"Haunted" Swing


If you're a fan of Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files then you witnessed the phenomenon known in Argentina as the "Haunted" Swing. A single swing appearing to move on its own can be rather creepy. After viewing a reporter's video of this swing, the Fact or Faked crew set out to debunk it.

When I see or hear about something this intriguing, I want, as others do, to learn more about it. I put my Googling skills to the test and went to hunting. Other than a few forums talking back and forth on the issue, pretty much every article I found on this subject says the same thing.

This began in June 2007, although it doesn't specifically state the boy Fibian was the first to discover it; only locals are listed. Teachers or someone reported it to the police (would loved to have heard that conversation) after it supposedly kept moving back and forth for ten days straight and then stopped dead. When the police couldn't come up with an explanation, they called in physicists. After months of trying to find an answer, they too walked away empty-handed. A logical explanation couldn't be obtained. So, it must be haunted or at least that's what the parents have decided. I have yet to find anything other than what was said on the show about a little boy dying on a nearby construction site. I know the world wide web isn't always the most reliable when it comes to accurate information, but if the two are related wouldn't it be mentioned in an article somewhere?

After a little more digging, I discovered a few more tidbits that wasn't mention in the above account. During the last experiment, Jael pointed out the middle swing seat is wider than the others. Did you ever wonder why? There are various Youtube videos showing the middle swing was completely removed for a time. Wonder what happened while it was gone? A swing next to it picked up the haunted slack. Instead of putting the old middle swing back, they replaced it with an entirely new one and, of course, the new one began moving on its own.

The most common theory claims the wind or "vortex shedding" (wind blowing against a cylindrical object create a “wake” or trail of vortexes in the direction of the wind effecting the object behind the stream) is the culprit. The Fact or Faked crew came up with an experiment that pretty much duplicated what everyone was witnessing. However, those who were present in 2007 for the "haunted" sing-a-thon stated it was rather quiet for much of the time. Plus, you would think a physicist could develop an adequate experiment with results similar to the show's. So, why were they left baffled? Is the playground really haunted?

Without Swing


With New Swing

Comments

Jennifer said…
I'm also fan of Fact or Faked and anything that has to do with the paranormal. Last nights episode of FOF was interesting. When I first saw the footage of the swing it gave me goosebumps. But then, I was like there has to be a logical explaination or they will definitely find one. Love your blog!!
Julie Ferguson said…
Even tho they came up with a logical reason for the swing to be moving and not the others, I still like the idea of it being haunted.
Anonymous said…
great work on finding those extra tidbits.
Courtney Mroch said…
Next time I need research done I'm hiring you! EXCELLENT work, Andrea. I loved this post and all the extra info you ended up digging up!
Anonymous said…
Oh, that's rather creepy. Imagine one walking by a playground at night and the swing is in full motion. I'd drop to the floor.
Fact of faked, the show is lame. Simply cause their purpose is to debunk anything paranormal, rather than prove it true. It's my opinion.
I've been noticing some similarities between your posts and syfy's destination truth and fact or faked investigations. Just saying.
I wanted to thank you for this great post!! I enjoyed every little bit of it, I have you bookmarked and waiting for all the new stuff you post.
Andrea Allison said…
Thank you! I'm glad you all love the post.

Adsila - So do I! I was kind of waiting for that swing to start moving again on its own after they stopped it. Was rather disappointed that it didn't.

everythingbefore - I totally understand, but I think the efforts of trying to debunk can essentially help prove validity in some cases. Personally, I love a good story but don't like to be dubbed by people seeking fame, attention, or whatever.

BTW, some of my posts do coincide with paranormal TV shows including Destination Truth. When the DT crew goes to an alleged haunted location, they don't provide viewers with a lot of background information. I usually looking it up after the show airs anyways. I put my time to good use.
Virginia Lamkin said…
It very well might be haunted or they could just rig it at the top so it easily swings in a brisk wind. The first video you hear the wind. The second music plays, third no sound.
Although a lot of things connected with children are haunted. I was a teacher for years and every school I worked at was haunted--the custodians always had strange experiences. I could never do an investigation though because the parents at these schools would have objected--if word got out it would scare the students who attended the school--I can see their point of view.

I follow your blog.
Ghost Seeker
seeksghosts.blogspot.com
Anonymous said…
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Anonymous said…
airocular flutter
Anonymous said…
Still not explain the footsteps in 1:47 of the last video.... take a look....
Anonymous said…
In the fof episode you can clearly see the swing not moving in the background about 5 times... Not even moving
Anonymous said…
I do not understand how in FOF, they say they built an identical swing with the exact same specifications; if this is so, then wouldn't the size of the middle swing also create the same additional force in their duplicate swing? Isn't that what that experiment was for?

Also, they mentioned at the beginning of the episode that there was a leaf blowing in the original video, showing their was wind around, however, the direction of the wind was not the same as the direction they showed in the dome experiment in which they concluded that a certain wind direction is what caused the single middle swing to swing like it did....
Anonymous said…
True it could be the wind at times but only if the middle one is ALWAYS wider then the other two and if you look at the Fact or Faked video the wind is blowing the OPPOSITE way, therefor it could be something other than the wind or someone pulling a string (but the string would be obvious).
Anonymous said…
And in the second video with just the two swings it looks like just the wind moving it a little side to side so I think that it is just the wind in video two.
swinggy said…
I don't think that there's a ghost in the swing. It's just the wind who blew the swing away.
click to read said…
Little swing time in the park. They are definitely going to enjoy it.

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