Hello again! Here we are mid-December and I can’t believe it. At first it felt like 2020 would never end…..now it seems we are heading into 2021 at warp speed. Not a bad thing really since this year really sucked.

Today I am going to talk about something else that sucks within the paranormal: orbs.

My Early Days

I have had an interest in the paranormal since I began having experiences in childhood. I heard and saw things other people couldn’t for as along as I can remember and, always a part of my life, it wasn’t a frightening thing. It just was what it was.

I first learned of orbs when I started reading and watching stuff about the paranormal but before I started ghost hunting. Then, when I started investigating the paranormal, orbs were the first thing I heard about. I heard about it from people that had been in the field, veteran investigators who seemed to know a lot about it. I thought “ok I need to keep an eye out for orbs!” I mean…..why would I question veteran investigators when I didn’t know a thing myself?

Over the Years

I don’t know what you heard or learned about orbs but for me is started out like this:

• Orbs are a collection of energy;

• Orbs occur prior to a manifestation; and

• Orbs do not mean a manifestation will always occur, only that a manifestation may occur.

Later, I was taught a little more about orbs:

• Orbs emit their own light (they are their own light source);

• Orbs come in different colors and the colors have meaning;

  • White or light colored orbs were spirits trying to communicate;

  • Black or dark colored orbs were associated with negative or mean spirits;

  • Blue orbs were associated with an emotional situation; and

  • Red orbs were intense or even aggressive spirits.

I don’t recall who taught me what, and I don’t even recall all of the colors and their meanings anymore. I mean……..that was 20+ years ago. I never really bought into the color thing because there was really no way to confirm or verify it. I never had an experience that was orb-related and interactive enough for a long enough period of time to get sufficient answers to my questions to make a determination.

Then I Heard More About Orbs

Then investigators were claiming to see faces in orbs. Smiling faces, sad faces, whatever. Now at this point, I was shaking my head. Pareidolia…….DING! DING! DING!!! In case you are not familiar with pareidolia, it is seeing or hearing familiar objects, words, or patterns in otherwise random, nonsensical, or unrelated objects, patterns, sounds, or events. In other words, our brains try to make sense of something it does not, cannot recognize and we end up perceiving something else.

Why I Don’t Want to Hear About Orbs

I have learned over the years that sometimes people see orbs but really it is dust, moisture in the air, pollen, bugs, or hell……maybe even Tinkerbell. People send me photos on and off for my evaluation and I first pay attention to where they are.

1. Are they outdoors? Strike one. Being outside complicates things in a major way simply because there is so much that can be in the air that cannot by controlled or managed during the investigation. Smoke, fog, pollen, insects, etc. It just makes things way to messy to really give an thorough investigation and evaluation to determine if it is indeed an orb. I remember investigating at Pennhurst when they had huge composts heaps outside. Every flash of the camera revealed thousands of particles in the air.

2. Are there animals nearby or are there animals living onsite? Strike two. Pet dander can be a big issue when it comes to orb photos.

3. Does the photo include a window or mirror? Strike three. Dirty windows and mirrors are such an obvious thing but people miss it all the time. They think they see something in front of the window or mirror but is it? Hard to tell without a three dimensional image.

4. Are they in an old building? A prison, old school, a building with no windows? Strike four. All of these things introduce sources of contamination because of dust, flaky paint, insects, etc. I have been to some great places (i.e. prisons and jails, old schools and courthouses, historic homes and mansions, etc) and a lot of times they are not well maintained. When you are in a place like that, photos are easily debunked. If in doubt, throw it out.

5. Are there sources of light contamination nearby? Strike five. Passing headlights, camera flashes, flashlights, UV flash lights, and reflective surfaces are just a few of the things that need to be evaluated and debunked as possible sources. Remember that if you are near uncovered windows or if you are investigating a place near a street that many of your photos are subject to debunking.

6. Is there an air vent nearby? Strike six. Air vents are notorious sources of dust. Also, if someone kicks up dust nearby, the air vent can easily carry particles in the air if the air or heat is running.

What I Tell New Paranormal Investigators

The first thing I tell a newbie is to not get caught up in orbs. I don’t want to hear a thing about orbs unless there is something striking or unique (i.e. a ridiculously bright light emanating or movement in direct and repeated response to questions). To date I have never seen one that was striking or unique in any way. They have always hit one of my reasons to throw it out…….and so I do. Paranormal rule of thumb: when in doubt, throw it out.

Conclusion

Orbs are crap. There. I said it. There are too many things that can present as orbs and there is no one perfect way to determine yay or nay. Therefore, they end up being huge time wasters. Don’t get caught up in them because they will likely be thrown out if you have a high level of discernment and debunk thoroughly (as you should). If you have something that is striking or unique, feel free to share it. I would LOVE to be proven wrong.

Make this beautiful day count!