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Ghost Hunters Link Data with
Unexplained Images
by Laura Vandendorpe Seances, Ouija boards, and things that go bump in the night are the ingredients from which horror films are concocted. Beyond the movies, some have claimed to experience paranormal activity in real life. Most folk legends and witness accounts correlate unexplained sightings with sensations of extreme temperature change. Until recently, no one has tried to substantiate these claims with reliable data. To investigate if environmental fluctuations actually occur in "haunted" locations, a television production company called Global Media Productions, Los Angeles, enlisted the help of several technologies. The company used OS521 thermometers from Omega, Stamford,Conn., with 3.2-mm dia laser guides to take temperature measurements of specific areas in real time. The company also used enhanced night-vision cameras and a 40 s/sec custom-made multi-channel data recorder. "There's a fine line between looking for something that's not there and ignoring the evidence that something is," says Bob Schott, executive producer of "Adventures Beyond," one of Global Media's television programs. Schott's documentaries have aired on the Discovery Channel and other stations. "There are things out there that you just can't explain," he says. This doesn't mean that Schott has not tried.
Through his investigations, Schott found that fluctuating temperatures often correlated with unexplained images captured on film. After studying the film samples, representatives of Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y., and Imagexperts Digital & Custom Photo Lab, Hollywood, Calif., verified that neither film problems nor development flaws produced the images. "In my years of experience, I have found nothing else like these images," agreed Brad Meyers, president and CEO of B.E. Meyers Inc., Redmond, Wash. "I have no way of explaining how you would artificially make them." Meyers' company manufactures the high-definition night-vision cameras that Schott used. The cameras were also utilized by the U.S. Army to produce images of bombing activity in Operation Desert Storm. Each amplifies existing light as much as 70,000 times and records an additional 250 nm of the light spectrum beyond what human eyes can see. One of the places where the night camera recorded unexpected images was in Bell Witch Cave, Adams, Tenn. While near the disturbed burial ground in the cave, Schott's night-vision camera recorded an energy pattern emerging from a crevice. As the light rose, it floated to the right, growing into an image that resembled a face. Minutes later, another cloud-like image was recorded. The OS521 simultaneously showed that temperatures in the area dropped from ambient 188C to as low as 48C, Schott says. Although highly skeptical of Schott's project, Meyers agreed to review the film to verify that an equipment malfunction had not caused the unexplained images. "I saw the face image and also saw the temperature graph. I have no way of explaining how you would artificially make those," Meyers says. Temperature changes were even more pronounced in Schott's exploration of a rural graveyard. To capitalize on all of the practices believed to attract ghosts, Schott arranged for his group to use a Ouija board in a seance at night. During this seance, a cloud-like face appeared over one of the participant's shoulders. Ambient air was 268C, according to the OS521. When trained on the Ouija board, the OS521 registered only -148C. The instrument recorded -108C when focused on the hazy image. Each time the instrument sensed a temperature below 08C, it sounded an audible alarm that can be heard throughout the video, Schott says. "I'm very wary of letting erroneous results be interpreted the wrong way, yet they may be reaching into areas that are not yet understood," says David Black, VP of JAM Software, a network systems consulting firm. Black built the data recorder that Schott used. "They're doing research, but it's in an area where science traditionally hasn't gone." Although the OS521 does not need to be recalibrated between uses, Charles Mangarella, VP of Instruments and Controls for Omega, retested the instrument after each trip and verified that it was still calibrated correctly. "The Omega really saved the day because it responded so quickly," Schott says. "With any other equipment, it would have taken time to get readings." It was also an affordable solution, he says. Unusual temperature fluctuations were also found in Hermitage Castle--the 13th century Scottish castle where Schott's team locked themselves overnight. The ambient temperature of the castle's stone walls ranged from 4 to 78C. While near the pit where child sacrifices were once made, temperatures on the walls fluctuated between 48C and -148C, according to the OS521. Later, one of the team members saw a ball of light, Schott says. As soon as the camera was plugged into the battery pack to record the event, the camera went dead. The cameraman pulled the cord from both the battery and the camera. Even though the cord had only been plugged into the camera for a moment and had no reason to be warm, the OS521 showed that it had heated up to 378C. The camera and cord later functioned perfectly, Schott says. In a separate incident outside the castle, Schott says that his team saw a ball of light move across a wall. Since the team was able to see the light, it should have almost blinded the night-vision camera, Meyers says. Instead, it was recorded as a focused ball of light moving slowly across the frame. "I don't believe in this sort of thing," Meyers says. "But I can't dispute that there may be something there."
Non-Contact Thermometers Feature Laser-Focus Option Rugged, high-performance, hand-held infrared Thermometers in the OS520 series are available with either laser-dot or laser-circle sighting options. The laser-dot option highlights the center of the instrument's field of view, while the laser-circle option indicates the perimeter of the sample area. In addition to these sighting options, Omega's infrared thermometers offer a collection of standard features. The instruments are portable, have adjustive emissivity from 0.1 to 1.0, backlit LCD dual displays,audible and visual alarms, and 1 mV/degree analog output. CE approved, the OS520 series of instruments also have integral tripodmounts. More Information Omega Engineering Global Media Productions 
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