Paranormal Investigation and the Like

ORBS

Orbs... the leading cause of debate and schism among the paranormal community.

Short and to the point: Orbs are not ghosts. Furthermore, they are not and should never be used as evidence for the paranormal, and there is good enough reason as to why. 

It is disconcerting to see how many groups will accept video and pictures of orbs as hard and solid evidence. Take Ghost Adventures for example. They seem to enjoy doing this the most. Watch their early seasons. How many times did they try to pass an orb off as evidence of a haunting? Too many times. In Zak's book "Dark World: Into the Shadows", he even tries to come up with a reason why he believes orbs to be spirits. Luckily, his claims went through a lot of criticism and were quickly shot down.

Orbs cannot be counted as 'paranormal' because of how easy they are to debunk. Those small, floating globes of light caught on camera can be so many natural things, and thus, it would be risky to say they are of paranormal origin. If something, even an EVP, has just so much doubt circling it, then it is best to dismiss it, so as to not mistakingly call it paranormal. 

Dust is the most common cause of orbs, in probably 95% of cases. I've seen groups that are in the oldest, most ancient, most dusty of basements, moving around and kicking up all the dust particles. And then they catch an orb or two on tape and call it a ghost and deem the building haunted. I'm not exaggerating that, either. One time, on some ghost show on television, there was a video of investigators in a basement. There was dust flying around everywhere, and they could see these particles flying around on their viewfinders. In the video, the investigators were visibly freaked out by the mass of "ghosts" surrounding them. 

Bugs are also a cause, but less common of one. Sometimes it is very easy to distinguish an actual orb from an insect. You can usually see the shape of the body, the legs, and the wings. But sadly, bugs are still considered paranormal often.

Water particles are the next common cause. They reflect the light of the camera or flash, making them look like "glowing orbs of spiritual energy". 

A fleck of something on the camera lens, glare orbs, etc. There's so many scientific explanations. Yet, if you look up pictures of ghosts on the Internet, it's likely that well over half of the images will be 'spirit orbs'.

But remember, it is important to have an open mind as a skeptic. I am very open to the idea that some orbs may actually be spirits.