1.The sightings of apparitions at séances are often the result of “trickery”.
2.Some of the evidence in a “haunted” dwelling is likely to be staged by those who are claiming to be investigators or witnesses.
3.Some of the images sighted on surfaces in the rooms being investigated are more likely reflections of live persons in the room.
4.“Orbs” and “Vortices” are most likely not spirits, but the result of environmental effects, such as rain, dust, pollen, or reflections picked up by the camera lenses or video equipment in use.
5.Ghosts are psychological phenomena – we see them because we expect to or want to see them. They are hallucinations.
6.Most of the sightings of apparitions are unsubstantiated – the person “seeing” the apparition is the same person reporting it – and there are no other witnesses.
Some skeptical comments in the published material are essentially statements of disbelief regardless of the evidence. For example: “We don’t care what the evidence says – apparitions are nonsense.” We view such comments as not being consistent with the concept of reasonable doubt – the concept that a “reasonable, average, prudent person” would be convinced if the evidence were compelling enough.
Given the list of six representative skeptical comments about apparitions, what are the resulting “credible evidence” criteria for apparitions?
The first five “credible evidence” criteria that we use for apparitions are deliberately matched to the six skeptical comments listed for apparitions:
1.The sighting of an apparition in a potentially staged setting such as a séance or a “haunted house” should not be viewed as credible (Matched to skeptical comments 1 and 2).
2.The sighting of an apparition on a reflective surface should not be viewed as credible evidence (Matched to skeptical comment 3).
3.“Orbs”, “Vortices”, and “Shadows” should not be viewed as credible evidence (Matched to skeptical comment 4).
4.Witnesses should not be expecting or wanting to see an apparition (Matched to skeptical comment 5).
5.Single-witness sightings of an apparition should not be considered credible evidence (Matched to skeptical comment 6).
We also use three additional criteria to evaluate whether or not an apparition sighting is to be considered credible evidence:
6.The apparition should be recognizable as a specific person who once lived (but confirmed as deceased at the time the apparition is seen).
7.Some of the multiple witnesses to an apparition should not be related to the deceased person.
8.Photographs or video images of apparitions should not be viewed as credible evidence (since photographs and video images are subject to “photo-shopping”).
In Chapter 4, we apply the eight criteria listed above to evaluate which apparition sightings in the published material are to be considered “credible evidence” of an afterlife – assuming there are any that are to be considered “credible”.
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Chapter 4. Results of “Credible Evidence” Search for “Apparitions”
Are there any “credible evidence” sightings of apparitions in the published afterlife material?
We must begin this chapter with an important point. If an apparition sighting does not pass all eight of our “credible evidence” criteria, it does not mean that a legitimate sighting of a bona fide apparition did not occur.It only means we are excluding the sighting from our credible evidence results because there is the potential of “reasonable doubt.”
Given that point, we did locate three different cases where the sightings passed all eight criteria:
AP01 – The Sighting of Vice-Admiral Sir George Tyron in London, 1893. (13)
AP02 – The Sighting of Eastern Airlines Pilot Robert Loft in Multiple Eastern L-1011 TriStar Aircraft, 1973. (14)
AP03 – The Sighting of Starlet Peg Entwistle in Hollywood, California, 1990. (15)
We’ll describe each case in turn, and then we’ll discuss the three cases as a set.
AP01 – The Sighting of Vice-Admiral Sir George Tyron in London, 1893.
This case is documented by England’s highly- respected “Society for Psychical Research”.
According to their records, on June 22, 1893, Vice-Admiral Sir George Tyron, one of the most distinguished officers in the British Royal Navy, was commanding two parallel columns of Her Majesty’s ships, just off the coast of Syria.
Tryon ordered the two columns of ships to make u-turns towards each other, even though they were not far enough apart to perform the maneuver successfully. The result was that the lead vessel of the first column – the H.M.S. Camperdown – rammed the lead vessel of the second column – the H.M.S. Victoria – causing the second ship to sink, carrying Vice-Admiral Tryon and 357 naval crewmen to their death.
Meanwhile, Lady Tryon – 2,000 miles away and completely unaware of her husband’s fate – was hosting a party for some of England’s social elite in the Tryon’s London home. At some point during the party, a deceptively life-like apparition of Vice-Admiral Tryon appeared unexpectedly in full dress uniform at the top of a staircase – just above the assembled guests.
Then, as Lady Tyron and her guests watched, Vice-Admiral Tyron’s apparition walked slowly down the stairs, crossed the room where the party was taking place, opened a door on the other side of the room, and suddenly vanished – in full sight of the witnesses.
AP02 – The Sighting of Eastern Airlines Pilot Robert Loft in Multiple Eastern L-1011 TriStar Aircraft, 1973.
This case is documented by investigative reporter John G. Fuller, in his book entitled The Ghost of Flight 401 (New York, Berkley Publishing, 1976).
According to Fuller’s account, on December 29, 1972, Eastern Airlines Flight 401 was to leave Kennedy International at 9:00 p.m., and arrive at Miami International approximately 2 ½hours later – around 11:30 p. m..
Although the flight did leave Kennedy International nearly on time – 9:20 p.m. – it did not arrive at Miami International on time. It crashed in the Florida Everglades, 18.7 miles away, at 11:42 p.m., due to equipment malfunction and flight crew error. 101 passengers and crew died as a result, including the flight’s command pilot, Captain Robert A.(Bob) Loft.
Eastern Airlines salvaged what they could of the expensive aircraft, using any undamaged parts and equipment on other L-1011 TriStars in their fleet.
And that’s when and where Robert Loft’s apparition appeared – on other Eastern Airlines L-011 Tristars that had parts salvaged from Flight 401. On one such aircraft, the flight's captain and two flight attendants saw and spoke to Loft just before they were scheduled to take-off – only to watch him vanish. They were so shaken they cancelled their flight. On another such Tristar, an Eastern Airlines Vice President spoke to a captain sitting in First Class, recognized the captain as Bob Loft, and gasped as Loft disappeared.
AP03 – The Sighting of Starlet Peg Entwistle in Hollywood, California, 1990.
This case is documented by the Paranormal Research Alliance in Cullman, Alabama. The following summary is based on the details provided on their website, www.ghosthauntings.org.
Millicent Lilian “Peg” Entwistle was a young, attractive actress who had limited success and critical recognition in Broadway productions such as Getting Married (1931), and Alice-Sit-By-The-Fire (1932).