The Inspiration for the Mel Meter

The Mel Meter is my favorite piece of equipment to use when ghost hunting.

Gary Gaika

Gary Gaika invented this meter. Gaika is an Electrical Engineer that lives in East Granby, Connecticut with his wife Cindy and daughters.

He invented the Mel Meter out of a grief-stricken need. In 2004, his eldest daughter Melissa aged 17 died in a car crash.

Just days after her death the Gaika family started to experience unexplained phenomenon in their Connecticut home.

Melissa Gaika

They felt Melissa’s ghost was haunting their home. She rang the doorbell, changed the channels on the TV and turned the lights on and off. None of these things happened before Melissa’s death.

At one point Cindy was making lunch with her other two daughters, Jennifer and Heather when they all felt an unseen presence enter the room.

Gary stated when he lies in bed he sometimes feels the weight of someone sit down on his side. Then he feels the pressure of a head against his chest.

He has had his shoulder tapped, and everyone in the family has heard their names called. They all also have felt someone kissing their foreheads.

The youngest daughter, Heather has seen Melissa’s apparition in the home on three different occasions.

In an attempt to communicate with his daughter--knowing she was still present--Gary used his expertise to build a series of electromagnetic detection devices.

One of which is the Mel Meter named after his deceased daughter Melissa.

Eight years after Melissa’s death Gary used one of his devices--a spirit box-- he invented to record Melissa talking to him. She said, “Hi Daddy, I love you.”

Three of Gary's inventions.

Gaika sells his devices from $79 to $350. His meters, the Kll and Mel have been highlighted on the Ghost Adventures and Ghost Hunters television shows. To date, Gary has invented over 30 devises for ghost hunters to use.

Gary states he knows not everyone will believe that Melissa’s ghost was present in their home, but he points out his entire family drew comfort from these encounters.

Beginning of 3rd Year Blogging

This week is the beginning of my 3^rd year blogging.

I just wanted to thank all my loyal readers for coming back to read my posts.

Initially, I started writing Seeks Ghosts in order to share my thoughts and ideas about ghost investigations and I still occasionally do share tips etc.

But Seeks Ghosts has evolved into a platform where I enjoy sharing my favorite ghost stories. Some of these stories are legends, some are true hauntings and some are a mixture of both.

I also share ghost folklore--which has always fascinated me--these stories often reflect what people believed centuries ago.

I have always enjoyed reading the ghost genre so it is logical I enjoy writing ghost stories.

I also enjoy writing stories about curses and guardian angels. In future, I hope to write more posts about these two subjects.

One question I am asked a lot is do I believe in ghosts. I do believe in ghosts but this does not mean I believe every "true haunting" story I share on here.

First and foremost my blog is for entertainment. I enjoy writing these stories and I hope my readers enjoy them.

I am fortunate in that I never seem to experience writer’s block. I owe this to my muse whom I thank out loud on a regular basis. My muse always leads me to my next story and if other things distract me for too long he literally drops my pen off my desk to remind me I should be writing …

Survival Tips When Ghost Hunting

People I have ghost hunted with over the years sometimes have had a physical reaction during an investigation. Some investigators are more sensitive to negative energy than others. Investigators react in a variety of different ways when they encounter this dark energy.

Personally, I know when this type of energy is around because I feel a strong vibration at the back of my skull--this vibration often then travels to my neck making it almost stiff.

Other common reactions that occur include:

Losing focus--becoming disoriented or in a more mild form just becoming distracted.

Feelings of light-headedness or even becoming dizzy--I have been around a few investigators that have even fainted.

A very common reaction is becoming nauseated. I have observed many people literally having to leave a building or space because of this reaction.

As I mentioned above I first feel negative or dark energy on my skull. Many investigators have complained of a feeling of strong pressure on their heads.

Another common reaction is a feeling or sense of oppression or negativity that takes over the investigator’s emotions.

The reactions listed above occur without explainable causes. These reactions are not unique to female investigators--I have seen many males react in the same way.

During investigations a person never knows what they may encounter--this holds true even in places that they have investigated in the past. This uncertainty is one reason experienced investigators emphasize that fact that people should not ghost hunt if:

They have been drinking.

They have a negative attitude.

Or they are not feeling well…

These factors make an investigator more venerable to a negative energy being able to impact them.

Even if an investigator is healthy, alert and positive and ready to investigate there still are a few more steps that can be taken for protection.

Michelle Belanger’s book, The Ghost Hunters Survival Guide: Protection Techniques for Encounters With The Paranormal is a good place to start. Belanger shares how to use “grounding” and “centering” exercises that investigators can do to feel better or protect themselves from future negative physical reactions while investigating.

Her book covers these two methods in detail so I recommend people read it. For this post I will just briefly cover these methods.

Grounding involves shedding unwanted energy.

Centering is when a person protects his or her own energy from “spilling out” where it then can be impacted by negative energy.

Belanger recommends after an investigation people should:

Take a cleansing bath or shower to flush out any negative energy they might have picked up.

Call on a “higher power” to assist and guide them through a cleansing process. This can be based in religious beliefs or not.

Seek a renewed sense of balance and peace within. One method I use is meditation.

Before an investigation, a person can use a variety of methods to arm and protect themselves from negative physical reactions. In other posts I have addressed several possibilities: using White Light Protection, or saying a group pray before and after an investigation.

According to Belanger people can build up resistance to negative energy over a period of time. I have found this to be true.

Belanger recommends:

Set up mental barriers to shield yourself.

People can do this by using “guided visualizations” were they focus upon a barrier that doesn’t allow any negative energy to enter their personal space. This is what White Light Protection essentially does.

If this is too abstract think of this method as--a wall of bricks, or light or a force field that can be buillt around yourself to keep negative energy from entering your personal space.

These exercises should be used with milder reactions--if the investigator experiences disorientation or becomes physically ill fellow investigators should remove them immediately from the environment. This is why people should always ghost hunt with others present. 

The Singapore Theory

Most ghost investigators have used this theory whether they know the name for it or not. 

This theory is in use when an investigator creates an environment that the ghost might be familiar with in hopes of attracting them. The Singapore Theory is sometimes called the “Theory of Familiarization” or just simply, “Paranormal Stimuli.”

The use of Trigger Objects that make a connection to the deceased in some way is this theory in use. An example of this is when toys are used to attract child spirits. * 

Some investigators slam the use of this theory because it doesn’t produce repeatable results. But I have found it does help attract activity that then can be captured on video or on a digital voice recorder.

I give The Singapore Theory credit for creating one standard practice when it comes to investigations. 

Most ghost hunters today realize that it is vital to do research on the history of a place before they investigate it. Of course, this research which often includes interviews with witnesses etc. is not a guarantee that the investigator knows what they might encounter, but it does help. 

For instance, if it is believed the former owner of home haunts it --familiar items such as music can be played or a passage from a book might be read out loud upping the chances a spirit might respond.

Let me mention here--99 percent of the time the specific identity of a ghost cannot be verified. But using items from a different era can draw spirits out regardless.

Here are a couple of examples of how I have put this theory to good use in the past. 

A few years back a team and I investigated a home that was given in trust to a local university in my area. Frank Hibben (1910-2002) built this home and taught at this university. Hibben was an archaeologist, anthropologist, and author. But his passion in life was “big-game hunting” --over the years he set many world records. 

The rooms in his home are filled with hundreds of mounted African animal heads. One room even has a mounted elephant head with footstools made out of its legs. When I first walked in, I ironically felt that there might be more animal spirits in this home than human.

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I took one magazine that did a feature story on Hibben’s home and his passion for big-game hunting and used it during an EVP session. 

I mentioned his hunting feats and told him I was impressed with the quality of the taxidermy work. ** Our EMF’s went off, and we picked up a voice. But of course, I cannot verify this was Hibben responding.

Photo: Dave Dell

At another investigation, we put this theory into practice again. We investigated the St. James Hotel in Cimarron, New Mexico. On the second floor of this hotel in the front hall, there is a “poker room” where Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp, etc. played poker. 

While we did an EVP session in this room, we used the poker chips and cards we had brought to play a round of poker.

Nothing happened while we were in the room but when we left after midnight to go outside for a break, one of our cameras picked up the lamp swinging in this room. We had the window open for it was hot in the hotel--but there was not even a hint of a breeze that night. This video is highlighted in a post I wrote about the St. James here.

A good example of The Singapore Theory in use is during Civil War re-enactments. Of course, these groups are not trying to attract paranormal activity but often they do. When you put on a uniform from another era and re-create a battle--sometimes ghost soldiers that “lived it” show up.

One investigator who used this theory was investigating a medieval monastery in England. He dressed up as a monk and entered the old chapel in hopes of stirring up activity. He got more than he bargained for. He feels that a ghost of a real monk knew he was not the real deal. Invisible hands literally shoved him out of the chapel.

*  In another post I wrote about TriggerObjects.

** I did admire the taxidermy work--but I do not like the concept of displaying trophies from hunting.

Parapsychology: Information all Ghost Hunters Should Know

If you are a  ghost hunter or investigator I recommend you read some books written by parapsychologists. 

A man who wrote two of my favorite books about ghost hunting is Loyd Auerbach. Auerbach has his masters in parapsychology and his book entitled Hauntings & Poltergeists: A Ghost Hunter’s Guide is one of my favorites.

Instead of giving a laundry list here of what parapsychologists believe and how they use these beliefs to inform their scientific studies I will share a case that Auerbach participated in and how he determined if the activity being experienced was indeed what parapsychologists consider a real haunting. 

Having stated the above let me mention one thing I learned from Auerbach’s books that hadn’t occurred to me before. This item is obvious but often overlooked.

Here is ammunition that can be used when dealing with skeptics who brush aside other’s belief in ghosts. Skeptics often state people who see ghosts are just experiencing a hallucination caused by an environmental magnetic field –so it is just their brains playing tricks on them. 

What skeptics don’t address in this scenario is that these supposed hallucinations often include historical facts that the witness had no prior knowledge of. For example, a person might be able to describe a ghost ship they witnessed from another era in detail—even though they have no prior knowledge of sailing ships through history.

When I do investigations, I remember the following case conducted by Loyd Auerbach, which he considers as one of his favorites. 

This case involved a family that had moved into an older established home in Livermore, California. This family—a father, mother, a grandmother and a twelve-year-old son all saw an apparition. The family had not discussed this with each other until the mother found out that her son was talking to a ghost in the home on a regular basis.

She discovered her son’s interactions with the ghost when one day he started telling her specific details about several of the antiques and dolls that had been left by the previous owner. The mother first felt her son must have gotten his hands on some papers or diaries hidden away in the home that had supplied him with this unusual information. 

When she ruled this possibility out she took her son to see a psychologist. This man reassured her that her son was happy, healthy and didn’t appear to have any emotional problems. 

The son told his family that this ghost was a female by the name of Lois and that she had lived in the home from when she was born in 1917 until her death in 1980. 

Wanting to learn more about what was going on the mother decided to contact JFK University where she was referred to Auerbach. He and two others drove to the home in Livermore to interview the family. Auerbach was impressed with the twelve-year-old son and his articulate descriptions of what was occurring.

The family and team sat down in the living room where the son announced Lois was sitting with them. Auerbach asked if he would help them communicate with Lois. 

The team watched as this boy conveyed their questions to the ghost, listened and then gave them her answers. 

Auerbach asked why she was still there, Lois via the son told him that while alive she had been a socialite who often threw parties in the home. She stated that she had spent many happy years there. When Auerbach asked why she didn’t “move on,” Lois told him that she was afraid, for she believed in heaven and hell and since she had never been a churchgoer and lived a “party” lifestyle she was afraid she might end up in hell.

Auerbach and his assistants asked specific questions about Lois’s life and her existence after death, in turn, they received specific answers. She told them about her life and that she still had one living relative. She gave them a specific description of herself –in the present—she described herself as a ball of energy and told them she communicated with the families’ son on a telepathic level. 

The son told them that he had seen her appear in various stages of her life—meaning on one occasion he had seen her as an old woman, on another, she had appeared as a young child of 6 or so and yet another time she had appeared as a woman in her thirties. 

The team was surprised because his description of her changing appearances fit into what parapsychologists believe which is ghosts depending on their mood often appear at various ages. Since the son had no knowledge of parapsychology, this information stunned the team.

Another interesting fact was that this son was communicating with the ghost on a telepathic level. 

Parapsychologists believe since ghosts no longer have a human form they appear to the living in the form of a kind of hallucination and that they communicate with their minds. The son and his mom understood that they perceived a projection of Lois instead of actually seeing her. Amazingly, the son also understood that Lois was projecting her thoughts to him. It appears Lois had explained all of this to him.

Auerbach asked if she would appear for them which she refused, she stated she didn’t quite trust them. She expressed a concern that they were there in order to make her leave. She asked if they had brought any ghost traps. 

The team, which included a woman and a male student, asked if Lois had any questions for them. Her response basically shocked them. Since she was afraid they meant to get rid of her-- she had ridden in the car with them when they left the university that morning to drive to the home.

She had listened to their conversation in the car to discover their intentions. Auerbach had mentioned he wanted to buy a new car. Lois asked if he knew what color car he wanted. 

The woman had mentioned she wanted to quit her present job, Lois asked her if she knew what kind of new job she wanted. 

The male student had mentioned that he had been a dancer for ten years. This had surprised his two companions in the car because they didn’t know this part of his history. Lois asked this male student how long he had been a professional dancer.

Auerbach spent time after this interview verifying the information Lois and the family had given him. He tracked down her one living relative and this man told him essentially the same history Lois had shared with him. 

He then talked to the psychologist, with the mother’s permission, this man confirmed his impression that this twelve-year-old was a normal, well adjusted young man who had no emotional issues. 

The multiple family witnesses, the fact that the son had information that he could not have gotten otherwise and the fact that the family were not afraid but instead curious led Auerbach to conclude that this haunting was real.

This case highlights information that the ghost hunter can use. First, the fact that ghosts communicate with their minds and secondly that they can appear or project themselves at various ages. It is interesting that parapsychologists view what the living see as ghosts are actually in their mind's eye and not physically there—even though it seems as if they are.

Here is a recent bio about Loyd Auerbach.

Ghost Hunting in a Cemetery

As I mentioned in another post most cemeteries in my state are off-limits to ghost hunters. The main reason for this law is because at one time in New Mexico’s history grave robbers were prevalent. 

There are some cemeteries that we do have access to but we always make sure we have permission, and we always alert the local police so if a neighbor near the cemetery reports suspicious activity at night we are covered. 

We always have something in writing that states we have permission, we also always carry personal ID’s with us—actually we do this for every ghost hunt we do.

My stance on hunting in cemeteries is different than most hunters. I have found over the years that cemeteries are not any more likely to be haunted than other historical places. But some are haunted. If you want to participate in a cemetery investigation consider the following advice.

Just like every ghost hunt the priority should be to treat spirits or ghosts with respect. This is especially important if you plan to investigate a cemetery. 

Some cemeteries are only open from dawn to dusk so it important is to be quiet while you investigate. Don’t carry on loud discussions about what you are doing because if there are family members of the deceased in the cemetery they often believe their loved ones have moved on to a better place--which in most deaths is the case. 

Keep in mind not everyone believes in ghosts and these visiting relatives might not want to address the concept that spirits might linger. Of course if you are investigating at night you will also need to be quiet. Note: not everyone believes in an afterlife--I do--so my opinion of course reflects this.

Joking is another issue. It is never appropriate to joke around in a cemetery. A first hand account that was told to me this past year illustrates that this is never a good idea. 

A friend’s husband while in high school decided to take his date on a walk through the local village cemetery. To impress her he started to joke around, he dared the spirits in the area to appear. He was standing off the main path near a headstone as he called out his challenge. The grave craved in under his feet and he dropped down. He felt this was not a coincidence.

When in a cemetery it is important to stay on designated paths as much as humanly possible. Do not lean on walls or gravestones. 

Do not bring food or drink into a cemetery, do not smoke in a cemetery. Actually if you have smokers in your group request they do not smoke during any investigation. This can create a false anomaly in your photographs. 

My group always announces our “good intentions” before we start any investigation. This is especially important in a cemetery. You should always ask permission before you start taking pictures etc.

Happy Ghost Hunting!