Shadows Within Shadows

August 7, 2013 in communityblog, Featured, ghost, paranormal, Weird Science

There are a number of ways in which an entity might present itself. They might appear as an apparition, or be heard as an EVP/DVP. They might cause a drop in temperature or touch an investigator. They might even communicate through EMF. However, compelling evidence is extremely scarce despite all the methods that paranormal investigators have used in attempting to capture it. We have access to EMF meters, thermal cameras, surveillance systems, and more. And yet, it eludes us.


What’s a paranormal investigator to do? Go back to basics. Cold spots haven’t really revealed anything more than…cold spots. That’s thermal out. Surveillance systems are great for finding reactions to seeing an apparition, but not for the apparition itself. EMF meters haven’t revealed much other than the effect of EMF on the investigator. At least in my opinion. Pressure changes…


Pressure changes.




That’s something a bit different. It’s sort of a classic that gets forgotten about. Partly because it’s not something people are aware of on a day to day basis. Sight, hearing, vision, and touch are fairly normal in the daily routine and that extends to our perception of the paranormal. (I suppose taste should be involved as well, though engaging in spiritual cannibalism is a bit taboo.) That said, if you’ve ever felt a storm on the way, at least a portion of that was likely due to the change in pressure.


There has been a bit of attention paid to this in the form of sensors and barometers, but those are limited to a very small area. It’s like trying to watch a movie by looking at a single pixel. You need something that’s able to get the big picture. I had experimented with schlieren photography which is used to visually detect changes in fluid (air) density. But that technique requires a concave mirror the size of the area to be monitored. And while this is acceptable for small scale experiments, full scale experiments would prove prohibitively expensive. Even if cost weren’t an issue, the time required for setup would make this a poor choice for portability.


Fortunately, there’s a much, much simpler method that relies on an older technique. It’s called shadowgraphy. Imagine making shadow puppets out of thin air. Instead of a performer’s hands, it’s the changes in air pressure and density that cause the shadows to appear. And it only requires three items that you might already have on hand: a camera, a projector screen, and a point light source.


The camera should be capable of shooting video and shoot relatively clear low light footage. For my tests, I went with what I had on hand: a Canon SD600 and an iPhone 3GS–neither of which is particularly suited to the task. The projector screen need not be a ‘real’ projector screen–even a sheet of white printer paper will suffice. Ideally, one would use a retro-reflective screen, but for this round of testing I breathed new life into an old slide projector screen found abandoned in an attic.


Last, we come to the ‘point light source’. My research yielded instructions for how to create such a thing from a linear filament bulb and by using a pin poked through a light barrier with a very powerful light source on the other side shining through the pin hole. I tried the latter method and it worked, but in so doing provided a feeble bit of light that proved inadequate for the project. After much experimenting, I went with a replacement single LED flashlight bulb and removed the reflector. Success! The point is to get the light out in a beam, without scattering it too much, lest you cast the scattered light onto the newly cast shadows (thereby destroying them). Note: if you have a flashlight with multiple LEDs that are relatively close together, remove the reflector if necessary and try using it at a greater distance. The LEDs should appear to combine into one light source. Go physics!


You might also want a tripod and some means of affixing the light to the tripod. And this does require a completely dark room–it’s part of the physics. Given that it’s frequently dark when investigating, this should hardly be a deterrent. Setup is a fairly simple affair. get the light as close to the camera lens as possible without appearing on camera. Aim both directly at screen. Try to keep the screen perpendicular to the path of the camera/lens. Power everything up and go!


Ok…so now there’s a screen. With a light on it. And a camera recording it. Seems kind of boring. Is it working? Time for a test! You need a source that creates a change in pressure/density. Fortunately, those are easier to come by than you might think. A lit or unlit lighter, lit candle, soldering iron, or hairdryer all work a treat. Put it about halfway between the light source and the screen and look at the screen. You have rendered the unseen visible!

At the bottom of the image is an unlit lighter with escaping gas. Above is the projection wherein the gas is visible as a stream flowing horizontally from the shadow of the aforementioned lighter.


This is going to require a far bright light source and a better camera, but the initial results are promising. It’s far more visible in person than the current image would have you believe. Which brings me to another point: you can see this with the naked eye. A good light source and a relatively blank wall are enough to create the effect. Furthermore, it gives the illusion of moving off of the screen. Which got me thinking…what if so-called ‘shadow people’ are merely the shadowgraphs of entities perceived due to some quirk in the environment. Given how simple the setup is, it has me curious as to how often this has happened by chance and the sort of sightings that may have arose as a result.


One thing is for certain: this experiment is getting a proper revisit once I acquire better equipment and a fairly haunted location.



2 responses to Shadows Within Shadows

  1. What does DVP mean?

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