Narrated by Dan Thompson Running time 15 minutes | Country of origin United States First episode date 31 October 2007 | |
Starring Dan Thompson, Daniel Butler, Daniel Pfeifer, John Hoffert Original network Online / Primarily YouTube Original release October 31, 2007 – present Genres Documentary film, Reality television, Docudrama | ||
Ghosts and Entities Investigations Group (GEIST) is an organization based in Santa Rosa, California, USA that serves primarily as paranormal investigators. It was founded in 2006 by Daniel Thompson, Daniel J. Butler, and Daniel Pfeifer. In 2007 the group began creating monthly podcasts, and showcasing findings on the popular website YouTube.
Contents
- Objective Research and Investigation Practices
- Investigators
- Orbs
- Geist Podcast
- Geist TV
- Equipment
- References
Geist Group services Sonoma County and much of California as Ghost Hunters, investigating claims of paranormal activity as well as claims of cryptids.
Objective Research and Investigation Practices
Geist primarily serves as paranormal investigators. They utilize an objective investigation process which includes the principle of occam's razor, using state of the art technology, and discrediting evidence which can be explained by other means; such as garbled EVPs (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) also known as "level 2" or "level 3" EVPs which generally require a considerable amount of post-processing, and the general rule of discarding "Orbs" and Orb-like images.
The teams main objective is to track, investigate, and apply scientific as well as logical reasoning to events thought to be paranormal or supernatural. When approaching any case or claim of activity, the team takes an objective stand-point to ensure that they are not finding so called evidence because they are searching for evidence, rather, they examine the events and either debunk and dismiss them, or accept and attempt to explain the activity. This is what the group refers to as "Neutral Minded". As the group states on their website: "there are many things that go bump in the night that can easily be explained through everyday occurrences."
Investigators
Orbs
The subject of the Orb is controversial for many paranormal investigators as dust, insects, or other particles can "bloom" with the introduction of flash-photography, resulting an "orb-like" picture. The Geist Group, on principle, does not consider Orbs as any indication of a paranormal happening, they believe it is too hard to differentiate between a manifestation and a speck of dust.
Geist Podcast
The GEISTcast, or podcast, features a 15-20 minute discussion of previous events, happenings, takes calls, and discusses one subject a week, usually having to do with Paranormal events.
Geist TV
The Geist Group has put out several ten-minute clips of their various investigations, which includes locations local to Northern California. The shows generally consist of the background and reported happenings of the location, various instances or events of the investigation, evidence, and a wrap segment.
There have been six episodes or cases so far.
Equipment
Geist primarily uses non-modified consumer or "prosumer" type devices, such as high-end camcorders, Digital Voice Recorders, and video capture devices. Modifications, as a rule, to equipment do not interfere or otherwise change the operation of the device and generally are only used to make operation of equipment easier, such as installing an on and off switch (for the KII EMF Meter, a common modification), or replacing bulbs with Infra-Red LEDs for increased night vision.
A short list of Equipment is found on the Geist Group website.
There have been talks of introducing equipment such as the "Ghost Box" or Spiricom, but due to how little is known about such devices, the evidence provided could be too controversial to count as proof of paranormal activity.