Vortex Vortexes Vortices
A whirling mass of water, air, fire or flame, in which a force of suction operates, like a whirlpool.
Definition in the paranormal-world:
A vortex is thought to be a form that can appear on photographs taken during paranormal investigations that some believe to be a gateway or door to the spirit world and the center of a paranormal disturbance. Vortices usually appear as a long whirlwind or column of light in a photograph. Some investigators believe the vortex can be used as a way for spirits to travel to and from our own world.
Vortices are also believed to be possible concentrated areas of high EMF often found in photographs taken at active locations. They may appear as solid white tubes or rods They can also appear to be braided like a rope or chain. A vortex is not a spirit. Some paranormal researchers believe a vortex is a temporary doorway or portal to another realm that allows entities and other paranormal phenomena to come into our world. Some researchers also believe vortexes are linked to the Earth's own electromagnetic field which help determine when these portals open. It is also believed that some locations are more prone to having active vortices due to the alignment of the Earth's magnetic field and local geological structure.
Skeptics argue that photographic anomalies such as this can be caused by conventional means such as an object close to the camera ( a camera strap for example ). There is currently no conclusive evidence that this particular type of anomaly is paranormal in nature.
I have been hearing this word used to describe how or why some paranormal activity occurs and how ghostly entities from another realm outside of our own physical one can enter ours. The idea of vortexes is a construction of paranormal investigators, who have used their very active imaginations to create a story, a narrative, a fiction or fantasy to explain something that is unexplainable. It's so easy and convenient. Just imagine a place where the universe allows entry to spirits from another realm through a gateway, a door, a hole, a crevice. a wardrobe. This idea has been used in fiction for hundreds of years.
My favorite fictional vortex is the Wardrobe in C.S.Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. An old, ornate clothes closet filled with fur coats is really a door to the kingdom of Narnia. Climbing into the closet and out the other side not only puts you into another place of snow and castles and talking animals, but another time/space continuum. You grow very old in Narnia. When you climb back through the "vortex" wardrobe you have only grown a few hours older. This is the very best of devices for fantasy and fiction. It gives you a way to create other realms, other times, alternate universes, parallel places and everything is believable, because I have climbed through a vortex.
J.K. Rowling's vortex is the place where Harry and Company run into a brick wall full speed and wind up at Hogsmeade Station. The Hogwarts Express is the name of the train that makes a run from Platform 9¾ and Hogsmeade Station. It makes this run about six times a year as needed.
This closely resembles the paranormal description of a vortex. You can't see it, everything looks normal, but you can climb in or out of it (or run full speed into it, as the case may be) if you know that it's there. How cool.
Here is one of the best examples I have found online of a paranormal investigative team and their take on a vortex. It is very common for a self proclaimed psychic or sensitive to be the one to break it to the group and client that they have a vortex. It's strictly in the mind of the medium here.
Source: Paraphrased story taken from public facebook online post on March 1, 2013, Friday. Time: 1900 Hours. Location: Somewhere in California. Names and actual places have been removed or changed to protect.
"We are investigating an apartment complex that has a phantom that has the tendency ... to push people down the stairs."
The Occupant and ... Paranormal Investigator ... Talks:
“I have lived here nearly 6 years. There has always been activity going on. I have heard foot steps in the hallway, shadows in my room while I was sleeping, I was pushed down the stairs one morning. I have heard my son talk to a girl that he has called his sister. The mother and a few other people have seen her. I have not."
"..., Psychic Talks:"
"Before the investigation, I had renowned psychic ... take a walk through and in her own words, she describes ... what she picked up on: "
“As I went up the stairs I could feel the thickness of a presence that began on the first landing and got thicker until I got to the hallway closet. The closet is a vortex that was quite strong. The entity guards the vortex. It is a male entity and would not give a name... He follows you around and pushes on us to get us to leave... The entity moves from the stairwell, bathroom and bedroom...The entity stays out of the child's room. You can feel the difference between the child’s room and the rest of the house, especially the doorway... As we set up the equipment everyone was feeling the entity. I believe that the entity becomes upset the more he is talked about. It is his intention to guard this spot. He wants us to leave him and his vortex alone.”
This is why paranormal teams who want to do science-based investigations of haunted locations should not and do not use psychics. It's all subjective and unverifiable. There is no evidence, no proof, only the psychic's word. The result is scaring the client half to death, believing that they have a doorway to hell in their beautiful home. It also tends to result in the investigators having not only preconceived notions of what is going on without evidence, but influences their objectivity and emotions. In other words, they can be scared to death as well. This sort of thing occasionally will result in people actually moving out of their homes, solely on the word of a psychic. Someday the legal system is going to get wind of this and go after groups and hold them responsible for what they tell a client. Be warned folks.
The other issue I have is, now that the psychic has answered the client's questions and solved the mystery of what is going on, what further need is there to investigate and look for proof? Debunk? Find natural explanations? Find answers based upon evidence? What if there really is a ghost haunting this place? Real investigating, breaking out all of the tools and toys and techniques and working hard to catch phenomena; that's our job. Find and capture proof.
This takes knowledge, experience, very hard work, patience and data collecting. It also requires the investigator to keep an open mind and not go with preconceived notions of what might be going on. Good investigators recognize just how complicated most cases of reported hauntings can be. It involves the place, but it also involves the client and the client's experience, psychology, emotional make up, religious beliefs, and preconceived notions. Many clients are sincere, intelligent, and genuinely frightened. Other clients can be a bit crazy, or looking for attention, or have a hidden agenda. I once did an investigation where, at the end of a very long and fruitless night, the client admitted he was curious about what we did and how we did it. He wanted to watch a real team at work like on TV. Damn.
It requires a desire for truth. Not stories, not fiction, not fantasy.
This is fiction. It's fantasy at its best. Sure, we can imagine vortexes being real. We can use them to explain phenomena that is unexplainable. But prove they exist? Only if you are a quantum physicist. Who knows? Maybe the quantum physicists are right. Their theories are certainly fascinating and truly beyond my intelligence quotient. I do not understand string theory or time space continuum's. E=MC squared. Einstien's theory of relativity. Sure. It could all be true. But there is only theory right now, no proof, except on a molecular and "head of a pin" place of huge brains who spend all of their time just thinking about this stuff and solving equations. For now, in the paranormal realm it is all speculation, guess work, fantasy and fun.
My problem is when paranormal investigators tell clients that they have a vortex in their home that has let in an evil entity. Or they have told a terrified client that the use of a Ouija board has opened a vortex and now it cannot be closed, ever. All sorts of evil demons and creatures are climbing through and it will cost you.
I love the show Supernatural, but I think some people have been watching too many re-runs and really believe that Sam and Dean are out there hunting demons and creatures escaped from Purgatory through a vortex opened by Crowley.
Come on.
Stop scaring people.
Now to the photos.
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| Picture was taken by me near the battlefield in Gettysburg. Some people believe that so many orbs in one location means the presence of a portal or vortex. To me, it simply means it's a damp night or a lot of bugs. This location was right beside a stream. The brighter orbs simply are reflecting the camera flash. |
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| Sach's Bridge, Gettysburg, PA. Photo taken by me. Since the bridge is over water, it's always very damp and misty with a lot of bugs. These large orbs are fairly close to the camera. The local ghost hunter hobbiests believe Sach's Bridge to be very haunted and a possible portal. |
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| Sach's Bridge, Gettysburg, PA. Photo taken by me. I believed at the time that I had captured the apparition of a Civil War soldier. I still see him as clear as day. But I now believe that this is matrixing. The foliage from the trees and dark and light shadows falling on the ground cause the eyes to form recognizable images, like figures, faces, etc. The mind fills in the details. Again, Sach's Bridge is believed to be a portal to and from the spirit world because of all of the death associated with the Civil War on this land. |
Of course, there are all of those holes that have opened up all over the planet and swallowed people, cars and houses recently. One opened up in a neighborhood where I used to live and took a house. Two places next to it had to be condemned. Maybe I am wrong and the planet is riddled with vortexes.
Be careful where you step.
P.J.
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