The human brain has the capability of taking random shapes and organizing them into recognizable forms, causing us to see faces in clouds, smoke, windows, rocks, tree bark, chocolate, toast and other objects. Not only can we see recognizable things in random patterns in a wall, our mind uses past experiences and imprints them on current activity. An example might be someone driving late at night, In the distance they see what looks like a rabbit in the road. As they get closer the rabbit takes shape and looks more and more like a rabbit, but as they drive by the rabbit they thought was there turns out to be a beer can, bottle or a piece of cardboard. This phenomenon is used by goose hunters when they use white rags to hunt over in a field. At a distance the rags flutter and look like a snow goose, the goose sees a field full of geese until it's too late and the goose ends up on the dinner table. I believe a great deal of paranormal investigators fall victim to pareidolia either during an investigation or following an investigation when the hard work of analyzing photos and looking over all of the video footage has begun. Fatigue, the investigators personal beliefs and in some cases the want of a location to be haunted, play a role in this phenomenon. I have been to a number of investigations throughout the state of Texas, where the owner of a property pulls out a book of photos taken by their patrons showing evidence of paranormal activity. About 90% of these photos have very normal explanations, from a curtain that seems to be a figure in the window, a demon on the wall or even a Jesus on a piece of toast.

With this in mind, we as paranormal investigators should strive to standardize the way we collect, analyze, and even how we present evidence if we are ever to be taken seriously by the scientific community. I know that paranormal investigation is not a real science but we need to standardize all aspects of data that we can quantify if we are ever to be taken seriously. The use of Psychics needs to be kept at a minimum, and only used if they have a very, very good track record and things they say can be verified, remember feelings and impressions are not quantifiable and in the light of the scientific method are not to be trusted. A credible method that is repeatable needs to be developed for all aspects of investigation. I would like to first look at the method that we at TSS use in analyzing photographic data. Most of the time DVR and video cameras are continually running and we have developed another method for analyzing that type of evidence.

A Digital camera greater than 5 megapixels should be used at an investigation. We have found that using higher megapixel cameras reduce orbs in the photo and if you can, use a flash that is further away from the camera lens; this will also reduce the appearance of the orb phenomena in your photos. No matter what anyone says about orbs, true orbs are very rare and need to be backed up with video evidence. I know of a number of groups that swear by orbs and even research them, but the study of dust and airborne water particles never really interested me, any good investigation should just stay away from them as we have found a protocol for eliminating them completely. We at TSS almost never see orbs in our photos anymore, but it does come with a higher price tag. The type of cameras used and filter sets needed can run from $800.00 to $3000.00 depending on the setup, but the data gathered is cleaner and true anomalies can be seen. I will have a follow-up article on the use of forensic cameras in paranormal research later in the year. During an investigation at least 3 photos should be taken in sequence, of the area of interest. This will allow you to recognize an anomaly in one photo that is not seen in the others and compare surroundings for obvious sources of Pareidolia. A grid should be laid over the area of the anomaly in all three photos so that an area comparison can be done. The following photos will show the progression of my photo analysis when I caught myself seeing a women kneeling next to a chair during an experiment. I will only be using the photos I saw the anomaly in and the photo following it for this article.

 

Photo 1

In this photo I thought I saw an image of a women kneeling behind the table slightly to the left top of the computer screen. I could see a nose, mouth, eye and hair in a bun; her eyes seemed to be closed.

 

Photo 2

Photo 3

This photo is of the same location with a little different angle showing that the area where I saw the face is actually a case latch creating the nose, a tripod platform that made up the chin and mouth, and a small bag on the case that at a different angle and being blurred a bit looked like hair in a bun.

Care should be taken when looking at photographic evidence. If you cannot see the face that I saw in the initial photo, well you see my point. Like I have stated before, I see photos that people have taken and clamed to have proof of a ghost and after looking the photo over it is nothing but a curtain. This is by no means the complete protocol that is used by our group but just a small segment of the overall process. We feel that this is a good starting point for the would be investigator to start. When you are in the field remember to take all photos in triplicate, and have the mindset that nothing paranormal exists at the location. When analyzing photographs, try to debunk your own photos, before someone else does. This will save you a lot of embracement when someone else does.

Lance Brooks (TSS Co-Founder & Lead Investigator)