One of my favorite songs was ‘Ridin the Storm Out’ by REO Speedwagon. It talks about waiting for the thaw and watching the full moon.
By Rebecca Nidey
Everything I Need To Know I Learned In A Haunted House
For some reason April always makes me forget my achy joints and gray hair for a little bit.
The warming air, bird songs, and greening of nature make me feel a little younger. Spring also seems to welcome in the enjoyments that were harder to find during the long, cold winter months.
This past week I was reading a local paper and saw an announcement for an upcoming concert by a local band who went on to national fame when I was a young teenager. Although I was never able to attend one of their concerts, I loved their music. Do any of you remember the group REO Speedwagon? REO was a rock band from the late 60’s and early 70’s who still rock on through this decade. They hailed from the home of the University of Illinois, Champaign, which is several hours away from my home town. Local legend has it that they actually played a prom in Robinson (my home town) by another name before they attained fame. I was never able to confirm that, but the thought was exciting none the less.
Although I loved all their music, one of my favorite songs was Ridin the Storm Out. It talks about waiting for the thaw-out and watching the full moon. Those are very much spring occupations since winter often is reluctant to relinquish her hold on the world to let spring waltz in. Although hauntings and investigations know no seasons, spring always seems to be a great time to travel more and enjoy both.
For those of you who are not seasoned paranormal investigators, the weather can play an important part in both the activity of a haunting and the actual investigation. Storms especially can create optimal conditions for paranormal activity.
Haven’t you heard or said “I can feel a storm coming in”? What we feel as this is happening is the change in barometric pressure that indicates an approaching storm. Although this can be felt during winter storms, the other seasons (even fall) usually have the spectacular fireworks created by lightning.
As I have discussed in other columns, the theory is that ghostly spirits are made up of the energy left when a physical body dies. Energy cannot be destroyed. However, it can be transferred from one place to another and from one form to another. Since a ghostly spirit no longer has a body, it may have to draw energy from other sources to help create activity. Batteries, appliances, cell phones, watches, etc. may supply that extra power. On investigations, it is not uncommon to have batteries in cameras and other equipment die an early death. I often think that the battery industry makes a ton of money off of paranormal investigative teams.
Thunderstorms create lightning which has been long believed to enhance paranormal activity. Lightning is created by the buildup of oppositely attracted ions. When it strikes, it creates an electromagnetic field. If you think of the enormous amount of power generated by lightning, it is not a reach to say that it could give a boost to entities to create more activity… even apparition sightings. The storms supercharge the atmosphere, both outside and inside, so it is not necessary to endanger your life being outside in a storm in order to enjoy the activity engendered by the storms energy.
While the high winds created by storms can create an eerie background noise for investigating, they may also enhance activity. The difference in pressure systems causes the transfer of energy that produces the wind. The stronger the wind, the bigger the difference in the air masses and the stronger the storms become. Since wind power has long been used to create energy (think windmills and wind turbines) it most certainly can enhance activity. It should be noted, though, that wind, as well as other storm activity, should curtail EVP sessions since they all create background noise that will taint the recordings.
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, weather is the state of atmosphere at any given time and place with respect to the variables such as temperature, moisture, wind velocity, and barometric pressure. In truth, all of these can play an important part of an investigation. When preparing the investigation report, all of these factors should go in the record as well as moon phase, solar and lunar activity, equinoxes and solstices. Changes in the geomagnetic field of the Earth, as well as solar storms and flares and solar and lunar eclipses, are believed to create more paranormal activity also and should be noted if you are aware of them.
When looking at the moon phases, it is believed by Shamans and others in the metaphysical world that the dark of the moon (the new moon) is the time that the veil between the worlds is thinner, making travel between them easier. With the extra gravitational pull created by a full moon, more positive ions are created. Most investigative teams believe that there is a higher activity level during these times.
Since I believe that paranormal investigations and hauntings are directly tied to life… the investigators, clients and those doing the hauntings… I like to weave a little philosophy into my columns. While gathering information and fact checking, I found a quote that sounded so much like my life (and most likely yours too) I had to included it.
There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storms. ~ Willa Cather
May you continue to ride the storms out, all the while learning from them as you go.
About the Author:
Through her work on the investigative team for the Crawford County Illinois Ghost Hunters, Rebecca Nidey has an understanding of the paranormal, spiritual, and metaphysical worlds and how they work together.
Rebecca has trained in the Healing Touch technique (a form of energy healing). She is a certified Psychic Medium trained by Belle Salisbury, and she is a certified Paranormal Researcher.
Rebecca is the associate editor for Bellesprit Magazine and also writes a column titled Everything I Need To Know I Learned In A Haunted House. She has been a co-host of several radio programs for the Haunted Voices Radio Network and HeyZ Radio Network highlighting the Paranormal, metaphysical and literary fields.
To learn more about Rebecca or to schedule a reading you can contact her at https://www.facebook.com/rebecca.nidey.
