• NEW! LOWEST RATES EVER -- SUPPORT THE SHOW AND ENJOY THE VERY BEST PREMIUM PARACAST EXPERIENCE! Welcome to The Paracast+, eight years young! For a low subscription fee, you can download the ad-free version of The Paracast and the exclusive, member-only, After The Paracast bonus podcast, featuring color commentary, exclusive interviews, the continuation of interviews that began on the main episode of The Paracast. We also offer lifetime memberships! Flash! Take advantage of our lowest rates ever! Act now! It's easier than ever to susbcribe! You can sign up right here!

    Subscribe to The Paracast Newsletter!

Orbs...Does anyone believe the hype?


ok...I got the pix uploaded this morning, so here you go. Let me preface this by saying, the floor was dirt, so this could be nothing more than that, however.....orbs didn't appear in every photo, and sometimes only one or two appeared.
These were taken in what used to be the Gettysburg Orphanage. It's across the street from the Jenny Wade house. The matron who ran the orphanage was an evil human being, and she would often lock the children down in a little room in the total darkness to punish them. It was only when a child died that she was "investigated" and, seemingly, she disappeared. The story is easily googled for more details.
The pix that I'm in (the purple haired girl, squatting) is when we heard a very audible female child reply "hello" to our "hello". You'll see an orb right beside me. The other lady was our guide, and my huband was taking the pictures. We were the only ones in the whole place, and sort-of got a private tour.
Anyway...here they are:
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/Raeven_Skye/GettysburgOrphanage-faintorb140.jpg
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/Raeven_Skye/Gettysburghelloorb160.jpg
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/Raeven_Skye/GettysburgOrphanage136.jpg
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/Raeven_Skye/Gettysburggoodbyeorbs205.jpg

i have a couple of more, but this will get you started! enjoy!
 
Nice! And what a great story about the place, albeit tragic.
I can easily see the orbs in all the pics except the first one. Ack! But that's okay, I'm not as observant as some folks are. Thanks so much for posting them, they are certainly interesting.
I still don't have an opinion on what orbs really are (which is a good thing!) but it does give food for thought when they are seen in places with an active history such as this one.
So, what were your feelings? Did you feel anything when you heard the girls's voice? Or did you not "sense" anything, but just clearly heard her? Did you feel cold spots?
I hope these are not too many questions. Your tour sounds quite interesting!
 
When we heard the little girl's voice (we all heard it...there were 3 of us down there) it was a sweet, little answer to our "hello". There were 2 dark "rooms" down there, and I wasn't able to go into either one of them, because of the feelings I got. We took a lot of pix of the main room where the children would be locked up, but nothing turned out in them. I got the sense of children hiding, and was repeatedly drawn to a remote corner, but nothing showed up in the pix. I was standing in front of the table facing the far wall, and I did get a major cold swirl around my leg, but again, nothing produced on the photo. Even my husband, who is not sensitive, felt things down there. The basement is really attached to a museum and bookstore, and we went in to buy ghost books for my brother. The woman who runs the place looked at me, and said, "You're sensitive, aren't you??"...and we started talking about the place. We didn't have a clue what is was, but I knew it creeped me out!
We kept hoping that the terrible matron would show up, as she sometimes does, but she didn't.
 
I find it quite intriguing that you were creeped out even when other people were present. That seems to give validity to there being genuine phenomena at that place.
When I toured Hoover Dam years ago (it, too, is supposed to be haunted) a few people in my group said they got the creeps a couple of times. I was REALLY hoping to see or sense something, but I felt and saw nothing. At the time I thought that maybe because other people were around me that it made if difficult for me to sense anything.
In light of what you have said, maybe I just didn't feel something even tho it may have really been there.
So...what does your husband think about your tour? What does he think about the pictures? Do the orbs that showed up occur where he felt things, too?
 
Ankhes said:
I find it quite intriguing that you were creeped out even when other people were present. That seems to give validity to there being genuine phenomena at that place.
When I toured Hoover Dam years ago (it, too, is supposed to be haunted) a few people in my group said they got the creeps a couple of times. I was REALLY hoping to see or sense something, but I felt and saw nothing. At the time I thought that maybe because other people were around me that it made if difficult for me to sense anything.
In light of what you have said, maybe I just didn't feel something even tho it may have really been there.
So...what does your husband think about your tour? What does he think about the pictures? Do the orbs that showed up occur where he felt things, too?


Many people are creeped out when ghost hunting. It's often merely suggestion. A belief that a ghost might exist is all that is needed. If the place is dark, abandoned and dirty, that also helps with un easy feelings.

The pics show nothing out of the ordinary. It looks identical to reflected dust, and lens spots etc.

There are some good cases of orbs being something that seems paranormal. Those are usually seen with the naked eye as well as caught on film etc. They also look different than the ones that can be explained by the mundane.
 
Ankhes said:
I find it quite intriguing that you were creeped out even when other people were present. That seems to give validity to there being genuine phenomena at that place.
When I toured Hoover Dam years ago (it, too, is supposed to be haunted) a few people in my group said they got the creeps a couple of times. I was REALLY hoping to see or sense something, but I felt and saw nothing. At the time I thought that maybe because other people were around me that it made if difficult for me to sense anything.
In light of what you have said, maybe I just didn't feel something even tho it may have really been there.
So...what does your husband think about your tour? What does he think about the pictures? Do the orbs that showed up occur where he felt things, too?

My husband thought the experience was cool, and he did hear the girl say "hello". He spent time in a couple of areas in that basement, but we didn't get any photos from it. He's more likely to discount every orb photo than I am, but with this location, it was really tough, b/c the whole place was so dusty. I think for me to really believe orb photos, they have to be something special, or like the one I have where there's an orb present at the time we heard the voice, and it's the only one in the shot...etc....Something "other" to help validate it. Mostly, I think they're dust reflections, except for the odd photo here or there.
 
A.LeClair said:
Many people are creeped out when ghost hunting. It's often merely suggestion. A belief that a ghost might exist is all that is needed. If the place is dark, abandoned and dirty, that also helps with un easy feelings.

The pics show nothing out of the ordinary. It looks identical to reflected dust, and lens spots etc.

There are some good cases of orbs being something that seems paranormal. Those are usually seen with the naked eye as well as caught on film etc. They also look different than the ones that can be explained by the mundane.

I will agree with your first statement to a point. I was creeped out in this location before I knew what it was...it was a store/museum to me...during the day, with the shopkeepers there. There's not a sign that says it was the Orphanage, and it's not something I knew going in. I read the story after the visit. It was when we went to check out, that we found out about the basement. It's not marked, and just looks like a normal door. I expected to be wigged out on the Battlefield, and wasn't at all. So my "creepy" feelings vary. Of course, going to Gettysburg, you expect something weird, but my preference is to not know, and see what I find.
I do see orbs and blips of light, but I'm never fast enough (or have the camera ready) to catch what I see! In the orphanage, I don't remember seeing orbs, but I did get a lot of impressions, and see a lot of movement. I was rather disappointed in the photos. They didn't exhibit what I would've expected from a place like that. Same with the Jennie Wade house.
 
I don't.

I'd believe it if I witnessed an orb right in front of me. I'd say "wow - an orb of light". But I don't think I would connect it to ghosts in any way.
 
If I see the orb in my house, I just figure it's either someone checking in on me, or the "kitchen visitor" checking in. There's a lot of stuff that goes on in my house, but nothing Earth-shattering...more like :hey! did you see that? or someone just passing through. I did see the kitchen visitor one night as I was pulling into the driveway. I caught a glimpse of him standing in the kitchen. He looked like a real person standin there, but he was very bright...nice old guy. His wife hangs out in the yard. When I start gardening a lot, I see her more.
I was told in a dream once, that spirits travel by using orbs...the orbs collapse in on themselves and that's how they move from one point to another. Whether or not that's true, I don't know.
 
i have taken hundreds pictures of "orbs". i have never seen one not on film.
 
Raevenskye said:
If I see the orb in my house, I just figure it's either someone checking in on me, or the "kitchen visitor" checking in. There's a lot of stuff that goes on in my house, but nothing Earth-shattering...more like :hey! did you see that? or someone just passing through. I did see the kitchen visitor one night as I was pulling into the driveway. I caught a glimpse of him standing in the kitchen. He looked like a real person standin there, but he was very bright...nice old guy. His wife hangs out in the yard. When I start gardening a lot, I see her more.
I was told in a dream once, that spirits travel by using orbs...the orbs collapse in on themselves and that's how they move from one point to another. Whether or not that's true, I don't know.

Well, at least you don't sound frightened of your own home and what you experience there. You know, if you had called in the Warren's a few years ago they would have found a "portal to Hell" in your home!

And, yeah, like you I think that "orbs" are mostly dust or other particles. But I do find it interesting if one is "caught" where something has just occurred, such as during your tour. Orbs being real or not aside, your tour was interesting and I'm glad you and your husband experienced something. Though I hope if there are any spirit children there, such as the one you heard, I hope they can move on some time and not be stuck there forever. That would be too sad.
 
I agree, Ankhes...I hope the children are able to move on, too. The girl who took us to the basement said she'd been able to move some of them on, but not a lot.
funny about the Warrens....they DEF need to stay away from the 2nd closet in the bedroom! It's like Platform 9 3/4 there! Spirits come out and go out the back door all the time. It creaks and pops, and light motes come out. I basically told "them" not to mess with me while I'm asleep (or any other time), and they can come and go as they please. I don't care. And so far, they haven't.
I have a sneaky feeling the activity is why the people sold us the house...they were in it less than 2 years..and were happy to unload it...anything for us! hehe...
I've never felt scared there, even when I was alone. Sometimes, I think I startle the kitchen visitor as much as he does me! Like he can't figure out why I'm there.
 
About the EVP phenomenon: I started out my spiritual quest with spending hundreds of hours recording empty rooms, or the distant sound of running water. I was introduced to this technique by a German couple who had lost their only son through an accident, but still felt they wanted to communicate with him. They introduced me to the VTF, the "The German Association For Transcommunication Research":

VTF - The German Association For Transcommunication Research
http://www.fargfabriken.se/fjf/

The VTF promotes the techniques used by Friedrich Jürgenson. Jürgenson discovered the EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) in 1959, and later wrote a pretty revolutionary book about it, called "Transmissions With The Deceased - Practical instructions for contacting the other world". He was an accomplished opera singer and painter, and was also invited by the Vatican to carry out excavations in Pompeii. Jürgenson was a devout Catholic, and consequently struggled spiritually with his findings for many years. There is a free English download of his book here:

http://www.fargfabriken.se/fjf/fjbook.pdf

There is much that could be said about EVP, and its potential caveats. Some of it has been mentioned in this thread already. It is important to remember that genuine, loud voices are rare, and occur perhaps 1 in 1000 recordings. By genuine I mean no radio interference, or other mundane acoustic effect. The vast majority of recordings are inconclusive, since they are just above the level of background noise.

The spirit voices can only ever be heard after the recording has taken place, they exist on tape only, but are inaudible during the actual recording session. Why this is so is a matter of debate. I personally think that the human spirit body has electromagnetic properties, which allow it to be captured by electronic equipment (video being another example).

One common technique is using a small water-pump for creating a small amount of permanent, yet slightly variable background noise. This noise can often be used by spirit communicators as a carrier wave, which they then use for forming words. I experimented with this many times, and the sonic effect is that, on playback, the sound of running water will occasionally give way to fast spoken words. The effect is that of a small "talking" waterfall, or brook.

This brings me to the orbs: I believe many examples of orbs in photos are indeed reflections of dust particles. However, one can sometimes notice faces inside orbs. I would suggest, for an interpretation, that spirits yet again use an existing, physical carrier - a reflecting dust particle - as a means for making an appearance in our reality. In fact, very old photos often show the most amazing faces imbedded in the background. I have seen examples with dozens of clearly visible faces. I guess this was possible due to the relatively long exposures used when photography was still in its infancy.

Incidentally, I took a photo of a solid looking orb in August 2004 at the West Auckland Spiritualist Church in Portage Road, Auckland, New Zealand. I used a digital camera, it was about 10PM and I think the flash came on. The orb is suspended below the ceiling at the top of the picture. The room was used mainly for meditation and lectures. When I took the photo, I was not aware of the object, and there was nobody else in the building.

http://tinyurl.com/2fzued

http://www.ghostplace.com/forum/photo_album.asp
 
legrand said:
In one word yes. "DUST"
Thanks now please bash away

hehe...no bashing...i tend to agree with you. I'm just questioning my own motives, to see if I'm discounting ALL orbs as dust, when really, a few may be "something".
I have seen some orb pix where the orbs cast shadows. I think those are interesting. If people can't see the orb, shouldn't they see the shadow? are they just missing it?
 
The spirit voices can only ever be heard after the recording has taken place, they exist on tape only, but are inaudible during the actual recording session. Why this is so is a matter of debate. I personally think that the human spirit body has electromagnetic properties, which allow it to be captured by electronic equipment (video being another example).

There are cases where the voices are heard off tape as well. Parrot Lady which was discussed when Lorainne Warren was on, and the Enfield poltergeist falls into this category. I made a thread on the Enfield case. There's a vid you can watch which has a segment with the entity speaking and the people there could hear it. It might be a hoax though. I've come across other cases too, but they don't really have case names for me to throw out.
 
Raevenskye said:
hehe...no bashing...i tend to agree with you. I'm just questioning my own motives, to see if I'm discounting ALL orbs as dust, when really, a few may be "something".
I have seen some orb pix where the orbs cast shadows. I think those are interesting. If people can't see the orb, shouldn't they see the shadow? are they just missing it?

Here's a post by me in a thread at ufoupdates dealing with orbs. Check the archives for more. Bruce Maccabee goes into some details if I remember correctly, and probably did a better job. It's been awhile though, so I'm not sure.

http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/2004/nov/m01-002.shtml
 
so basically, he's saying that the way the size appears on camera is an optical illusion: an orb may appear to be big, but is really a dust mote, which has a shadow, but is too small to see?
 
Back
Top