Ten paranormal investigators were looking for ghosts, spirits and other entities on a night in early Autumn 2010. According to reports by some neighbors, there was a haunting at the site in Paços de Ferreira, a small town in Portugal. Some of the investigators got quite a scare, but they captured a once-in-a-lifetime photograph of what they claim is a ghost.
Joaquim Coelho started to feel pressure in his head and ears, nausea and cold shivers. That's what usually happens when he claims to sense paranormal activity. Then he saw a figure and his fellow investigators took dozens of photographs inside the structure. One photograph revealed a strange shadow wrapped in a kind of smoke. Joaquim has no doubts when he states that this image shows something beyond our material world.
Joaquim Coelho, now aged 35, had just founded Team Anormal, a group of paranormal investigators. They had been working together for six months when they performed this investigation at Casa da Praça, an 18th century abandoned house. The investigation was described as extremely intense, with some investigators shedding tears of fear.
How to Catch a Ghost to Capture in a Photograph
In Joaquim Coelho's opinion, extrasensory perception "is not enough" and might not be an extremely reliable method for investigating paranormal activity. Therefore, technology plays a major role in paranormal investigations.
Joaquim says that "ghosts are energy that came out of nothing", so he and his staff always use Electronic Magnetic Field (EMF) Detectors. It's believed that where there's a ghost, there will be a magnetic field disruption.
The Infrared Thermal Scanner is also a very important gadget to use. Guys from Team Anormal already witnessed sudden temperature decreases from 10 degrees Celsius. That might indicate some paranormal activity.
They used a digital camera with night vision, a digital camera with infrared capabilities and a digital voice recorder. Digital voice recorders are said to capture what our ears can't hear. These devices are used to capture EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) while the investigators make a circle, join hands and try to speak with the entities that might be present. Digital cameras with 8 megapixels or better can reveal what human eyes can't see, particularly when zoom in in the photos. That's how Team Anormal got the photo of their ghost.
Trying to Capture a Ghost to Photograph in a Haunted House
Casa da Praça was built on the 18th century by the Barbosas, a rich local family that eventually went on the decline. In the 19th century, this property, with a chapel inside, was used to shelter Companhia das Ordenanças, a paramilitary force.
Old neighbors have said the house is haunted. But now, those days are about to come to an end because there are plans to build a hotel at the site. Joaquim Coelho is curious and hopes investigate the site in the future to determine if the hotel will be haunted.
"Not Every Flashlight is an Orb"
Many investigators identify bright points in their pictures as orbs. Orbs are small energy particles that some claim to be spirit manifestations. Joaquim Coelho doesn't believe in orbs because the flash of digital cameras is very sensitive to dust and humidity. Therefore, it "is easy to get some bright points" in photographs, particularly those that are taken at night.
"That was not what happened that night in Casa da Praça", assured Joaquim. "I always sense something when there's an entity around."
David Sousa usually operates the Infrared Thermal Scanner and he's a skeptical. "I never saw anything and I never felt anything at all", he explained. He defends that "not every decrease of temperature means the presence of a spirit", but he also admits that sometimes it's hard to explain some phenomena, like the events and the picture that was taken at Casa da Praça.
Sources:
- Sit-down interview with Joaquim Coelho and David Sousa, from Team Anormal.
- Telephone interview with Joaquim Coelho.
- portugalparanormal.com/.
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