Who you gonna call?

While most people run from things that go bump in the night, Tracey Royce gets out her camera and goes in for a better look

As humans we tend to have an innate interest in the paranormal. Our curiosity peaks at the mention of ghosts or beings of another realm and for some, the compelling need to find out more leads them to extraordinary measures. The popular rise of television shows like Most Haunted, Ghost Adventures and Ghost Hunters has, according to Taupiri paranormal investigator, Tracey Royce, seen the industry in New Zealand ‘explode’ in the last 6-12 months as enquiring minds seek answers and excitement.
“I think it’s the unknown,” says Tracey who co-founded The Quantum Foundation in 2009. “The paranormal is such an unknown field which causes people to be fearful of it. I find it’s a case of having an open mind and investigating until you get to the bottom of it.”
For over three decades, Tracey has been captivated by metaphysics and all things considered paranormal. She has lectured extensively on the occult and metaphysical subjects including folklore and witchcraft and, for 14 years owned and operated an occult and metaphysical supplies business. However, her first love has always been ghosts and hauntings and after a number of years exploring metaphysics in general, Tracey decided to shut down her business and return to what she considers to be her roots.
Originally from Britain and with a background in security and law enforcement, today the mother of one leads the investigation team for The Quantum Foundation Paranormal Investigation and Research New Zealand; a non-profit professional team of researchers who investigate, document and offer assistance and support to those who believe they are experiencing activity of a paranormal or ghostly nature.
Tracey is quick to point that paranormal investigators are very different to ghost hunters or ghost busters… “Ghost hunters tend to chase ghosts and ghost busters attempt to clear them. Paranormal investigators look into claims of hauntings or ghostly activity. We go in with a completely neutral viewpoint and the moment something is experienced then the investigation begins. We don’t go into a job aiming to prove there is a ghost. We go in to put the client’s mind at rest by finding mundane explanations that could go a long way to explaining what they are actually experiencing.”
For sceptics who may say people like Tracey are in it for the money, you may be interested to learn that unless you have a television show you’ll be unlikely to make any money in this industry.
“It’s an ethical point,” Tracey explains. “The work we do is not a complete science so therefore we cannot give definite answers. Because of the unchartered territory we work in we are not able to say for certain ‘your home is definitely haunted’. We can, in some circumstances say we have found mundane occurrences that could explain what a client is experiencing but we will never tell someone ‘you have a ghost’. For that reason alone we would be in breach of the Consumers Act to charge for our services.”
The majority of ghost hunters and paranormal investigators lead ‘normal’ lives and do the work for the ‘love of it’.
Tracey is a sales consultant and founded the Foundation out of personal interest; wanting to explore things that were considered out of the normal realm.
In her 20s Tracey returned to her birthplace and travelled around Europe, exploring many of the historical hauntings from the books she had read about since age eight when her love of all things that go bump in the night began.
One memorable event occurred during a coach tour to Anne Hathaway's Cottage, a twelve-roomed farmhouse where the wife of William Shakespeare lived as a child in the village of Shottery, Warwickshire, England.
“As we passed by the house en route to the car park I saw the curator outside on a rocking chair reading a book,” Tracey tells. “I was so excited to see my first authentic medieval-looking character. But when we parked up we found that the building had closed for the day. The coach driver explained that because of traffic we had missed our opportunity and we’d have to come back another time.
I protested that it couldn’t be closed because I’d just seen the curator but I was assured the building was closed and off we went.
About seven years later I was back in New Zealand reading a ghost book about a family from America that had been in the same situation as I had. They had seen the curator in the chair, parked in the car park and by the time they got to the house it was shut. They were about to leave when a worker met them and because they had come so far, allowed them to view the house. The family casually mentioned how cool it was to see the curator sitting outside in period costume and the worker told them that they hadn’t seen the curator but Shakespeare’s ghost. One of his favourite past times was to sit in the chair reading books as the sun was setting. I must have given my parents a near-heart attack when I read that.”
Glamis Castle in Scotland is next on her list of international haunting hotspots to hit and in New Zealand, Kingseat Hospital in Karaka has peaked her interest. Kingseat is a former psychiatric hospital that is considered to be one of New Zealand's notorious haunted locations with over one hundred claims of apparitions being reported, as of 2011. Today the residence is home to the Spookers Scream Park attraction… however this scare inducing activity doesn’t appeal to Tracey.
The standard stock start out kit for a paranormal investigator would consist of electromagnetic field metres that read both AC and DC currents, digital camera, digital voice recorder and a torch. If you can afford them infrared cameras, thermal imaging cameras, laser grids, infrared illuminator lights and electromagnetic field pumps would also be used.
“We’ve picked up some recordings that could not be attributed to anyone in the room at the time,” Tracey explains. “But the tapes are highly sensitive so whatever activity is happening outside of the building needs to be taken into consideration.”
Tracey’s most commonly experienced forms of paranormal activity include lights flickering on and off, kettles boiling, televisions turning off on their own accord and people finding things have moved unexplainably. Doors slamming, footsteps being heard and the sensation of being watched are other frequent experiences.
In every instance Tracey seeks to find a mundane explanation for what may be happening… even if that means debunking a haunting that a client has wanted to believe.
“Thanks to our knowledge and advances in science we are beginning to understand the effects on the human brain with regards to electromagnetic fields. A lot of reports from people feeling that they are being watched can be traced back to high electromagnetic fields because it is believed that these interfere with the firing synapses of the brain, much like smell. People will smell cigar smoke or a whiff of perfume that cannot be traced back to anyone else. Thanks to science we are able to put earthly, mundane explanations that can be attributed to ghostly activity.
“The majority of people are unaware that we are available to help. They go about thinking they’re going crazy. We don’t judge, we investigate.”
www.quantumfoundation.webs.com

Ghosts in New Zealand and Beyond
1. Spirits Bay, Far North
Perhaps New Zealand's most famous spot for supernatural beings, Spirits Bay is believed to be a jump-off point for spirits leaving this world.
2. The Wellington Town Hall
The Wellington Town Hall has often been the subject of speculation when it comes to haunting and the paranormal. It’s old, creaky and roomy, with a rich history dating back more than 100 years.
3. Larnach Castle, Dunedin
New Zealand's only castle is reportedly haunted by several spirits including the William Larnach himself and one of his vengeful wives.
4. Waitomo Caves Hotel, King Country
This is New Zealand's most haunted hotel.
Bathtubs reportedly drip blood, orbs bounce around the driveway and a Maori princess is reputed to stalk the corridors, according to Theshadowlands.net.
5. Kingseat Psychiatric Hospital, Karaka
Kingseat is a former psychiatric hospital where many patients claim they experienced maltreatment, and a number of patients died during their time there.
6. Racecourse Hotel, Riccarton
The ghost of former licensee Donald Fraser is said to walk the corridors of the hotel looking for his killer.
7. The Vulcan Hotel, St Bathans
The Vulcan is haunted by the ghost of a murdered prostitute named 'The Rose'.
Her body was found on the bed where she made her living. Her killer was never caught. She now haunts the room where she was killed, targeting male guests with her nasty nocturnal visits.
8. Waimate Hospital, Waimate
Former nurses believe the Grey Lady is the spirit of a former woman patient, who died at the hospital, now seeking company in an afterlife.
Source: www.stuff.co.nz
 
Famous ghosts of yonder
Anne Boleyn
After her beheading, the second wife of Henry VIII and mother of a future Queen Elizabeth I, Anne Boleyn’s ghost has been spotted by several different people in several different locations: Hever Castle, Blickling Hall, Salle Church, Marwell Hall, and perhaps most famously the Tower of London.
Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln’s ghost has been spotted by many visitors and residents of the White House, among them First Lady Grace Coolidge, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, and even Winston Churchill.
Catherine Howard
Hampton Court Palace, home of King Henry VIII of England, whose fifth wife, Catherine Howard, is supposed to be heard screaming in the "Haunted Gallery". On 21 December 2003, CCTV footage allegedly showed someone in 16th century clothes and no face closing a fire door that, though locked, was constantly being opened without anyone near it.
The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall
Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England, is home to the subject of one of the most famous ghost photos ever captured, ‘the Brown Lady’, so named because she appears in a rich brocade brown dress. She is widely believed to be Lady Dorothy Walpole, sister of Sir Robert Walpole, who married Charles, 2nd Viscount Townshend in 1713. She died under mysterious circumstances in 1726, and sightings of her began shortly after.
Source: istverse.com/2009/12/27/top-10-famous-real-ghosts/
 
How to become a paranormal investigator:
Don't quit your day job! Paranormal investigation can be a fun hobby but there are very few people that can make any kind of living out of it. Be realistic and enjoy your new hobby while maintaining a job that can actually pay the bills.
Do your homework. Read everything you can on ghosts, poltergeists, UFO sightings and any other kind of paranormal activity.
Join a local paranormal investigation group.
Invest in some equipment. At a minimum, a respectable paranormal investigator needs a camera, a notebook, a tape recording device and a flashlight.
Start investigating. Go to a site where paranormal activity has been witnessed or recorded and get exploring! comments powered by Disqus