If you have been on any of the dozens, if not hundreds, of ghost hunting message boards, you have run into the old, "ghosts don't haunt graveyards, mortuaries, funeral homes, etc..."

You have no doubt also seen the arguments concerning people investigating only at night and some only during the hours of midnight and 4am.

And what about the analog vs digital argument for capturing images, video and audio? Both sides claim they are correct and list some technical sounding explanation to back their claims.

So who is correct and how do we follow the true and proven process that will ultimately bring us the results we are all looking for?

Unfortunately, if I had the answer to all of those questions, I'd be a zillionaire.

Since no one has any real data that proves any of their theory(s), we are at the mercy of our own testing abilities. No one can prove that any of their theories are correct. Looking at all of them, they each hold some level of logic BUT that does not mean they are correct.

"Why would a ghost haunt a graveyard? They didn't die there so there is no reason for them to be there." That sounds like a very logical statement and yet people record strange things is cemeteries all over the world. So why would they haunt a cemetery? Maybe that was the last place they were able to be near their own body? Maybe the sadness and dispair of the loved ones (the energy from their sorrow) keeps the spirit there? Maybe the comfort of the others buried there keeps them from leaving? Who knows? The only thing we are certain of is that no one has any concrete proof that their theory is anything more than a theory.

I would have to say the same possibilities could be applied to mortuaries, funeral homes, etc...

The theory that ghosts are only out at night is once a again only a theory and actually since there have been sightings and experiences during daylight hours, I would say that this theory is a poor one at best. As for the midnight to 4am, well that just doesn't fit either since there have been numerous experiences during the other 20 hours of each day.

Now, that being said, there are some theories pertaining to dark investigations and even some that might explain the midnight to 4am idea. First, night is usually more calm and quiet (unless of course you are in downtown Las Vegas) which might aid in experiencing anything paranormal. Also, the midnight to 4am theory as explained by some lists the suns solar radiation is at its lowest during those hours.

Moving on to the analog vs digital when recording (images, sounds and video). One theory is that a spirit projects their voice directly to the tape and by eliminating the tape, the spirit cannot communicate with us. Well, that is a neat theory but how do they account for the hundreds, if not thousands of EVPs captured using digital audio recorders? Or how digital cameras have captured images that are not as of yet explained away and the same with video? The BIM Team uses a combination of magnetic tape and digital equipment and at any given investigation, one holds no more weight than the other as we have recorded strange things on all types of media.

So in answer to the list of questions, we have no answers as of yet. Nobody does and if anyone claims to have those answers, my suggestion is to run in the opposite direction as fast as possible before that person is able to explain your wallet from your pocket.

Pat,  I was on your tour at the QM on March 21, 2008. I spoke to you about investigating the Fort MacArthur Museum at the old coast gun site bunker.  Also spoke to you about EVPs I had collected in the Isolation Room of the Queen Mary and elsewhere.  In regards to the  time of day which is best for ghost hunting, the EVPs I collected were all during daylight hours.  So I think dead time and lights out in my case is thoroughly debunked.

Just last weekend, the same weekend I joined you on the investigation at the QM my family and I went to the Korean Friendship Bell Temple on Gaffey Street in San Pedro just overlooking Point Fermin Park and  had an interesting result on one of the digital photos taken during daylight hours.

Later

Uruguay? Huh?!

Hi RanchoGhost,

I do want to get the BIM team over to the old Fort MacArthur. It looks to be an interesting place to investigate.

By all means, we would love to hear the EVP's you have recorded as well as look at any pictures you might have.

Thanks,

Pat