Northeast Forensic Paranormal Research

From September 19, 2009 to October 10, 2009 a workshop was held for people interested in Paranormal Research. On September 26, 2009 and again on October 10, 2009 this group was allowed access to the original Shaker Site in Albany N.Y.  Listed on this page will be their photos and their impressions of those photos as they are received by me. I may also offer my opinion as well. Once everyone else’s photos are posted I will post my photos.

NOTICE: The Watervliet Shaker historic site in Colonie, New York is owned by Albany County and is regularly patrolled by the Albany County Sheriff Department.  The grounds of the historic site are closed to the public after dusk.  The County Sheriff Dept will stop and question anyone found on the grounds after dusk and will prosecute anyone who is deemed to be trespassing.  Shaker Heritage Society regularly offers opportunities for night time paranormal photography during organized workshop sessions.  See www.shakerheritage.org for details.

This is an excellent photo.  In this photo you can clearly see the foreground and all objects in front of the window.  There is no question as to what this is or what it may or may not be.   In the widow if you were to zoom in is a reflection of a cat.  However there is no cat in the rest of the photo.  The cat is in the bottom left and center window pains. Enlargement below

In terms of Photogrammetry, in order for this cat to be seen in the dimensions that it is seen, it would need to be within ten feet of the widow.  Even though it appears that the camera may be slightly angled to the window it is not angled enough that the cat would be in an area that is not visible in the photo.  This cat would have to be not only within ten feet of the window, it would have to be almost directly in front of the window. 

I believe that if an infrared camera instead of regular digital camera was used not only would Jim have captured the reflection of the ghost cat but the entity itself.  I believe the entity was sitting on the air shaft that crosses in front of the window. 

Trish and Justin’s Analysis: look at the top window on the left. In the middle pane of the second row of panes from the bottom, I see a face, a little distorted.

 Ann DeMarco’s Analysis: When you zoom in on this widow it does appear to be a distorted face in the window.  This is the only photo that I have to review which means a photo comparison is not possible.  On the property there are styled street lights.  Without a series of photos to compare it is very difficult to make any definitive statements.  This may very well be the reflection of the lights on the property.  Most of the time if there is an image looking out the window it will be clearly inside the window. This image appears to be on the outside surface of the window; my opinion is that this is a reflection.  It is inconclusive to be more than that.

The Ann Lee Nursing home is located on the Shaker Property.  It is a closed facility that has been shut down for several years at this point.  Ales and Elizabeth gave me verbal description of what they experienced.  They state that while on the grounds taking photos Elizabeth saw a female entity in this window.  They took a total of three photos of this particular window.   The camera use was a standard digital camera without infrared capability.   Enlargement below

This photo is of interest however the information is subjective and not objective. If you look closely, you can see what appear to be roughly eyes in the outlined area. When looking at the other two photos, you can rule out a defect of the class, defect or distortion caused by the curtains, and since this is a closed facility it is confirmed that no one was in the building. This image does not show up on the other photos.  Is this enough to say that what you see is a partial apparition? No.  Is it enough to say subjectively since the site is confirmed haunted and there is a personal story of seeing an entity at the time of the photo, this may be some kind of trace element of an entity?  Sure.  If this was taken with an infrared camera, there very well may have been a better chance to capture what Elizabeth saw.

With all of the photos from the students, it is only now that I am able to review the ones I took.  Here is an orb.  I have performed many tests with this camera to see just how dust and bugs appear in photos.  With that said, here is an orb.  I used a tri pod and the framed photo was locked into place.  I took two photos and this is in one of them.  You can see a little bit of a blur which means that this orb was in motion.  This is an infrared camera and there was nothing on the radiator, nor was the radiator on.  This is also a place where I captured many thngs during my original investigation.

This is a pair of photos.  They were taken in the barn and there is an anomaly that should not be there.  Looking through the doorway you can see what is called plasma.  It appears in both photos with slight changes between the two.  The two photos were taken less than 2 seconds apart.  Note: the photos were cropped and enlarged so the photos may appear to be two different sizes however they are not. Keep in mind that I use infrared cameras. In order for this to show up as a bright object it must emit infrared energy.  

The Executive Director of the Shaker Heritage Society told me on a couple of occasions that photos taken during events at the site will routinely have orbs in the audience.  One specific photo, I was told that there were many orbs along the front row of an event as if the spirits were watching the event.  I have also experienced this, while giving a lecture at the meeting house people were allowed to take photos at the end and sure enough as described, orbs were abundant.

So what? You say.  During the initial investigation I spent 2 hours in the meeting room alone and did not captured a single orb.  The reason I am telling this story is that while the S.H.S. was setting up for a recent event at the meeting house, I joked that the Shakers would probably get here early and get the good seats.  Well this photo shows an obvious orb among the seats.  Apparently, this shaker did want to get a good seat early, the event by the way was the next day. 

Saturday, October 17, 2009

There has been a great deal of discussion about this photo. There is now more information.  This is why you need more than just one photo of anything, you need to compare.  I found the photos that I took of this window in my archives and compared to this window.  Also, the Shaker Heritage Society provided photos of the person they think is just one of those haunting the site.  I can now say that there is a face in the window, not only can I say that, I can offer you a possible person who that may be. I have posted a side by side comparison so you can be the judge.  The person on the left is named Brother Josiah.  On the right, the image is highlighted in green.  I am still discussing the bottom half of the window and comparing photos of the original meeting house to determine what is in the bottom half of the window. Thanks to Anne Clothier, Education Director for her assistance on this photo.  Josiah was the last of the shaker leaders and was the one who oversaw the construction of the current barn. He passed away in the early 1920's.

Previous discussions  

It is common for this kind of back and forth with photo analysis, it makes for stronger definitive statements. 

 Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Analysis by James Lansing: I think one could 'see' a figure of a woman in the window.  In 2nd row down, middle window, it can be construed as eyes, eyebrows and nose. The middle part of window obscures any mouth.  In 3rd row, 1st pane, some contrast like the side of a body in dark against a slightly less dark background.  3rd row, middle pane - could be a hand to the chin or throat.  Taken as a whole - it appears to be a woman looking out the window in period garb...or simply visual 'noise' and an anthropomorphic interpretation.

Ann DeMarco’s analysis:  When you zoom in on the window what appears to be the body (the bottom half of the window) of the person is most likely the reflection of the building called the Ministry Building.  If you look carefully you can see the reflection of individual windows of a building.  The Ministry Building also has a pitched roof that is what you are most likely seeing in the window.  As far as the upper portion of the window, with the head/face, it is inconclusive.  I would need another direct photo of that window for photo comparison. 

 Sunday, October 11, 2009

James and I are both right on this one.  There is something in this window that should not be.  There appears to be a reflection of a building.  The question is what building?  It is not the Ministry building.  It maybe a building that no longer exists, we are waiting for additional information.   

This is another excellent photo.  This was taken by Diane Drauch while photographing the barn which orbs are routinely reported.   Diane used the techniques taught in the workshop correctly and provided two photos of the same area, this is the result. If she used an infrared camera, she may have caught much more. 

In terms of the orb, if you were to look closely you can see the orbs sphere shape, dust or bugs would not show up like this. Since there is an identical photo without the orb this is not a light flare.  A light flare would show in both photos since they were taken seconds apart and are of the same framed shot. 

What is the significance of blue, some believe that people with blue auras are peacemakers and have the ability to calmly smooth out angry situations. They emphasize truthfulness, direct communication and clarity in all their relationships.  I would say this is a trait of the Shakers.