Elizabeth:  What prompted you to become involved in paranormal investigation? Did you have a paranormal experience or involvement in a paranormal event?

Jon: I encountered one too many apparitions in my life to explain these experiences away easily and decided to do something about it. My ability to see shadows and occasionally hear spirits talking had a lot to do with it. I suppose the most stunning event was my encounter with a woman who materialized in my home many years back at three o'clock in the morning and which was my first truly shocking personal event that convinced me of the reality of the other side beyond simple “fleeting” experiences that I'd had all of my life.

I had heard spirits and had seen black and grey shadows for years, but it was always just on the edge of being “real” and I could always find a rational way to explain them away while knowing in my heart that these were truly spiritual and paranormal events.

Shortly after my father had a stroke in 2007, there was a huge increase in paranormal activity here at our property and I decided then and there to really jump head-first into the field whereas I had only been dabbling before. I've never looked back nor regretted the choice to take my life in this direction. I've made countless contacts and friends and this has become a life of meaning and excitement that I would never leave after having had such wonderful experiences living it all first-hand.

Elizabeth:  Please explain your definition of what is “Paranormal.” And does it differ from what is “Supernatural”? Do you remember using one definition instead of the other? Why?

Jon: Paranormal events are such that they defy rational explanation and yet which lie in the realm of physical laws of nature that exist in spite of our seeming command and understanding of the natural world. We are not yet mature enough as a species to truly understand these phenomena but will soon gain the understanding and ability to explain and even predict and work with such phenomena as our understanding grows and the science catches up with what we are witnessing and experiencing.

Supernatural events are those happenings that have a more “mystical” sense to them and which overlap and nearly coincide with paranormal events. The supernatural operates beyond physics and therefore outside of normal laws of the universe because of some outside agency, force or entity manipulating or bending these immutable laws to create spectacular effects and happenings.

I tend to use the paranormal term more because I believe that most events we encounter in this field are simply natural interactions with spiritual and physical phenomena and which will eventually find scientific explanation.

I do, however, believe in the existence of God and thus subscribe to the idea that there are supernatural events that do occur as a result of interactions with this force or deity who plays a key role in our very existence and whose interventions one may describe as “supernatural”. Mystical and miraculous occurrences in which lives are saved or changed as a result of such phenomena are good examples in point.

Elizabeth:  Have you found that particular environments are more inclined to paranormal activity? If so, please explain, maybe give examples.

Jon: Any place may be given towards paranormal activity, but those where lots of people congregate and where lots of emotional stress and distress have occurred tend to have more. Prisons, mental hospitals, hospitals and disaster zones as well as war zones are the natural first thoughts that come to mind. There are also graveyards, freeways where many accidents have occurred and historical sites where key events in the history of humanity have taken place and where paranormal events take place regularly.

In my own experiences, I find most of the gold country of El Dorado county and surrounding (where I live) to have activity in the oldest buildings and in areas where hangings, robberies and murders occurred. Because of the sheer mass of humanity that descended on California during the 1849 gold rush days, there was a lot of this kind of thing throughout California and the Sierra Nevada.

To top that off, we even have Confederate and Union civil war sites here (yes, even in California) where a lot of inflamed passions left imprints that we pick up to this day. I have one EVP telling me “Burn Yankee” from a bar over in Georgetown that made me laugh until I found it was a Confederate morgue. I wear a distinctive fighter pilot jacket that must have made the guy think I was a Union soldier and now I'd love to go back wearing a Union officer's clothing and then a Confederate officer's clothing to test the reaction to each.

Because of this, I believe we have a unique distinction as having some of the most haunted sites in the U.S.A. because of the passions and death that surrounded  the area I now reside and hunt spirits in.

Elizabeth: Jon, I know you have a keen interest and experience in capturing and analyzing EVPs, so I’d like to focus a few questions on the EVP experience, But, first, please give a brief explanation of what an EVP is.

Jon: EVPs are “Electronic Voice Phenomena” and constitute the capture of voices or sounds on electronic recording devices that were not heard by the people present during the time of the recording. EVP voices often contain signatures that distinguish them from normal voices with a characteristic “pop” along with musical sounding voices that are commonly encountered.

Additionally, we run into what we call “Site Signatures” that are unique to the given site we hunt at. In some sites here, we've encountered EVPs that are preceded by the sounds of cards shuffling or poker chips being moved around or by the sounds of laughter or groans. Each site is unique and we've come to believe these are tied to the unique personalities we encounter time and again as we investigate sites repeatedly.

That brings up another point. We run into the same spirits again and again on cases. That is why is makes sense to keep good records and really know the place you are investigating. In some cases, these entities seem to recognize us and even know our names and speak them in the recordings we capture. Other paranormal teams have reported similar findings of this nature.

The GRI broadcast studios continue to evolve. I write these articles to help benefit others who do podcasting or, as I do, use BlogTalkRadio with Skype to host their shows.

In the last article, I described how I was using a cell phone to dial into the show and then dialed into the show via Skype on the broadcast computer as a call-in. That Skype computer is specially tuned to handle broadcast of Skype from the lessons learned from a great tutorial on the subject:

http://www.digitalpodcast.com/podcastnews/2007/12/25/how-to-record-a-podcast-using-skype/

This single article made it possible for us to change the entire way we did broadcast on BlogTalkRadio. Between that and the acquisition of a Belkin Desktop Skype phone, we experienced a complete revolution in the way we do our shows.

We recently made some changes in our dial in process as our lessons learned have gone forward. The current process for dialing in and setting up the show is as follows:

1. Dial in on the Belkin Desktop phone. Mute the phone and turn down the volume. Place the handset on a towel to muffle any noise.
2. On Blogtalkradio, mute the host mic for good measure (via the switchboard).
3. Dial in from the broadcast computer.
4. Answer the call in via the switchboard.
5. Showtime T-1 minute, turn down the mixer input for mic and go into audio isolation and let the show start.
6. Away we go!

I own an "original" model TriField (TM) meter made by AlphaLabs in Utah. These are amazingly sensitive devices and employ some sophisticated circuitry to do the job they do. As is the case with most of the tools in a ghost hunter's bag of tricks, we often press technologies meant for one purpose to use in another out of sheer necessity and by virtue of the fact that the tool WORKS when detecting paranormal phenomena.

As I'm still learning to use my meter, I thought it wise to collect, in one place, as much information as possible about the use of these meters in paranormal research along with a "How-To" for the average investigator. I'm also putting specifications from the manufacturer into the article so there is one complete source to look to. Always check the sources for new and more recent information just to be sure but do know we will try to keep this article updated over time.

So we'll cover a short history of the device, it's uses and then get right into the "How-To" for our intended purposes. At the end of the article, we'll provide specifications and reference data direct from the manufacturer web sites ( with links ).

First off, let's look at a video with a nice "How-To" and background on the TriField meter:



The Natural meter is covered here:



I am uncertain as to this date if the magnetic or electric field on the original trifield is the correct setting to use for detecting a haunt. The "Natural" model uses a "sum" setting to bring both inputs into one simple measurement but I think the original model would be best used in the magnetic at the zero-3 milligauss setting for paranormal research. I'm hoping to stand corrected by some knowing source out there so I can correct this part of the article if I am off in this assertion.

I will, for the time being try an investigation with using various settings to see how it goes and then comment more as my experiences progress.

A nice article on the capabilities of the TriField meter is provided below (Note, this refers to the "Natural" meter which is similar to the original model. There are some differences in capabilities, but they are made by the same manufacturer. This content comes from http://www.trifieldmeter.com and we recommend visiting their site to see their very complete and well-written information on the Tri-Field Natural meter:

The TriField Natural EM Meter detects changes in extremely weak static (or natural") electric and magnetic fields. It signals with both a tone and the movement of a needle-type gauge if either the electric or magnetic field changes from previous levels. A radio and microwave detector is also included, which reads radio power directly if any transmitters are nearby. Since man-made AC electric and magnetic fields are very common and could interfere with readings of static fields, the meter has been designed to ignore the AC fields of power lines, appliances, etc.

This meter was designed to satisfy the need for natural field measurements in specialized research areas. It can detect "geomagnetic storms" caused by unusual solar activity interacting with the ionosphere (which results in rapid changes of up to 10% in the Earth's magnetic field), as well as the electrical activity of ordinary thunder storms. Ball lightning should in theory be associated with a strong magnetic field, and magnetization of metal has been reported with some UFO sightings. When set on MAGNETIC, the Natural EM Meter will signal the movement of any strong magnetic source in the sky, even if the sky is cloudy or the source dips behind a hill. Since construction materials generally do not block magnetic fields, the meter can be placed indoors and work equally well. The built-in tone allows its use in the dark.

The meter is sensitive to changes of as little as 0.5% of the strength of the Earth's magnetic field, and the tone will sound whether the field increases or decreases. If the magnetic field then becomes stable for more than about five seconds, the tone will stop and the needle will return to zero. The meter will remain at rest until the field changes again. The threshold level, or "squelch", of the tone is adjustable. The user determines the amount of change in the magnetic field (within a 0.5 second interval) required to sound the tone. If the field changes by a threshold amount, the tone will come on at at lower pitch. If the amount of change is large, the tone will be higher.

When the dial is set to ELECTRIC, the meter is sensitive to electric fields as weak as 3 V/m (volts per meter). To illustrate just how feeble a field this is, a l0'xl0'xl0' room filled with a field of this strength has a total amount of energy equivalent to that required to lift a single grain of table salt 1/50th of an inch. Indoors, electric fields typically fluctuate 1 or 2 V/m. By setting the minimum sensitivity to change at 3 V/m, we have designed the meter to disregard this "background noise".

Human beings and animals usually emit an electric field which is easily detectable using the Natural EM Meter. In fact, the meter can be used as a motion-activated intruder alarm. It is so sensitive that it can detect the presence of a person through a wall. Though it is not foolproof in this capacity, (sometimes a person will carry NO electric charge and thus be "invisible" to the meter), its sensitivity is of interest to researchers in the field of parapsychology, especially "ghost hunters". Every type of detectable physical manifestation requires a certain amount of energy. For example, "moving air" requires the expenditure of a small amount of energy to get the air to move initially.

Below is a table showing several types of effects or fields emitted by people and objects. It also shows the minimum amount of energy required (per cubic foot of air) to set up that effect or field so that it is stronger than typical indoor "background noise" for that effect or field. Clearly the static electric field is the type that requires the least energy to be detectable.