with the naked eye but must be seen with special equipment. This is where a professional investigation can be very valuable. Intelligent entities are very rarely violent or dangerous, but they can be very disturbing regardless.
A: A haunting is the most familiar type of paranormal activity. It is essentially any type of activity that may be occurring around the observer or location. It does not involve the intrusion of the entity upon the observer or location. See the next question for clarification of the difference.
A: A possession occurs when the entity has entered a living person, animal, or object for its own purposes. Possessions are a rare occurrence and commonly accepted theories state that unless a person willingly allows the entity to enter them a possession will not happen. Of course, there are different levels of consciousness and there is some debate about where in the mind does this decision actually occur. In reference to the haunting aspect, a haunting is the manifestation of the entity outside of persons or objects. The entities presence may occur due to a person or objects energy, but they do not enter the conscious space of the person or object. The living still maintain control of their own body and mind but may see the entity around them.
A: EVP or electronic voice phenomenon, occurs when a voice or sound appears on recorded media that was not heard with the human ear during the time the recording was originally made. These sounds can be recorded on digital formats, or analog formats. EVP's can occur at many frequencies but most seem to occur at the lower end of the human ears frequency response. When EVP's are reviewed, they are given 'a classification based on what their quality is. The classifications given range from "A" through "C", with a class A as being the most clear and easiest to understand and discern the sounds or voices being made.
A: Some entities are not visible to the naked eye, yet still emit energy that can be picked up with specialized equipment. This is where an infrared camera can be used. We as a group choose to investigate in a darkened environment and utilize an infrared camera. Many reports of entities tend to be of shadows or translucent forms that an infrared camera is perfectly suited to pick up.
A: Investigators can use a whole variety of tools to investigate a site. The most important is the investigator's brain. If an investigator cannot decipher what is going on around him and determine something natural versus something potentially paranormal, the investigation may be worthless. Their credibility could be called into question as well. When it comes to equipment other than the human brain, an investigator has an array of electronic and even very simple tools to utilize. Check out the "Our Equipment" page for the types of equipment we use for CSPI. Some the simplest tools can be thermometers, cameras, or even dowsing rods, which are a pair of rods that can detect the presence of electromagnetic fields.