A lone traveler passes the cemetery gates, whistling nervously. The full moon casts an eerie glow across the graveyard. The skittish individual quickens his pace, eager to get as far away from this place as possible. His fear compels him to scan the cemetery with a wary eye. Suddenly, he is frozen in fear. He saw someone … or something? … moving through the graveyard. Could it be his imagination? It must be. Until he sees it again. His brisk walk is now a sprint as he feverishly tries to elude the supernatural being that certainly wants to eat him for a midnight snack. As he rounds the corner and ducks in the local pub, he stutters his tale of horror to the bartender.
      “I’ve walked past that cemetery every night for the past 20 years,” says the bartender, “and I’ve never had anything like that happen. It must have been your imagination.”
      So why is it that some people will experience the paranormal and others will not? Most paranormal investigators will tell you that the most effective tool in ghost investigation is an open mind. However, they may be more right than even they know. The theory that ghosts draw energy from the environment around them is not a new one. Many investigative teams measure temperature to find areas of lower temperature – commonly known as “cold spots.” One theory about why ghosts appear as cold spots is that they use the heat energy in the air around them to manifest themselves. They absorb the heat much the same way a sponge absorbs water. The result is a lower temperature in the immediate area of the spirit, as well as an increased chance that the spirit will manifest itself in some way.
      If ghosts do draw energy from the surrounding environment, it only makes sense that they would manifest more often and more strongly in times of increased energy. Geomagnetic activity, solar flares and lunar cycles are a few examples. Many paranormal research groups claim that these factors have a substantial impact on their results. However, in considering all of these environmental factors in paranormal investigation, I feel we are neglecting one important point of influence on the environment – the investigators. The attitudes and emotions of the ghost hunters is one of the biggest factors in the results they will obtain. One explanation is that ghosts draw of the emotions of those nearby the same way they draw from the environment. When in an unfamiliar, uncomfortable situation, the body’s natural response is fight-or-flight. The senses are more keen, the heart beats faster, you may even begin to sweat. In short, the body is producing more energy by the release of adrenaline. So if a spirit can draw energy from its surrounding environment, why couldn’t it draw from the excess energies of those present?
      Going back to the previous example, how can you explain what the scared man saw when the barkeep had never seen anything? The simple answer is that the bartender was more comfortable in the situation. He’d walked past it a thousand times, so there was nothing scary about it. He may have even trained himself to not see anything in the cemetery. On the other hand, the poor man who nearly soiled himself over seeing a shadow was unfamiliar with the territory and was naturally afraid. His energy level was much higher as he prepared himself for the unknown.
      In reviewing our previous investigations, our results have been much more impressive when we’ve had a few fresh faces on the team. In contrast, when we have had less skittish, more experienced members on investigations, we have yielded slightly fewer orb photos, EVPs and readings. True, this could be coincidence, but it may be beneficial to review our investigations and see if this pattern is followed in both past and future investigations.

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