Great Serpent Mound (Adams County, Ohio)

My trip to Ohio was already planned when I caught an episode of Ancient Aliens that briefly mentioned the Great Serpent Mound. It was posited as one of those "amazing" ancient constructions since "it could only be seen from the sky," and why would people who couldn't fly build something like that?

I mentioned that I would stop by on my way to see my friend Ryan in northern Ohio, when he told me his wife would love to go too. So we made a day trip of it. I brought my digital recorder and my EMF pump, intent on communication with the ancient aliens' hidden satellite arrays while I was there, or perhaps "accidentally" push the hidden red button that opened up the mound and revealed the UFO runway. 

Unfortunately the trip was disappointing. If you like beautiful green mounds, by all means, go visit. But it is much smaller than I imagined. So small that to walk all the way around it is about 1/3 of a mile. Small enough you can see the whole thing from ... well, probably a tree, which is likely what the ancient humans did when they were overseeing its design. 

The other fact of the Serpent Mound's design that seems wondrous to some is its alignment with astronomical features. So Ryan, Kendra and I discussed this as we took our brief stroll around the snake. To our GPS and latitude and longitude wary minds, the concept of constructing something to align with astronomical features seems, well, pretty amazing. But ancient cultures had not mapped the globe, nor did they have the benefit of satellites to point them one way or another. What they did have were the stars and seasons. What seems like a mysterious or amazing feat to us was probably logical and commonplace to them. "When the cold weather is coming, find the Serpent Mound and travel in the direction of the first hump." (Or something like that.) "If you want to find buffalo in spring, go to the Serpent Mound and travel in the direction its mouth is pointing." (Perhaps.)

While the Great Serpent Mound is surely a fantastic place for lovers of North American history, archaeology, paleontology, astronomy, short walks on beautiful days or lawn mower art, it just doesn't have much to offer someone interested in the mysteries of otherworldly beings. 

That said, we did catch one good EVP while we were there. Credit goes to Kendra, who found this while we were listening to my recordings. The content of this EVP, played 3 times in the video below, doesn't make a lot of sense considering we were there in May. 

  

Do you hear, "I'm home for Christmas?"

 Thanks for reading. We've got some new investigations in the Mobile Bay area coming soon. 

A Message from Beyond Sight

This week Beyond Sight Paranormal Studies says goodbye to two friends. 

On Monday it was announced that Barton Academy would receive the funding needed to begin work on the refurbishing necessary to one day reopen as an active school. Though we will miss our long nights wandering its labyrinthine corridors and questioning its many, many ethereal occupants, we are also glad that one of Mobile's most prominent landmarks and historical sites will be restored and will one day be accessible by the public once again.

In more bittersweet news, Beyond Sight Founder James announced his departure from the organization to pursue other projects. Beyond Sight co-Founder Matt, and investigators Tim and Sherri wish James all the best in his future endeavors, and would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude for James' tireless efforts, financial and personal investments and his dedication to the art and science of paranormal investigation.

James, please send us any information on your future projects that you'd like us to share with the Beyond Sight family.

The Beyond Sight website, Facebook account and Youtube page will now be administrated by Matt.

Please send all inquiries about BSPS to: matt@beyondsightparanormal.com

What can you expect from Beyond Sight in the near future?

• New members! (Also, member bios. Get to know your local investigators.)

• New investigations! (E-mail Matt if you have a place we should check out.)

• New videos! (Longer, more in-depth examinations of what paranormal investigation is all about.)

• New website features! (To be announced as we implement them.)

Stay tuned right here for much, much more.

Partial EVP Transcript 2-23-2013

By: Matt Fisher

On Saturday February 23, 2013 Beyond Sight performed a number of experiments in an enclosed room on the second floor of the Barton Academy main building. We had a number of interesting experiences: from cold spots to shadows moving in our peripherals, from floating lights visible to the naked eye to the sensation of being surrounded by multiple entities (in the same fashion that you can tell when someone is right behind you.)

Most interesting to me was our sixteen minute and sixteen second “Object Identification” experiment during which we held aloft a number of item and asks whoever was present to tell us what those items were and answer other questions regarding the items. During this experiment we had a few Class A EVP responses to our questions. But even more amazing was what I found when I "cleaned out" the hum of the EMF generator next to my recorder: almost 350 Class C EVPs: talking to us, about us, and to each other about things having nothing to do with us. Besides voices, I also recorded sounds, from bangs on the wall or door to a dog barking and gunshots. These sounds are all the more interesting for being completely "within" the hum of the EMF generator, because they were so quiet that we did not hear them in person and could not hear them on regular playback of our audio.

So let's talk about Class C EVPs for a moment. It's commonly advised to "throw away" these clips because they are notoriously difficult to hear and can often be interpreted to be saying different things by different people. On the one hand, I understand that some paranormal investigators are looking for "evidence of the paranormal" and these clips don't cut it. However, if you're beyond looking for evidence of and instead want to understand what the paranormal is, ignoring Class C EVPs is like ignoring the fact that someone is speaking just because you can't understand what they are saying.

In my own experience collecting and cataloging EVPs for Beyond Sight, most Class C EVPs are hard to understand for two reasons. First, they are part of the buzz and hum of background noise. In order to find them, you have to clear our that background noise, and in doing so, you also clear out some of the voice quality. Yet it is clear that the voices are not just background noise, because they are what is left after you've cleared that buzz and hum out. Second, they are often incredibly fast (and occasionally incredibly slow) so that to understand them you need to speed up or slow down the recording. 

Are the entities responsible for Class C EVPs on a wavelength experiencing time differently than we are? I don't know, but some clues from our first Beyond Sight Experience suggest that may be the case. 

Is it relevant that these voices are heard within an electromagnetic field? I believe it is, and some of our next experiments will explore that.

Before posting the transcript I'll share some files to help you understand how I came across these EVPs. You will want to use headphones. 

This first video is a 36-second clip after the EMF hum has been removed. You can just barely hear the cadence of voices sometimes. The larger "blips" are mundane sounds taking place in the room, such as someone shuffling their feet.

The next video is the same 36-second clip with the volume amplified by 800%. You should be able to more clearly see and hear where there are voices, though what the voices are saying is still unknown. Pay special attention to the spots that were a flat line in the first video but are now showing peaks an valleys.

In this third video I've slowed the 36-second clip to 48% of its original speed. The clip is now about 1:15. Perhaps you will be able to make out some of the voices now. It's possible you could also feel the bass of what I describe in the transcript as "pounding in the distance", "a chair or table moving across a floor" or "sound of a gun cocking." Normally I would not listen to the whole clip at 48%, but instead listen to it while using a slider to slow down and speed up each successive voice until I understand (or think I understand) what they are saying.

Finally, I've included a fourth video with an additional 400% increase in volume, in case anyone is having trouble hearing the third clip. 

And now that you've seen how I translated the voices, here is a partial transcript of our Object ID experiment. I removed any voices I determined I could not understand, as well as some of our chatter that was not relevant to the voices. EVPs are in BOLD. Sounds in BOLD could not be heard by us, but seem to exist at the same wavelength as the EVPs.  

0:00:05 (Time indicated reflects the time on my recording of this session.)
Matt: I’m about ready to light up a cigarette.
-Yess.
-No.
-Feel my hand. 
Sherri: Got my thermal on.
-No.
Sherri: Thermal underwear on. 
-That won't do. 

0:00:21
Matt: This must be … what the Donner Party felt like. Well then good thing you brought M&Ms.
-Just go.

0:00:31
Tim: What was the lil black kid's name who got hung in 1978?
Sherri: Umm.
-Then he will not return.

0:01:48
Sherri: You were 10 years old when my granddaughter was born.
-I got it.
James: Okay, here we go.
-I am grown up.
-Why?

0:02:41
James: Can you tell us... -No, don't like it. James: ... what this item is please? Matt: *holds up a toy musket* -We are sorry. -I miss you. -We miss you. -We run. -I'm fifteen. -Now we miss you. -You're in. James: Have you seen one of these before? -Don't shoot me. -Deborah forgave me -I love you. This is Sue. -See what I mean?

More to come ....

The Beyond Sight Experience Part 1 (Ghost Hunt)