The study of the paranormal world is anything but an exact science.
Doors slam because of ghosts and slanted floors. Cold air can be an ectoplasmic experience or an open window. Ghostly whispers can be from another time or a squeaky air vent.
The Rev. Darrell Gene Motal has seen everything and nothing in his quests into the paranormal world.
“I am a paranormal investigator, so I go into people’s homes and help them cope or evict unwanted spirits, which can be annoying or even dangerous,” he said.
But how does a homeowner know if their house is haunted?
“Part of the job is to figure out what, if anything, is there,” Motal said. “I find true paranormal activity only about 10 percent of the time.”
Digital cameras can capture “orbs” or circular balls of light. Some researchers believe orbs are life forms that travel in groups and are believed to be the human soul or life force of those that once inhabited a physical body here on earth, Motal said.
But many orb pictures are just spots of sunlight, particles of dust or droplets of water, not ghosts.
“People get excited over a lot of pictures of dust and pollen,” Motal said. “Photos, which basically capture a huge spectrum of light, can be deceiving.”
In his ghost hunting and spirit gathering, Motal holds most stock in physical evidence.
“If you take a photo, take them in rapid succession,” Motal said. “If the dust particle is in three frames, you might have an orb.”
Audio evidence is more concrete than potential dust particles, he said.
“Sit in a quiet room with no people or pets in the house. Ask a specific question and tape the response, and that is proof,” he said.
Ghosts are more than just a hot or cold feeling or a sense of paranoia, he said.
“If you can honestly see something — a person in front of you, a piece of furniture moving by itself — if it is more than a feeling, you might have a ghost,” he said.
Motal suggests taking pictures of an empty room and then returning to take another picture later in the day.
“If something has been moved and no one has been in the room, that is proof,” he said.
Motal said spirits want different things from the people they haunt.
“I am not claiming to be a psychic, but I know what real orbs look like. I know what real spirits feel like,” Motal said.
For more information about Motal and his Soul and Spirit Ministry, call (409) 943-4147 or visit www.soulspirit.zoomshare.com.
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