Q.  How large an area do you service?
A.  That depends on what you mean by "service".  Anybody in he world can view our site or contact us by email.  We try to limit telephone consultations to the US and Canada. 

For on-site investigations, any location within a few hours drive is no problem.  Beyond that the distance that we're willing to travel depends on the situation.  We wouldn't travel 500 miles because somebody reported creaking floorboards, but we might well make the trip to investigate an unusual and frequently occurring phenomenon.

Q.  Your article about orbs didn't say anything about what they really are.  How come?
A.  That's because we don't know for sure, and we question whether anybody really does.  In fact, as the article states, we think that there are many different possibilities, not just one answer. 

If you want to read something by people who claim to know for certain, the Internet is full of sites that you can visit.  One site we ran across claims that orbs are energy beings from distant galaxies and provides the names and locations of their home planets and the names of their starships.  (Although we can't imagine why energy beings would need starships, or how they'd go about building them.)  Another site claims that orbs often frequently visit her and give her information by changing their shapes. 

We may have opinions, but unlike some sites, we won't portray them as facts without verifiable scientific evidence.

Q.  Can ghosts actually harm you?
A.  We don't know of any solid evidence that ghosts can do any kind of direct physical harm to people.  They certainly can cause feelings of uneasiness, anxiety, fear or dread, which can affect a person's physical, mental and emotional health and well-being.  Indirectly, stress, distraction or a lack of concentration can be a cause of negative life events such as deteriorating relationships, performing poorly at work or being involved in an auto accident.

There have been reports of demons and other hostile entities bruising, scratching, biting, or pushing people, but we've never personally encountered anything like that, nor do we know anybody who has.

Q.  Recently when I've been alone I've been feeling that I wasn't alone, like somebody or something was watching me.  Do you know whether there might be a paranormal cause that, and if so, what I can do about it?
A.  If you've recently added, changed or discontinued any prescription medication you should first consult your doctor to make sure that it's not a medication related issue.  Assuming that's not the case, those feelings may be caused by anxiety about being alone.  Think back to the time they began.  Did they follow any traumatic event or major change in your life? 

If you can't relate these feelings to either of those situations there may well be a paranormal cause.  The first thing we'd recommend is that you start keeping a journal of where, when and under what circumstances this happens.  Sometimes a pattern may emerge with regard to dates of the month, days of the week, times of day, or the places where, times when or circumstances under which it occurs. 

The second recommendation is that you try to determine whether you feel threatened or just visited.  If you really are experiencing visitations, those feelings may provide clues to what kind of entity might be visiting.  

Finally, if you're able, keep a digital camera close at hand and take photos of your surroundings whenever you get the feeling of another presence.  Very often things that we can't see will show up in photographs.  Keep us posted as to what you find out.

Q.  When is your site going to be finished?
A.  Probably never.  Hopefully there will always be new information, articles, photos or videos to add.  Check back often to see what's been added or changed.

Q.  I just want to say that I don't believe in ghosts.  Dead people go to Heaven or Hell.  They don't get to choose to stay on earth. 
A.  We respect your right to your own beliefs, and we'll never challenge anybody's personal or religious convictions.  We hope that you'll give the same courtesy to others.

Q.  Can you explain how a camera or camcorder could take pictures of things that we can't see?
A.  There are a number of possible explanations.  If infrared (night vision) equipment was used the camera would be able to record things that would otherwise have been hidden in the darkness.  In addition, most cameras are able to "see" a larger portion of the spectrum than the human eye, so what's invisible to us can still be captured in a photo. 

Another thing to consider is that the brain doesn't consciously remember everything that the eye sees, especially if the event was very brief or if your primary focus was on something else.  The camera on the other hand captures whatever was occurring at the exact second, or even fraction of a second that the photo was taken. 

Q.  I could understand why a deceased relative might want to come back and look in on loved ones, but why would a ghost want to haunt an unpleasant place like an abandoned building or a prison?
A.  Those types of hauntings usually occur at places where someone met a sudden or violent death or suffered a traumatic event.  Nobody can say for sure why they happen, but we can share some current theories.  One is that the ghost is unable to accept his or her demise and is therefore "stuck" in the last place that they were alive.  Another is that the ghost may be repeating a particular event in the hope of changing the outcome.  A third theory is that the ghost may be angry about something or feel that it has unfinished business that's somehow related to the place that it haunts.
 
Q.  I was on another paranormal site that seems to hate Ouija boards and made a big issue about not using them.  Your site says that you don't recommend using them either.  What's the big deal?  Why is everybody so against them?
A.  We can't speak for other sites, but we'll gladly give you our own opinion. While the paranormal can be intriguing and fun to explore, it has elements that can be dangerous, especially if you're just dabbling or don't take it seriously.  We feel that Ouija boards fall into that category.

When you use one you're opening yourself up to forces that you don't understand, and inviting them, to some extent, to take control of your body in order to move the planchette.  How can you REALLY know who or what you're in contact with, whether or not the information you're being given is accurate, or what else may be happening while you've given up control?

During a an appearence on The Glenn Beck Show, John Edward, the very gifted psychic from the program Crossing Over, was asked whether he had ever let a spirit speak through him.  His answer was something like, "Absolutely not! I'll pass on messages that I receive, but I'm not about to let anybody else use my body."  We think that's pretty sound advice.

Q.  Have the photos in your gallery been edited or retouched?
A.  The short answer is that photos we post may be edited or enhanced but they are never retouched. 

To be more specific, there are several process that we may apply to photos to improve their quality or make them more suitable for viewing on the Internet.  For example, we resize large photos so that they fit on a computer monitor and use less bandwidth to download.  (We get charged by our hosting service for excess bandwidth use.)  We may also adjust brightness and/or contrast in order to make faint images clearer, lighten or darken improperly exposed photos, change the gamma setting if a picture was taken in darkness, or crop out unnecessary or distracting portions of the photo.
 
What we don't do is add anything to a photo or alter it in any way that could make it appear to be something different from what it is.

To submit a question use the "Contact Us" button.