Orbs
When I began paranormal investigating, equipment and investigation techniques were not as advanced as they are today. The best equipment was well trained investigators, pen, and notebook. Results of investigations were completely documented. Most of the documentation dealt with personal experiences, because we did not have the kind of equipment used today. In the “dark ages” of paranormal investigation, the holy grail of an investigation was capturing images of orbs on film, (photographic evidence or video evidence). As investigators, we did the best we could to control for photographic contamination through dust, rain, or other small particles that could appear as orbs. With all of these precautions taken, orbs that appeared in photos or on video were believed to be some sort of spirit activity. It was/is believed by some that orbs are the beginning stages of a spirit manifestation. Spirits require energy to manifest, the larger the manifestation, the more energy required. Because of the lack of sufficient energy, spirits chose to manifest as orbs, they require less energy to manifest.
As the paranormal field has become more technologically advanced, many if not most professional groups feel that all orbs can be explained as some sort of environmental contamination. Even though every precaution is taken to control for photographic contamination, sometimes it does happen. Some “orbs” caught on film are just dust.
Orbs do not appear in every picture taken, if they were nothing more than dust, they should be much more common than they actually are. They also tend to appear in pictures that have been taken in allegedly haunted locations. Why, if they are not spirits attempting to manifest do orbs appear so often in pictures taken during investigations?
While orbs may not be actual spirit activity, they are something more than dust. It’s possible that orbs may be some sort of naturally occurring electrical phenomenon that is occurring in conjunction with other paranormal activity. After all, if spirits are electrical activity without a physical body, why can’t they attract other forms of poorly understood natural electrical activity?
Types of Orbs
Weather they are spirit activity or not, orbs by their very nature are paranormal (beyond the normal or lacking obvious scientific explanation). Research on what orbs are or are not need to be undertaken before the phenomena is dismissed outright.
“Ghost orbs display an inner substance, and very often in photographs, a nucleus is visible. They also present a thicker outer layer or ring. They may also display an electromagnetic glow around them. Sometimes they appear less spherical in shape given their density and composition and appear a little lopsided.”(Goodwyn (2007) p 112) Orbs unlike dust or other particles will appear dense in photographs. A full examination of photographic evidence will reveal a difference in how an actual “real” orb appears and how dust or other contamination appears on film.
Orbs can be:
· Transparent , which is crystal clear and easy to see through
· Translucent which is semi-transparent and therefore harder to see through
· Opaque ghost orbs which are the thickest and show the greatest depth. They are so solid they can cast shadows (Goodwyn (2007) p 113)
Again, because of the differing appearances of orbs on film, it would seem that they are more than just dust or other form of contamination. Orbs do not appear to engage in any sort of intelligent movement or actions. They just seem to appear on film. That does not mean that they are not a paranormal occurrence. After all a residual haunting is nothing more than an electric imprint of a traumatic event on an area that continues to play over and over again like a movie. No one would claim that a residual haunting is not an actual haunting because it does not display intelligence.
Conclusion
While the jury is still out on what orbs actually are (spirits, dust, and naturally occurring electrical phenomenon) it is too early to dismiss orbs outright. If an investigation team finds orbs in pictures or on video, a thorough review of all evidence needs to be undertaken to determine that cause of the orbs. If nothing obvious can be found, and if the orb has a definite shape, with depth and appears to have some sort of substance, it is more than just dust. Only time will reveal what orbs actually are.
References
Goodwyn, M. (2007). Ghost Worlds. Woodbury, Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications
