Why is it that some paranormal groups, most of them actually, feel such a need - for lack of a better word - to bag on other groups? I think a lot of them talk trash because of their own insecurities, trying to position themselves as elevated by trying to keep you down. Craziness. Most groups are in this to help people, and if you're not, you really shouldn't be doing it. Yes, it's an interesting hobby, but you can't forget about the people you help.
"They use such and such equipment, they do things this way, they do things that way." Grow up.
One thing that we don't do is bag on others, whether it be their method or their equipment. The only exceptions being groups committing what we consider to be paranormal fraud with fake evidence, groups who present everything they caught in the field but didn't, or barely, sifted through it to remove evidence with obvious and likely terrestrial sources, and those who are dangerous to themselves and others, having no clue nor care that there are real dangers in ghost hunting (see definitions of ghost hunts and ghost investigations in previous post). And groups who bag on us, and even then it's rare for us to bother. Oh, and groups who use (shudder) Ouija boards. Ouija is the French Oui (yes) and the German Ja (yes) put together, making it a Yes Yes board. They should be renamed Nyet-nine boards, or No No boards. We'll do another post on that later.
It makes no difference to us if you use different equipment than we do. We don't care. Whatever works for you, you should use. For instance, I'm not a fan of compasses as a tool, but many ghost investigators and ghost hunters swear by them. Use them by all means. I'm not going to disparage you. Dowsing rods too. Same with K2 meters, though we'll probably get one soon, but I doubt that I will personally use it.
Even within our own group there are members who use tools I wouldn't use, and that's fine. If this tool or that tool is what enables you do get to the truth, great. Use it. As long as it isn't Ouija board.
A classic example of this weird bias is theshaowlands.net. Twice they've denied us a listing for no particular reason, though our standards are excellent, our methods are excellent, we throw out any evidence which is in any way suspect (we get a lot of evidence and post a lot, but you'll never see over 95% of what we gather because we're very strict in our standard of proof and verify everything), and we have a whole flock of investigators with a great sensitivity to the other side, just as we have a good number of skeptics. We've also been doing ghost hunts as individuals independently since long before they even existed!
We in this community ought to be working together rather than trying to set ourselves apart. It will not happen as long as there are haters, and they will alwayd be there.
I guess it's true, that which a sage once told me: If you don't have haters, you're not doing it right.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
A Ghost Hunt Vs. Ghost Investigation
This post is about the difference between ghost hunting and ghost investigations.
There are two schools of thought on this, so I'll address that first.
The first school of thought is that a ghost hunt is simply people going out with or without equipment such as cameras and voice recorders to look for ghosts. They hope they catch one, and they have no interest in any aspect of scientific explanations for the existence of ghosts, nor do they try to disprove that which they might or might not have captured evidence of. Very low burden of proof standards. A ghost investigation is a scientific approach to ghost hunting, replete with cameras, scientific gauges like EMF detectors, K2 meters, etc., and the application of logic and reason in an investigation. These tools and methods rule out evidence in an effort to delete false and bad evidence, and what you have left which is unexplainable is submittable evidence of paranormal, or spirit, activity.
The second school of though is one we like a little better. Ghost investigations are exactly the same as above, but "ghost hunts" are not such an informal event, and the evidence is taken very seriously. For us a ghost hunt is the first step, like a preliminary investigation. If we go to a location that is either reported to have paranormal activity, or we suspect might have paranormal activity, the first step is a ghost hunt. This will let us know if there's a need for an actual ghost investigation. We'll use cameras, voice recorders and personal experiences to come to a conclusion as to whether or not to continue with a ghost investigation, at which time we'll schedule a follow up visit to disprove earlier findings, as well as focus on areas to investigate further. If we come up blanked on a hunt, we will not investigate further. This seldom happens because we choose our locations with care, and don't do many random ghost hunts.
There are two schools of thought on this, so I'll address that first.
The first school of thought is that a ghost hunt is simply people going out with or without equipment such as cameras and voice recorders to look for ghosts. They hope they catch one, and they have no interest in any aspect of scientific explanations for the existence of ghosts, nor do they try to disprove that which they might or might not have captured evidence of. Very low burden of proof standards. A ghost investigation is a scientific approach to ghost hunting, replete with cameras, scientific gauges like EMF detectors, K2 meters, etc., and the application of logic and reason in an investigation. These tools and methods rule out evidence in an effort to delete false and bad evidence, and what you have left which is unexplainable is submittable evidence of paranormal, or spirit, activity.
The second school of though is one we like a little better. Ghost investigations are exactly the same as above, but "ghost hunts" are not such an informal event, and the evidence is taken very seriously. For us a ghost hunt is the first step, like a preliminary investigation. If we go to a location that is either reported to have paranormal activity, or we suspect might have paranormal activity, the first step is a ghost hunt. This will let us know if there's a need for an actual ghost investigation. We'll use cameras, voice recorders and personal experiences to come to a conclusion as to whether or not to continue with a ghost investigation, at which time we'll schedule a follow up visit to disprove earlier findings, as well as focus on areas to investigate further. If we come up blanked on a hunt, we will not investigate further. This seldom happens because we choose our locations with care, and don't do many random ghost hunts.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
How to Dress for a Ghost Hunt
How to dress for a ghost hunt or a ghost investigation?
Comfort is the first word which comes to mind. Appropriately is the second word.
The former is a no brainer. If someone, man or woman, is wearing stiletto heels on a hunt, they're nuts, and they are endangering themselves and others. In you're under dressed in the cold, you will be less effective. The same goes for overdressed in the warm, but you always shed layers.
About those layers.
We did a hunt recently in which three of our investigators showed up in all black, or very dark colors. This is not such a problem on a daylight investigation, but in the pitch black? Not so much. First and foremost they endangered others and themselves, and secondly they ran the risk of contaminating evidence due to poor viewing or people placement.
At least one light, or white item should be worn by everybody. I've thought about purchasing photographer's vests in a light color and putting our secondary logo on the front, and for good measure, an individual reflective strip on the back of each vest, so we can recognize by the reflection who is who if all else fails. Plus they have a lot of cool pockets for gadgets. This I haven't done yet because of the cost, and because the next thing they'll be expecting is liquid nitrogen cooled flux capacitor ghost zappers or something.
Hats. This is an unpopular subject, but it's the way I feel. Leave them at home, unless you're baiting ghosts in period dress that requires them, or unless they are part of your personnel identification system. Baseball caps irk me a bit, not because they're hats, but because like most hats, they obstruct some of ones field of vision. Everything above the bill is blind to you. You could easily miss an important clue, or bonk your head on a low hanging object. I recently observed a ghost hunt where everybody was in super long billed caps with the sides way curled in so as to block not only the horizontal above the bill, but a good deal of their peripheral vision as well. If you have to wear a baseball cap, turn it backwards so as not to blind a portion of one of your most important senses: your eyes. Or forgo them all together and provide everyone with birthday party hats. Problem solved.
Dress appropriately.
Comfortable shoes. First rule.
Why do so many ghost investigators I see on TV and on YouTube dress like utter slobs? Black t-shirts with band logos and scenes on them. Shorts all the time (I wear shorts almost every day of the year, but not on investigations), looking scruffy. Doesn't this perpetuate the myth that most ghost hunters can't spell perpetuate, let alone define it? And isn't it somewhat insulting to the spirit world? Maybe they don't get offended. They're dead right? They're in no place to judge.
Bullsh. If you're working an investigation outdoors, in a field, jeans, t-shirts, OK. If you're investigating the Queen Mary, you should take it up a notch or three. A theater? Dress as you would on a date to the theater, as if you're making an effort to impress. If you're going to be on camera, almost dress as if you're interviewing for a job, because every person who sees you from then on, on YouTube or TV, you're doing just that. If you're investigating someones private residence, why not make an effort to NOT look like a felon, rather than the reverse.
Perfumes and colognes. These should be kept to a minimum if worn at all. A lot of times ghosts use smells as cues to their presence, but if anybody and everybody's smelling like they just came from the sample counter, you loose the sense of smell, which is important.
Effectiveness and respect. That's what it's about.
Comfort is the first word which comes to mind. Appropriately is the second word.
The former is a no brainer. If someone, man or woman, is wearing stiletto heels on a hunt, they're nuts, and they are endangering themselves and others. In you're under dressed in the cold, you will be less effective. The same goes for overdressed in the warm, but you always shed layers.
About those layers.
We did a hunt recently in which three of our investigators showed up in all black, or very dark colors. This is not such a problem on a daylight investigation, but in the pitch black? Not so much. First and foremost they endangered others and themselves, and secondly they ran the risk of contaminating evidence due to poor viewing or people placement.
At least one light, or white item should be worn by everybody. I've thought about purchasing photographer's vests in a light color and putting our secondary logo on the front, and for good measure, an individual reflective strip on the back of each vest, so we can recognize by the reflection who is who if all else fails. Plus they have a lot of cool pockets for gadgets. This I haven't done yet because of the cost, and because the next thing they'll be expecting is liquid nitrogen cooled flux capacitor ghost zappers or something.
Hats. This is an unpopular subject, but it's the way I feel. Leave them at home, unless you're baiting ghosts in period dress that requires them, or unless they are part of your personnel identification system. Baseball caps irk me a bit, not because they're hats, but because like most hats, they obstruct some of ones field of vision. Everything above the bill is blind to you. You could easily miss an important clue, or bonk your head on a low hanging object. I recently observed a ghost hunt where everybody was in super long billed caps with the sides way curled in so as to block not only the horizontal above the bill, but a good deal of their peripheral vision as well. If you have to wear a baseball cap, turn it backwards so as not to blind a portion of one of your most important senses: your eyes. Or forgo them all together and provide everyone with birthday party hats. Problem solved.
Dress appropriately.
Comfortable shoes. First rule.
Why do so many ghost investigators I see on TV and on YouTube dress like utter slobs? Black t-shirts with band logos and scenes on them. Shorts all the time (I wear shorts almost every day of the year, but not on investigations), looking scruffy. Doesn't this perpetuate the myth that most ghost hunters can't spell perpetuate, let alone define it? And isn't it somewhat insulting to the spirit world? Maybe they don't get offended. They're dead right? They're in no place to judge.
Bullsh. If you're working an investigation outdoors, in a field, jeans, t-shirts, OK. If you're investigating the Queen Mary, you should take it up a notch or three. A theater? Dress as you would on a date to the theater, as if you're making an effort to impress. If you're going to be on camera, almost dress as if you're interviewing for a job, because every person who sees you from then on, on YouTube or TV, you're doing just that. If you're investigating someones private residence, why not make an effort to NOT look like a felon, rather than the reverse.
Perfumes and colognes. These should be kept to a minimum if worn at all. A lot of times ghosts use smells as cues to their presence, but if anybody and everybody's smelling like they just came from the sample counter, you loose the sense of smell, which is important.
Effectiveness and respect. That's what it's about.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Why do we do it?
Apparent Demon we caught at a cemetery.Ghost hunts. Ghost investigations. There's a difference, which we'll save for another entry, but the question is, why do we do them?
I can't speak for other groups, nor can I speak for other members of our own group, http://claranormal.com/, but I can speak for myself.
Like most people who do as we do, I grew up experiencing paranormal activities of one kind or another, and like many of these people, my sincere desire is to bring comfort to others in the knowledge that we don't just fade to black when we our bodies expire. That it isn't like somebody flicked the light switch and you're in the dark, then nothing more, cancel Christmas. I, myself, have in person seen, heard and experienced enough in my life to know that isn't the case. We continue. The soul God placed in our body lives on.
If on the way we can also help a lost soul or two, living or after-living, great. That doesn't mean that we go into a haunted location and yell "Go to the light!" or any such other Hollywood nonsense. Many ghosts know they stayed behind, so you're not telling them anything new. "Oh! Is that what I'm supposed to do with the light? I was wondering! I've spent the last 50 years making ghost shadow puppets with it! Silly me!"
Some don't know though, whether it's denial, or the way that they passed, they are utterly unaware of that they've passed. The Queen Mary's engine room for example. We've had a revisit on our "To Do" list for a while now, so that our newer members can experience a truly haunted location, but also for my own sort of selfish reasons: to get more information from one ghost we caught on an EVP who stated his age, "Forty," and followed later with ..."I don't know what happened to me." We plan to ask him his name, what year he last remembers. From that and any other info he volunteers, we will research it and bring him answers.
Claranormal is a service, and a service should serve...
I can't speak for other groups, nor can I speak for other members of our own group, http://claranormal.com/, but I can speak for myself.
Like most people who do as we do, I grew up experiencing paranormal activities of one kind or another, and like many of these people, my sincere desire is to bring comfort to others in the knowledge that we don't just fade to black when we our bodies expire. That it isn't like somebody flicked the light switch and you're in the dark, then nothing more, cancel Christmas. I, myself, have in person seen, heard and experienced enough in my life to know that isn't the case. We continue. The soul God placed in our body lives on.
If on the way we can also help a lost soul or two, living or after-living, great. That doesn't mean that we go into a haunted location and yell "Go to the light!" or any such other Hollywood nonsense. Many ghosts know they stayed behind, so you're not telling them anything new. "Oh! Is that what I'm supposed to do with the light? I was wondering! I've spent the last 50 years making ghost shadow puppets with it! Silly me!"
Some don't know though, whether it's denial, or the way that they passed, they are utterly unaware of that they've passed. The Queen Mary's engine room for example. We've had a revisit on our "To Do" list for a while now, so that our newer members can experience a truly haunted location, but also for my own sort of selfish reasons: to get more information from one ghost we caught on an EVP who stated his age, "Forty," and followed later with ..."I don't know what happened to me." We plan to ask him his name, what year he last remembers. From that and any other info he volunteers, we will research it and bring him answers.
Claranormal is a service, and a service should serve...
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