Paranormal Inspiration ?

This isn't a spooky story really, just a little entry from my father. Basically my little quest and project investigating the paranormal has inspired him it would seem to write a little poem about it. Although I am not a massive poetry fan we must remember a lot of historical events from the past are given life through the ages through song, poetry or stories which are then passed from generation to generation. This information can sometimes be used by historians as a source of evidence. Which mean when investigating the paranormal we may encounter this as a source of evidence.


Anyway, I hope you enjoy my dad's spin on things and as ever feel free to comment, if directed to him I will pass it on for you.

Investigations of the Paranormal

This was maybe sparked of by resent trends,

Together with a group of like minded friends,

The investigation to lost souls to which I started,

In seeking out Apparitions of those departed,

Perhaps a remembrance to a past relation,

An illusive Phantom to others imagination,

Ghostly showings to a visual echo of the past,

My hope is to see a spectral aura at last,

We have detection meters and special devices,

An array of equipment to identify sprit vices,

The taps and bangs, maybe a bell that rings,

A Poltergeist action in keep throwing things,

Therefore, I continue with my deliberations,

Reading all about those unexplained notions,

To examining everyday facts about the dead,

Even thought some say there better off not read.

He does enjoy to write, bless him. If you enjoyed this and would like to read more of his work please visit http://www.caxtonquills.co.uk/ and check out what else he has on offer.

Ghosts and Spirits – A Little More Insight

I must mention that this blog entry was inspired by my man in the know, Jim from ISP. He has brought my attention to an important fact and in doing so reminded me that even the paranormal is in abundance of technical terms. As what could be described as a ‘newbie’ to the field I have no problem learning as I go, after all that is why I am investigating, ‘to know more’.

As some of you may have read, Jim commented as follows;

‘Hi Ash its Jim. Nice little post there but I thought I would just raise a small issue. Obviously Andrew was referring to "Ghosts". As a paranormal investigator I know two terms within the field that people seem to think are the same. Ghost and Spirit. A ghost is a recording if you like, layed down by stone tape theory as Andrew has described in that passage. The term spirit is used to explain an occurrence which shows intelligence rather than just replaying something. Hope this gives you a little more insight.’

Jim’s comment immediately grabbed me. It encouraged me to want to know more. I have, probably like many people heard individuals refer to ‘ghosts’ and ‘spirits’ as if they were two different things, but dismissed it and assumed they were sort of the same thing. Thinking about it though it makes perfect sense that they are not. Jim’s comment has been the catalyst for a brief knowledge search on the two. After all I cannot investigate the paranormal if I don’t know the technical terms.

First up, let me attempt to explain the ‘Stone Tape Theory’. The term itself is originally believed to be from the 1970’s BBC drama called ‘The Stone Tape’. Then it was used by Parapsychologists to describe the theory that materials found in stone and brick may have certain properties suitable for recording images and/or sound of events which occur in their vicinity. It is believed that the stoned, ground, etc are able to absorb the energy from living beings. Under certain conditions the absorbed energy can be replayed, just like a recording.

As most hauntings can usually be related to an emotionally charged scene, such as a murder, horrific accident or time of distress on the part of the person or persons involved. Somehow that scene becomes imprinted in the localised environment, such as a building.

For the scene to be replayed it has been suggested that it needs to be triggered by the correct catalyst, or person who sends out the right signal. This could be a highly emotional or distressed person. The replayed scene can be visual or audible, but not always interactive. This is often referred to as a residual or imprinted haunting.

That’s the ‘Stone Tape Theory’ in brief, but I think I will be heading back to this as a future blog subject, as it is quite interesting and could pose quite a good discussion point.

As for the difference between ghosts and spirits, this subject is slightly complicated. From a brief search of the web, you return a few conflicting views. However, I think I will side with Jim in distinguishing between the two.

From what I have read briefly and I am by no means an expert. Ghosts are as Jim describes them, ‘a recording’. If you agree with what is written, then they are stuck in replay (sometimes interactive and sometimes not) after failing to pass completely over to the afterlife. This means they are stuck in between the physical world and the afterlife in a kind of nether world. There are additional angles which state that they can be assisted to pass on to the afterlife with the correct assistance. For example, if someone was murdered, but the killer was never found then solving the murder helps the victim to move on. Personally this view is a touch ‘drama’ for me. I tend to think the ‘stone tape theory’ makes more sense and that the catalyst is no longer present which is why the ghost fails to appear.

Then we have spirits, which as Jim states ‘shows intelligence rather than just replaying something’. This is entirely possible, as some of the descriptions I have discovered describe spirits as having passed over to the afterlife, but are able to return to our physical world to assist or watch over us. All very well, but this leaves me the question, why? Which is fine with me, the whole subject of the paranormal poses the question why, hence my continued interest!

Obviously, my descriptions have been brief, but again I will return to these subjects again in more detail. After all, there’s plenty to discuss, plenty to understand in the paranormal world!

As ever your comments or suggestions are welcome.

Thanks to Jim for the Logo !

Just a quick entry to thank you to Jim from ISP for the swift and clever design of the Farsight Files logo and banner above.



As I said at the time, I can already imagine the logo on the back of some jackets.

Obviously my graphics skills are not quite as good as Jim's, but you get the idea !

Funny thing is I imagined a logo similar to this one in my head, but couldn't quite get it into visual format. I don't recall telling Jim or describing it, so its either a case of 'great minds think alike' or Jim can read minds through MSN !!!

Thank you again Jim.

Next up the Farsight Files website ?? Think that one is a slight work in progress though !

A Brief Update and A New Spin on Ghosts !

Just thought I better post a bit of an update before it seemed like I had forgotten about this Blog!

I am still working hard on the Farsight Files in the background, but unfortunetly its not my only work. I also have a full time job which is taking up much of my time. Shame really as my job has not a lot to do with my investigation into the paranormal. I havn't forgotten though and hope to get something good to share with you soon.


Thought I would use this brief entry as an opertunity if anything to share with you a theory of a Ghost-Hunter that I have been reading about recently. The man in question is Andrew Green who was ghost hunting up until his death for about sixty years, a touch of an achievment I think. He's theory is as follows, in his words;



"Ghosts exist as an object form of phenomena, as a type of electricity situated in a particular locality. This static is, we suggest, in a wave pattern, which can be visualized by a person as the transmission form their mind which matches the original impression. The witness feels cold as a result of an electro-chemical process and immediately afterwards sees the ghost.

This cold sensation could well be the catalyst which switches on the mentally recreated picture so to speak. The picture is merely a mental image of some person or a pet animal, the death or injury of which causes intense shock to the creator of that image. This picture is transmitted unconsciously to the actual site and visulaised in a telepathic fashion and as such exists."

Basically Andrew was saying that ghosts do exist, but not exactly as we may think they do. That is they may not be a spirit stuck here for some reason, but a type of energy transmitted to a location during a traumatic or intense moment. His conclusion being that a ghost may not be dead ! His evidence was that after working hard on a rockery in his garden he unknown to him tranferred that energy in the form of himself. Later after selling the house the new owners and their daughter came to his new house for some reason. The daughter had never met Andrew before, but on meeting him she suddenly fainted. The reason given for this was because she believed him to be a ghost. Why? He was alive ! She told them that this was the same man she had seen around their rockery at home, to which she had referred to as a ghost!

The man who had investigated the paranormal for sixty years, been coined 'the specter inspector' and was even said to be a ghost himself, may have come up with a fresh new spin on ghosts. However, these days we investigate in a similar way and look for energy readings and temperature drops. Could Andrew Green have pathed the way for the Ghost-Hunter's of today?

However, I must admit that the theory that links ghosts to the afterlife seems to give us a more belief based system to investigate. Something I try to avoid, as I wish to find the truth and strong evidence regarding paranormal activity ! That doesn't mean I dismiss religion and beliefs. After all we must embrace all angles to gain a greater understanding of the bigger picture.


If you wish to know more about Andrew Green and some of his cases, may I suggest reading the same book I am 'Ghost-Hunter's Casebook - The Investigations of Andrew Green Revisited'.



Feel free to comment and give me your opinion on the whole ghost thing? Do you side with Andrew Green, ghosts are residual energy dead or alive? Or, do you believe that ghosts can only be related to the dead?

Why The Paranormal ?

I thought it might be worth posting a short explanation to how and why I now feel the need to investigate the paranormal. After all this isn't something that has come out of the blue, but has developed until I myself realised what I needed to do.

I have always questioned the world around me, wondered about the how and the when, even the why, things and events occurred. I guess I can thank my parents for that as they always gave us the gift of free thinking, self discovery and personal investigation. They never thrust upon us their views, religious or otherwise, but only encouraged us to question what was around us to come to our own conclusions. Well at least that is what I think they hoped for us, but for me that information has only now in my thirties been realised. I would be the first to admit that I have made mistakes and things in my life have not gone according to plan, but to be honest that has been in the majority, out of my control. More recently, it was these life events of mine which led me to see once again that nothing is black and white.

To give myself something else to work on and think about I returned to a passion of mine, which is writing. Hence the development of this Blog! However, after previous attempts to write fiction I have made the discovery that I quite enjoy discovering things. My interest in history returned to me, but this time with a twist of Paranormal.

The Paranormal has always interested me, at one point I was convinced there was a ghost outside my room. I was five years old and later my father proved that the footsteps of the ghost was actually hot water pipes. I then realised that the unexplainable, in some cases could be explained! My interest expanded and I read on the subject, but lacked any true evidence of paranormal existance! Until the day of my grandfathers funeral. I was sat down with my cousin, when she told me or I may have asked, but basically it came to light she could talk to the dead.

Skeptical I tested her medium abilities by asking her to describe the inside of my best mates house, who she didn't know or had met. To be fair she done this exactly right, but mentioned a painting above the sofa which was incorrect. However, she remained adament about the location and what the painting was of.

It wasn't until a while later when I ran the story passed my best mate that he confirmed when his grandfather was alive (the person my cousin spoke to) the picture my cousin described existed where she said it was. My cousin had been 100% correct.

I then realised the wider scope of the paranormal.

Following that my experiences were few and reduced to reading the odd book or story.

Until I moved to Coventry and got involved with my ex-girlfriend. Her mum had an interest in the Paranormal and even conducted a few EVP sessions when I was there. The results of which were minimal, inconclusive, but still a little spooky. She also introduced me to Tarrot cards and the theory of prediction. I don't think my ex liked the fact I was interested in her mum's weird hobby! Suffice to say the time I spent as a bystander in her mum and friends paranormal experiments have enlightened me slightly.

For the years whilst I was married my interest in the Paranormal was put on a back burner and even following my divorce I didn't really return. That was until recently, when my new girlfriend drew my attention back to the Paranormal though her interests. Which has lead me to Clophill and its local myths and stories of hauntings.

So, there it is, nothing special or dramatic, just a pure simple interest developed over time and exposure. Unfortunetly I was never haunted during my life and I don't recall signing up to do battle with evil deamons, but I do search for proof and the truth.

Well that's my angle, why not comment on this post and tell me yours?

A Short Stop At Clophill !

Last Monday saw me with a little time on my hands, so I thought it was a good time to pop to Clophill and have a little wonder around the site in the daylight by myself!

However, I wasn't alone! A couple of teenagers were using the old church site for their own reasons, and to be honest I don't think they were searching for proof of the Paranormal!

I have to admit even though I felt like I was intruding upon the couple, the church on top of the hill, in the daylight still had me a little on edge. However, I didn't feel odd or as if anything was watching me, accept maybe the couple.

I rang my cousin to discuss some points that she had mentioned. She directed me towards a grave stone, but unfortunetly it was unreadable. And thus we couldn't confirm her belief that it was the daughter of a woman called Jenny. A spirit my cousin picked up on whilst tuning into the location.

More on Jenny will come later. I also tried to locate a Well on the site, but was unsuccesful.

To be honest I think a more detailed visit is required, perhaps even with my cousin so she can pick up on things more directly!

All in all though a good little visit. I have been to the church before, but not in as much detail. It is a wonder to see and I can easily imagine the fear it can create in the dead of night. I am now eager to see what secrets this location hides, if any!

This Farsight File is officially open and in full swing.

Putting It Together !!

Firstly, my apollogies for not adding to this blog for a little while, but things as ever have been busy.


Where to start !!


Well, what was going to be about me learning or teaching myself to investigate the Paranormal has now developed in to so much more of a greater possiblility. Obviously, nothing has been set in concrete, but I am forever hopeful that something good will come out of what is now everyone's efforts.




Let me explain..

I have written and explained earlier, my plan for the first two Farsight Files and Paranormal Investgations was to investigate Clophill Church and Minsden Chapel. This I am happy to say is still the case. However, after some preliminary investigating and digging around on the internet, I found some others interested in helping out!

First up, I was speaking to my little sister about the project. I can't remember exactly how it came about, but we decided it may be a good idea to film the whole and maybe create a documentary type programme on it. Possibly even a series !!


Second up, I discovered some experts in the field of Paranormal Investigation. A group who's method's I trust as their approach is similar to my own. That is they will attempt to disprove before they will conclude the possibility of paranormal activity. As they sate on their website http://www.insearchofproof.co.uk/ ;


'In Search of Proof are a team of paranormal investigators whoes aim is to prove or disprove the existence of the paranormal through the use of scientific experiments and spiritualist mediums. As a team they hope to find some defining evidence that cannot be disproved. In the past they have visited such "haunted" locations as Farnham Castle, Hellfire Caves and the Galleries of Justice.'




Hopefully, all going well the team will be able to assist us on our investigations.


Then, I spoke to my cousin about the Clophill site and briefly my intentions. Another person was soon involved. However, the only difference here was that my cousin is a medium and was able to pick up some bits of information regarding the site. As ever with these things, we will have to investigate to back them up.


The interest hasn't stopped there either! Through the magic of Facebook I also started talking to an old School friend who also has an interest in the Paranormal and wishes to get involved with the investigation.


It seems now that this has evolved into a greater, better investigation and with a possibility of documenting the whole thing as documentary or even a documentary series.


As for me, the Paranormal learning curve is in full effect and I hope to put things together as quickly as possible to get on to the investigation itself.


As ever if you have any sites that you believe may be of interest to us please leave a comment and I will take a look as they could be a potential Farsight File !