[IGHS] Newsletter, January 2, 2005 Congress, Arizona

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Mission Statement:

The Ghostweb is the official Web Site of the International Ghost Hunters Society. Membership in the IGHS is always FREE. The IGHS is an international society dedicated and committed to the research and study of ghostly phenomena recorded through EVP, digital, film and video photography. The IGHS is a society of ghost believers, ghost hunters, and ghost researchers with over 15,000 members in 87 countries worldwide.

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International Ghost Hunters Society Newsletter

January 2, 2005 from Congress, Arizona

Dr. Dave’s Notes:

Registration has kicked off to a good start in December with registrations coming from as far west as Hawaii and as far east as North Carolina for our Southwest Ghost Conference in March. We have updated our Conference page at http://www.ghostweb.com/swc.html with a hot link to the lodging page, which has a list of hotels in the area. Our primary event will be in or near Old Town Plaza in Albuquerque.

This is one event that you will not want to miss. Our conferences are filled with vital information that benefits those involved in the ghost hunting community. We do not entertain with ghost stories, but educate those attending. You will not find us talking about UFO’s, Bigfoot’s, or other non-ghosts happenings because we concentrate all our effort on ghosts and we teach you how to be a better professional in this field.

Albuquerque is what we call the City of the Dead because so many of the buildings have bodies buried within the walls instead of in a cemetery plot. One casket was discovered under the floor of one of the local restaurants during remodeling and was left undisturbed where it was found. Last year we held a seminar in Albuquerque and IGHS member Lorraine Scott was photographed several times with large ectoplasmic vapor surrounding her while she was standing in front of this haunted restaurant.

We are preparing to depart from the Congress, Arizona area in a few days and head down to Casa Grande and then over to Globe, Arizona where we will be gathering ghost tales and conducting investigations at the Besh Ba Gowah Archaeological Park. Besh Ba Gowah is an ancient ruin dating back some 700 years. The site was originally settled by the Hohokams around AD 900 and continued until about AD 1100. About AD 1225, the Salado Indians began constructing the pueblo that stands today and abandoned the pueblo shortly after AD 1400. The Apache people made the area their homeland sometime after AD 1600 and called the area “Place of Metal” or Besh Ba Gowah. Globe is home to some of the largest copper mines in the world. The Sleeping Beauty Turquoises is mined near Globe, Arizona and known world wide for its beauty.

We will also be gathering Indian ghost stories from the San Carlos Indian Reservations that starts five miles south of Globe. The last time we were on the San Carlos Indian Reservation we heard of a little boy ghost that haunts the Apache Gold Motel and is seen walking in the hallways alone. Rumor has it that the motel/casino was build over an old Indian burial ground. However, like their counterparts, the casino officials deny that the casino and motel was constructed over burial grounds. Yet, other Apache Indians dispute the casino officials, claiming that the old abandoned burial grounds were ignored. Tribal politics once again won out over the old abandoned cemetery.

We will be putting up more Ghost Town Glass Pendants in the coming days. We just finished another two tumblers of milk glass and colored glass. The milk glass came from Octave, a mining ghost town near Stanton, Arizona and the colored glass came from mining ghost town near Congress known as Lower Town. Check out the existing pieces displayed at www.ghostweb.com/glass1.html.

The film, White Noise, is due out on January 7^thand should draw some interest in EVP, I fear that many will become confused by thinking that the use of white noise is required to obtain ghost voices. This is certainly false as we have thousands of recordings without using white noise. The IGHS elected to teach people how to record and analyze ghost voices, not while sitting at home and recording the TV or radio, but rather going to historical sites and recording historical voices coming from an era long gone.

The method of EVP that the IGHS teaches involves going to historic/haunted sites with digital recorders and recording ghost voices at the site. These ghost voices are from the people of the past in the place where they worked, lived and died. The IGHS method of EVP records historical era voices compared to white noise EVP that comes from a television set or from a radio. White noise sets a background from which people say they can record voices, feeling that it is the correct way of doing things. Yet we can record for EVP at historic sites and find great success in recording in the silence.

The White Noise EVP we have listened to in the past failed to show any positive advantage to us. All we heard was white noise, not EVP. We have a good ear for EVP after recording and analyzing thousands of segments. At one conference where we were the keynote speakers, we listened to other speakers talking about White Noise EVP. In their talk they said that true EVP will contain no emotions and the voice will speak in a monotone.

We disagree strongly; we have found that EVP voices do contain emotions, often strong emotions being expressed. We also have proven that ghost voices are not monotonous, but filled with pitch and cadence. On the monthly radio program we do with Jeff Rense, we have shared hundreds if not thousands of ghost voices that are not monotonous, but reflect the language and dialect of the region where the voices were recorded. Some ghost voices are so emotional that those who listen to them are affected by that emotion. Anyone who says ghost voices are without emotions and are monotonous has failed to grasp the true meaning within each EVP recording.

We teach Historical EVP compared to White Noise EVP. Historical EVP does not require anyone to be a psychic or medium, but simply to follow some guidelines for recording and analyzing ghost voices. We know that those groups teaching White Noise EVP do require their members to be psychics or mediums to go on their investigations. Many of the voices claimed to be heard with white noise were heard through their mediumships, at least according to them, which to us is no evidence of hearing a voice. We require a physical measurement, such as digital recordings to confirm a ghost voice, not just hearing it in your mind and claiming it is valid.

We have met too many psychics who were frauds and who were seeking the limelight by proclaiming their great skills as the next John Edwards. There has been so much doubt and question as to the validity of his skills people continue to inquire about his abilities. All we have ascertained is all of his programs are taped and edited for release to TV land. In our personal experience with psychics, one self-professed psychic demanded certain people leave an investigation as they were giving off bad vibes to the ghosts.

In truth, this psychic was seeking personal glory and not one of her ghostly contacts was validated by photo or by audio recording. Her expectation was that those who followed her lead should take her word on faith that activity was going on around them. No paranormal activity was present except for what she reported. How strange and how human, egos often get in the way of truth.

Not all psychics are frauds, many have true gifts, but these are not the ones out pounding on their chest proclaiming how great they are, the true psychic is working behind the scenes helping people in need. We have met psychics in our travels that we respect and honor, unfortunately many wannabes crowd the forefront seeking their limelight or selling snake oil, hoping to be discovered and made rich and famous. What delusions!

Happy trails.

Dr. Sharon’s Notes:

It is January 2, 2005, a brand new year and so far so good. The beginning of another year always brings reflection of the old year; what we did, where we were and what we learned. I think for the three of us, we have learned a lot, growing from our experiences. Life can be a grand adventure whether traveling or stationary, giving us many choices that can take us in many different directions in our lives. The route we take may bring the greatest joys, security, prosperity and abundance or hardship and heartache depending on what we choose. Our lives are a conglomerate of both ease and pain, dictated by the decisions we make and what we learn from our failures and successes.

Last year gave Dave and I enlightenment as the last six months were very difficult for us. While in the great state of Texas we enjoyed meeting new people in San Antonio and seeing old friends. At the Conference at the Menger Hotel we were greeted by the smiling faces of Martin Leal and Ernesto, the Director of Special Events at the hotel, we met with people we have known for several years and met some we only knew through email. The greatest joy was turning around to look into the two faces of Nancy Coplin and Debbie Harris who had flown to San Antonio from Johnstown, Pennsylvania to surprise us.

It was actually more of a shock when they arrived as we had no idea they would be attending. With the help of Martin Leal, the two women registered under bogus names (which should have been a dead giveaway) as ladies from Mexico so we never had a clue. It was wonderful to see them and spend time together, to enjoy the love and friendship we share. Their name tags reflected their Spanish origin rather than our friends from Pennsylvania.

One our way back to Deming, New Mexico, Dave received word that his Mother had been in a very serious accident and it did not look like she would make it. Dave called his brother in Idaho, who happened to be in Portland, Oregon when the accident happened just thirty miles north of there. We were devastated by the news and details were very sketchy. The extent of her injuries was not known and she lay unconscious in Intensive Care. Dave’s Mother was 81 years old and the most we knew about the accident was that a gravel truck had pulled onto the highway in front of her, she ‘T-boned the truck at a speed of about 35-40 mph. Her little car was old enough that it had no airbags so her body hit the steering wheel, full force.

It was later that we learned she had seventeen broken ribs and a collapsed lung. During her stay in ICU, the doctors had lost her twice, resuscitating her back to life. She remained on a ventilator for almost six months and underwent surgery to put a metal plate in her chest to support the broken ribs. The odds against her surviving a crash like she did with injuries of that magnitude were poor at best.

Dave mentioned his Mothers’ accident in the next newsletter that we sent out and told our readers that we would be heading for Oregon to be with his Mother. The emails, cards, and letters poured in as IGHS Members across the globe prayed for healing for Dave’s Mom and for our safe travel to be with her. I cannot relate all of the events that took place over the last seven months as it would take several newsletters to cover it all. The outcome of this event is what is important here.

Dave’s Mother survived the accident and she went home for the first time since the June accident, the day after Thanksgiving to her own little home. Just before Christmas she was taken off of the portable oxygen as the doctors felt she could breathe on her own. For the first time since her accident, she walked out to her mail box just a few days ago, by herself. If you talked to her today and asked her what she thinks got her through the horrible ordeal, she would tell you she knows it was only because of all the love and prayers for her that caring people all over the world sent her way. Nothing would convince her otherwise. She is not a deeply religious person but she understands the power of prayer from her own experience.

Dave and I encountered many situations on our way to Oregon that could have ended badly. We had two tires blow out while driving the mountain passes in Nevada and had the normal mechanical problems and breakdowns that occur while traveling. Our goal was to reach Oregon and be there with Dave’s Mother, my closest friend. When we finally did arrive, we encountered difficulties we had never anticipated. Like Angels in the night, right there to help us through such a difficult time were our friends, Christie and John. It was their love and support that helped us through and allowed us to maintain our visitations to Dave’s Mom. We were in the Portland area for six weeks and we watched the roses return to Mom's cheeks and the sparkle return to her eyes. We knew we would leave Oregon with the knowledge she would continue to improve as the difference in her was remarkable during the time we were there.

We experienced a time of miracles, seeing and feeling the love and care of friends and friends we have not met yet. The experience was a reminder of how fragile life is and how quickly it can be taken. How things can be left unsaid, like, ‘I love you’ and issues can be left unresolved because we never know when out time will come or someone we love will cross over. The value of friendship and our connection to each other is timeless, durable and strengthens with the onset of tragedy and hardship. Though each and every person suffers their own pain and struggle, when someone is in needs, others can give of themselves through love, support and prayer.

The universal consciousness when focused in love and heartfelt care, directed to the healing of a single person creates a powerful energy to ascertain a goal. It is not religion that heals, but the many minds set to a single purpose that creates the miracles in life and we witnessed this ourselves in 2004. From our hearts we thank you all and Dave’s Mother, growing stronger each day, thanks you all as well.

Last year brought us many things but it also took away as life's cycle continued. The loss of my Father was difficult for me; he represented the backbone, the strength of a family body. I am a lot like he was during his lifetime and I have always felt proud of that as I learned much from him. He would laugh and say he was sorry I had some of his traits when we would talk together, though those times were few. Memories are sweet and clear and sometimes I can feel him close to me. My late husband used to say that when someone leaves this earth plane it is like putting a finger into a bucket of water and pulling it quickly back out. What remains in the water is barely a ripple, the remainder of what a person leaves behind when they pass. With no disrespect to his feelings, I disagree, our lives do affect others.

Our lives are short, yet each day we interact with others, leaving a mark, an impression, an energy where we go. We can make people angry or frustrated, a negative energy left in our wake or we can care, love and help which leaves a positive energy behind. We may not leave a physical mark behind us, or leave physical items of creativity known by the world, but we do leave a part of us in everything we do and say, just as others leave a part of themselves in us.

The effect of how we conduct ourselves during our life leaves a lasting impact on others. Though it may be of a negative nature, it stays with us and is held in memory as we learn the lessons of how we don't want to be. Others leave a positive impression that guides us into the people we do want to be and our efforts are put into achieving that for ourselves. It is the Yin-Yang, the good and the bad, the balance, the opportunity to decide which path we will walk through our lives leading us to what we are and to what we will leave behind.

As with every year, we learn, we grow, we endure. The good times give us strength to endure the hard times and the difficulties in life give us a greater appreciation for the good that comes to us. We can learn from the mistakes and let them go being wiser for it, or we can allow the negative energy of others to consume us, therefore giving those imparting the negativity onto us, empowerment that their legacy lives on through us. It is all a matter of free will, of choices that we make and the associations that we have. Without a doubt, each year brings new joys, new experiences and greater knowledge along with the hardship and struggle. We can endure the hard times and emerge better for it if we can find the peace within ourselves to remain courageous and strong to go forward.

We have a dear friend in Pennsylvania who is starting the New Year having to face major surgery. Her name is Jane and she is a long time IGHS Member and a good friend who will undergo surgery on January 6. We ask for your prayers and positive energy for her healing and recovery. She is a special lady who is a nurse, using her skills to aid others in need and one of the most giving and compassionate people we know. Though life handed her some of the lemons most of us will never experience, Jane used those lemons to make the sweet lemonade she shares with those around her.

In conclusion I would like to share some insight into one of the best movies I have ever seen that was released in 2004. My preferences in movies are either a good scary flick or one filled with humor. If the two are combined it is ideal. This year, after reading the funny pages in the Sunday newspapers most of my life, Hollywood released the movie, Garfield. Being a critter person and long time fan, I had to see it. I was not disappointed in the movie. When Dave is off tending to business, I put the movie on for company and enjoy it time after time. I have loved watching the movie over and over but it wasn't until this morning that I realized why I am so drawn to it.

There is a scene in the movie where Garfield is trying to reach the city to save his dog buddy, Odie. It's not easy for a cat who never leaves his cul-de-sac to face the traffic and stampede of people on city streets. After one scary encounter after another, the scene goes to Garfield and his little rat pal who is guiding him to his destination along the sidewalk. Garfield says, “Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” I can relate to that being the on road full time! Are we there yet? Actually, the answer is no. We have just gotten a real good start on our journey into knowledge and we have a long way to go. May you all experience a wondrous and prosperous 2005. Join us for our travels into unknown places as we research the spirits of the past and learn more about life and the afterlife. Enjoy the journey.

Happy Hauntings

Southwest Ghost Conference in 2005:

The IGHS is holding its 9^th annual ghost conference in 2005. Registrations are coming in as far west as Hawaii and as far east from North Carolina for our Southwest Ghost Conference for March 25-27 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. More information can be found at http://www.ghostweb.com/swc.html regarding this conference. Book early, as we will again have limited seating available to us. We are planning on a meet and greet on Friday night, sessions and hands on investigations on Saturday and for those staying Sunday, we will have a list of haunted sites they can investigate in the Santa Fe and Albuquerque area.

Ghost Town Glass Jewelry:

We have added our line of ghost town glass pendants. We have picked up glass shards and tumbled them for a week. Sharon has wire wrapped them and added a sixteen inch sp chain to the glass pendants. Check them out at http://www.ghostweb.com/glass1.html.

Digital Ghost Photography Handbook:

Are you confused about orbs? What are dust orbs and how do they relate to real ghost orbs? Read our 20 page thermal bound book or download the PDF book and discover how digital photography is the wave of the future. We have been using digital since 1994 and we share with the reader, which are the best digital cameras on the market today. We also share what to look for when purchasing a digital camera and provide some protocols to avoid falling into the dust orb trap. Check it out at http://www.ghostweb.com/booklet2.html.

How to Record and Analyze Ghost Voices:

We have shared the hidden techniques that enable us to be tremendously successful in recording the voices of the dead. If you need a step by step booklet to help you achieve the same success as we enjoy, including which software to use to analyze the EVP recordings or what cables to use to hook up the recorder to the computer, search no further, check out the booklet at http://www.ghostweb.com/booklet.html. We ship via Priority Mail through the Post Office or download it as a PDF that can be printed out on your end.

CD Version Home Study Courses:

This is the premier certification program for ghost researchers and paranormal investigators, written by professional full time ghost researchers, Drs. Dave & Sharon. Part 1 deals with ghosts and the psychology of earth bound spirits, and Part 2 deals with working with people who are haunted by loved ones. We teach the scientific approach specializing in ghost photography and etheric voice phenomenon with 30 years of combined experience in this field. Read the recent testimonial. More information is available about our Home Study Courses at http://www.ghostweb.com/mainhsc.html

Password Memberships:

We offer a special membership in our Ghostweb Ghost Galleries. Due to the size of these ghost galleries, we have to limit the number of people because of the bandwidth consumed by downloading the photos, spirit voices, and ghost videos in this area. If you want to view the largest collection of ghost photos, EVPs, and videos, check out our membership program at http://www.ghostweb.com/pass.html.

Life Time IGHS Member Certificate:

Instead of renewing every year, IGHS members can now purchase a Life Time Membership for $60 or a Life Time Membership and Life Time Clip ID Badge for $75. This is available through PayPal and through our online Secure Order Form at http://www.ghostweb.com/memcert.html.

IGHS ID Badges for Investigations:

We have received many requests for some kind of Identification Badge to wear while conducting field investigations. We have created a laminated ID Badge with a metal clip that snaps onto your shirt or other piece of clothing. It says that you are a Registered Ghost Hunter/Paranormal Investigator in good standing with the International Ghost Hunters Society and it has our signatures and web address. Order the ID Badge at http://www.ghostweb.com/id_badge.html.

IGHS Membership Certificates:

The IGHS offers a beautiful Membership Certificate. The membership certificate is valid for one year Check it out at http://www.ghostweb.com/memcert.html for more information.

Kind regards,

Dave, Sharon & BooBoo

International Ghost Hunters Society