www.ghostsofohio.org December 2009—Volume 7 Issue 2 From the Spooky Desk of James A. Willis: Looking Back at 2009 Since it seems to still able to provide us with first-hand a meeting with him back further and have become a tradition encounters from the original Mothman further. And now, with his passing, I at the end of every year sightings in the late 60s continues to will never have the opportunity to tell to take a look back at dwindle. With less people able to vouch Mr. Holzer how much he meant to me… those whom we have lost, for the creature’s existence, Mothman at least not in this life. I thought I would take a moves yet another step closer to the land With that in mind, if I could offer moment to talk about two of legend. you but one bit of advice for the coming people that the Earlier in the year, on April 26th, year, it would be this; don’t ever miss an James paranormal community author and ghost hunter Hans Holzer opportunity to remind those around you lost in 2009. passed away leaving behind an just how much they mean to you. On July 3rd, 2009, the paranormal enormous wealth of research in the form Because one day, they will be gone and community lost perhaps one of its most of his books. As many of my family and all you’ll be left with are their memories. 1 enigmatic people, John Keel. While he close friends will tell you, Hans Holzer Cheers, had been an author and UFO buff most has always been inspiration to me, ever James A. Willis of his life, Keel would be forever linked since I was a small child. An early Founder/Director to the infamous Mothman when he reader, I was first exposed to Holzer’s began looking into the strange work at the tender age of 6 with his occurrences taking place in and around Ghost Hunter. Since that point, I was Pt. Pleasant, West Virginia, in the late obsessed with Holzer because he 1960s. His resulting book, The embodied the two things I loved in life: Mothman Prophecies, which was filled writing and looking for ghosts. Plus, with Keel’s first-hand account of what Holzer was known to sometimes be a bit he witnessed in Pt. Pleasant, became the of a cranky SOB, which reminded me a cryptozoological bible for anyone lot of my own father. looking into the Mothman. Over the years, my personal library Keel’s passing represents a two-fold would become home to literally dozens loss for the paranormal community. First of first editions of his book. I also had and foremost, we have lost perhaps the “meeting Hans Holzer” on my To Do last of the Mothman research pioneers, list, if for no other reason than to thank which leads to an even broader change. him for being such an inspiration to me. The Ghosts Give Back! Find out more With Keel gone, the number of those Sadly, I kept pushing trying to schedule about this year’s charity drive on Page 2. The Unveiling of the KAPoS System Greetings, readers, Kaleidoscopic Anomalous and welcome to my first Paranormal outburst Sensor (KAPoS) newsletter article! As a From the Greek, the word member of The Ghosts of kaleidoscope literally means a device for Ohio paranormal viewing beautiful forms. Here, it applies investigation team, I am to the ever-changing and shifting the architect for the probe-reading signatures we observe on Vernier LabPro system, the laptop computer interface. From Mark which I have worked to within these multiple layers of probe turn into what we refer to as the KAPoS signatures scrolling by in real time, at measurement system. Some of you may the rate of two readings per second, we have wondered over time about that search for the unexpected anomalous funny little acronym, so bear witness readings that could portend a paranormal now to this first public unveiling of its outburst. Of course, KAPoS is a lot true meaning, kept hidden even from easier to say! What does the future hold for Ghostly Talk Radio? Turn to Page 3 for details. Jim until the time was right! Continued on Page 4 Do You Believe? Page 1 Volume 7 Issue 2 Darrin’s Tech Talk: Robert Bess and The Para-What? A lot of talk has equipped with electromagnets, lasers, with the demonstration that was filmed going around since this sensors, internal and external digital by NBC in May of 2007. I was finally past Halloween’s episode thermometers, and magnetic locks—to able to find the footage of this but I can’t Jeff of Ghost Adventures, and detect and capture these low-cycling really say that it shows a ghost being it all revolves around a energy fields. caught and made visible: http:// man named Robert Bess. The chamber is built on top of a www.austindesignworks.net/3MileLock. This article, however, robotic 3x3-foot platform with four The video basically shows Bess setting isn’t about the wheels. Powered by two eight-pound up one of his first versions of the Darrin controversial throw of his lithium quartz batteries, it tops out at containment unit. At one point it starts to EMF meter. It’s about his invention, the 25–30 mph and can pirouette on a dime. fill with smoke and then he tells the Parabot. The Parabot, or Paranormal The chamber is remotely controlled, but people present they have witnessed Containment Chamber as he calls it, is a it can be voice-activated if necessary. history—the first capture and device that is supposed to hunt down, If the EM sensors on the chamber containment of a ghost. Bess never goes trap, contain and make ghosts visible. detect an energy field, its doors open, into any detail as to how he is able to Does it work, and if it does, how does it and it moves in the direction of what it know that his experiment is a success work? There isn’t much out there on this senses. Once it captures the energy in and the container looks to simply be seemingly amazing piece of equipment the chamber, the doors will shut and the filled with smoke. or on its inventor. massive eight-foot Tesla coil inside the But at least it’s more than what he The best description I could find of unit produces 1.4 million watts of got with his newest version of the the Parabot and Bess’s theory on how it energy, "feeding" the EM field until it Parabot that was used on Ghost works was on the Ghost Adventures cycles at a far faster or higher rate, Adventures. During the live broadcast, it website: (http://www.travelchannel.com/ rendering the spirit visible. did little more than make a lot of noise. Ghost_Adventures_Live/gear-and- Confused? Welcome to the club. It is unfortunate that there isn’t more on equipment/robert-bess-parabot- How all this is supposed to work is a the Internet from him about his containment-chamber.html). mystery. invention and how it works. His theory The science behind the containment Robert Bess himself is some what of and invention are very interesting and if chamber is based on the theory that a mystery as well. He is the they work like he says they do I would ghosts are able to harness, and move founder of the Foundation for think he would want to show it off and about as, electromagnetic (EM) fields in Paranormal Research: http:// talk about it as often as he could. Until our dimension. However, because these www.foundationforparanormalresearch. that time, I look forward to his next spirits cycle at such a low rate, humans us/. This website has very little attempt and maybe, just maybe, finding can't see them. information about the man or, as the site out how the darn thing is supposed to Bess designed his eight-foot-tall, claims, his many inventions. The work! four-foot-wide plexiglass Parabot—fully Parabot is only briefly mentioned along The Ghosts Give Back: The Firefighters 4 Kids Toy Drive The Ghosts of Ohio has always into broadening our scope of toy prided itself on giving back to the donations for 2010. Of course, we’ll also community, especially during the be looking into ways that The Ghosts holidays. In the past, we have been can reward you for your generosity, too! involved with Ohio Toys For Tots drives. This year, The Ghosts of Ohio took part in the Firefighters 4 Kids toy drive. Ghosts of Ohio members, family, and friends were asked to bring a new, unwrapped toy to our annual Merry Scary Christmas party and place it under our spooky tree. Afterwards, all the toys were gathered up and hand-delivered to local firefighters on Saturday, December 12th. The Ghosts of Ohio personally donated 43 toys to the less fortunate. So many of you have asked how you can get involved that we will be looking The Ghosts of Ohio donated over 40 toys to children in need at this year’s party. Do You Believe? Page 2 Volume 7 Issue 2 Ghostly Talk Paranormal Radio: A Silence That Speaks Volumes What is becoming of the paranormal community? On the outside, the plethora of ghost reality shows on television and paranormal talk shows on James the Web seem to hint that things have never been better. And yet, there are those who believe that our community has lost its way and is now more concerned with fame and fortune rather than serious research.