Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum Ghost Expedition 2018 [Baltimore MD] / Instrumental Trans Communication (ITC) - Thoughtography Experiment
Photo set captured by Maryland Paranormal Research ® at the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum in Baltimore, MD on Nov 10 2018. This was a reprise of a visual ITC-Thoughtography experiment last conducted at Belle Grove Plantation [Port Conway VA] Jul 09-10 2016
Thoughtography is the mental (or psychokinetic) capacity to produce images on film or other media through intentionality.
The term ‘thoughtography’ was coined in 1910 by Tomokichi Fukurai, a Japanese psychology professor who encountered the phenomenon while working with a clairvoyant
The most famous adept at thoughtography was the late Ted Serios who produced hundreds of images on Polaroid film under controlled conditions witnessed by varieties of subject matter experts. Also, Polaroid imaging ruled out the potential for fraud arising from exposure or darkroom techniques
The ITC-Thoughtography experiment aimed to obtain control images in discernable detail of members who resided in the Poe home to include Edgar Allan Poe, his wife Virginia Eliza Clemm, and his aunt Maria Poe Clemm. Their images were conveniently situated on the fireplace mantle
Video was captured on a SONY DCR-SR45 camcorder. Camcorder video was then fed to a TV tuner stick connected to a laptop via a USB port. Audio from a Ovilus-X ITC device was sent to a distribution amplifier, which was used to create co-channel interference in the composite video signal
This experiment represented a departure on the traditional Klaus Schreiber Method (KSM) for video ITC, where the interference is created through feedback loops from pointing the camera at a monitor
In this experiment the interference pattern was generated from audio produced by the Ovilus-X, used on the phonetic setting. This device translates electronic voice phenomena (EVP) from vocal frequency (VF) into an amplified and audible form using a speech synthesizer
During instances of ITC chatter, smartphones were used to capture interference patterns generated on the laptop display. This technique represented another departure from the traditional KSM method of examining every frame of video
Research indicates that successful trans video captures often were preceded by EVP that cued image collection for experimenters. This concept directly leveraged the psi-functioning that was producing apparent EVP towards affecting video streams
Video is a series of still picture scans usually changing at the rate of 30 frames per second. Images are produced by voltages that control color (chroma), brightness (luma), and scan information. Horizontal and vertical scanning is moderated by synchronization pulses
The ITC-Thoughtography experiment unfortunately did not yield discernible images of Poe family members. Most images did not convey anything recognizable. However, some images appeared to have representations of objects or words seemingly associated with prominent works of Edgar Allan Poe
The camera was situated in a display room on the 2nd floor in a corner that allowed a view of the stairwell to the garret (attic). The first two images are baseline views of the room without signal interference. In the second image, an investigator is in the room and camera field of view
The next two images display a facsimile of a smoking pipe. This was a signature accessory of the fictional detective character "C. Auguste Dupin", who first appeared in Poe's acclaimed short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue"
The next two images appear to display the letters "RUE", which also connects to Poe's work "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." However, some might interpret the letters as “RVE”
The next two images appear to display a facsimile illustration of the head of a common raven. This may connect to Poe's most celebrated poem "The Raven", which cemented his celebrity
The final two images appear to display a facsimile of a mask in the bottom left corner. This may relate to Poe's short story "The Masque of Red Death.” The image possibly also contains faces at the center right position and could also be an instance of visual communication
The ITC-Thoughtography experiment was exploratory. In isolation any of the reported images, which are approximations or facsimiles of objects represented, could be ascribed to pareidolia, which is the human tendency to see meaningful patterns in random data
While different observers may see different patterns, collectively the images appear to be reasonably recognizable, although not perfect, representations of the objects in question. And, the collective of images suggests the possibility of visual communication
There had been ample streams of EVP throughout the night and audio findings will be presented in separate posts. Some audio streams related to Poe’s ancestors such as Major David Poe (who served as the Assistant Deputy Quartermaster General for Baltimore), as well as to Edgar Allan Poe himself
While the experiment had aimed for high-detail imagery obtained in the Ted Serios experiments, perhaps thought imaging is easier to effect on smaller scales, much as it appears easier to capture EVP in fragmented bursts. Most images appeared to be produced from a rearrangement of features in the background frame
However, a question remains as to what were the sources of the effects, i.e. living and/or post-mortem agencies? Since observers are taking photographs during apparent instances of ITC, psi functioning as well as engagement on the part of the participants may have mattered towards experiment outcomes
In a larger sense, perhaps this applies across all ghost experiences inasmuch as that they may involve the interplay of living and post-mortem agencies in the production of "idea patterns." This much was suggested in the classic work "Apparitions" by GNM Tyrell
Future instances of this experiment will return to the traditional KSM technique of examining every frame of video but this will be limited to high-interest periods and/or streams of audio
Braude, S. E. (2016, Apr 16). ‘Ted Serios’. Psi Encyclopedia. Society for Psychical Research. London, UK
Eisenbud, J. The Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery 1000 Hilltop Circle Baltimore, MD 21250 speccoll@ umbc. edu Jules Eisenbud Collection on Ted Serios and Thoughtographic Photography. University of Maryland Baltimore County
Klaus Schreiber’s Video Looping ITC. (2015, Nov 23 ). ITC Voices
Maryland Paranormal Research ®. (2016, Jul 12). Belle Grove Plantation Ghost Expedition 2016/Caroline Co [Port Conway VA] / Visual ITC From An Ovilus-X. Maryland Paranormal Research ® tumblr
Maryland Paranormal Research ®. (2016, Jul 30). Haunted Port Conway Virginia: King George County/ Belle Grove Plantation Ghost Expedition 2016. Maryland Paranormal Research ® tumblr
Maryland Paranormal Research ®. (2016, Oct 15). University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) Special Collections: Jules Eisenbud Collection on Ted Serios and Thoughtographic Photography. Maryland Paranormal Research ® tumblr
Mishlove, J.A. (2016, Apr 7). Thoughtography of Ted Serios with Stephen E. Braude. New Thinking Allowed with Jeffrey Mishlove, Recorded Mar 12 2016. YouTube
Senkowski, E. (1995). Instrumentelle Transkommunikation. Dialog im Unbekannten. World ITC
Thoughtography. (2018, Jan 12). Wikipedia
Tyrrell, G.N.M. (1953). Apparitions (rev. ed.). London: Butler & Tanner. Sponsored.
Maryland Paranormal Research ® at Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum, Poe Baltimore MD. Nov 10 2018. All rights reserved
