NEW ZEALAND STRANGE OCCURRENCES SOCIETY
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"Whatever else, indeed, a 'ghost' may be, it is probably one of the most complex phenomena in nature." 
- F.W.H.Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research.

New Zealand Strange Occurrences Society

Our main aim is to help people who have experienced  phenomena they can't explain. By conducting site investigations, interviews, discussions and other research, we hope to:
  • Identify and discover the causes of reported supernatural or paranormal phenomena, or other strange occurrences
  • Learn about the nature of paranormal experience. How and why do people experience ghosts and other phenomena?
  • Through the news media and other avenues, promote discussion and contribute to a better understanding and appreciation of various paranormal phenomena
  • Encourage communication, cooperation and collaboration among the various paranormal investigation teams and interest groups in New Zealand and abroad. (We're all on the same side. Rivalry is petty and counterproductive.)
  • Have fun doing all of the above. We are in this because of personal interest and scientific curiosity, not for the money (there is none) or the attention (we all have busy lives, but it's still kinda nice when what we do occasionally gets noticed).

The NZSOS team

Strange occurrences meeting room Aims and purposes of Strange occurrences paranormal investigators wellington nz
Our meeting room, 2005-06 (photo: J.Gilberd)
FLIR long-wave infrared reading of an antique chair, heat camera photo, Strange Occurrences paranormal investigators Wellington New Zealand; photo by james Gilberd
House investigation, 2014
Since forming in late 2005 with four members, our group has gained experience in the field by conducting paranormal investigations in public buildings, business premises, private residences and outdoor locations over the length and breadth of New Zealand.

We remain curious, open minded and optimistic about the possibilities of paranormal phenomena, but we always look for natural reasons for mysterious happenings and avoid leaping to conclusions based on paranormal explanations.


Strange Occurrences paranormal investigators all share lifelong interest in the paranormal. None of us claims to be psychic or to have the abilities of a medium; but, like many, we have each had our own experiences of things that are difficult to attribute to normal or natural causes. We all strive to gain experience, knowledge and understanding in this fascinating field of study.
Strange Occuirrences paranormal investigators team photo 2013
Strange Occurrences team, September 2013. L-R: Karen Lee, Denise Durkin, Rob Wilson, Jayne Marquand, Helen Gower, Patrick Brown, James Gilberd, Scott Bomann, Jo Davy, Mark Marriott. Joined since this photo was taken: Nick Hill.
With various arts and science degrees spread among team members (including a Ph.D. and a medical doctorate) we understand and respect Scientific Method and take the position that nothing in nature is absolutely proven. We try to avoid pseudoscience (paranormal investigation is riddled with it), but we can only work with the best available methods, theories and hypotheses, and strive to perhaps develop better ones.

Within the group we have a range of attitudes to and opinions about the paranormal. Some members are more skeptical, others more accepting. Some in the team are, by their own admission, "as psychically sensitive as a concrete block" while others are more in tune with unknown forms of resonance or historical echoes that seem to occur, somehow, in a few locations and around some people. But we all share a similar level of curiosity about the broad range of unexplained phenomena known collectively as the paranormal.

While we have a healthy range of personal beliefs across our team, we try to not be led by belief when investigating the paranormal. We feel it's better to be neutral, weigh all evidence and reported experiences objectively, and to be prepared to consider various possible explanations of phenomena that lie beyond the current, scientifically accepted understanding of nature.
More about the Strange team.

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Links to 'Profile: How I got into the paranormal' by James Gilberd

A brief history of Strange Occurrences

Strange Occurrences - Paranormal Investigators was formed in late 2005, born out of  an excessive coffee-drinking session by James Gilberd and Mark Marriott. Denise Durkin and Karen Lee were immediately drafted in, press-gang style, and our first meeting was held. We consumed a lot of tea and biscuits and decided to adopt pseudonyms, which made sense at the time but soon had to be abandoned in favour of our true identities. Fortunately, we have developed and come a long way as a group since then.

Our first internet profile page went up in late 2005/early 2006 and just sat there. The oldest versions of it to have been archived are; 18 November 2006 and September 2006.
At this time, Spooks (based in Christchurch), dissolved, leaving us as the only known, active team in New Zealand (for a year or so, at least). 

In 2007 we began to get media attention, which led to more enquiries about our services, and in 2008 we "came out from behind our mysterious web presence", dropped the pseudonyms and got down to business. In this period several other paranormal teams came into being, and we enjoyed a period of cooperation with Manawatu's Phoen-X PRI during which we all cut our teeth on many investigations.

The progress of Strange Occurrences has been extensively charted in print media, radio and television, as well as in our book Spooked - Exploring the Paranormal in New Zealand published by Random House NZ.

In August 2015 the group changed its name to the New Zealand Strange Occurrences Society. To be continued...
founding members of Strange Occurrences team, 2006,Strange Occurrences paranormal investigators Wellington New Zealand; photo by James Gilberd
Founding team members, 2006
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Not us, but kinda how we see ourselves - the ASPR in 1975
"Who am I?
As a bird I fly about
Seeing things, partaking of things.
Let my heart be delighted with them."

- Aztec poem.

"But at the last, what do we know?" - Arthur Machen.
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  • Contact
    • Disclaimer & safety issues
    • NZSOS Privacy Policy
    • Encounter check list
    • Ghost Advice
    • FAQs
  • Photos
    • Orbs
    • Orbs explained
    • Flare
    • Mists
    • Pareidolia, apophenia
    • Uncategorised
    • International photos
    • Analogue photos
  • Ectoplasmic Residue Blog
    • Blog index
  • NZSOS
  • Methods
    • Investigation procedure
    • Paranormal investigation equipment
    • Science & pseudoscience
    • Thoughts on ghosts
  • Videos
  • Media
  • Links
    • International links
  • Spooked book
    • Blurb
    • Media & reviews
    • Other NZ paranormal books
  • Paranormal Novel