Why do so many people believe in orbs as sign of a haunting or paranormal occurrence?

Question

Ok guys and gals who believe in orbs what is your explanation of why orbs can be used as a legit piece of evidence for a haunting ...
Though i don't believe in orbs as evidence or as a spirit in general, i run into alot of people who do what are the believers theories? and of course us the skeptics lets have an array of answers to why they are disproved...

Ryan ~ Paranormal Investigator/Researcher~
www.theprosonline.com

Answer 1

because people will fall for anything. and an orb looks coooool man
oh and it gives you an excuse to waste film and batteries

Answer 2

I have taken photos of round glowing something that cannot be explained, but I do not claim it is a ghost but merely unexplainable and possibly paranormal but this is different than most orbs. Most orbs is simply dust, pollen, collored lens flare and I could go on.

In the beginning of my reaserch when I was just learning I heard about orbs and believed them to be ghosts only because the "experts" said so. But these "experts" could not tell me how to determine the paranormal from the natural. I would ask them to exaimne a orb in my photo and they would say it was dust but then they had the same type orb on a website somewhere and it was a ghost.

After experimenting, taking hundreds of photos and actually seeing some photos that showed a difference I learn the difference.

Now I do know very few orbs are unexplainable and I think possibly paranormaal, but they will be balls of light usually visible to the naked eye.

I am beginning to doubt al photographic evidence now because I have not seen any credible photos. The ecto photos people like to show looks amazingly like smoke and fog, hmmm I wonder why?

Yes at one time I was on the "orb is a ghost bandwagon but now am embarrassed when a person calls themself a "scienctist" "professional paranormal reasearcher" but has photos of dust, fog, smoke cold breath, insects etc. No wonder the skeptics poke fun at us.

Even the unexplained orbs could possiblilty be bad film. I learned in a first year photography course at our local college that even just a small amount of light can fog up film and sometime you get bad film which would explain some ghost ecto when no one is smoking etc.

I doubt any so called "evidence" we gather is ghosts or paranormal at all. But some day in a real scientific reasearch facility real scientists may uncover these mysteries. But I hate to burst any bubble I doubt it will be any of us weekend investigators that have no degree and work at other jobs. Now it is fun to go ghost hunting nothing wrong with that, but if anyone feels they are a scientist doing scientific research and out to gather evidence to prove ghost to the skeptic. I am sad because I have seen too many of my friends let down and get upset over not being taken seriously.

Yes ghosts are real I have seen one or two, but I believe they are beyond the realm of our methods but yes I keep using them because it is fun and maybe just maybe one day I will get a photo that will be something maybe not ghost or paranormal but possibly a very news worthy event.

If a place is actually haunted I believe we will know it without the fancy tools of the trade. We will see, hear, feel or experience something that will be proof to us a ghost is there but of course it will not be proof to anyone who was not there or experienced it.
Steve

Answer 3

I suggest you ask about the "Brown Mountain Lights" that occur near Brown Mountain, North Carolina.

I know two friends there who had experienced odd occurrences there and have no reason to doubt what they saw. One had to do with a floating orb that entered their campground. The other, a man dressed in a longcoat and large floppy mountain-style hat, mid-1800's mountain style, (I think of the film, The Long Riders, the James Gang when they raided a bank in Minnesota around 1872...) whom they hit with their truck. They stopped quickly, but no body was found. There was a dent to their fender and broken headlight. It was serious enough that they thought it was close to a mortal hit, probably killing the guy. There are many other stories on and around the Brown Mountain area.

Things like this seem to be scientifically unprovable because they really can't be "tested" - and events like this are too experience-based, too subjective. Perhaps it's something that must be experienced first-hand to develop a sense of 'belief' in...and of course, 'belief' doesn't qualify as 'proof' - which is probably for the better.

Answer 4

I think the orbs are spirits. My reasoning is from a personal experience. My mom was playing with my camcorder and she had the night vision on. The camera was pointed to where she was sitting, and she just sat there for ten min while the thing recorded her. Then we changed spots and I sat where she had been. The outcome was she had many of these orbs around her, I had very little. So Either they are, as I believe, spirits, or compared to me my mom is like pigpen from Charlie Brown.

Answer 5

I've been skeptical about orbs as well, but I do know some of the reasons why there are so many supporters of them as actually being evidence. In some pictures, there is a significant difference between dust specks and an orb light. The orb is still see through but is a little more opague and perfectly round...sometimes even having a blueish hue or other color to it. Dust specks are almost transparent, hazy and white in color. THe theory is that the orb is the spirit trying to manifest itself but only having enough energy to form into a little ball of light that shows up on film. I've seen some very interesting photographs involving appearances of orbs, but so far i'd rather have shadow people or full-bodied apparations, or even EVP's as hardcore evidence.

Answer 6

Beats me. Orbs captured on film can usually be explained by dust, moisture, pixilation, and any number of other natural causes. Visible orbs generally don't conform to standard ideas about intelligent hauntings: they float aimlessly and seldom show any attempts at interaction. They seem to be nothing more than small groups of energy, and whether they are paranormal or not is open to question.

My philosophy is that unless an orb chases you around the room, stops in front of you, and does the hokey-pokey, it's probably NOT paranormal.

Answer 7

I did a vigil in a friends house at the weekend, we set up the equipment in the room where they report the most activity. Looking back through the footage we got an amazing amount of 'ORBS', it looked like they were just waiting to cause mischief somewhere. Then after the 'ORBS' made their exit through a wall at the back of the house into the conservatory, the table lamp in there fell to the floor with such force, it was amazing. My teachings tell me that the more 'ORB' activity the more likely the manifestation of a spirit.

Answer 8

I think it is because actual evidence of ghosts is so hard to come by and to collect. A ghost hunter doesn't want to go hunting and not come back without anything to show for it. How tempting is it then to take a common photographic artifact, insist it is a ghost, and then start building up your collection of ghost photos? It sure is a lot more exciting to come back from your ghost hunt with photographic "evidence" rather than nothing at all.

This is why so many paranormal enthusiasts have come to believe that "orbs" are ghosts. They want evidence to justify their belief (that's why they are out ghost hunting in the first place). Unfortunately, these "orbs" already are fully explained and predicted by optics and physics, so there is nothing paranormal about them. I think many ghost hunting teams are coming ot their senses about orbs now, but many amateurs still religiously believe that they are ghosts.

Answer 9

My mother in law is a blue glowing orb now. She zips around our house and my sister in laws house too. Her ashes are in a book case up stairs. She just drops down and moves around the place. She is about golf ball size. Here is a picture of a similar orb, from a local haunted building, I took. Notice that they glow like a small blue light, not a dust orb.
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd73/toadman_1/blue-orb1.jpg

Answer 10

Do they ever catch orbs on video? And does it move around like a spirit might move...or move more like dust particles move? I would think if it made a fast move...esp upwards...it might deserve questioning.

Answer 11

there are orbs, and then there are spirit lights...huge difference...just like in john s photo.....
there are also the orbs that follow you around or go around you...they are a conscious form....but then you have dust orbs as well