Please note that these FAQ's are opinions of the CHAPS members based on education and experience, and are  not proven fact.

Paranormal 101

 

 

What is a haunting?

Without being scientific,  hauntings are the presence of past energies- elements of spiritual activity. We break the elements of spiritual activity down into 3 groups. Residual, which is a trapped form of activity. Literally like watching the same film over and over again,  the movement is  much the same every time it presents itself. An Intelligent Entity is a spirit with it's own mind so to speak. It has a purpose, most times benign and benevolent. These actions present themselves  with subtle visible movement, appearance on film, and subtle physical interaction. The last type of haunting is referred to as  a Poltergeist.  A poltergeist is a haunting that has a powerful physical presence, and can often be very malevolent. This type of haunting can stem from a spirit that intends to do harm,  to a spirit that has passed on without knowing or accepting it, and is frustrated by unsuccessful attempts to communicate with the living world.

 

What is an EVP?

Electronic Voice Phenomena-this is the method of using listening devices to capture sounds manifesting from the spiritual realm. We generally use digital voice recorders and magnetic tape style recorders to capture these sounds. Both styles have their merits as the digital recorder is more sensitive yet the magnetic tape style is closer to the actual type of energy you are trying to pick up. Therefore to make sure all bases are covered, we always try to use both devices during an investigation.

 

What is an EMF?

Electromagnetic Field-We use an EMF meter to detect fields of energy that are either present or manifesting. When a spirit is in the process of manifesting,  energy fields are created, thus a reading is often picked up. It is very important during an investigation to have the electricity turned off or at the very least identify significant sources of electrical power as this will also be picked up on the EMF meter.  An investigator must be very cautious of their surroundings while using the EMF meter as many sources of energy can skew the readings. For example, the  EMF meter can pick up electricity from fluorescent light fixtures even after the power has been shut off, and from power lines on the street to name a few.

 

What is an orb?

This is actually a very arguable topic. Many junior investigators build their entire case on the presence of orbs. 99% of the time these orbs can be written-off as dust on the lens, dust in the air, bugs and paint flakes etc.  When reviewing our findings, we do pay attention to orbs that have their own nucleus, their own flight pattern, or their own source of unexplainable energy, however we do not draw conclusions from orbs alone.

 

Why do investigations normally take place at night?

Again this is a highly debated topic. Investigations do not always have to be conducted at night. Most times this is more so the preference of the investigator and the team. Many investigations do happen during the day, however most just prefer the evening images on film, the quietness, and the fact that people tend to be more sensitive at night.

 

Are  C.H.A.P.S. trying to prove or disprove paranormal activity?

We are enthusiasts, and therefore wouldn't conduct investigations  if we  weren't trying to gather conclusive evidence. First and foremost, we take the the scientific approach of debunking a haunting to avoid going down any unfruitful paths.  However with having a trained Psychic and Medium on our team, we do take spiritual impressions seriously.  Too  many investigation teams simply pick one method or the other.

 

There are many paranormal groups out there. What makes C.H.A.P.S different?

On TV you will generally find two types of groups. Some groups use 100% science and technology, which is great because when they capture any evidence, it is pretty hard to disprove. On the down side, they overlook a lot of the "feelings" that you would get and the proof that can be presented by the findings of  spiritual evidence. The other type of paranormal group will gather evidence using 100% Channelling, Psychic ability, and Mediumship.  Mediums and Psychics train for years and the serious ones use a much more subtle approach. Unfortunately it is impossible to prove a place haunted using solely this method, as the grey area is just too large to be certain. For this reason researching the locations history after an investigation to prove any claims made by Mediums and Psychics is very important.

 

Psychic vs Medium - What is the Difference?

A Psychic works with energy, vibrations and visions, along with the use of ESP to find an answer. A Medium takes it one step further and works with the spirit. Most times a medium was first a psychic in the early stages of development.

 

But wouldn't psychics and mediums already have background information going into an investigation?

We do pre-research the physical structure of the location and the claims made in order to conduct the most thorough investigation possible. However in most cases CHAPS does not pre-research the history of a location in order to add validity and authenticity to the claims made by our psychics and mediums. 

 

Please check back often, as we will continually update this page with the most frequently asked submitted questions!

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