If you think planchette means sitting around a round table in a dark room, a single candle flickering, with fingers touching a coin … think again. Paranormal investigating groups in Kolkata claim to have switched to more “scientific” techniques to invoke the spirits.
My Kolkata spoke to members of the Indian Spectre Paranormal Society and Detective of Supernatural on Bhoot Chaturdashi to find out how they go about conducting professional “spirit calling”.
“We use a system called Instrumental transcommunication (ITC). With a series of gadgets, we try to sense and communicate with energies in a particular area,” said Avijit Sarkar, the founder of the Indian Spectre Paranormal Society, a group of paranormal researchers.
Avijit Sarkar investigates paranormal activity Indian Spectre Paranormal Society
Devraj Sanyal, the founder of Detective of Supernatural, said the spirit-calling process is called evocation. “When a client calls us, we first ask for signs of supernatural presence which cannot be understood by logic. This we do to determine if a spirit actually wants to connect with mortals or not. If a spirit does not want to communicate, the entire process will be futile,” Sanyal said.
The process
While Sarkar mostly relies on gadgets to sense energy in the environment, Sanyal takes a more physical approach. “First, we try to find out the possible scientific reasons for the alleged paranormal activities. If we find none, only then do we start our investigation. We ensure that the particular room is airtight before lighting candles. Then we communicate with the spirit present in the room (if at all) with two balloons, with ‘yes’ and ‘no’ written on them,” he said.
Sarkar said spirits can stay only for a small time and can answer just a few questions. “That’s why we ask our clients to make it short and precise, no more than five questions,” he said.
Abhijit Sarkar with the gadgets he uses during investigations Indian Spectre Paranormal Society
Is planchette scientific?
While paranormal investigators sound highly confident about their methods, rationalists are dismissive of the entire process of spirit calling.
“Just like astrology, the very notion of planchette is fundamentally flawed. No test has ever proved the existence of a spirit and if there is nothing called a spirit, then how can someone call one? These are baseless superstitions,” said Anirban Bannerjee, assistant secretary, Kolkata, of Paschim Banga Vigyan Mancha.
Detectives of Supernatural (DOS)
The Detectives of Supernatural (DOS) team The Detectives of Supernatural (DOS)
How the team was formed: A group of youngsters wanted some adventure in life and without thinking much they formed a group in 2011 to investigate supernatural activities. Initially, they had no in-depth knowledge of the topic and weren’t too successful. The team broke up and then re-joined in 2015.
What do they do: If someone is experiencing a supernatural phenomenon in their house, the team visits and investigate the matter. The process of investigation is largely gadget-oriented as the group does not believe in sixth sense or mere feeling. They often do spirit calling, but that cannot be called a planchette.
“For successful communication, the spirit first needs to show interest or give signals. That interest is what we call supernatural activity. We give them a way to connect with their close ones. Our gadgets are just for catching their manifestations and measuring the environmental changes that happen during the connection,” Sanyal said.
Spooky experience: The team had gone to shoot a documentary on the haunted Dow Hill in Kurseong in 2016. On the third day of the shoot, around 2am, team member Subhajit Saha claimed to feel a strange pain in his wrist. “It was as if someone was holding my wrist and would not let go. Subhajit couldn’t move an inch. Later when we saw his hand there was a nasty scratch as if made by a wild animal even though he was wearing a full-sleeve jacket that covered his wrist. We have no idea how the scratches appeared,” Sanyal said.
Indian Spectre Paranormal Society
The Indian Spectre Paranormal Society team Indian Spectre Paranormal Society
How the team was formed: A fan of horror shows since childhood, Sarkar took keen interest in paranormal incidents. An incident in 2006 inspired him to start the society. One evening, Sarkar and one of his friends were returning home from tuition when they claimed to have seen an eerie male figure sitting under a tree. “There was something spooky about it and when the man didn’t respond even after we called him multiple times, my friend threw a pebble at the figure and it went right through him. We fled the spot,” said Sarkar, who formed the group with like-minded people soon after.
What do they do: The team deals with paranormal investigations at the request of clients. When an individual experiences some paranormal incidents or an anomaly cannot be explained by logic, they contact the group. ISPS starts its investigation with scientific devices.
“We have 26 different kinds of devices that help us to locate and capture the existence and nature of the spirit,” Sarkar said. “After the death of a person, his consciousness stays on. We try to get answers from that and then we try to analyse it,” he said.
Sarkar started learning about spirits from the internet and books. He also completed several courses.
Spooky experience: In 2016, Sarkar was writing in his diary when his wife enquired why he was writing with his left hand. “To my surprise, I realised that despite being a right-handed person I was writing with my left hand and that too in an unknown language. After some research, I recognised the script to be Hebrew. I had also drawn two anti-pentagrams. I am yet to find their meaning,” he said.