Yes, I made that up one day after having a nice conversation with an author of some very popular ghost books. We were talking about how we collect stories, information and what we look for to bring everything together. The name "The Triangulation Effect" came to mind.
Basically, the T.E. is when the stories, the experiences and the history all come together to give us a genuine ghost story. If you're missing one the effects, then it's kind of like a tripod that is missing a leg. It just doesn't stand on it's own. Here's the break down; The Stories are what people have heard about the place. Ya know, the "he said, she said, they say" stories. The Experiences are the eyewitness accounts by credible people. The History is just that- the history of the place that may confirm the type of experiences that people have had.
Take this example…At an enchanted Bed & Breakfast down in beautiful Cape May, New Jersey there is a story of it being haunted by a Sea Captain, a young servant girl and the servant's daughter. The little girl has been seen in the top floor rooms. (That was the Story) There is history that shows that a servant girl and her daughter did live here on the third (top) floor, and that they worked for the original owners. (That was the History) During an informal investigation this past summer (2001), I was able to capture two EVPs, with one of a little girl's voice in a third floor room. (The Experience!) All this comes together to give us a genuine, validated ghost story.
This is what my team and I look for whenever we do an investigation. This is why we spend so much time on one location. The history part may take the longest due to tracking down former residents, trying to get interviews, looking up records and various other things. If one of the Effects is missing, you have a hole in the story. If you have the Stories and History, that's nice. But if nobody you talked to has actually experienced anything, then you have no eyewitnesses and no evidence to support that the place is haunted. All ya have is a History that may have "blossomed" or become distorted over the years. History and Experiences are good, but the Stores help to say "Other people have been through this." Stories often come from Experiences, so the more people to experience something, the better. Often times, Stories are born out of local legend and folklore. So be careful when following those leads. All ya have to do is wait long enough for the Stories to develop and you'll have all three. Finally, if you only have Stories and Experiences, then you don't have a possible cause for the haunting activity. It is human nature to find out why things happen the way they do, so naturally we want to know why a ghost would stay behind. Finding out that a person was killed by an unseen murderer might cause people today to see an apparition wandering around looking for their killer.
With investigating so many sites and writing up reports, the Triangulation Effect is something I rely on for a good positive result. It also gives the readers all the facts to let them believe what they wish, and not just expecting them to believe it because I said so. Next time you write up a story or report of what happened to you, remember the Triangulation Effect and write a good story!
Written by KennyB, founder of PIRA