Most of us remember the “Ghost Busters” movie. We watched in delight as Bill Murray and Dan Akroyd used techniques and equipment that only Hollywood could have invented, to capture and “bust” ghosts.
Although the movies were entertaining (admit it you liked them) even the strongest believers in ghosts knew that they were pretty far fetched and unbelievable. Using a trap to capture a real ghost? We all knew that it was impossible. Or was it?
A man by the name of Robert Bess didn’t think so. As a matter of fact, he spent over 10,000 dollars of his own money to build his very own “ghost trap”, with the intentions of capturing and filming a real ghost for the first time in history. Believe it or not, there are many that say he has succeeded and that there are pictures and film to prove it. NBC featured his quest dubbed the “3 Mile Lock Experiment” in a television show themed “technology vs. legends”. The show followed Bess to the 17Th century Gothic abandoned pump house near Boulevard Bridge in Richmond,VA where he set up his chamber.
Bess’ chamber is a massive 8 ft tall, 4 foot wide box constructed of bulletproof plexiglass and is virtually indestructible. Electromagnets, lasers, sensors, internal and external digital thermometers, and magnetic locks were strategically installed to prevent the entity from escaping once it was inside. Great care was taken in the design of this real life ghost buster trap.
Bess had initially tried to attract investors in his chamber but was predictably unsuccessful. Still determined to prove the existence of ghosts and that his ghost trap would work, Bess ponied up his own money to see the experiment through. In May of 2007, 26 years of research and determination paid off according to Bess.
While NBC filmed his experiment for television and over one hundred witnesses watched, the chamber was triggered and two entities were trapped within the ghost chamber walls. These ghosts were visible to everyone present, including the NBC crew. The ghosts were captured on both video and still picture. There is no doubt that something was contained within the chamber. Was it a real ghost? The ghosts were released a short while later and the debate over the Bess Ghost Chamber began.
One would assume that Robert Bess had once and for all proven the existence of ghosts and that society and the scientific community would finally accept the reality of ghosts and paranormal activity.
Unfortunately, this was not the case. Although Bess welcomes challenges to his technology, skeptics remain non believers. No matter how much and what kind of evidence is presented, some people will never believe that there is any such thing as a real ghost and the ghost chamber is proof of that.
The entire event is to be featured in a documentary film entitled “The 3 Mile Lock Experiment – Catch the Spirit.” Maybe this documentary can help change the minds of some of those skeptics and prove once and for all what Robert Bess already knows and according to many people, has already proven.
