Norman Gagnon - E-Mail Interview
Gagnon's Phenomenon's
Paranormal Investigations - Independent Field Research and Sightings Investigations
1. Your Full Name & Age?
A. Norman R. Gagnon - age 44
2. Where were you born, reside?
A. I was born in the state of Maine, lived/raised in a small rural town in Province du Quebec, Canada, than in 1970, moved to Rockville, MD. I currently reside in Northern Virginia (Springfield).
3. What are your likes/dislikes?
A. I love creating things from graphic art & design, carpentry, to gourmet cooking. I really enjoy forensic science. Dislikes: Heavy traffic. Folks that harm both people and their environment.
4. What different types of Fields do you practice or have accomplished?
A. Like most people, I have a regular day job that takes care of the mortgage and related expenses. I have two passions, law enforcement/investigation and the visual special effects field within the movie entertainment industry. (See security resume attachment) Here's also a link to my other site that relates to my movie career (link to film resume - click "resume")
5. What made you decide to become a Private Eye?
A. Ever since I was a young boy, I was always watching police related shows on TV and of course having a father as a cop didn't hurt either. As I became an adult, this fervency just couldn't be quenched, so in 1984, I took the Virginia State Private Investigator Course that was offered through a local security/investigation agency. A month later, I was working on my first case.
6. What Cases would you preform as a Private Eye?
A. Undercover and surveillance investigations.
7. What made you change to Paranormal Investigations?
A. I don't see this as a career change per say but rather adding another area of interest to my ever-expanding field of curiosity. Paranormal investigation is a recent venture, and I am presently establishing myself within the community.
8. Could you please share with us some of the things which you have witnessed?
A. In a recent ghost expedition, I have captured intriguing anomalies on film, from large orbs, vapor mist, to what appeared to be a human-like manifestation that was standing on top of a narrow stairwell within a 200+-year-old house. I have also witnessed three Unidentified Flying Objects within the last two years in Northern Virginia, one of which was later identified as a large meteor fireball that later crashed into a Pennsylvania cornfield. In the early 80's, living in a one bedroom apartment, I experienced what I believe to have been an angelic encounter, involving a spiritual being physically shaking me into consciousness, from a very deep sleep; needless to say, I woke up just in time to briefly get dress, eat breakfast, and make my very important appointment!
9. What groups ( Paranormal ) have you worked with?
A. I have been exchanging emails with Al Tyas, Founder and Chief of DC Metro Area Ghost Watchers (DCMAG) for about 8 months or so and one day (Spring of 2004) Al invited me to join him on a few local ghost hunts located in the historic area of Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia. I have met many professional and talented agents during these cases. I later became a DCMAG Trustee. I am still in process of looking around the Northern Virginia and metropolitan area for paranormal related organizations or even a brave soul that is willing the assist me. I have also recently joined MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) and currently being trained as a Field Investigator.
10. What investigations have you done on your own?
A. Within the last decade or so, I have gathered stories and photos of strange anomalies within my area and my notebook was getting rather full, so two years ago, I decided to create a website titled "Gagnons Phenomenons" to post all of my collected data. I have also included in my Case File section, a few articles dealing with extraordinary events that I personally witnessed such as the tragic 9/11 Pentagon attack that occurred just a couple blocks from my office building. At that time, I grabbed my camera and ran towards the Pentagon, weaving through the flow panic-stricken crowd, snapping away and capturing a brief moment of history. I'm rather new in the "paranormal" arena and in process of networking, making contacts, and increasing my dossier.
11. How far does your Paranormal Belief's take you?
A. I strongly believe in the afterlife and from a Christian P.O.V., I also believe that there are supernatural forces, of which spiritual beings coexist and are intertwined with our current physical realm of time and space. Depending on which path you have chosen to perambulate through, these entities can either guide and protect you, or ultimately lead you to your destruction.
12. What are you opinions/belief's on Ghost's, UFOs, etc.?
A. My belief in ghosts, angels, demons, witchcraft, and the like, is based on the ancient tome called the Bible. This book is clear to demonstrate what and why many of these phenomena still occur today. As to UFOs, I do believe in "unidentified flying objects" however my belief in extraterrestrials differs from most Ufologists. With today's science & technology, one could easily "fake" an UFO sighting from simply altering a photo via graphic software, misuse of advance holographic projections, to simply a helium foil balloon being carried away by the wind.
13. What types of cameras, film, etc. do you use & what are your favorites?
A. I have been utilizing a 35mm camera on many of my cases, 400-speed, with great results. I have just added a digital camera to my tools of the trade, and find it to be quite excellent, not to mention the instantaneous results!
14. What are the most common mistakes in your opinion that people make while taking pictures?
A. I have visited a lot of ghost hunter/chaser sites within the Internet, and seen a lot of groups posting photos of non-ghostly or false evidence of what they believed to be "orbs", and many of these were simply camera flash reflecting off rain droplets, dust particles, or flying insects.
15. What advice can you give on taking pictures correctly?
A. Carry more than one camera during your field investigations and always have extra batteries handy! For the long hair investigators, one should wear a hat or tie your hair into a ponytail and the like. One should not smoke during any investigations. If you believe you have captured something weird on film, please share it with a senior agent, or with a professional ghost hunters group for analysis, prior posting you results.
16. What advice can you give with other's whom may wish to do Independent Ghost & Sighting Research?
A. Research, research, and more research. Surf the Internet for local ghost hunter organizations, visit local libraries, and speak to a couple of religious leaders in your community, they may give you a unique perspective.
17. Is there any way for someone to contact you for an Investigation?
A. Yes they can, if you reside within the Washington DC area and have witnessed a phenomenon that defies any reasonable explanation, you could contact me by email (gagnonsxfiles@aol.com) or via my website Gagnon's Phenomenons: http://hometown.aol.com/facadefx/phenomenons.html. Upon the initial interview, an investigation may be conducted, with respect of the anonymity of persons who wish to divulge their experience without publicity. Depending on the case, I may ask another agent and/or specialist to assist me during the investigation.
18. Any comments for our viewers?
A. Always be aware of your surroundings, expect the unexpected, and make sure that you always carry a camera with you!
~*~
Ghosts are his game
By Jason Jacks
10/13/2004
Armed with camera & electromagnetic field detector, Gagnon snaps pictures near Holmes Run Stream Valley Park. He hopes to capture photographic evidence of a vision of a woman & baby that is rumored to appear mostly in foggy weather.
The hill leading down to the small creek that bisects Roundtree Park in Annandale was steep and overgrown with trees just starting to feel the effects of fall. The wind was picking up enough speed to send some of the less hardy leaves to the ground. The early October sky was quickly changing from dusk to milky black.
It was 6:45 p.m. Not exactly the witching hour. But becoming difficult to see, nonetheless.
Ignoring the pack of kids climbing on a nearby jungle gym or the soccer game being played on the opposite side of the creek, it appeared to be perfect conditions for ghost hunting.
Norman Gagnon, 44, clad in a black utility vest with enough pockets to make the King of Pop jealous, was right in his element searching for ghosts.
"I cover all strange phenomenons," he said. "I was always fascinated with the unknown and unexplained from ghosts, UFO reports, to Bigfoot and related cryptic sightings ever since I was about 9 years old," he said.
This Springfield resident and paranormal investigator was quickly snapping pictures of the creek bed with a disposable camera, hoping to catch a ghost on film. In his other hand, this husband and father of a 4-year-old daughter was carrying a homemade ghost detection device that can pick up a specter's electromagnetic emissions.
Nothing yet. Though Gagnon's camera would sometimes cause a false reading.
"I like this here. I like this a lot," he said about a dilapidated old stone wall near the creek.
No reading though.
As the old Internet story goes, the ethereal image of a woman carrying a baby occasionally appears at Roundtree Park, especially after a fog has just lifted.
Brian Bradley, the regional director for one of the state's larger ghost research groups, the Center for Paranormal Research and Investigation, said his organization performed a literature search on the story. They concluded the Roundtree ghost was merely an urban legend.
"I've found versions where the woman and her baby were killed in a round-shaped clearing near the back of the park during a satanic ritual. There is a version where the womanno mention of a babywas killed during a car accident nearby," said the ghost expert.
However, Bradley said nothing about his organization performing an actual on-site investigation at the park.
Gagnon's could be the first.
"Why would someone die and haunt a closet [or park for that matter] for 5,000 years? It doesn't make sense to me," said Gagnon, attempting to rationalize why a ghost would prefer to roam the world of the living than ascend to the heavens.
Gagnon, a facility and meeting coordinator for a government contractor during the day, caught the ghost hunting bug after returning from a trip to Mexico in 1995.
In one of his vacation photographs, Gagnon shot what appeared to be the image of a woman suspended above a church.
Some of his friends suggested the figure could be that of the Virgin Mary.
7:20 p.m.
Roundtree Park is completely black. Gagnon has left the creek bed and is now leading the way down a trail deeper into the park. Flashlights are a must. Trees block out any moonlight that might be available. The soccer game has ended and the park is quiet.
Still no reading on the EMF detector.
Gagnon is describing an episode in the 1980s when he was suddenly awoken by two hands violently shaking him.
When he leaped up from his bed, there was no one there. This happened twice, he said.
"It's a great story to tell at parties," and an early inspiration to search out ghosts, he admitted.
Records on how many ghost hunters there are working in the U.S. is anyone's guess, Bradley said.
What he does know is that there are stark differences between a "ghost hunter" and a "paranormal researcher."
"Amongst the groups I communicate with, there are two calibers, if you will, of so-called paranormal experts: the ghost hunters and the paranormal researchers. Both are very unique and neither of the subsets is very accepting of the other," he said.
"Ghost hunters are people who have no training whatsoever. ... They have no long-term goal in mind other than to see a ghost. ... Their interest isn't scientific in nature. It's more akin to a thrill seeker," he said.
"Paranormal researchers utilize a standard set of protocols which they employ upon each investigation. They have access to some fairly high-tech equipment and are constantly developing scientific hypothesis and then testing those theories in field situations," he said.
While still refining the craft, Gagnon's work, if his toolbox full of gadgets is any indication, appears to be leaning toward the paranormal researcher labeling. He has been apprenticing with the Washington D.C. Metro Area Ghost-Watchers, a local haunting consulting organization. Much of his work with the group has taken Gagnon to the local hauntings hot spot, Old Town Alexandria.
7:35 p.m.
Gagnon is turning back toward the parking lot. His initial investigation of Roundtree is complete, he said. Like most detectives, work now turns to analyzing data. In this case, film to see if an orb, or ball of light that may or may not be a ghost, has been photographed.
By e-mail a few days later, Gagnon revealed he found nothing out of the ordinary in his pictures. However, over the next few months, he plans to research the history of the park and return twice more to concentrate on areas he missed during his first visit.
As Gagnon would acknowledge, ghost hunting is not for the impatient or quick-results seeker. It is about a devotion to the clues and piecing together the facts before saying a ghost has shown itself. Detective work.
Gagnon, a "just the facts ma'am" type of guy, who is also a licensed private investigator, loves this part of ghost hunting. And, with his unique interests in detective work and the paranormal, searching for ghosts makes perfect sense, he said.
"It was just a matter of time until I found myself in the middle of the night, scanning and photographing shadows within darken forests," he said.
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