Residual Haunts & Energy Deconstruction

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

Read also: Residual Haunts and Energy

Residual Haunts & the Laws of Theromodynamics

This is the third and final in a series on residual haunts. The most insurmountable hurdle which the theory of residual haunt faces is the second law of thermodynamics. It is an absolute law according to scientists, which means that there are no known exceptions. We must remember that these are God's laws because He created them...when looking at this law we can learn something about its creator. It's absoluteness expresses a finite picture of our infinite God's immutability--God is unchanging just as these laws are unchanging. The fact that they cannot be broken is a faint mirror or God's omnipotence. Romans 1:18ff tells us that some of God's attributes can be seen in nature. I want to touch on a couple of issues before leaving this topic.

1. The tape recorder is a false analogy. We have all heard or said a million times that residual energy acts like a digital recorder. Sounds interesting, but does it? An analogy is an analogy...I recognize that. But if the analogy turns out to be sufficiently dissimilar to the reality it is attempting to mirror, then the mirror is cracked...it is a false analogy. When we stop for a moment and look beneath the surface we see how the digital recorder (or any human made recording device) is utterly dissimilar. How so? A residual haunt is allegedly a cluster of impersonal energy which gets triggered and plays back some original incident.

It takes a person with intelligence to design and build a digital recorder....try building one! The point is that the creation of a digital recorder is the conscious act of an intelligent human being...or the machines they create to make them. And...someone consciously has to push the start button. The recording material has been chosen and created/formed to collect the data...some kind of magnetic tape or digital equivalent. But, and this is the dissimilarity, residual haunts have none of this--it is all impersonal. One danger of using the recorder analogy is that it tacitly introduces an element of personalness...creative act...intentionality and conscious action--but the medium of nature is where the residual "taping" takes place, and nature is thoroughly impersonal. For example, what causes the action to start? Well, in the case of a digital recorder the person decides to turn it on and presses the on button with his finger..the person/finger is the cause of the effect (recording data or playing it back). However, in the case of a residual haunt there is a causeless effect...there is nothing to start the taping or play back. O there are anniversaries, but anniversaries are substantively nothing--they have no ontological staus (emotional status, but not matter). An anniversary cannot cause anything to happen in the external world as it has no fingers or equivalent.

Well, how do you explain the energy that is often connected to certain objects or parts of a house? "The Haunted Collector" with John Zaffis has this as their thesis behind the show. If the second law applies to paranormal reality then why are there energy clusters connected with these haunted collectibles, which can be detected and measured? Does that not show there are exceptions to these alleged absolute laws? Nope. Satan is a brilliant military tactician. He has brought about this energy-centric worldview, which gave rise to the notion of residual haunt. He also knows a good thing when he sees it--what better way to deceive folks into letting them co-exist with diabolical spirits than to fool them into thinking it is all harmless residual energy? What is causing that clock to light up the EMF? If it is not natural in origin, then a demonic spirit can easily "haunt" an object...making it appear to be innocuous. That is the very sad thing about the theory of residual energy--it has put many, many people into a false sense of security..

Residual Haunts & the Laws of Theromodynamics

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

Perhaps no concept is so universally assumed to be true in the paranormal community than that of a residual haunt. Along with intelligent haunt, poltergeist, and demonic, the residual haunt is alleged to one of four forms of haunting. However, there is a strong consensus amongst paranormal investigators that the residual haunt is the most common type of haunt. In fact, for most, the vast majority of paranormal activity is attributed to residual activity. For this reason alone, the notion of residual haunt is of immense importance. One is left to wonder why there is so little self-reflection within the paranormal community regarding this topic—it is simply assumed to be true. My purpose here is to show that it is a vacuous notion, with no basis in fact.

For the sake of those without prior knowledge, a residual haunt is a paranormal hypothesis which states that inanimate materials can absorb some form of energy from living beings, during moments of high tension ( e.g. traumatic death). This stored energy can be released, resulting in a display of the recorded activity. These “hauntings" are not intelligent but simply non-interactive recordings similar to a movie or a tape recorder.

A moments communion with common sense reveals the crucial role, for good or ill, that this omni-accepted belief entails. It either has tremendous explanatory power (85% of paranormal phenomena), or Satan has us whipped. The stakes are high and Christians cannot afford to be wrong on this one--too much is at stake.

This is a relatively complex issue, so I have decided to break it down into manageable segments. In this section I want to focus on how the concept of residual haunts is contradictory to science—in particular, how it is contrary to the laws of thermodynamics. This will be an argument from science and not explicitly from the bible—all truth is God’s truth.

This may surprise you because oftentimes folks will appeal to the First Law of Thermodynamics (law of energy conservation) in support of either intelligent ghosts or residual haunts. The argument goes like this: since energy cannot be destroyed, then when people die, their energy has to go somewhere. With what I consider several steps of logic missing in-between, the conclusion is then made that this provides a scientific basis for intelligent or trapped spirits. Regarding residual haunts, it is stated that the first law (conservation) also can explain why these alleged non-intelligent haunts can morph and move so remarkably—it is simply energy changing its form.

However, there are THREE Laws of Thermodynamics, and the Second law is particularly overlooked in this discussion.The Second Law of Thermodynamics deals with entropy of energy. Energy experiences entropy until thermal equilibrium has been reached. This law explains why perpetual motion machines are impossible in the world God has created. All scientific laws, like gravity, have been woven into the fabric of His universe—ensuring that the cosmos coheres and works—and that it is discoverable. But we digress…

To help explain how the second law works, consider what would happen if you took a glass of water and put several drops of red food coloring in it. Immediately, the red drops will begin to disperse—without agitating or stirring the contents. This dispersion will continue until the red food coloring has reached equilibrium—it has been evenly distributed throughout the container. In the end, you have pink water all throughout the glass!

In like fashion, when energy has been released from its container (bio-electric energy from human body), then it will disperse until it has reached equilibrium in surrounding environment. Though the energy has not been destroyed, it has been very significantly “watered-down”.Just as it would be impossible for the food coloring to stay clustered in the center of the glass (unless acted upon by an outside agent), so it would be impossible for released energy to remain clustered somewhere in the environment.

It is vital to note at this point, that the Laws of Thermodynamics are considered by scientists to be absolute—there are no known exceptions. Though the Laws of Motion are, at least theoretically, seen to be non-absolute, that is not the case with thermodynamics. For example. The Second Law is considered to hold true across the board, regardless of circumstances. This is important to keep in mind, especially if one simply dismisses my argument by saying, “Well, the paranormal realm is full of mystery and energy acts differently in that realm.” A thousand times no! That line of “logic” is known as special pleading, and is logical fallacy. Also, energy is energy. We quantify paranormal energy all the time—why question an absolute law of science at this juncture?

Consider this scenario: in my hometown there was a bloody battle during the War for Independence.It is also where I had my first paranormal experience; I saw a shadow figure decked out in military garb of that era. Many consider battlefields to be the classic example of perfect conditions for the creation of residual energy. How did that happen?

The violent fashion in which these men died is said to do two things: it violently releases the bio-electric energy of these young men; and it creates “shock waves” due the violence involved. All this emotionally charged energy is then absorbed into the surrounding environment—in this case it would have been the soil beneath their feet and the air around them (there is nothing else around to be absorbed into).

For arguments sake, suppose there is an explosion of emotionalized energy when the guns go off.  This release of energy “hits” the soil (or the interior brick wall if you are in a building). Suppose further, it even penetrates the soil or brick. The alleged result is a cluster of energy that provides the basis for residual paranormal activity…a cluster of energy that is sufficient enough to cause all manner of paranormal activity.

This is where the residual theory slams head-first into an absolute law of science. ANY energy that was emitted by this traumatic event MUST immediately begin to disperse until equilibrium has been reached. This is entropy. Like the red drops and the glass of water, the alleged released energy MUST be un-clustered and “watered down”. But unlike the glass of water, the new container is the soil, air, or brick. Meaning that the cluster of traumatic, emotionalized energy particles will experience massive entropy or dispersion…losing any and all alleged ability to perform anything. Let me say it another way, the explanation for residual haunts contradicts one of the most absolute (no known exceptions unlike laws of motion) laws of nature.

Without the energy remaining clusterized indefinitely, then the whole foundation for residual haunt collapses, and the entire superstructure with it.

Unless there is an exterior force acting upon the released energy cluster created by the violent deaths, then the clusters of energy will immediately experience entropy. The same holds true of the walls of a penitentiary or asylum. The way some folks talk you would think that inanimate matter (walls) has assumed human characteristics. The walls do not “witness” anything because it is brick or rock. Once again, no matter how much violent energy has been released within those walls, in every case the alleged energy MUST have dispersed immediately. It  makes no difference if it is quartz or whatever—energy may conduct better through some material, BUT IT CANNOT BE STORED THERE FOR EVEN A SECOND.

Consider the most powerful display of the release of energy in nature—lightning. When it hits an object, how long does that object remain “energized”? How long does the energy remain clustered in the tree? If lightning hits a tree, then a second after the strike this massive amount of energy has virtually disappeared. Compare this with the relatively tiny amount of energy allegedly released during a traumatic death. If…if there is any release, it is gone IMMEDIATELY…the victim of entropy.

Remember, energy is energy, and we need to stop anthropomorphizing it…giving it personal traits—even if these personal traits are “non-intelligent” (that gave me a headache because it is so absurd) Unless you create a different category of energy unknown to science, then it must obey the law of entropy and quickly move out to equilibrium.

I am not going to drag this out. The only thing I would reiterate is that entropy of released energy is immediate and quick…much quicker than the food coloring analogy. Next week I examine other issues related to residuals. For now, science…SCIENCE tells us that what I saw on the battlefield was not a residual playback. (interesting that it took off when provoked biblically).

SCIENCE TELLS US THAT THE FOUNDATION FOR THE THEORY OF RESIDUAL HAUNT IS CONTRADICTORY TO AN ABSOLUTE LAW OF SCIENCE…ENERGY CANNOT REMAIN CLUSTERED—NO MATTER WHAT THE SUBSTANCE OR CIRCUMSTANCES. PERIOD.

Residuals...Where Dost Thou Reside?

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

In this blog I want to focus on the most common form of alleged haunting…the residual haunt.The consensus in the spiritistic community (I refuse to call it paranormal anymore) is that most supernatural activity is residual in nature—for that reason alone, it is exceedingly important. I know some Christians who don’t believe in trapped spirits, but DO believe in residual haunts because it does not involve the trapping of a human soul (well, only a portion of it). I need to say one more word of introduction—this notion is yet another expression of the energy-centric worldview that has descended upon our nation like the dust of death…Energy is ultimate reality (instead of a Creator distinct from His creation). Without this distorted presuppositional foundation, residualism would have no hope of being taken seriously.

First, the human soul is indivisible… it cannot be divided in parts. However, residualism implies that very thing, because allegedly part of the soul is left behind as an energy imprint (life-force, consciousness—the bible calls it the soul). What percentage of the soul has been ripped off the whole? How much is needed from the whole if it is to function properly? Sorry, but our souls are indivisible—UNABLE to be divided…that is biblical ontology (nature of being).

Secondly, the soul is invisible because it is immaterial. No surgeon has ever discovered it during an operation. Also, it is not to be equated with the electrical activity in our hearts and brains. I had severe, potentially lethal,  electrical problems with my heart a few years back which required an operation to stop some of the electrical flow…my soul was not damaged (some might argue otherwise). How does an intrinsically invisible entity (the soul) suddenly acquire the ability to become visible—as in an intelligent or non-intelligent human haunt? Does the experience of death suddenly and radically alter a salient aspect of soul-ishness? As an invisible entity while the person was incarnate, how does it suddenly acquire the ability to become visible when dis-incarnate, as an apparition or shadow figure, and so on? Who gives it the ability to? How? It would have to change its own essential nature if we believe in either type of haunts. Occam’s razor dispenses with this convoluted explanation of the phenomena, known as residual.

Thirdly, do you realize how subjective the process is, from one individual to the next, to determine if supernatural activity is intelligent or not? Is there some activity you just assume is residual without even testing it? It (residualism) is hopelessly mired in subjectivism. What questions does one ask, and how many, to determine intelligence? What other means do you use to make what is really an incredibly significant and profound call or decision? The reality is that many investigators already assume it is residual unless proven otherwise. It is alarming to see how much of a snap judgment this usually boilsdown to. Each investigator has residual criteria…that if they were asked to spell it out, they would most likely be embarrassed. Based on a single EVP which seems non-relevant (to whom?), many investigators will classify at least some of the activity as residual. How much of the activity is residual…some or all…how do you determine what percentage? If some, how much of it is supposedly non-intelligent? What if they were messing with you? Which brings us to the next objection….

Fourth, it is naïve and smacks of demonaphobia. Consider this real scenario…Gettysburg has regular reenactments (Battlefields are said to be notorious for residual activity due to men dying young and violently…leaving energy). If demons are real, and if the Angel of Light principle is operative, why wouldn’t demons play pretend just like the human re-enactors? If demons are anything, they are deceptive…brilliantly and cruelly so. If you believe in residuals, where in your thinking is demonic deception? How do you make allowance for it? Is it not at least as plausible to believe that the demonic are play-acting…just like we do in human re-enactments? Residualism is naïve because it readily discounts the possibility of demons intentionally mis-leading us into thinking they are non-intelligent. If demons exist, that is precisely the kind of activity one would expect of them, is it not? They know we believe in residual haunts, and that the hallmark is non-intelligence. It seems eminently reasonable to me to assume that they intentionally give mis-leading answers to EVP’s (which we sin grievously in doing anyway), in order to cause us to mis-identify them—as non-intelligent. If they are classified as residuals, then they are safe!  UNDERSTAND THIS—demons are pure evil and they are not hip on being dislodged. They have means, motive, and opportunity—Occam’s razor please, because demonic play-acting most simply and comprehensively explains the phenomena.

In my book, I humbly challenge anyone to show me an alleged residual haunt which cannot be un-masked by biblical provocation. So far as I know, nobody has taken me up on my challenge. Many times, what appears to be a non-intelligent residual haunt, suddenly becomes very intelligent (and evil) when challenged in the name of Jesus. Mine is an empirically verifiable hypothesis…earnestly and persistently challenge the phenomena in Jesus name and it WILL spring to life—I’ve seen it happen over and over.

Fifthly, there are the analogies which attempt to explain residualsim—almost all require some trigger being pressed (e.g. recorder). How can an alleged cluster of energy be re-animated or brought out of hibernation, by an anniversary (it is NOTHING ontologically)? What is the equivalent of the FINGER PRESSING THE START BUTTON? Who or what can cause this re-play in space and time? It cannot act upon itself…Most of these points I am only able to state the objection without elucidating it sufficiently.

Lastly, residualism contradicts two of God’s most absolute scientific laws…the second and third laws of thermodynamics. Unlike Newton’s laws of motion, there are no known exceptions…they hold true across the board absolutely—that is how God wove them into the fabric of the cosmos. Simply put, once energy is released from its container, it WILL disperse until equilibrium is reached…unless external force is pressed upon it. If you put a few drops of green food coloring in a clear glass of water, then pretty soon the drops will disperse throughout the entire glass of water. Similarly, when energy is dispersed from the container of the body—as in a traumatic burst of energy associated with violence—it (and this is KEY) must disperse. To state that the traumatic release of energy can result in energy clustering in an environment, is utterly absurd and anti-scientific. The notion of energy being absorbed by its surroundings and kept clustered is ridiculous, because the released energy MUST DISPERSE UNTIL equilibrium has been reached. There is no external force to hold those maverick energy particles together and just lie dormant, until the right trigger is pushed. In an article by a parapsychologist, he admitted that this inviolable law had to be circumvented for ghosts to be trapped. Whether it is intelligent or residual, the absolute laws of thermodynamics are not circumvented, they would have to be CONTRADICTED—which is usually called a miracle. (residual energy is not to be confused with what is called potentialenergy, which is a horse of a different color!) To believe in residual haunts, you must acknowledge that it is contrary to one of the most absolute laws of God/science. This is but a skeletal outline—each point could be elucidated further.