Interview: David Pierce Rodriguez from PRISM

December 8, 2015

David Pierce Rodriguez is the founder of PRISM paranormal research, which currently consists of thirteen active teams around the United States and one in Australia. He also works full-time in the field as the current Director of the South Florida PRISM team.

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vp: What was your first experience encountering the paranormal?

David: I was the the host of a spirit possession from the ages of 14 to 16. It was 1984, and we had just moved into my grandfather’s home in Columbus, Ohio, to help care for him in his old age. My first experience with a ghost happened within the first twenty minutes of me being alone in that house. I was in the upstairs bathroom brushing my teeth, when all of a sudden, I heard three loud bangs on the bathroom door. Thinking my younger brother had returned home, I paid no mind to it, but as soon as I finished brushing my teeth, I heard three more really loud bangs. They were so strong that I could see the door shake. I quickly went to open up the door and nobody was there. I was super shocked to find that I was the only one in the house. This kind of communication became a common occurrence, and within a couple of weeks, I decided to communicate back. My possession occurred soon after. Everything came to an abrupt end with the death of my grandfather in 1986. My family sold the house and we moved.

vp: Recall a powerful moment that occurred on a recent investigation.

David: This past year, we’ve had the honor of working with some really amazing paranormal investigators such as Robb Demarest from Ghost Hunters International and Haunting Australia. From him in particular, I learned to not focus so much on tons of equipment, but to get back to basics. A few months ago at an investigation of the Deering Estate in Miami, Florida, Robb re-introduced me to the hard-to-find Panasonic RR-DR60 IC recorder. That digital audio recorder’s ability to pick up EVPs is unmatched! We recorded some amazing EVPs that night. Sometimes it’s good to just strip everything down to a few investigators, one or two infrared video cameras, and a couple of decent audio recorders.

vp: Have you ever come across any spirits that seemed to have a sense of humour?

David: Very often. There are many spirits with a sense of humor, and, with ghosts, “in death as in life”. We’ve probably recorded just as many silly EVP clips as we have creepy ones.

vp: What is your favourite investigation technique?

David: I always like to say, “if you didn’t record it, then it didn’t happen.” An infrared or full-spectrum video camera is crucial. In addition to that, I like to use a minimum of three different pieces of equipment to measure energy changes in a haunted location, such as a REM-POD, MEL meter, and static electricity sensors. Personal feelings are great, but if we ever are going to prove that ghosts exist, then we need to show the scientific community that EMF, static electricity, temperature, barometric pressure changes, etc., occur during a paranormal event.

vp: Is there a particular experience you’re seeking or something you hope will happen on a future investigation?

David: In early 2016, PRISM will be the first team to utilize robots to conduct paranormal investigations, which will finally remove the human element from spirit detection. My goal is to aid in creating a piece of equipment to conduct live, proven communication with the dead. I’ll keep investigating and experimenting until those results are achieved.

Watch PRISM’s investigations here.

Many thanks to David for his personal stories and sharing his technical expertise!

-Hecate