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Friday, January 1, 2010

Paranormal Investigators...I dare you!

I dare you to be professional. Over the past year or so, I have noticed several paranormal investigation teams charging for their investigations. I understand with the economy the way it is, with millions of people currently unemployed (which included me for several months), going on investigations could hurt the pocket book. With all of the investments you have to make, such as, equipment, lodging, fuel, etc., I can see how people can think that charging for investigations is a reasonable accommodation. However, in the paranormal community, charging for paranormal investigations is extremely frowned upon. It makes your team look very unprofessional to say the least. You have to keep in mind that your clients are going through a very traumatic experience, when they call or email you; they have experienced something that has terrified them enough to make them seek out help. To me, when you charge them to investigate, you are taking advantage of them. If you have to charge for investigations, just do local investigations until you get back on your feet. Do not accept to investigate a location 60 miles away if you cannot afford the fuel, lodging, etc. costs. Easy as that!

I have also noticed a few paranormal investigators complaining on a few different message boards that they are not making the amount of money that they thought they would when they started this “hobby”. If you are in the paranormal field to make money, please leave now. Not only are you in it for the wrong reasons, but you are also making all of the true paranormal investigators look bad. You will not make money doing this. You will not get famous. Yes, there are a few individuals that are known the world over for paranormal investigating but each of them started out as true paranormal investigators, and over the span of twenty years or so have built the respect and the title they have each earned. Your team will not be the next TAPS, Ghost Adventures, Paranormal State (PRS) or any of the like. If you are in this field for fame, please leave now. If your purpose to get into this field is to get famous or popular, you are wrong. The individuals who have become famous, have put in several years of research in and have acquired some well known cases in order to reach the platform they are at now.

Faking evidence-- If you are in this field and you have or plan to fake evidence, please leave now. You are not welcome in this field. We are trying to reach into the true paranormal realm to understand what happens in the afterlife. If you fake evidence, you are not helping us in that endeavor. I reiterate; you are not welcome in this field! You may get your name out there, but when people find out that you have faked evidence, your name will not mean anything. Your reputation will be ruined and you will never be respected in the field of paranormal again. By you faking evidence, you are in no way professional. If you think you are professional, you are mistaken.

Client Interaction—If you are one of those “fly by night” groups, please leave now. You are not welcome in this field. The client is the only person or people that matter in the situation. If you do not respect these individuals enough to do a professional paranormal investigation, relentlessly review the audio and video, and give the clients the proper reveal, then please leave this field now. Remember, they called you, not the other way around. Sometimes I have spent weeks reviewing audio and video. If the location is very active, then there will be a lot of data to go over. When this is the case, go over it! When you get tired, take a break. Never skip any part of the data simply because you do not feel as if there is nothing present. I have seen people skip over pieces of audio in the regular waveform format because the waveform itself had no spikes. The spikes in a waveform are only showing increased decibel levels, not EVP’s. I have found most of my evps within the waveform where no spikes are present. Most evps come across under the 300 Hz range, which is below human hearing range. If you miss something while going over the audio or video, that could be the one individual piece of evidence that could break the paranormal field wide open!

"Certified Ghost Hunters" -- I have seen alot of this as well lately. This is a scam. No one can be a "Certified Ghost Hunter". Anyone who says they can make you certified is lying to take your money. This, to me, is also taking away from the professionalism of the paranormal field. Taking a 4 hour class, and BOOM, your a professional "certified" ghost hunter?! Get real, I have been involved with the paranormal for going on 6 years, have seen alot of things, but this almost takes the cake! Anyone who is offering "Certified" Ghost Hunting classes, stop now. You are not professional and are taking away from the Paranormal field, not adding to it!

So, this is my plea: If you are, or are thinking about getting into the paranormal field, be professional. Your clients deserve at least that from you! Paranormal investigators...I dare you!

I’d like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! Hope 2010 is even better than 2009 was!
Thanks for reading!

12 comments:

  1. AMEN! This is an excellent post! On my blog I'ce been writing a lot lately how certain shows like Ghost Hunters (which I used to love) are actually hurting the paranormal investigation field a LOT. People think they can make money off of it (because they see people on TV who've turned it into a living), but what they don't understand is that the teams on TV are for entertainment purposes only! GH started out real. But I keep coming across more and more info that they've faked evidence on their shows. Which hurts the credibility. I really like your post because of it's passion. YES! It's good to see real people speaking up!

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  2. Nice post!! I agree whole heartedly and those that charge, ask for donations, or either offer certifications or display certifications on their websites are a SHAM!!

    SAGHTX

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  3. Totally with you on this! We here at the Western Associated Research for Paranormal Encounters (WARPE) has a dedicated Client Advocate! We take everything you said seriously ourselves. Its good to see someone calling out these "fly by night" groups looking for a quick buck or just in it for evidence.

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  4. I'm relatively new to the paranormal world, both as a client and as an investigator, and have already had my fingers burnt badly. After two investigations by a local group (who shall remain nameless), I have yet to have any "reveal" of any kind done. Almost a year after the first investigation, I have yet to receive any true answers regarding the evidence gathered. This experience has left me highly skeptical in regards to trusting local "ghost hunters"... And sadly, my family was hurt by this experience as well.
    I fully agree with everything you discussed here and hope people will take a real good look at their true motives before they hurt more families who are already being victimized by their situations.... The last thing they expect is to be victimized by the group they trusted for help!!

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  5. Nice post. Getting the "standards" straight is always valuable to what we do. Cheers Sir/Mahm

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  6. Opposite feelings completely. I live in a town that's crossed between two EMS companies. One, is volunteer and the other is Hospital Based. Now, as an EMT myself when I see an ambulance ripping down the street for one of my neighbors, I start praying the hospital is showing up. Money is professionalism. Money fuels professionalism. It funds training, research, better equipment and the ability to give more dedication, instead of hearing the wife bitch about where you're pissing your money away. I am completely for the charging of clients, as I would rather this field grow into a true science, rather than a hobby.

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  7. Now also, there are the fakes who start by charging and to gain notoriety also start a community access television show and say they're writing a book about their many years of experience. In reality, they're just following a plan to gain notariety by trying to get media attention. Their true motive is narcissistic, to make a name for themselves. I know one LLC husband wife team in Michigan that charges high prices for investigations and are going after media attention. Money and fame is all they are really after. They have an attractive website but make outrageous claims as to capability and are obviously trying to get in to the media game. More people need to know about these money, attention grabbing so called paranormal 'investigators'.

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  8. Thank you so much for this article. I am an empath and have my own paranormal team for 20+ years now and you have nailed it on the head. I am printing this article so I can show this to people who come to me and want to be investigators.

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  9. Thank you SO much for this much-needed posting! My lead investigator found you while doing some research, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate what you've had to say. I have bookmarked this blog so I can continue reading your perspectives and opinions on this truly important field. Thanks again!

    Holly
    Lead Investigator
    Wolf Paranormal Investigations
    Calgary, Canada

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  10. Thank you for being one of the few who have written articles like this, although it was 3 years ago now... I too have written a similar article, but to educate those seeking investigators- Guide To Choosing A Good Paranormal Team (linked in my name). I feel it is very important to educate people about the realities of honest paranormal investigation, and not to believe what the media tells us... I hate that so many people who claim to be "professional investigators" are actually hurting their clients, rather than helping them! It kills me to know that so many people are spreading so much false information and elevating fear...

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  11. I really loved this article my team has just started in our town and we are very lucky to have such a supportive community and the paranormal activity in this area seems to just flourish, we tell clients no charge and we will review everything and always keep them in the loop i find it very important to do so and its a philosophy my team lives by! Many people do ask us about what if yall get famous like TAPS and Ghost Hunters and our honest reaction and response is "eh" if it happens it happens if not it doesnt. I totally agree with what you said we are here to help not exploit them, and thats something we really honor, we have the ability and the love for this hobby to be able to put our knowledge and skills to the test and if it helps a few people along the way so be it!

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