In October, myself and two other team members went down near Central FL to investigate an old theatre there. Recently, an article in a local newspaper of the area was written about the investigation [ article can be read here[/URL] ]. I received an E-Mail today from a person who read the article, and shared her thoughts.

Alot of people say I should just reply with "Shadup!" to E-Mails like this.. hah. But I always have to reply as nicely as I can, and share as much info as I can. That's just how I am.

Below is the E-mail I received, and my response:

----- Original Message -----
To: Matt Ferrell
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 7:50 PM
Subject: Voices from beyond


Mr. Ferrell I am a young lady who hears voices or rather words at various times spoken from spirits. It's something I've been able to do since I was a child and am now only beginning to understand and fully recognize what this is I have. One thing I know is that voices from beyond or from the dead are not spoken out loud. I am referring to the Shoestring theater in which you and your team went "ghost" chasing. I'm afraid the theater maybe trying to drum up sales for itself by making situations like these that people like me find ourselves in through no fault of our own into one more fictional ghost story or some kind of crazy folklore which is only adding to disbelief that most people have. I couldn't believe the "reports" woman singing lullaby, or a little girl with a white dress on. Mr. Ferrell it's a theater, singing is required and a little girl with a white dress is "ghost" norm, if only any of my sightings were that descriptive but I only have to rely on blinking my eyes to make sure I saw what I think I just saw before it's gone. If you believe in what your doing the next time you should try to investigate the people who are doing the inviting a little more and what their motives may be before being taken on a wild goose chase and getting inconclusive results.

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Reply by Matt Ferrell:

Hi,

I agree. Not everything is a ghost, and people have their faults. What someone sees as a ghost may just be in their head (either from fear, or possibly medications taken, etc.), or it could be a creaky house scaring them, etc. We always interview the residents/owners of the location first to try and rule any of this out. Yes, we've run across people who are just trying to pull our leg, but most of the time the people seem genuine about what they're encountering. Whether it be paranormal or not, they're still experiencing it and want help. Just because we don't feel it to be paranormal doesn't mean we're going to totally throw the case out the window. We're not just there for the paranormal side of things, we're there also to try and bring peace to the people experiencing the activity. It's real to them. If we find logical causes, this helps them understand and may help any fear/anger/etc. they may have. If we find something paranormal though, we try to teach them from what we've learned over the years to try and let them understand what may be going on, which may help them deal with it better.

I'm guessing you read the article that was published about the theatre investigation done recently, since right now that's the only media out there reporting about the event. Please don't judge what we do or how we preformed the investigation just by an article though. The reporter that did that article was only there for a couple hours (before the investigation even started) so what's in the article isn't nearly all of what we did that night. We interviewed the owners and staff for at least 2 hours before the investigation, getting as much info as we could, not only on what's been experienced there, but also on the people themselves to help us better judge the credibility of the sightings and encounters they've had.

I agree that the "white dress" sightings are common in stories, but that doesn't mean every sighting of someone in a white dress isn't creditable. We shouldn't throw every reported sighting of this out just because some author or folklore teller felt it was a good way to present their ghostly apparition.

And I'm not sure what you mean by "One thing I know is that voices from beyond or from the dead are not spoken out loud.".. but if you mean that they can't be heard by the human ear (I'm thinking this is what you mean because you stated that since the reports were that a child was heard singing, it must be false), I'd have to disagree. Myself and other team members have heard sounds/voice of people who weren't 'there', including a woman humming a tune when only 2 people were in the area at the time, and it wasn't one of them, yet they both heard it clearly. It's true that audio recorders usually pick up what the ear may not hear, but that doesn't mean that just because you hear something or someone reports of hearing something, that it's not paranormal or it's someone making up a story.

Whether the owners are making the stories up or not, I'm not totally sure. But from the interviews we did, we believe them to be truthful. But that's one of the reasons we're there, to try and capture evidence (either paranormal wise, or finding 'logical' explanations), or we may find nothing at all. Their stories, true or false, can't effect our equipment. If something IS there, we may or may not capture it. But if something isn't there, then we won't capture anything at all. In which case, if they are making up stories to drum up sales, then that plan would fail for them since we wouldn't capture anything.

It seems your making alot of assumptions based only on what was in that article. You're also making alot of assumptions based on only what you've personally encountered and know to be true. Just because you haven't encountered it though, doesn't mean that everything else that's reported is false. Reality is different for every person. How we perceive things, and what we encounter/experience in our lifetime makes up how we see reality. It's makes who we are.

Just because in your reality "voices from beyond or from the dead are not spoken out loud", that doesn't mean that someone else may not experience it and it can become their reality. How can we then distinguish a persons definition of their reality into a form of tangible evidence, rather then something that's just in their head creating that reality (or creating the stories they tell)? That's where the research and investigation comes in. If we can capture evidence of what the person is experiencing, then that 'reality' to them can become more of a truth and possible reality to others.

Just because your definition of reality meshes with someone else's, doesn't mean that their wrong, or that they're making up stories.

I'd take this gal and others like her with a grain of salt, Matt. I think a lot of people like to proclaim themselves "experts" and pretend to know a lot more than they do, based only on their personal experience. Personal experience does indeed count for a lot, but not everyone is going to experience things the same way.

Myself, and numerous other people have heard a name called when no one was around, a sound we couldn't identify, etc... I don't think this person has the market cornered on being able to hear ghosts. How does she explain EVP's if the voices of the dead are not spoken outloud?

I'm all for skepticism, and I do think sometimes people, myself perhaps on occasion, let their imaginations get away from them, or believe something because they want it to be true. However, there is phenomenon that is experienced that can't be explained. I think you did well in your reply! Keep up the good work!

Hiya Matt:

I think you did well with your response. You know, it doesn't matter where you work, what you do, there is always someone there to criticize. In the paranormal, it's even more true. I think it's because you have to deal with the skeptics, and those who think that only "their" experiences are real, etc... Who's to say this person that emailed you is hearing voices from spirits? There are those that hear voices in their head that aren't spirits. Ya know? I think if I got any kind of negative response from her again, I'd ignore it and maybe she'll go away. I agree 100% with what you told her. The point of doing paranormal investigations is not just to prove the paranormal exists, it's also to prove that in some cases, there are logical explanations for things. If you go around validating that everything you find is paranormal, then it defeats the purpose, and feeds the skeptics. Whether you find evidence of the paranormal or not, when you go on an investigation, it's still interesting and even moreso when you do find it. That's what keeps the mystery and the enthusiam going with the paranormal. It is the fact, that you never know what you might find. Keep up the great work. =)

Pate

[ February 07, 2005, 05:18 PM: Message edited by: SavannahSilkie ]

Hi Matt,

I certainly echo both Carrie and Pate's comments and agree this gal should be taken with a grain of salt. I have always questioned those that claim to have all the answers or dis-credit another because it is not exactly in line with what they think or percieve. There are many people who have had similar experiences and just as many that have had unique ones, there simply is not one bucket that you can drop them all into - and as you have said each experience was equally as real for those experiencing it. Yes there are times that logic comes into play and can readily be identified but I roll my eyes at those that insist there is a logical explanation for everything as equally as I roll my eyes to those that claim to have all the answers to the paranormal world (like this girl) or even that everything is paranormal. Like you and the ladies have said there is a great mystery out there, investigations are done to provide evidence and/or explanation be it paranormal or not. This lady could learn much from you Matt.

I too think you did a great job with your response and also say keep up the great work. =)

a very good reply matt, i liked it and even learned some things from it. tx

Sounds to me like she's a little upset because you didn't invite her to the investigation!

Keep up the good work Matt I enjoy reading your posts!

Wow, she got all that from an article? It's amazing what some people can get stuck in their heads. I also have heard voices in my head (usually my family) but, I have also heard voices out loud so, I think she just has her reality and doesn't want to look beyond that.

Great response Matt!

Matt
We get letters and comments like this too..I imagine anyone doing PN investigating does- like this and much worse, I must add.
The only comment I have is....can I send you our letters to answer? (kidding) Seriously, I am very impressed with your answer- you could have a very successful career as a diplomat! While I try to keep centered and polite, after dozens- if not hundreds, by now- of similar comments, I find my patience wearing very thin. Kudos to you for your restraint and diplomacy!