Director’s Blog: ORBS
April 2021
When I decided to write a little bit about orbs, everything inside my brain screamed out “NOOOOOOOOO! Do you want people to lose their minds?? Do you want to lose YOUR mind?? Do you want everyone writing to the GPS telling them that they’re a bunch of lunatics? Or, worse, stop following????
>The answer is no. I don’t want any of those things. BUT, and it’s a big but, I really think that it’s important to talk about orb anomalies when you’re in the field or even if you’re just interested in all things paranormal. It’s one of the very first things that people ask you over a cup of tea when they find out that you’re a paranormal investigator. And I happen to think that it’s a very important topic. Very important.
We’ve all seen those grainy videos that people take with their phones showing what looks like big globs of white circles milling about a room or a location that someone has decided is kind of spooky. We have also all seen the shows on TV where someone shouts out, “And an orb anomaly presented itself while we were talking about the ghost of Mister X.” Does that mean that there really is a ghost there? Does it mean that someone is trying to manifest? Does it mean that the location is haunted? Not necessarily. The key to orbs is to follow a few basic rules, one of which is to have a look at the location and see what it may NOT be. There are a few really wonderful websites out there which show you what an insect looks like on video or film, and what a speck of dust might look like while filming in a location. Pay attention to those! Or at least have a look at them! Not everything is a ghost or a spirit. It could very well be dust and, if you’re outside, it could be a moth. Try to figure out what it isn’t before you jump to conclusions!
You have to rule out what it ISN'T before you can say what you think it may be.
If you have ruled out dust or insects, pay attention to the environment you’re filming in. Is it damp or unusually heavy in atmosphere? Could it be moisture you’re capturing? Are you taking pictures with a flash? Are you capturing some lens flare here?? Remember, you do have to rule out what it ISN’T before you can say what you think it may be. Having said all of this, if you feel that you are communicating with something in a certain environment, and you are experiencing some kind of EMF activity with great spirit box communication hits, and you visually see something that looks like a light anomaly, that’s more compelling rather than just taking a random picture and capturing something that “might” be paranormal! Take a look at the occurrences and experience the environment while you’re shooting video or taking pics. Try to remember what you’re feeling at the moment and, if possible, write down or record the experience in some way so that, looking back, you will understand why you captured what you did at the time.
Do I think that orbs are spirits? I think that they can be indicators of spirit activity in a location, but there have to be other criteria within that location that need to be met to even put forth that assumption. Some investigators will draw conclusions such as orb anomalies have to be “see through” in order to be real, or they have to have “faces within the center” in order to be considered true spirit orbs, or they have to be a certain colour. I believe that spirit can and will manifest in any way that it sees fit in certain circumstances – therefore, we can’t really assume that an orb anomaly, if it IS a spirit, will have to meet certain specific criteria in order to be “real”. It truly depends upon where you are, how you’re feeling, whether you’re already interacting with something on a spiritual/physical level in a location, and if you truly feel that location to be paranormally active. And of course, you need to understand that a million people will likely disagree with you at all levels. (Laugh track here!)
Paranormal activity is often personal.
Seriously, though, I do believe that orb anomalies are – like any paranormal activity – very personal to the experiencer. What does that mean? Well, paranormal activity is, by its very nature, very personal. I can be in a room with two people, and not feel what both are feeling or not see what they are seeing; however, they can feel something that is very real to them, and perhaps be convinced that the environment is fully charged and very haunted, while I am left completely in the dark, feeling that the activity is benign at best. And vice versa! How many times have you heard of people visiting traditionally haunted places, spending the night, and not having experienced a thing? You have also heard the opposite. Orbs are like that. A person can take a picture of their bedroom and capture a massive globular anomaly, and people will tear them apart telling them it’s a figment of their imagination, dust, water, or photoshop. But they are not that person. They are also not experiencing perhaps nightmares or missing objects or cold spots every night in that bedroom. Opinions are great; however, they are just that. Opinions. Paranormal experiences are often meant to be experienced by a particular individual or individuals. Not everyone will experience an occurrence that is meant for someone else – and that doesn’t make that experience or issue any less real, any less frightening, or any less paranormal.
Orbs aren't always easily explained.
What I really want everyone to understand is that orb anomalies aren’t going away. They also aren’t cut and dry – they aren’t easily explained sometimes, and people who really don’t believe at all in their existence are definitely limiting themselves greatly in this field which, if you haven’t already guessed, is pretty fascinating! Everything in this field is worthy of examination, even orbs. Sure some can be dust, or glare, or moisture, or something totally not paranormal. BUT, take a look at the experiencer in the case. What’s going on when a picture is snapped? What’s going on as a video is shot? What other measurable issues are occurring at the time of the orb’s presence? Dismissing them altogether is like saying that every face in a photo is pareidolia or every EMF spike is someone’s cell phone receiving a text. It’s not always that easy. If it were, we wouldn’t be paranormal enthusiasts, now would we? By example, is every child ghost a demon in disguise? Is every shadow figure something malevolent? Some food for thought!
Thanks for reading my rant!
Cheers,
Lynda Quirino, Director
The Georgina Paranormal Society
April 9, 2021
April 2021
When I decided to write a little bit about orbs, everything inside my brain screamed out “NOOOOOOOOO! Do you want people to lose their minds?? Do you want to lose YOUR mind?? Do you want everyone writing to the GPS telling them that they’re a bunch of lunatics? Or, worse, stop following????
>The answer is no. I don’t want any of those things. BUT, and it’s a big but, I really think that it’s important to talk about orb anomalies when you’re in the field or even if you’re just interested in all things paranormal. It’s one of the very first things that people ask you over a cup of tea when they find out that you’re a paranormal investigator. And I happen to think that it’s a very important topic. Very important.
We’ve all seen those grainy videos that people take with their phones showing what looks like big globs of white circles milling about a room or a location that someone has decided is kind of spooky. We have also all seen the shows on TV where someone shouts out, “And an orb anomaly presented itself while we were talking about the ghost of Mister X.” Does that mean that there really is a ghost there? Does it mean that someone is trying to manifest? Does it mean that the location is haunted? Not necessarily. The key to orbs is to follow a few basic rules, one of which is to have a look at the location and see what it may NOT be. There are a few really wonderful websites out there which show you what an insect looks like on video or film, and what a speck of dust might look like while filming in a location. Pay attention to those! Or at least have a look at them! Not everything is a ghost or a spirit. It could very well be dust and, if you’re outside, it could be a moth. Try to figure out what it isn’t before you jump to conclusions!
You have to rule out what it ISN'T before you can say what you think it may be.
If you have ruled out dust or insects, pay attention to the environment you’re filming in. Is it damp or unusually heavy in atmosphere? Could it be moisture you’re capturing? Are you taking pictures with a flash? Are you capturing some lens flare here?? Remember, you do have to rule out what it ISN’T before you can say what you think it may be. Having said all of this, if you feel that you are communicating with something in a certain environment, and you are experiencing some kind of EMF activity with great spirit box communication hits, and you visually see something that looks like a light anomaly, that’s more compelling rather than just taking a random picture and capturing something that “might” be paranormal! Take a look at the occurrences and experience the environment while you’re shooting video or taking pics. Try to remember what you’re feeling at the moment and, if possible, write down or record the experience in some way so that, looking back, you will understand why you captured what you did at the time.
Do I think that orbs are spirits? I think that they can be indicators of spirit activity in a location, but there have to be other criteria within that location that need to be met to even put forth that assumption. Some investigators will draw conclusions such as orb anomalies have to be “see through” in order to be real, or they have to have “faces within the center” in order to be considered true spirit orbs, or they have to be a certain colour. I believe that spirit can and will manifest in any way that it sees fit in certain circumstances – therefore, we can’t really assume that an orb anomaly, if it IS a spirit, will have to meet certain specific criteria in order to be “real”. It truly depends upon where you are, how you’re feeling, whether you’re already interacting with something on a spiritual/physical level in a location, and if you truly feel that location to be paranormally active. And of course, you need to understand that a million people will likely disagree with you at all levels. (Laugh track here!)
Paranormal activity is often personal.
Seriously, though, I do believe that orb anomalies are – like any paranormal activity – very personal to the experiencer. What does that mean? Well, paranormal activity is, by its very nature, very personal. I can be in a room with two people, and not feel what both are feeling or not see what they are seeing; however, they can feel something that is very real to them, and perhaps be convinced that the environment is fully charged and very haunted, while I am left completely in the dark, feeling that the activity is benign at best. And vice versa! How many times have you heard of people visiting traditionally haunted places, spending the night, and not having experienced a thing? You have also heard the opposite. Orbs are like that. A person can take a picture of their bedroom and capture a massive globular anomaly, and people will tear them apart telling them it’s a figment of their imagination, dust, water, or photoshop. But they are not that person. They are also not experiencing perhaps nightmares or missing objects or cold spots every night in that bedroom. Opinions are great; however, they are just that. Opinions. Paranormal experiences are often meant to be experienced by a particular individual or individuals. Not everyone will experience an occurrence that is meant for someone else – and that doesn’t make that experience or issue any less real, any less frightening, or any less paranormal.
Orbs aren't always easily explained.
What I really want everyone to understand is that orb anomalies aren’t going away. They also aren’t cut and dry – they aren’t easily explained sometimes, and people who really don’t believe at all in their existence are definitely limiting themselves greatly in this field which, if you haven’t already guessed, is pretty fascinating! Everything in this field is worthy of examination, even orbs. Sure some can be dust, or glare, or moisture, or something totally not paranormal. BUT, take a look at the experiencer in the case. What’s going on when a picture is snapped? What’s going on as a video is shot? What other measurable issues are occurring at the time of the orb’s presence? Dismissing them altogether is like saying that every face in a photo is pareidolia or every EMF spike is someone’s cell phone receiving a text. It’s not always that easy. If it were, we wouldn’t be paranormal enthusiasts, now would we? By example, is every child ghost a demon in disguise? Is every shadow figure something malevolent? Some food for thought!
Thanks for reading my rant!
Cheers,
Lynda Quirino, Director
The Georgina Paranormal Society
April 9, 2021