Listen to the radio interview from Friday on NPR with myself and Angie Quinn from ARCH: Click Here
My good friend Nick Reiter, a scientist from Ohio gave me an intriguing gift at Paranormacon 2009. The device is called a “Fitroy’s Storm Glass”.
From Wikipedia:
A storm glass is a type of weather forecasting device, composed of a sealed glass container, filled with liquid, that allows the user to forecast the weather by observing the appearance of the liquid in the glass.
The liquid within the glass is a mixture of several ingredients, most commonly distilled water, ethanol, potassium nitrate, ammonium chloride, and camphor. This specific mixture was developed by Admiral Robert FitzRoy and used on his voyage with Charles Darwin on the HMS Beagle.
I had my first opportunity to employ the storm glass on a paranormal investigation on May 23rd, 2009 at the Rolling Hills Asylum in East Bethany, NY. The theory behind it is that paranormal activity causes the atmosphere around it to physically change; causing the barometric pressure to go up or down. The liquid inside the storm glass changes depending on the barometric pressure. “A storm glass works on the premise that temperature and pressure affect solubility,”. Crystals will form in the liquid if there is a change in the barometric pressure. If the weather is clear, for example, then the liquid should be clear and free of crystals.
It was early on the investigation (approx. midnight) when Robbie Thomas, Steve Genier, Ludema Simon, and myself were in the “isolation ward” of the Asylum. Robbie had just picked up a psychic impression of a woman who had been stabbed in the hallway. I brought the storm glass to the area where Robbie was standing and watched in amazement as the liquid near the top of the storm glass began to crystalize right before our eyes. A quick check of the weather outside revealed no change. Clear skies with only a slight breeze. The storm glass reacted to an atmospheric change in the very spot where Robbie received the psychic impression with no plausable reason for the change.
We continued to use the storm glass throughout the evening with similar results. Each time Robbie would receive an impression, the storm glass showed a change as well.
I plan to continue using this “old school” scientific instrument in future investigations and will continue to report my findings. If you are interested in adding a Fitzroy’s Storm Glass to your arsenal of paranormal equipment, drop me a message and I will see what I can do to help you get a hold of one. No batteries required.
Note: Nick Reiter added these additional comments:
I had my first opportunity to employ the storm glass on a paranormal investigation on May 23rd, 2009 at the Rolling Hills Asylum in East Bethany, NY. The theory behind it is that paranormal activity causes the atmosphere around it to physically change; causing the barometric pressure to go up or down. The liquid inside the storm glass changes depending on the barometric pressure. “A storm glass works on the premise that temperature and pressure affect solubility,”. Crystals will form in the liquid if there is a change in the barometric pressure. If the weather is clear, for example, then the liquid should be clear and free of crystals.
It was early on the investigation (approx. midnight) when Robbie Thomas, Steve Genier, Ludema Simon, and myself were in the “isolation ward” of the Asylum. Robbie had just picked up a psychic impression of a woman who had been stabbed in the hallway. I brought the storm glass to the area where Robbie was standing and watched in amazement as the liquid near the top of the storm glass began to crystalize right before our eyes. A quick check of the weather outside revealed no change. Clear skies with only a slight breeze. The storm glass reacted to an atmospheric change in the very spot where Robbie received the psychic impression with no plausable reason for the change.
We continued to use the storm glass throughout the evening with similar results. Each time Robbie would receive an impression, the storm glass showed a change as well.
I plan to continue using this “old school” scientific instrument in future investigations and will continue to report my findings. If you are interested in adding a Fitzroy’s Storm Glass to your arsenal of paranormal equipment, drop me a message and I will see what I can do to help you get a hold of one. No batteries required.
Note: Nick Reiter added these additional comments:
You may want to also add the note to any forthcoming explanations that crystallization and dissolution are processes that can also measure the available free energy in a region. The original reason I felt the stormglass might respond to paranormal events was that I felt it would be responding to actual fluctuations in space energy or entropy there. I believe that the observations with positive to negative air ion ratios fit in there too.
**Update 5-29-09Cheapest source for a storm glass I could find online:
http://www.pleasureboatsupply.com/weemspla.html
If they don’t have them in-stock, you can get the more expensive one here:
http://www.nautical-gifts.us/servlet/the-266/new-weems-and-plath/Detail
Happy hunting,
Rob Stone
Paranormal Investigator