Interview: The Mysterium

I had a tip come through my inbox last week of a new group that is starting up in Evansville called The Mysterium. The group is being formed for the purpose of investigating paranormal activity all around the Evansville area and helping to educate those who feel that they are experiencing these phenomenon.

I decided to interview their leader, Johnny (aka Mr Prophet), about the origins and goals of The Mysterium.

What’s your name/alias and your background in paranormal?

My name is Johnny or “Mr. Prophet” when conducting business online. I’ve been interested in the paranormal since I was about 9 years old. I’m 23 and have studied almost every branch of what can be considered paranormal - the Spiritualist movement, alien abduction, haunting activity, vampirism, magical traditions and their practices, cryptozoology, religious practices, shamanism and right on into the REALLY weird stuff like Hollow Earth Theory, Atlantis, dowsing and so on.

I’ve tried to keep my knowledge of the paranormal fairly well rounded, as opposed to focusing solely on ghosts like a lot of groups do. Given, I didn’t go to school for this sort of thing (not many places where such an education is available.) Rather, I’ve been driven to continue researching and learning out of personal enthusiasm for the subject.

What inspired starting the The Mysterium?

The group started in a very early form at the beginning of this year. I was one of the founders of an online community of paranormal investigators which got started back in February. We mostly discussed phenomenon but several of us, including myself, have gone out and performed investigations to contribute to the forum.

Activity in the group had started to slow down, so I’ve been trying to encourage the other members to start local investigation groups to help keep interest up. As far as I know, I’m the first one to attempt it.

I’m sure there’s a lot of paranormal activity in the area to be sought out. While Willard Library is an important fixture in the local paranormal scene, I think it would be a good idea to help bring to light other stories that may not be getting any attention. Plus, there are certainly people living with unexplained phenomenon in their homes and may not know what to do about or even what is causing it. Being able to give people like this some peace of mind is most definitely a goal I would like to accomplish.

What type of phenomena outside of Willard have you heard about in the Evansville area?

One of the more major areas I hear about now and again is the Dogtown area. There’s an old school house in the area that is supposed to be haunted. After hearing several accounts regarding the school, I doubt the validity of the claims, but the Dogtown area itself is supposed to have quite a bit of activity. Supposedly it’s a good place for spectral photography.

A number of people have claimed to capture lots of orbs in the pictures they’ve taken (Orbs are little balls of light that appear frequently in photographs taken in haunted areas thought to be energy radiating from a spirit.) Formerly, there was the old tuberculosis hospital near USI, but that was torn down several years ago.

That’s probably the closest to “mainstream” that I have. Other’s are just personal accounts of residential hauntings in the area. I’ve looked into a couple of them so far, but nothing really substantial has come of those yet. I’m hoping that will change once I start getting more in contact with the general public. New places to check, more possibilities.

Walk me through a typical paranormal investigation. Let’s say I feel something is happening at my house and give you a call. What happens when you actually show up?

Every investigator has a slightly different method for investigation since there really is no formal training for such a thing. I prefer a more spiritual approach to the paranormal rather than a strictly scientific one. Scientific tools are good for detecting and documenting the “symptoms” of haunting activity (cold spots, disembodied voices, EMF fluctuations, etc). As far as communicating with and, if necessary, protecting yourself from the supernatural, there really is no scientific way to deal with these things.

An investigation, as I would perform it, would start with an interview. Getting information is a good start. I have a sort of survey that I would run through to learn as much about the activity as possible and to attempt to tack down a possible cause for it as well as the type of haunting it may be. Things like “How old is your home?” “Any deaths in the home that you are aware?” “How frequent are the occurrences?” and so on.

Once you have the information from an interview, what’s next?

Investigation. At this point I would check the home in an attempt to experience the activity for myself. The first run through would be at some random time in the day when no activity has been reported. This is to act as the control portion of the investigation. Another run through would be done during the times that activity has been reported.

Unfortunately, we don’t have as much money to work with as TAPS does (the people from Ghost Hunters, in case you’re not familiar) so we currently can’t afford the fancy equipment that they have, but we have some of our own creative methods for measuring and documenting activity.

What type of equipment is there for paranormal investigations? Proton packs and ghost traps?

There are lots of different tools for paranormal investigation. Some are hi-tech meters and gauges while others are religious or occult tools. We try to use something of a mixture of everything. The technology area can be rather pricey, so we’ve had to come up with some creative alternatives. Here’s a list of some of the stuff I keep for investigations:

• Camera: Just about any investigator will carry a camera of some sort, be it an expensive digital video camera to a five dollar disposable.
• Flashlight: Breaking a leg in a dark room just isn’t worth it.
• Compass: While an EMF (Electromagnetic Field) meter will give you a clean numerical readout for detecting spirit-related electrical disturbances, a standard compass can do the same job. EMF spikes can be read by watching the compass’s needle for changes in magnetic north.
• Candles: These serve a couple purposes. First, they can be used in finding the source of cold spots. Assuming that a spot isn’t caused by spirit activity, watching the flame flicker on a candle can help determine if there are drafts causing the unusual temperature. Also, if used properly, can help protect against upset spirits (though this is a rarity.)

That’s most of the detection stuff that I carry around. Other than that, I have a few spiritual tools for the sake of protection and clearings.

• Already mentioned candles
• Salt: Salt has been used for quite a long time in dealing with the supernatural. Traditionally, it’s said that evil spirits can’t cross a circle of salt.
• Article of Faith: Quite a few investigators have some sort of religious or spiritual item for protection, be it a rosary or pentacle or whatever.
• Herbs and Incense: Used strictly for space clearing, which I’ll get to momentarily.

Hopefully, we’ll be able to get some proton packs after the loan goes through.

Sorry for the sidetrack. Let’s get back to the investigation. Once you’ve finished your investigation, what’s the next step?

Based on the information gathered during the initial interview and the investigation, I would, to the best of my ability, determine if there is a haunting and, if so, what kind.

Solution: With the information in mind, coming up with a plan on how to deal with the activity is necessary. Someone might choose to live with it if they find the activity harmless. Some people might choose to move away if they are uncomfortable being in the home. Some people may simply want to be rid of it by way of a clearing. This is anything from a small prayer to a full blown ritual with the intent of coaxing the spirit out of the home. I can’t make any official claims regarding the efficacy of clearings, but if nothing else it can help to ease the worries of those living with the supernatural, help to put it out of their minds. That alone can help in causing the activity to disperse in some cases.

That’s an investigation in a pretty big nutshell.

You mention a ritual as a possible way of cleansing. Is this a religious ritual or some other type?

Clearing rituals can be either religious in nature of simply spiritual with no particular religious focus. It really depends on who’s performing the clearing. It can be a prayer asking God/Buddah/Shiva/Whoever to help the spirit move on, to directly petitioning the spirit to a full-blown exorcism (which is a pretty tall order.)

If someone wants to get involved in paranormal investigations, what’s the best route go to?

Getting into paranormal investigation isn’t too hard. All that you really need to get involved is personal interest and the right knowledge. While most people start out as independent investigators, the best idea is to get involved with a local group, like The Mysterium. We have a lot to offer to the budding investigator - Years of collected knowledge regarding the paranormal, proper investigation techniques and a group of like-minded individuals with which to share and discuss experiences. The only thing we require is genuine interest in paranormal study and investigation.

Whose your favorite Ghostbuster?

I was never able to pick a favorite Ghostbuster. Personally, I think they all brought something important to the team. Peter and Ray were unquestionably the heart and soul of the group. Egon was the man with the knowledge and technical know-how. Without him there would be no Ghostbusters. And Winston was the straight man, the level head of the group. I thought out this answer WAAAAY too much. I was totally obsessed with the Ghostbusters as a kid. They were more or less my first heroes.

You can learn more about The Mysterium on Facebook or MySpace.