Devil in the Delta by Rich Newman

Author:Rich Newman
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Mississippi, devil, delta, ghost, ghosts, ghost hunting, ghost hunters, paranormal investigation, paranormal investigator
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
Published: 2013-03-08T05:00:00+00:00

[contents]

5

Examining the Data

It was now time to go over the massive amount of photographic, audio, and video evidence that I had collected during my night at the Martin residence. This is the work that separates the recreational ghost hunters from true paranormal investigators. Over the course of my six hours in the home, I had used two camcorders, three audio recorders, and a still camera in almost constant operation.

This meant I had over 300 photographs to review, 18 hours of audio to listen to, and 12 hours of video to watch. And this didn’t include the DVR system (with multiple camera angles) and audio recorders that the Mississippi group had rolling during the evening. My only consolation was that they would be reviewing that footage.

With a recreational ghost hunt, like those listed on the Paranormal Inc website, our team may take up to

several weeks to go through this much data. This is because there is no immediate need to assist anyone. (Recreational ghost hunts usually take place at museums, bed-and-breakfasts, etc., that typically just like having evidence of their haunting for publicity or for personal satisfaction.)

But with a case that involves a private residence and actual, concerned residents, an effort has to be made to wrap up a review as quickly as possible. Joanne and her family would be sitting on pins and needles until we informed her one way or the other about what we did or didn’t find during our visit. And who could blame her?

After informing my wife that I would be locked away in “the cave” for many hours (possibly days) doing a review, I settled in with my headphones and fired up the computer. Thanks to today’s technology, the information gathered at a typical ghost hunt can be scrutinized with a fine-toothed comb without ever leaving the comfort of your home workstation.

Photos would be dissected and analyzed with Adobe Photoshop, audio with Audacity and Soundforge, and video with Sony Vegas (my nonlinear editing program of choice). Even the notes taken during the investigation could be transcribed and saved in a Microsoft Word document for archival purposes.

Performing a review in this manner is great because it’s straightforward, allows for easy archiving, and makes sending a copy of the entire data (including notes, findings, etc.) to the owner of a property as easy as burning a DVD-ROM or just emailing the files.

With all the footage now lit up in front of me on my monitor, I took a deep breath and waded in with more than a mild expectation of finding something extraordinary. I started with the photographs. I carefully scanned each photo taken for anything that appeared to be out of place.

Beginning with the upper-left corner of each photo, I would slowly pan in a clockwise circle around the image, slowly working my way toward the center. This allows me to check every pixel for anything untoward.

Looking at some of the rooms for the second time, I was still amazed by the level of sheer mess that lay about the place.

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