Post Mortem Photography Myths about the myths

Those of you who read my blog know a few things about me. I work in the paranormal, that is my "day job", and I have founded, and lead a paranormal investigation group (my night job). You will also know that I research things to death...pun intended. I always want the best information I can find on a subject, piece of equipment, or new beliefs and theories. I always want to do my best.

A few years ago I became interested in postmortem photography, and momento mori (remembrances of the dead). It was a genre I was bound to discover. I found it very interesting and did some research. I learned a lot about photography (something I do know a bit about since many times we have to determine if a photo is paranormal or not). There are a TON of fake photos and videos on the internet of "ghosts", " spirits" , and "paranormal events".  I would easily say they are WAY more fakes or misunderstood events that people think are paranormal or say are paranormal. Photographic and video evidence of the paranormal is the most difficult evidence to capture and generally requires cameras that can see in IR or ultraviolet light (after all if spirits were easily see in regular light we would see them every day).

This led me to the (mostly) Victorian practice of taking photos of the dead. They do exist and there are quite a few out there , as they were not as expensive as people would have you think, but they sure weren't cheap either. Let's start with that fact. Many will state that this was only done when people died as it was expensive, and others will say that people could afford it ,it wasn't that expensive. They are both right and both wrong. The portraits were expensive for the average person, just like it is expensive for you to go to a photographer today and have a family photo taken. It isn't "buy a new car" expensive, but it sure isn't cheap, and our Victorian and Edwardian ancestors didn't have Master Card. They were working, but not all of them were middle class, those who could easily afford having their picture taken were far outnumbered by those who could not. Generally speaking they were an expensive and added expense, and for the general public, something that would only be done on special occasions, like the death of a loved one.

There are people who will tell you that these pictures didn't cost much at all. They did, in today's money they cost between $90 to $150. The average salary in 1860 was $1.53 per day, that is about $25 in today's world. So , if you made $25 a day, and a photo cost $100, that was four days wages. You were probably feeding a large number of children on that, and most likely no one else in the household worked. So the MYTH that these photographs were easily affordable to the masses is just that , a MYTH. Could they manage to afford a picture of a loved one who passed, yes if it were important to them, but did they take a bunch of family photos, not at all!

The other myth is that there are no real photos of people standing that were deceased. There were, and even though most photos of deceased are not standing photos (difficult to do) they DO exist. They are rare. The people who say that this can't be will tell you a stand cannot hold a man, it has, in at least 3 authenticated photos, but this again is rare. The stands were quite heavy at the base and could hold a child, but a lot of other factors were important, such as how long ago, and how that child died. Sometimes in photos you will notice fabric or even a belt wrapped around the waist or bulging under a jacket or dress that is there to hold up the person, but most usually to a chair. I was actually laughing the other day reading a blog where the author was saying over and over how pictures of the dead standing were impossible, but had three on their blog that even they said were authentic.
The MYTH that dead people cannot stand again, with help of course, is a MYTH. RARE yes, impossible no.

Keep the standing dead in mind a moment and let's move on to those with their eyes closed. You will be told that the ones with their eyes closed are just blinking from the flash. That can happen, but when they are slumped, have decomposition on their hands, and are in a strange position, it isn't the flash that closed their eyes. Since the photos took a few seconds to take, closed eyes are closed eyes, not a "blink" due to a flash. Do you keep your eyes closed for 5 seconds when a flash picture is taken, no you don't and neither did they!  You have to take in the whole scene. I will talk more about authenticating later, but just because their eyes are closed doesn't make them alive and "just blinking", actually it is a good indicator of being asleep or permanently asleep.

You will read that they needed stands (back to the standing dead) and they are caught blinking (like we are today even) because these pictures took so long to process. Compared with today, they did, however, they didn't take so long that healthy live humans needed a stand to keep from moving....and a stand would not keep you from moving anything except your torso. It was useless in that regard. How long did it take?A Daguerreotype generally took (depending on the light of course) 60 to 90 seconds. That really isn't long enough for you to need a stand to keep you from moving or falling down (unless you were dead of course). During the Civil War period, a time when many of these photos were taken, most photographers took a whopping 3 seconds to take a photo. I know a lot of kids who can't stand still, but 3 seconds is a bit short in time, don't you think? So the MYTH that these took a long time is a MYTH.

In fact in 1878 Muybridge took a series of quick succession photos to settle a debate of whether a horse, when running , had all four feet (hoofs) off of the ground. They could photograph moving objects in 1878, so it was not a long process to take a picture any longer. When photography was new, only landscapes were photographed because they did take a very long time....but that is why people were not photographed. Have you seen old photographs of a busy street scene, where there are maybe 30 people and only one blurred (maybe jumping on a trolley )? Yes you have , because it didn't take a long time to take a photo. Yes, outside photos (more light) processed quicker, but we are talking a second or two here. To repeat myself....it is a myth that these photos took a long time. (We even had motion pictures by 1888, and people owned cameras themselves by 1900 when the Brownie was introduced).

There are photos where people had eyes painted on the negative. There are people out there who try to debunk postmortem photos saying that photographers never painted eyes on the corpse....that's right , they didn't. They did adjust the negative though, and since they were no Rembrant, it is usually obvious and almost cartoon like. Luckily sometimes you would not notice until you really looked at their eyes, but photographers did paint on the negatives and sometimes it is very obvious. The MYTH that photographers didn't paint on the eyes is really a myth because it was done, just actually on the negative.

Photographs were a bit of a luxury, and it didn't take an hour to have your picture taken. Yes there are photos of the dead standing, so do not discount a picture just because the subject is standing, but certainly check other factors. Children would be photographed standing more than adults would due to size and weight.

When you want to find and collect these photos, you need some clues. Many are easy, they are in Victorian Mourning jewelry (momento mori), and there are many times included locks of hair. People wore them as a broach,  a pendant, or had then in metal cases. Finding photos singularly is more difficult.

My first photo that I purchased was a "no brainer", there were 2 separate pictures on the same card , an adult woman and an infant. I have her name, and that she and the baby had died. She is bruised but otherwise looks pretty good. The baby, you wouldn't think anything was wrong except a wide eyed stare, but here is where one of the secrets come in. When you have photo in hand, check out the eyes carefully. The pupils in the eyes are certainly over dilated, also you can see the baby is propped up on pillows. I was lucky to have notes on the photo, but it is what made me examine it more closely so I could maybe find clues for future use.

How do you find authentic postmortem photos? They are not hard to find, they exist, and there are quite a few of them out there. The goal was to try their best to make the loved one appear sleeping, so sometimes you will have to look carefully at the photo and make your best guess!

There are however telltale signs. First, unless it is a battlefield photo, or funeral procession you will rarely see (I haven't see one yet I can authenticate), a postmortem photo taken out doors. You will also not see people who are holding things up, like a book, although a book may be on their lap. They also don't hold up their head, but they may be reclining with their head resting on their arms in a supine position.

The time between death and the photo gives more clues, and of course the longer it took a photo to be taken (some people had to wait for the traveling photographer to get there), the more obvious it will be. The biggest "tell" is the eyes. I have a lighter jeweler's loupe that I use, and have seen some very interesting things (like painted negatives) that make it easy to understand that the eyes are not normal nor alive. Are the pupils even? Are the eyes closed in different positions (one more than the other), is there anything in the eye, dark matter? Are the eyes unfocused? Are the eyes cloudy? Are the eyes sunken? These are signs of death.

Look at the mouth. One corner hanging down? Blood or saliva coming out (exposure time meant sometimes in 3 - 5 seconds,  blood or other fluids could leak out of eyes, ears,  and nose)? Tongue lolling out or filling the mouth?

Are there sores or brown areas around the mouth and nose, this is usually decomposition. Blisters on the mouth were usually the result of a high fever before death, seen mostly in children.

Look at the hands, are they in unnatural positions, do they seem to be leaning on or holding something, yet not being in a correct position to do so? Are the hands turning blotchy or brownish, again this is decomposition and it will happen first in the face and extremities.

Did the facial muscles slacken and pull down and in (sunken cheeks),  is there a rictus grin (also most commonly caused by decomp)? Look for signs of damage from an accident or burns (people who were burned badly in that time period didn't live). Look at the color overall of the subject, does it look right, and if there are others in the photo is it greatly different from the other family members?

The highest death rate for a long period of our history and this type of photography (besides the Civil War), was childbirth. Many mothers and children died during childbirth. You will see many photos of mothers and children in bed. The Victorians would not take such pictures of a live person, it was too risque' for the time.

Look to see if the person is belted to a chair or board (usually draped and hidden). Women frequently had beautiful fabric wrapped around their middle to hold them up. Is one leg going off in a strange direction of the other, or in a position not common in live people? Look at the body overall is it tilted off in a direction that would not be one you would normally see (I have seen women "sitting" on laps that are stiff as a board and pointing off in a strange direction).Look at the whole body, is it stiff looking like a board leaning on a chair?

There are photos in caskets, battlefields, and on autopsy tables, those are simple to detect, but not what I personally want to collect, but they may be a way to help you see what the dead look like.

Look at the back for names, or comments about death. Research the names. Sometimes you can find news articles corresponding with the death. There was a theme for a while of placing the person's photo on what looked like a page or scroll, this is an indication they have passed. Look at the others in the photo, are the looking sad? Some actually have tears on their faces. Be an investigator.

Dead children and children attending funerals, dressed in white. The dead and major mourners were dressed in black (people who went to funerals didn't dress in black as we do today).

My advice is not to be afraid to buy a photo you think is postmortem, however many who sell these photos put huge price tags on them. Only pay what you can afford of course. The thrill is in the hunt, so look through antique shops and find old photos to look at. I bought the notated and authentic mother and baby for 50 cents. Beware of photoshop, look at coloring and placement. Is the proportion off, if it is, the photo is faked.

When I go looking for photos, I bring my trusted lighted jeweler's loupe. Some pictures will jump out at you and you will "know" right away that they are deceased, in others you will need to look at all the things I listed above.

Many old unframed photos are priced from 50 cents to $10 depending on size, clarity and condition. There is no need to spend $50 or more on a postmortem photo, but you will need to do a bit of leg work (and a lot of eye strain).

I personally do this not only because it interests me, as does the whole mourning process of the 1800's, which was elaborate, but because I want to give these people who were once loved so much, a new place to feel wanted. When people make fun of the dead in photos on the internet or call them creepy or zombies, it bothers me. This person was once loved so much that the time and expense went to taking their picture.I always respect the dead in readings, in investigations and in their photography.

I remind our paranormal team that we are not ghost hunters, we are paranormal investigators, meaning we check everything out the best we can, and only when the answer point no where but paranormal, is it paranormal. We go by Grant Wilson's words, "when it doubt throw it out". Apply these same rules to your postmortem photo hunt.

Hunt for photos in shops (you can't investigate carefully enough when they are on line), investigate the photo, also trust your instincts about the people in the photo. Beware of people calling photos postmortem when they are not, but also remember that many times when they aren't blinking, and they are being helped to stand, then yes they are really dead. Use the old adage "buyer beware".

Happy hunting!

Meet and Greet

Greetings all!

I want to invite everyone to our "Meet and Greet" at the Evansville Library, main branch , on Saturday October 21, 2017, from 1 -3 PM.

We will give a presentation, tell you about all the equipment we use and play some EVPs we have gathered.

Admission is FREE, so come on down and say HELLO!

Randolph County Infirmary. PRIOV private investigation Aug 20-21, 2016

This was PRIOV's first investigation at Randolph County Infirmary. Hopefully there will be another, but a tour group has booked it every weekend...which I don't think is a good idea, but hey, not my building. These folks do need money for restoration. I do get it, but that leaves a lot of us "out in the cold". That is a blog for another day......

The group investigated beginning on Aug 20 and ending Aug 21. We started out hot and sweaty, a couple of storms rolled through (one rained on us very hard), and the temperature dropped considerably. All things to keep in mind when investigating.

We started with 8 investigators and two more came later as they had events they needed to attend.

I try to have my recorder on all the time, and as you know, if you have read previous blogs, it pays off. First I want to say that I am no where near through with listening to the audio, nor have I watched the video yet, but it was an awesome night. This blog will mostly be on events that unfortunately, we can't show evidence on.

Several things happened that we were not able to record, or only saw the aftermath:

A checker did move on a checkerboard on the first floor, men's side. Fourth room down from the front. 

A quarter that was on a bed in the center, second floor room, moved to the room just to the left of it , facing the rear of the house.

I saw a full bodied apparition of a woman walking through the men's day room on the second floor. I actually thought someone had sneaked in. I went to the doorway, and no one was in there. I later realized she had on a long skirt, so she probably was pre-1920. She looked as real as you or I.

Another team member had a similar experience where the side door behind the kitchen exits the house. A woman, long light hair, in light colored clothing, then she just disappeared.

There were black shadow people. I saw one on the second floor.

Footsteps, knocking, doors slamming, hearing distant voices or whispers (we did catch some of those), and laughter (which sounded like children (hopefully we caught on an audio camera).

People heard movement, scratching, etc while we were all gathered in the main room at the front.

Some person experiences were, I felt my hair being messed with and my husband saw my pony tail move. Others felt touched, or that "spider web" experience. No one was scratched or harmed in any way.


The building seems to be a mix of residual and intelligent haunting. I know we had two team members names on EVPs so far (intelligent haunting).....and remember we have a LONG way to go.  I have a VERY clear EVP that I will post below, this was caught during set up. Hopefully I will have a "Part II" blog with lots more information after we review everything.

Set up for this Youtube video:
Two of us were in the basement setting up, when a child said "Come play! May I have ball". It is an EVP, we did not hear it, nor react to it. He responded a second time, more softly and sounding dejected that no one was playing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgG8JAyvhNE


This was a great place to investigate and we will go back there as soon as we can, but since we are so picky about our evidence, not in a public / tour group setting.

Don't forget to check out our videos of all our great locations and evidence on Youtube!

Hope that you can find the time to visit!
More to come!

Regina Wolf
Co-founder PRIOV

We won't leave you hanging , and are one of Evansville's most experienced paranormal investigation teams.

There are plenty of "ghost hunting" groups around these days. I prefer the term "paranormal investigating", as it isn't always "ghosts" that are the problem. Many of the groups around today have watched the TV shows, and thought it looked, fun, exciting, or interesting. Maybe they just like being on the cutting edge of new things.

 We have people with 40 plus years experience; people who have investigated in 15 different states; people who have gone to classes, and studied under people who have been teaching for decades.People who work in the metaphysical every day!

We aren't like that. I started investigating back when I was in my early teens. It was because I lived in a VERY haunted house ( i moved into in 1970), and I had (and still do have), abilities. I kept telling my Mom about "the man in the chair", and "something in the attic", that we later found to be the homeowner, who killed his wife (she was in the attic). I didn't have K2, Spirit Box, or an IR camera. It was totally "old school". I learned how to keep those spirits at bay, although when I left the home, many were still there.

This was all before Ghost Hunters made the paranormal popular. I am sure Jason and Grant were barely in school at the time, and there were not many investigators around.Now the information, tools, and help is almost endless.

A few years ago my husband and I started our own group so we could travel more to all those great places we saw on TV, after all , the only way to really get good at this, is to do it, and to do it in an authentically haunted and active location. We started PRIOV (Paranormal Research Investigation , Ohio Valley). We have traveled to quite a few and have more on the "bucket list'.

We always promised that even though we formed a group to travel,  we would help those in need. We didn't push it too hard as there are a few groups in the area, and as I said , many of them have just jumped on the bandwagon...not all, but many. This has led to an issue. There are people who have a few paranormal groups in to help, and nothing happens as far as help for them. Really knowing how to help involves a TON of learning, experience and ability. We have that. We have several Reiki Masters, several psychics/sensitives, those who know Native American cleansings, religious cleansings, and more. We have studied, experienced, and helped. My husband and I have cleansed many households and the home owners have not to our knowledge ever had another issue. I also teach psychic development, and other metaphysical classes. I do readings every day , sometimes an exhausting 30 of them (my limit).

We are based in Evansville, but do paranormal investigations all over the Ohio Valley. We travel to hauntd venues all over the US.

There are many who write and ask for information, as a local group has come out, said "Yes it is haunted", and left them with their same issue, many times a more "ramped up" issue than they had. We don't say it is haunted and leave. We address it right away. We don't leave you hanging!

Many times I email the homeowners on what to do, they do it, and say "it worked", and they are good. Sometimes we have to go and do work to get some stubborn spirits to cooperate. We never investigate for our thrill , and an EVP collection,  and then leave the homeowner with the same problem he had when we came, and that is a huge issue these days.

Many claim also to be ministers. They aren't. They sent in a form and got a title. I am an ordained minister, not only did I have 2 years of classes, and an ordination,  but pay to be registered and file reports showing my activity.  I also have a Masters in religious studies, PhD in metaphysical sciences, and a Bachelors in Psychology. I am a certified Reiki Master who went through 5 years of training, and had in person attunements and classes. I did everything the right way, not the "quick, cheap and easy" way. The same is true of my crew. All who are part of the group have extensive training or are in training. Those in training are not brought in to home investigations until they are educated, experienced and ready.

Some investigators will tell you they are never scared. They are either lying or they don't pick up on anything that is going on. The key is not to ever be scared, they key is to be scared and hold your ground. Most seasoned investigators do not get scared by much, they are seasoned and used to things, but there are some things out there that will make you feel VERY uncomfortable. We face it, we don't run. We keep all investigations and their evidence confidential. You will never see any evidence collected at your home on our Facebook page, website, etc. Never. The only evidence we post is from investigations at public venues!

We have many pieces of equipment and use them to determine if there is indeed and issue. The psychic/sensitive part enters in on what we are addressing and how to handle it.

I will also tell you however, that if we feel someone is in any way dangerous, or being inauthentic, we will not put ourselves in danger in that way. The living are many times more dangerous than the paranormal!

I write this as I hear so often, and have again recently , that local groups go out, get their evidence, and disappear from the homeowner's life. That is completely inappropriate and inexcusable. Those who investigate and cannot mediate, need to have the ability to bring in others that can. When they don't have that ability or resource, they shouldn't be investigating homes and businesses at all!

When you honestly need help, by authentic , trained, and experienced investigators, we will help.
Our webpage is :

http://www.priovohiovalley.com/

You can also find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ParanormalRESEARCHInvestigationOV/

We have many videos on Youtube.com , put "PRIOV" in the search key!


We are serious about what we do! We feel we are always learning, there is NO ego in helping people.

Love and Light
Regina Wolf, Co- Founder PRIOV

Ah the places we have been......

I am sorry I have not been keeping up with blogging these days, but life sure has been busy! The team has been going to many places and having excellent investigations. We started this group to be able to travel and visit the paranormal hotspots in this country (maybe someday the world!), and we have been having a great time of it too!

We have been lucky to have obtained many results from the places we go, many times gathering 20-30 Class A EVPs each trip! We have several talented people (psychics & sensitives) on the team, and they attract many spirits to come and talk. There are many videos on Youtube of our adventures, just search on "PRIOV". Each of my videos has 4-5 EVPs. Some have accompanying video along with the EVP or noises that are caught.

We have a group that laughs as much as they investigate. We travels across many states to visit our ghostly friends and we have a fantastic time doing it.

We have evidence from a party from years ago, including an old fashioned car horn from Roads Hotel in Indiana. We have many EVPs of voices saying our names and directly responding to comments we have made, including repeating what we say. We have answers to questions, and random comments. We have heard several disembodied voices, including a whistler, and a man yelling "hey!" at Old South Pittsburg Hospital. We have heard something being dragged down a pitch black hallway at Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. All of these events are on videos on YouTube. When you have a favorite location, add the location name to your search.

This year (2016) we have been back to the Thomas House. It was a trip designed for training and for allowing team members to invite friends who may be interested (we took on 3 new members that night!), and even better, to "train our replacements". THis was the "Teen Trip". We had several teens and young adults who learned, experienced and can now say they slept in a haunted hotel!  The Thomas House is a great place, you can sleep in a clean, comfy bed, eat well, and investigate. There is a group that runs "hunts" there, so if you have never done this before, I recommend it as a great place to start. It was on the TAPS Ghost Hunters series a few years ago, and is still very haunted.

Go to: http://www.ghosthuntweekends.com/ghw/thomas-house_main.html
if you are interested. 
It is a bargain!

Not all ghost tours are created equal. Many are out there trying to lure you in with scare tactics and reports of demons. Don't fall for it. When you really want to get into paranormal investigating, first try a venue like Thomas House to see if it is for you, then join a local group. There are good tour groups, like Ghost Hunt Weekends, and Troy Taylor for those who want to try ghost hunting.....and there are really bad ones, that we won't mention here.

This year I have also been to Fox Hollow Farm, the home of the serial killer, Herb Baumeister. I am still going over evidence for that one, but I do know that team members have caught evidence there that night.

Many of us just returned from a place I have been wanting to go to for years, the West Virginia Penitentiary, commonly known as Moundsville (the town it is located in ), in the paranormal investigation world. I have hours of evidence to review and have already posted about 20 EVPs to Youtube. There were more but many are not understandable, and I tend to leave those out unless I think someone can decipher them for us.

Here is an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRK0kieTQa8

The people at Moundsville were amazing. We started with a historical tour during the day (we like to be able to see the location in daylight before investigating) with a former guard named Charlie who was VERY informative and helpful. The night crew who were there to help us were awesome too, and we had a lot of ground to investigate from the main prison, to the infamous "Sugar Shack", boiler room, wagon gate, chapel, and grounds. We had so many experiences, and so many EVPs, we are planning to go back again.

We are also making another trip to Waverly Hills this year, along with new locations, including two new locations, both asylums we have never been to before. I also personally have two trips I am making without the entire group, one to investigate with Chris Flemming, and another to a location we have visited many times as a group (we want to see if a small number of people increases the already active spot).

Our group strives to find answers. We use scientific methods to make many decisions about the "other side", and yet use our talented members to get even more information.

We keep our group small on purpose. We strive to have dedicated investigators who are brave, serious, and have a touch of skepticism. It is like a big family that all has a blast besides the investigation itself. The group is growing and having fun.

Check us out on Facebook by searching "paranormal research & investigation , Ohio valley". We post each video and picture there as they are found and checked. When we are not sure of anything surrounding evidence, we "toss it out".

We have several trips on our list for next year and we will be soon having a meeting on those. Check out our webpage to find out more about us, and to see all the locations we have visited.

Happy Hunting!
Gina (Co-founder PRIOV)

Trans Alleghney Lunatic Assylum / Weston Hospital

This year the PRIOV (Paranormal Research & Investigation, Ohio Valley), made a trip on our "bucket list". The trip was to the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, West VA. This was our first big trip of the year. We had a great time , and I highly recommend the trip. It is one of the more expensive places to go, we each paid $185, but it was well worth it, and we plan on going back.

Not only was the asylum VERY haunted and active, but the area was beautiful, the people were great and we found lots to do and great food to eat. One member located a winery nearby, and each and every one of us made a stop there. When the lady who was pouring the wine tastings found out that my husband and I also make wine, we got a quick impromptu tour of their facility.

I am sure that all the folks who like to read about haunting are saying..."yeah yeah, get on with the spooky parts!"

Earlier in the day we did a historical tour. I am so glad that we did. It is a wonderful tour , great on history, and we got to see, at least part of the place, in broad daylight. Our guide for the historical tour was Mike and he was great. We learned much, and he took his time explaining loads of information to us.  I will say that on the tour a couple of us (many of you know I work in the metaphysical), could feel we certainly were not alone. When we got to the kitchen area it was all I could do to not run away. I have never run away yet in all my life, but my body was strongly disagreeing with my stubbornness. Another team member and I took a slow stroll to the end of the hallway where it was VERY uncomfortable.I could tell we were surrounded, and they were not happy, nice spirits. Others felt "funny" in the area also, people who claim to have no "talents", so it was strong. We later found that this is a place of high activity, growls, curse words and people getting scratched. None of us were harmed that night, but we do always act respectfully to the spirits, even when we feel they want to harm us.

There is a great little museum area in the hospital, and I also recommend that for those who want to investigate. There is artwork but the people who were once "inmates/patients" there , and it is VERY interesting to see and read their work.

That evening we came back, and were allowed into the break room to prepare. We were first committed to the asylum for various issues, and greeted by the management. We went over the rules, were given maps (you will need them), signed the releases and started the paranormal tour. Kyle was our guide that night. He is a fellow investigator, so he really knows what he is talking about,  and he knows the hospital. It was all very valuable information.

Let me take a moment to say this, if you are going to Trans Allegheny, you MUST be in decent shape to really experience the hospital. The Kirkbride Building is huge. It is a half mile across, and you have 4 floors to climb, a basement, and a center hall. There are also wings off the lower floor Civil War area. You need good legs, lungs and shoes, or you won't make it.

We did our tour and suited up. During the evening we had a couple of interesting experiences. I also have FIFTY EIGHT EVPs from that night, most class A! I have found that those with abilities get more EVPs, we attract the spirits, and they think we can pick up everything they say. My name was said in several EVPs. Please go to youtube and search under PRIOV Trans Allegheny to hear most of them. Some videos have several EVPs included, some have only one. (There are also other videos from other locations, just remove the "trans allegheny" tag from your search).

We also have an interesting group of photos, and they can be seen on our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/ParanormalRESEARCHInvestigationOV

We also have other EVPs and locations on that page. Please take the time to "like" and "follow" us so you can see evidence we obtain from other locations.

I have a photo that corresponds to this one interesting event. We climbed to the top floor where the criminally insane were. There were deaths in this area and there were people housed there that were violent, and in jail cells. The energy in that area is quite different from the energy in other areas. We entered the doorway into the wing and it was pitch black. We stopped for a second, and were talking when we heard a very loud dragging sound. (We have audio of this although it is faint in the recording, as it was occuring at the end of a VERY long hallway). It sounded like someone was dragging something heavy over the floor. Something in cloth or canvas. It was quite clear. This happened several times. After the first time I took a picture with a low light camera set on "nightsccape", and caught a mist in the center of the hallway.

It is best seen if you enlarge the picture and is right central in the hallway and just starting to form. Please remember that at the time all we could see was absolute blackness. The dot of light at the end of the hallway is an IR camera, and the investigator that has that system is still reviewing the video (I also still have video to review).

We thought maybe the investigator's large duffel bag was being moved, but when we walked to the end of the hallway (past the light in the picture), the bag was in its' original position. Whatever was being dragged sounded much heavier, and we now think a body was being moved. This was the second time that day that my "Spideysence" and desire to "get out of Dodge" shifted into high gear. I also felt (and this was later confirmed),  that something wanted us to separate. We stood our ground, walked down the hallway, and never could find what was making the noise.

Here is a replay of the audio of that experience.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQMP3F7xCN4

There were a few instances where we would also hear noises at one end of the hall, go there, only to hear noises at the other end of the hall....go THERE and hear...well you get it, we were being messed with and decided to take a break.

We also had a camera move, and we need to go over the evidence to figure out if it was a "natural" occurrence or not. We had spirits twice tell us to "come outside", and were directly addressed by spirits many times. This location is full of both residual and intelligent experiences.

Needless to say , we had a great time,and every team member was up and still investigating when it came to be time to pack up. It is certainly a location we will visit again!

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the location, but if you are an EXPERIENCED investigation group, you should absolutely put this place on your lst. This is NOT for those people who get easily frightened or cannot physically walk MILES a night. You need to be in decent shape, have nerves of steel and MILES of cable wire and electrical cord for your equipment!

Happy investigating!

Dr Regina Wolf, co-founder PRIOV

Getting the BEST EVPs

By Dr Regina Wolf, co-founder of PRIOV

Our group gets a ton of EVP evidence when we investigate.
PRIOV (check out PRIOVohiovalley.com for more information about the group), is a small group of serious investigators. People write all the time and ask how do you get so many EVPs?

When we investigate at a location that is a paid venue, we only go to quality places that we know have generated good results in the past. You can't train , test equipment, or try new things, at a place that isn't haunted. We do however also get results on our cemetery walks and other investigations. You cannot MAKE EVPs happen, but you can make it easier to capture them.

First a warning....Do not try this at home! Seriously.

 The reason is, that if you do, you will live in a place that  rivals LAX and Grand Central Station for traffic. When spirits know a place is a source of communication, they flock there. It may sound cool until you try to sleep at night and someone wants to chat. It isn't healthy for you, or good for the spirits, so only use a recorder as an investigation tool in places that are venues designed for investigators , or in a location that your group is investigating. Remember also that investigating frequently stirs up activity, so you don't want to keep investigating a location that is anyone's home or business. When you investigate homes the idea is to then help the homeowner by providing experienced cleansers or holy people. When you leave with your equipment the connection is gone and activity will go back to normal, when you do this at home, it won't die down.

Now back to recording EVPs.

There are practical tips and technical tips. all will help you to pick up and understand the EVPs.

First , get the best recorder you can afford, the more expensive brand names do cost a bit more,but tihey are worth it. A Yugo and a Mercedes will both get you to point B , but the ride is very different. You need a digital recorder with MP3 capability. That will get you the best results. There are multi directional recorders still floating around out there, but you will notice that no one really uses them anymore, the new technology for the masses works just as well. Buy a Sony, Olympus, or other known brand name. Price will go up as capacity goes up, just like your laptop.

I need to insert a note here, do not rely on a smartphone. Smartphones are awesome, and I have one, BUT they are made for phone calls.....little tiny dots of a speaker that are actually engineered to keep OUT background noise ......when in a situation where you are trying to pick up EVPs, you don't want anything to REDUCE noise, you are trying to pick up what sometimes sounds like whispers. A phone is counterproductive.

Do NOT use a phone for serious investigating at all! (All those apps don't work either, the phone doesn't have the right sensors to make those apps work they are just a waste of your $$$$, and generally include some sort of spyware).

Now that you have your recorder (and probably spent between $60-80) you need one more thing, headphones or really good ear buds. Many times the recorder will pick up live EVPs and you can hear them as they happen. This is not always the case and we are not sure why.....but then there are still many "whys" in investigating the paranormal. Now one more little trick, take some Velcro and put it on the rear of the recorder (be careful not to block the battery compartment closed), and another strip on a strap or piece of clothing that will be part of your normal investigating gear (I carry everything with me in a molle bag, and the recorder is attached to it). The reason for this is that any movement is picked up by the sensitive mike. Evern your hands will make raspy noises that can obliterate EVPs. When you are hands off, and away from any interference, you will get clearer EVPs. This also frees up your hands to hold other equipment.

You still have work to do before setting out. You want to learn how that little machine functions, they are much more complicated these days and just pushing REC is only part of the process. It will most likely be dark, and you will need to be able to use the recorder without seeing it or reading the manual.

 It is a pain until you understand the recorder, but get out that little book that came with it and make sure the recorder is set up properly. There are settings on it for recording. You want your volume all the way up when you record, EVPs are frequently low volume. You also want to set your recorder on CONFERENCE. This allows the recorder to NOT do what your cell phone does, and that is filter out voices away from the mike. You WANT to hear those voices, and "Conference" assumes you are in a large room, and the recorder "listens hard". You also want to make sure that your noise reduction setting is turned OFF. Again, we want to bring in as much as possible, not filter it out, to do that turn OFF the VCVA tab and turn UP your Mike Sensor. Make sure that the volume is up, and the batteries are fresh.

That is all the techie side to getting going, now the practical side of things.

First when you turn it on say where you are, the date, and who is present. Include the room where you are, for instance: May 1, Waverly Hills, KY, Myself, Bob Jane and May, first floor, morgue.
OK, time to see what you can get! The best practice I have found is to first say "Hello", introduce yourself, and ask if anyone wants to talk. When I watch some paranormal shows and all session they ask about a "known" spirit, I laugh. I just picture them asking "Bob" several questions, while Bob isn't there but 5 other spirits are standing around hoping someone asks them a question! It is OK to ask a specific question of a specific event , but don't limit yourself. 

Take your time, give them time to answer. Time on the other side is different basically because time is a "man made" concept. I have also found MOST EVPS are captured when NOT when asking direct questions, but when walking around the location and even chatting with other investigators. Residual conversations do not answer your questions, they just are going on in the background, so asking questions won't bring in those EVPs.  You don't want too much chatter and noise however, as you won't hear the EVPs, but leave your recorder on when you are setting up and touring the location, you will be surprised at what you get. Remember TV is edited for time and you get little pieces of everything that is being done.

When there are noises being made, such as a person walking , or someone clears their throat, mark it on the recorder as "George clearing his throat" or "May walking". Later you will be able to distinguish footsteps on a floor from a whisper and creaky doors from a groan.  When you hear noises during an investigation immediatey go and check them out (that is a discussion for another day), and mark them also.

NEVER whisper while doing an investigation, and never talk in funny voices without marking it. If you slip say "that was me whispering" or "George talking like the wicked witch". You also frequently get burps, stomach growls, sneezes and yes, flatulence. Mark them all!

You can listen while at the location to see if you picked up anything, or wait until you go home.  It is easier to listen at home in a quiet room, but you may be trying to get a direct response which is fine, just make sure you are not mixing up your recordings. Most recorders won't allow you to record over another one, they move to another folder, but make sure you know how your works.

When you are home listening, have a pen and paper. Write down the time and what you heard, this way you can get back to it without going through the whole session. Some recorders will come with a cord to patch into your computer. Save the EVPs on your computer so you can eventually erase the ones on the recorder. Otherwise someday the files will be filled and you will need another recorder! We use Adobe Audition to evaluate and label the EVPs, we then post them to our page and youtube.

Make SURE that it is an EVP BEFORE posting. We try to post only Class A EVP, sometimes others are so interesting that we post them, but generally EVPs are difficult to hear. Listen carefully when you go over your evidence! Remember to use the Grant Wilson rule....when in doubt , toss it out. Don't open yourself to even more ridicule by skeptics.

I will tell you that from experience we know that when having a psychic, medium or empath in the group makes for more EVPs, the spirits recognize talents and come to talk. Their light shines brighter and they are like having an "open for business" sign out.

Just remember the one very important rule....DO NOT DO THIS AT HOME. It really will make your life a living nightmare.

ENJOY!


(C) 2015 Dr R M Wolf, May not be used, copied or reproduced without prior written permission.