The Witches Tower

Hidden in plain sight of San Diego's iconic Father Serra Museum is a small monument with a rather intriguing name. Hope you enjoy this informative and entertaining video from Sidetrack Adventures exploring this local landmark. Enjoy!

A Scientific Approach to Paranormal Investigating

This video presentation by Carrie Poppy from TED describes the need for a scientific approach to paranormal investigating. We couldn't agree more! We hope you enjoy this video, and be sure to register an account on our free forum and strike up a conversation with us.

Sleep Paralysis - The Truth Behind the Terror

Has this ever happened to you?

One moment you're sound asleep. The next moment you're wide awake. You try to move but you can't. You're aware of pressure on your body, as if someone is sitting on your chest. You try to open your mouth and scream, but you are paralyzed. You feel and hear something breathing in your ear, and you're convinced this is not a hallucination. 

Welcome to the mysterious phenomenon known as Sleep Paralysis: an overlap between our REM and waking stages of sleep. In this fascinating video from TED-ed, Ami Angelowicz describes the science behind this terrifying anomalous state of consciousness.

An Evening with PPI at the Creole Cafe

Pacific Paranormal Investigations was honored to host a group EVP vigil at the New Orleans Creole Cafe in Old Town, San Diego on Thursday May 21, 2015. This special event was hosted by our friends at San Diego Ghost and Paranormal Group (SDGAP), the largest paranormal meetup group in California.

PPI investigators Brian Miller, Tim Mountain and Debra Page reviewed basic procedures and protocols for EVP vigils, and the participants suggested new approaches to conducting EVP vigils in group settings.

"The evening was a great success," Brian Miller said. "We always have a great time working with our friends and colleagues from SDGAP, and we look forward to working with them again soon."

Seeing Ain't Believing: Visual Anomalies & Misperception

One of the most inherently unreliable claims of paranormal activity are eye witness reports. The disciplines of Science and Medicine have helped us understand that "seeing" isn't necessarily "believing". There are many different biological factors related to vision that present day paranormal investigators should be aware of before going out in the field, because they can be misinterpreted as paranormal experiences when, in fact, they are not. The following video from TED-ed explains a couple of the most common ones. Enjoy! 

Inventory of the Invisible: How Much Do We Really Know About the Physical World?

Our understanding of physical reality is based primarily on visual verification, so it is very humbling from a scientific standpoint to think about the many things we aren't able to see, and therefore, don't really understand. This video from TED-ed  is especially enlightening when applied to the study of paranormal phenomenon. Enjoy!

Happy New Year from your Friends at PPI!

Tonight is New Year's Eve, and as we gather with friends and family to celebrate the opportunities that await us in the coming year, we feel compelled to engage in the time-honored tradition of making "New Year's Resolutions". Our New Year's resolution for 2015 as a skeptical inquiry group is to increase our education and public outreach efforts through various types of media, including presentations, podcasts, educational videos and research papers. We will continue working with other like-minded paranormal research groups, and we're planning a couple of field trips to some haunted locations just for fun.   

We begin the New Year eternally grateful for the participation of our friends and colleagues on the PPI Forum, and we look forward to continuing our conversations there. If you're currently not a member, please take a moment register and strike up a conversation with us. There's always a PPI member there willing to talk about anything and everything paranormal. 

Happy New Year to you and yours! May 2015 bring you all peace, happiness and enlightenment!

PPI Presents: October 28, 2014

Join investigators from Pacific Paranormal Investigations for an enlightening presentation on the science behind 21st century paranormal investigations. See and hear evidence from our most recent cases while you learn about the tools used to gather data in alleged haunted locations, learn the importance of applying critical thinking skills to properly analyze data, and discover how to use the public library resources and others to conduct paranormal research.

When: Tuesday October 28, 2014
Where: Lemon Grove Public Library - 3001 School Lane, Lemon Grove, CA 91945
Time: 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm

Free admission!

PPI Presents: October 8, 2014

Join investigators from Pacific Paranormal Investigations for an enlightening presentation on the science behind 21st century paranormal investigations. See and hear evidence from our most recent cases while you learn about the tools used to gather data in alleged haunted locations, learn the importance of applying critical thinking skills to properly analyze data, and discover how to use the public library resources and others to conduct paranormal research.

When: Wednesday October 8, 2014
Where: San Diego Central Library - 330 Park Blvd., San Diego, CA 92101
Time: 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Free admission!

PPI Presents: Audacity for Paranormal Investigators

Friday March 28, 2014 - 7:00 pm
Join Grossmont College English Professor Karl Sherlock and his colleagues from Pacific Paranormal Investigations for an introductory seminar on the use of the open-source software Audacity for paranormal investigators. This seminar is free to Grossmont College students and the general public. The seminar is free and parking is also free. Here's a link to a map of the Grossmont College campus

An Interview with Brian Miller

PPI Co-Director and Tech Manager Brian Miller gave this interview for a journalism student at Grossmont College who was interested in paranormal investigation. The interview took place in April 2013. 

PPI Presents - October 16, 2013

We invite you to join Pacific Paranormal Investigations for an enlightening presentation on 21st century paranormal investigation techniques. Come see and hear some evidence from our most recent cases. Admission is FREE.

The Creole Cafe/Witfeld Drug Store Museum

In preparation for an upcoming paranormal investigation at this location I began researching these intriguing old buildings, and felt compelled to share some of my preliminary findings with our PPI Blog readers. I can see this turning into a full blown research project in the near future, because there is no definitive compilation regarding the history of these buildings, and what little information is available is contradictory. I have an affinity with these buildings going back 30 years when I did volunteer work for the Historical Shrine Foundation of San Diego, who, under the leadership of June Reading, relocated these buildings to the Whaley House grounds in Old Town, and secured funding to restore the buildings from the County of San Diego. Therefore, there should be documents in the San Diego County Archives that address the many questions surrounding their origins, and action taken by the County Supervisors should be reflected in their minutes. Additional information may also be available through the San Diego Historical Society because June Reading wrote extensively of her Foundation's work at the Whaley House. But for time being, the following will have to suffice.  

I have been unable to find any information about the the building that currently serves as the kitchen for the Creole Cafe, but in the late 1970's through the late 1980's the building was used as a coffee shop. It was called "The Spice of Life", and it was a great place to grab a cup of coffee on a cold winter day while investigating the grounds of the Whaley House Museum. June Reading told me that both buildings were moved to the Whaley House property from another location and restored sometime after the Whaley House was restored and opened to the public in 1960 and the San Diego Bicentennial Celebration of 1969. The buildings were pre-fabs that were shipped around Cape Horn to the west coast in the late 1850's or early 1860's. They were basically "kit" buildings that were ordered from a catalog and assembled on site. This type of false front pre-fab building was very common in Old Town in the late 1800's.  

The building which now serves as the dining room of the Creole Cafe was dedicated as the San Diego Drugstore Museum in 1969, and bears a bronze plaque commemorating the occasion. From 1969 through the late 1990's it housed displays assembled by June Reading and the Southern California Pharmaceutical Association. When June passed away in 1998, the Historical Shrine Foundation was disbanded, and responsibility of the buildings was transferred to SOHO. The Creole Cafe opened for business in 2004. 

2013 Tri Quarterly Review

Just wanted to take this opportunity to give everyone update on the state of our paranormal group as we approach the third quarter of 2013.

This has been a challenging year for all of us at PPI, both personally and professionally. We are a very small group and when one or more of us are slammed by outside obligations it has a negative impact on our outreach capablity. Such was the case for 2013, and we had to take a brief hiatus in order to deal with our outside obligations.

During this time the forums on the PPI website were not only silent, but almost totally unused. This was discouraging, because we were battling an evil horde of spammers every day who were determined to overwhelm our defenses. We were averaging between 600 and 1000 forum registrants per week, but they were almost exclusively spambotsbots. Thankfully Karl Sherlock found a solution to this incredibly time consuming problem and the spammers have been forced to look for greener pastures.

We released one incredible podcast in 2013 featuring Edwin Becker, author of "A True Haunting", and we have some raw audio from various get togethers late last year and early this year that we hope to polish before the Halloween season. Our Facebook pages have grown over the year; we now have over 190 "likes" on our Official Facebook Page, and over 280 "likes" on our Group Facebook Page. The PPI Blog has continued to develop and we look forward to adding more articles and material in the coming months. Our affiliation with the TAPS Family of investigators remains strong, and we continue to work with our very good friends from the San Diego Ghost and Paranormal Meetup Group or SDGAP at every available opportunity.

Although many challenges and obstacles remain we look forward to returning to operational capacity. We were honored to do a presentation for Girl Scout Troop 6009 at the Casa de Oro Public Library in Spring Valley on Saturday June 8, 2013, and we have a couple of public presentations that will be announced shortly.

Once again, all of us at PPI wish to thank you for your understanding and patience during this very difficult time. Whether you're new to the paranormal field or an old pro, we encourage you to register for the PPI Forums on our website strike up a conversation with us. We all look forward to chatting with you on the boards. Feel free to resurrect an old thread or start a new one and we will be sure to join the conversation.

An Interview with Debra Page

PPI Case Manager Debra Page gave this interview for a journalism student at Grossmont College who was interested in paranormal investigation. The interview took place in April 2013. 

An Interview with Karl Sherlock

PPI President and Co-Director Karl Sherlock gave this interview for a journalism student at Grossmont College who was interested in paranormal investigation. The interview took place in April 2013.

PPI Presentation for Girl Scout Troop #6009

Pacific Paranormal gave a presentation on Saturday, June 8, 2013 for Girl Scout Troop #6009 from La Mesa, CA at the Community Room of the Casa de Oro Public Library in Spring Valley, CA. 

The team discussed using the public library as a resource for conducting paranormal research, proper use of environmental monitoring equipment during paranormal investigations and the application of critical thinking skills to find rational solutions to alleged paranormal activity.

The troop members were very enthusiastic about our topics. They all asked relevant questions after the presentation. PPI is looking forward to more opportunities to share our experience and knowledge so that a new generation of researchers will be inspired to continue in the paranormal field using scientific method.

"The presentation was very interesting and informative," Troop Leader Tim Hainley said. "I think PPI did an excellent job, and I look forward to attending another presentation in the future."

Here are a few photos from the event:

What's The Best EMF Meter for Paranormal Investigations?

What is the best EMF meter for paranormal field research? If you ask a dozen paranormal investigators you'll probably get a dozen different answers. But if you're looking for an EMF meter that's durable, simple to operate, highly accurate and reasonably priced, there's no better device than the Trifield Natural EM Meter by AlphaLabs.

What are some of the features that make this device ideal for paranormal field research? To begin with, it was designed to ignore common  AC electromagnetic fields in the 50-60Hz range. These fields are emitted by household wiring and power distribution systems, appliances  and HVAC equipment. Most EMF meters used by paranormal investigators today were designed and calibrated to only detect fields in the 50-60Hz range, so if you have fields above or below that frequency range they will be undetectable. The Trifield Natural EM meter is best used to augment a "standard" EMF meter after initial baseline readings are recorded.

Happy Paranormal Day!

There are lots of holidays and observances and every single day of our year seems to have at least one, maybe more. Paranormal Day falls on May 3, the 123rd day of the year.

Celebrate Paranormal Day this week by sharing stories with other paranormal enthusiasts. Watch a paranormal documentary or read about your area's haunted history. Go for a drive and explore a location that is rumored to have paranormal activity. Or visit our website at http://www.pacificparanormal.com/ and join our forum and share your personal experiences with us. Explore our Paranormal Documentary video collection and talk about all things paranormal. We look forward to chatting with you!

SDGAP Presentation - "How To Build a Paranormal Investigative Team"

Tonight PPI investigators Karl Sherlock, Brian Miller, Tim Mountain and Debra Page presented to members of the San Diego Ghost and Paranormal Meet-up Group (SDGAP) at Anna's Restaurant in Lemon Grove, CA. There were 25 members in attendance, and everyone was given ample opportunities to ask questions and share their own personal experiences.

The presentation covered all facets of paranormal investigation, from serious investigations based on either scientific method or the metaphysical approach, to recreational investigations of allegedly haunted hotels and infamous historic locations. More interactive discussion than lecture, the participants were encouraged to share their experiences and talk about many aspects of this fascinating field of study.