The Sealed House

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-328605452009-03-01T19:13:29.477-05:00The Sealed HouseNews, updates, and blogs from the Zagdog Aggregate, mostly related to the Sealed House Project, in which we will attempt to scientifically "catch" a ghost.davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00932314868931035738noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32860545.post-1164980755577553402006-12-01T08:42:00.000-05:002006-12-01T08:47:29.906-05:00be skeptical of skeptics (part 2)

Sorry I have been so delinquent in posts of late. Got busy at home and work, then got sick. Still have that audio from our summer jaunt at OSR to go over, but in the meantime, humor me as I flesh out some more of our views on this whole ghost thing.Before I begin, however, I must say that I agree more with this article than I did the last one I reviewed. When it comes to ghost hunting, in my

davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00932314868931035738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32860545.post-1162472909307465712006-11-02T08:07:00.000-05:002006-11-02T08:12:16.643-05:00be skeptical of believers

Paranormal Investigators Videotape Apparent Ghost In GraveyardI'm always a bit excited when I read headlines like that, wondering if this is it -- this is the one that will be proof-beyond-doubt. Sadly, that's never the case. The more "real" they look, the more I tend to think someone is a good video editor. On the other hand, like this one, the more "odd" they look, the more I tend to think it

davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00932314868931035738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32860545.post-1162304510220293832006-10-31T09:20:00.000-05:002006-10-31T13:32:30.893-05:00be skeptical of skeptics

Regarding a story by Benjamin Radford on LiveScience.com (via the Skeptical Inquirer), with my blow-by-blow of the summary in the story itself (links below):The supposed links between ghosts and electromagnetic fields, low temperatures, radiation, odd photographic images, and so on are based on nothing more than guesses, unproven theories, and wild conjecture.True. However, Mr. Radford

davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00932314868931035738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32860545.post-1161263271036118942006-10-19T09:03:00.000-04:002006-10-19T09:11:05.360-04:00top 10 ghost photos

Sorry I haven't posted anything for a while, but there's just not that much news. Okay ... well, there is now, since Angie has submitted two accounts of her recent personal ghosthunts, but I don't have the time to post them this week ... Next week, I'll get right on those.In the meantime, how's this for lazy -- I'm going to blog someone else's blog. Still, the Top 10 Ghost Photos is certainly

davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00932314868931035738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32860545.post-1159533804043633602006-09-29T08:42:00.000-04:002006-09-29T08:48:35.190-04:00dead woman shows up for dinner

I don't know how well Ananova archives its stories, and this one is so short, it's worth sharing in full (please don't sue me!): A Brazilian woman shocked her family by turning up alive and well a week after her own funeral.Relatives of 18-year-old Maria Fabiana Franco thought she was a ghost and wouldn't let her in the house. Miss Franco, from Vitoria, had been missing for two weeks when her

davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00932314868931035738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32860545.post-1159444813922436652006-09-28T07:58:00.000-04:002006-09-28T08:04:50.306-04:00scientists discover shadow person

Yet another thing that we must keep in mind during the Project:“Electrical stimulation [to the temporoparietal junction region of the brain] repeatedly produced a feeling of the presence of another person in [the patient's] extra-personal space,” said Olaf Blanke, co-author of the study conducted by a team of researchers from University Hospital in Geneva, Switzerland. ... When the patient sat up

davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00932314868931035738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32860545.post-1159188604903586732006-09-25T08:48:00.000-04:002006-09-25T08:56:36.216-04:00patience

Long time, no updates. My apologies, but since OSR, nothing much has been happening. I did get my computer back up and running, but now the stars are out of line and I simply haven't had a moment to process the audio we got from OSR. Also, there are no updates from Tim on any progress toward a GhostBox (etc). I have a feeling this is how the project will go at first, though: In fits and bursts --

davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00932314868931035738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32860545.post-1158150153115546132006-09-13T08:21:00.000-04:002006-09-13T08:23:55.933-04:00two machines that don't work

Don't fret: I haven't forgotten about the promised audio from our Labor Day stroll through OSR -- I just haven't been able to physically access it. See, the power supply unit on my PC died, and until the new one arrives tomorrow, I'm sans the computer with the file on it. (As an aside, if you need computer parts, be sure to hit PriceWatch.com -- I scored a $70 PSU for $20, with shipping.)And

davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00932314868931035738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32860545.post-1157632043454817582006-09-07T08:25:00.000-04:002006-09-07T08:31:01.100-04:00overcoming the hard-won consensus

Scientists claiming to have evidence of life after death and the powers of telepathy triggered a furious row at Britain’s premier science festival yesterday. ... The disputed session featured research from Rupert Sheldrake, an independent biologist who is funded by Trinity College, Cambridge, that claims to have found evidence that some people know telepathically who is calling them before they

davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00932314868931035738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32860545.post-1157483173665453082006-09-05T15:03:00.000-04:002006-09-05T15:06:29.860-04:00blips and bleeps in OSR

To sum up this weekend's trip to OSR ... The EMF meter proved to make it a bit more exciting, but after traipsing around the place for 7 hours, we only got three "hits," which really boiled down to only one hit, after analysis.See, on the second hit we discovered that the EMF meter could detect itself if the separate sensor (connected by a three-foot wire) was held against a sweet spot on the

davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00932314868931035738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32860545.post-1157162002587721932006-09-01T21:52:00.000-04:002006-09-01T21:55:16.690-04:00Look Around You 4: Ghosts

(Who couldn't go for some dry British humor?)

davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00932314868931035738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32860545.post-1157127196801909782006-09-01T12:04:00.000-04:002006-09-01T12:16:51.053-04:00Tim's GhostBox (tm), et al

Over the last week or so, Tim has been considering our sensors day and night, it would appear. So far, he has come up with working ideas for what he calls a GhostBox, GhostNet, and GhostWheel, all based on detecting disturbances that follow our hypothesis. Soon I imagine we'll begin construction of a prototype of the GhostBox, upon which the other GhostThings then will be built.His first order of

davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00932314868931035738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32860545.post-1156943452241623152006-08-30T09:09:00.000-04:002006-08-30T09:12:59.126-04:00edison's ghost detector

So it turns out that Thomas Edison believed in ghosts, enough so that he developed an experiment to test his hypothesis that "spiritual entities ... should have some of the attributes of ordinary matter." To test this view, he set up a basic motion detector, figuring if there was a ghost present, it would trip the beam:In a darkened room in his great laboratory, surrounded with beakers,

davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00932314868931035738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32860545.post-1156771701361256082006-08-28T09:26:00.000-04:002006-08-28T09:28:21.370-04:00the urban legend machine

If only we were further along in the project (and located in England), this could be a good candidate for a house to seal, or at least test the sensors in:A young mother has pleaded with Redbridge Council to be re-house her and her daughter because their home is haunted. ... The family from Hainault, who do not want to be named, have reported eerily similar unexplained phenomena to that

davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00932314868931035738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32860545.post-1156426350339973732006-08-24T09:30:00.000-04:002006-08-24T09:32:30.350-04:00ed warren knows for sure now

Ed Warren, the famed "ghosthunter" who investigated the original "Amityville Horror" house, died in his home at the age of 79 on Wednesday. During his 61-year career with his wife, Lorraine, he investigated over 10,000 haunted houses around the world. The Warrens wrote ten books on the supernatural and were consultants for the Amityville Horror film. Warren was also a nature enthusiast and

davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00932314868931035738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32860545.post-1156262418171511132006-08-22T11:57:00.000-04:002006-08-22T12:07:57.486-04:00things that should not be

First, a welcome to Tim, our new resident electrical engineer, who will be working with Angie to develop a prototype sensor. Says Tim of why he decided to get involved, "I don't think I am a skeptic or a true believer on ghosts. I think I would say I am interestedly neutral on the whole subject."And in the vein of other scientists not afraid to look for things that might not be there and/or

davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00932314868931035738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32860545.post-1156169600100680592006-08-21T10:12:00.000-04:002006-08-21T20:42:50.986-04:00baby steps

Did some more poking around for "paranormal research" grants, just to see, and still came up relatively empty. The best options seem to be in England, which doesn't help us much, and they all require that you've already got some modicum of research under your belt (which makes sense). The vast majority of "paranormal" grants, however, are strictly geared toward psychic abilities, and even then,

davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00932314868931035738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32860545.post-1155819438062586312006-08-17T08:45:00.000-04:002006-08-22T12:04:26.373-04:00the great divide

As luck would have it, today has an example from both sides of the believers/skeptics camps. First, a researcher in England thinks he's pinned down the source of ghosts in English castles: Infrasound created by sea waves.“The ‘dead people’ in this country have more reasons to walk round the corridors and towers of the old castles and mansions because of the strong sea winds blowing swiftly across

davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00932314868931035738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32860545.post-1155817656462372642006-08-17T08:16:00.000-04:002006-08-17T08:27:36.546-04:00welcome angela

Angela just joined the Sealed House Project as our resident "electrical designer," which she describes as somewhere near, but not, an electrical engineer -- sort of like an RN to a doctor or something. Actually, she said it would be like, "You know how Disney came up with the first stereo system, and Lucas came up with THX? Well, I'm Disney and an electrical engineer is Lucas."She has already

davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00932314868931035738noreply@blogger.com0