debunking
by Beth Trimble
With any sort of serious investigation, debunking is critical to discovering the truth.
It can be as simple as discovering an energy leak from an electrical box which is causing the person sleeping on the other side of the wall to feel weird, have headaches, or bizarre dreams, and then explaining what is causing all the phenomena the resident thought they were experiencing.
Or it can be realizing that it was really, really humid out and that is not a phantasmic mist floating about, but rather the moisture collecting on your camera lens.
A spider on a thread of a web will often show up white, and therefore no, that is not plasma dripping down from the ceiling. It's just a spider.
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While reviewing your evidence, be sure to look with a critical eye at what you have collected. Innocent mistakes can be made that make something seem real, but in reality it is equipment failure or human error.
Case in point: After days of giving tours in one local historical place, three of our investigators were investigating a recreation hall. Suddenly, as they were recording, a creepy, low voice was clearly audible to all three. The video they were taking clearly shows their eyes widening in shock as they clearly heard, very slowly, in a deep, sad voice:
"Can you hear me?"
then: "It's so cold in here"
then "Ok. Bye"
At first, everyone was electrified. Plans were made to present the video to the paranormal community. Much excitement was in the air.
Then, a few days later, one of the investigators tried to listen to some of the recordings of the previous tours she had done, and suddenly heard 'herself' saying those same phrases. In her own voice. She realized that for some reason, while the three of them had been in the rec hall, her recorder (which had been in a coat pocket at the time) had somehow turned on, skipped back a few recordings, and slarted playing in slow mode at that exact spot. Just as mysteriously, it had turned off after those three sentences. But, undeniably, it was her voice, saying those exact phrases. She had been talking to a tour guest during one of the tours before who had gone up a stairway, and asked if they could still hear her, then commented to herself about how cold it was, out loud, and then said goodbye to the guest who had joined another group.
When the recorder started playing for whatever reason the recording speed had also slowed to such a degree that the voice was very slow, much, much deeper in tone, and sounded mournful. (Now, it can be argued back and forth as to WHY the recorder turned on by itself, slowed itself down, played only those few seconds and then stopped by itself at that particular moment... but that is just fanciful conjecture. Very cool coincidence, but conjecture just the same.)
Anyway, the investigator could have simply deleted the original recording (in regular voice) and no one would have been the wiser. It had all been caught on another camera after all in the rec hall. BUT...the investigator also knew that it would be false evidence. That false evidence was retracted from the final report.
In other words: debunked. It wasn't a tough call to make but damn. It seemed too good to be true at first.
We don't showboat a clip just to look cool. If anything we find is questioned, we will not only show a clip (or play the recording) but we will also provide the entire video or recording to show events leading up to and after the evidence. Lesson: Keep ALL the evidence and provide it all if asked.
The truth doesn't just set you free, it also keeps you from looking sketchy when the truth does come out. The truth shows you have integrity.
Be true to yourself, and be true to the nature of real paranormal investigating.
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