by Karen Frazier, Managing Editor
Paranormal Underground Magazine

“I don’t like orbs, but I think I’ve really got something here.” I’ve heard the words. I’ve uttered the words. Even the big guys fall into the orb trap – seeing some piece of evidence that seems significant and then having it dismissed because there are orbs present.

I get it. Dust in a flash shows up as an orb. Bugs do. Reflections do. Good lord – I bet on one of my PMS fat days, I’d show up as an orb in a photograph.

Because there are a ton of logical explanations for orbs, does that mean that there is no such thing as an orb that is evidence of the paranormal? I dunno. Sometimes I wonder.

Cheryl and I were interviewing Zak Bagans, Nick Groff and Aaron Goodwin from Ghost Adventures yesterday (watch for their interview and podcast in October!). At one point, orbs came up in the conversation – in particular balls of light that were filmed going into both Bagans’ and Groff’s heads prior to what each of them experienced as a “partial possession.”

In the interview, Bagans was quick to point out, “They weren’t bugs. They weren’t dust. We know what those things are, and that is not what those were.”

Another person I interviewed, artist Jody Bergsma, showed me picture after picture of her, surrounded by orbs. The picture taken immediately before with no Bergsma in the shot? No orbs. Put her in the picture and BAM – thousands of orbs all around her. It is an interesting (and repeatable) anomaly, to say the least.

My first orb photo EVER was taken at a haunted location. While I am relatively certain that it was the reflection of the flash off of a reflective surface in a darkened room, it was an interesting coincidence.

My very first orb photo ever - captured at Puyallup Washington's Meeker Mansion. Most likely a reflection of the flash.

My friend, Michael Hunt, captured an orb on camera up at Wellington – taken in the daylight with no flash. It looks like a little 3-D pearl, with a tinier 3-D pearl hovering above it. Interestingly, the same big orb/little orb pairing was captured in a few other flashless photos.

Captured at Wellington - no flash used. Bug? Dust? Something else? Notice that if you look really closely, there is a smaller, almost identical orb above and to the left of the obvious one.

This photo - also taken without a flash shows the same interesting big orb/little orb pairing as the previous image.

It’s true. Orbs have become the red-headed step-child of the paranormal world. There’s a reason for this. There are just too many logical explanations for what could cause the orb. But what if….what if in some cases what they are is exactly what people believe them to be? Evidence of the paranormal. That what if makes it difficult to dismiss the appearance of orbs out of hand.

If you spend enough time chasing the paranormal, at some point you are going to come face-to-face with an orb. Most often, you will be able to dismiss it. But occasionally, you won’t, and you’ll find yourself joining in with the leagues of those before you who have said, “I don’t like orbs, but….”

What of that? What of Bergsma’s magnetic (orbnetic??) personality? What of the Ghost Adventures Crew’s experiences with these little balls of something? What of your own experiences?

I’m not saying that orbs are paranormal. I’m asking what if? I’ll tell you this. I don’t like orbs, but sometimes I wonder.

Since my first orb capture, I’ve gotten a few more. In closing I will leave you with the best orb photograph I personally have ever taken.

The best orb photograph I've ever taken.

Spooky, huh?