Ten questions every ghost investigator should ponder

1. Why am I doing this? Or, why do I want to do this? No, not the generic “solving the mysteries of mankind” answer, but why do you personally spend your time, effort, and money pursuing this? Is it a personal quest for answers? Search for spiritualism? You may not have a definitive answer or you might just be doing it for the thrill, but the further down this list you truly go the truth may rise to the top.
2. What do I want to get out of this? This question rides on the back of the why question. Once you know why you are doing it you may realize it is a personal pursuit or desire for subjective stimulation or even a quick way to fame. If this is the case you should stay away from client-based cases. If your answer to question 1 is to prove ghosts exist with cameras and EVP you'll need to do more than merely be a ghost hunter as subjective hunts will only create more questions than actually providing answers. Many do this from the allure of those on television, but ask yourself if an ego-driven motive is worth all of the hassle for just 15 minutes of fame.
3. What am I willing to invest? A follow up would be, “And is it worth it?” A financial stake is more than some people can do let alone giving up weekends and many evenings pursuing this. The costs of a serious team can weigh down on anyone and the more you go down that path the more of an investment of time and money it will become.
   
   The bad side of this is that for many the investment in tools means an investment in evidence. In other words, if they spend a lot of money on gear they will ultimately get "evidence" no matter what the cost. You will also have to learn many new skills if you wish to become proficient at seeking the unknown. -These first three are just to get to gauge the basics, but the next one digs into the heart of your beliefs.
4. What are my beliefs about the paranormal? This is an important one. This one question will define what type of an investigator you are as well as how you approach cases as well as whom you surround yourself with. This includes, but is not limited to; belief in ghosts, demons/angels, camera orbs, use of various equipment, full moons creating better ghost atmosphere, solar storms creating better ghost atmosphere, investigating in the dark, investigating during "dead time", lockdowns being a good method of investigating, what ghosts are defined as (parapsychology definitions versus spiritual), and so on.
5. Am I willing to challenge my own beliefs about the paranormal?
   
   Are you willing to review the work that challenges your beliefs with an open mind? If you are not willing to even think about challenging your beliefs than you’re not really an investigator you’re merely a believer that is looking to support your views through subjective experiences as well as taking evidence and skewing it to fit your beliefs. I've met far too many people who are merely in this to find things that they can quickly state are ghosts merely to support how they feel. This is not objective or scientific and is merely a form of thrill-seeking. This is fine if you merely want to go to haunted prisons/hospitals, etc., but don't claim to be "scientific" and certainly don't act like you're doing anything constructive.
6. Am I willing to continue to learn? Certification courses cause anger with some individuals, but where else can one become educated in this field? Books offer a good start, but eventually everyone needs to ask others who have come before them in order to make true sense of things. It's one thing to regurgitate facts, but it's completely different to put theories to work. This is why many teams merely walk around in the dark asking silly questions. Many certification courses are garbage since those that created them are merely passing on beliefs and opinions or only know book definitions and have never applied much of it in the field. However, there are some courses that provide some great information and education (IMHS and TFU). Are you willing to look to others to continue to make yourself a better researcher and investigator? (Interviewing skills, electronics, critical thinking, science, parapsychology, etc.)
7. What are my goals with doing this? This question creates a focus of the first and second question now that you have pondering the above questions. This goes beyond getting a television show or writing a book and is an evolved look at what you want out of the field and what you are willing to do in your life to make it happen. Think of how you would want to be remembered as a person after you are gone. Imagine, as grim as it sounds, standing at your own funeral –
   
   how do you want to be remembered? What will your friends say, how will those who knew you in the paranormal field remember you? This question takes a deep look at your character and if all you want to do is visit haunted locations and meet celebrities that's fine, but don't assume this sets you apart from everyone else - people see this and are judging you on your actions!  
8. What path will I take to get to these goals? This heavily relies on pondering the above questions. If you are not willing to evolve with your beliefs as well as your knowledge your path will be a short one, guaranteed. This is true with any type of goals in life and shortcuts and laziness will lead you nowhere. Wishing and hoping just don't cut it and while timing and luck may come into play nothing is better than working hard, making sacrifices, and pushing yourself to new limits.
9. What have I learned so far? Occasionally stepping back and looking at where you came from can help give your perspective on what you have learned and experienced along the way. This can aid you in identifying weaknesses or potential flaws in your methods or beliefs and may serve to help guide you on a better path. Taking stock every once in a while can help you reorganize your direction and help you obtain new goals and set new personal expectations for accomplishments such as writing books, being a vendor at a paranormal convention or even getting up and speaking at one.
10. What can I do better / and how do I get there? Creating a personal business plan around goals or self-improvement needs is a good way to motivate as well as compartmentalize obtaining goals. If you break things into small chunks within a timetable and provide a pathway to getting to each goal you will be able to become better in all aspects of life. Once you have reviewed and pondered the first 9 questions the tenth will be much easier than thinking about it right now.

These questions will also work with cryptid and UFO investigators as well and you may even be able to use these questions for any other aspect of your life.

O.P.I.N. Punderson Manor Investigation

Ohio Paranormal Investigation Network, of which I am the Director of, investigated Punderson Manor in Newbury, Ohio on January 23, 2010. Our investigation was very fun, actually relaxing, and we learned a few things along the way. I produced a short documentary which discusses the history of the location as well as what we did during our investigation.



If you have any questions, comments, observations about what we did and how we did it, please let me know. We didn't observe the activity that the Manor has purported in the past, but even after some disappoining results we feel that there is still something lingering at the Manor.

The Science of Ghost Hunting and Paranormal Investigation Part II: Advancement of Technology

"Technology has advanced so quickly that it's just a matter of time until the truth of ghosts are unveiled."

Not my words folks and that's why they're in quotes. I agree that technology has advanced in the field of paranormal investigation even since I have been a part of it, but does that mean we are really closer to finding answers? Some seem to think so, but personally I think it actually has set us back a bit.

In my last blog in this series, "The Science of Ghost Hunting and Paranormal Investigation Part I: The Basics of the Scientfic Approach", I discussed the scientific process and how it ties in to our field. While technology plays a part it's not the headliner that many make it out to be, it's merely the supporting cast to a symphony of processes, procedures, and documentation. The technology can certainly add to the data collected as well as make up for our interpretation of events, but it can still get in the way or make our data give us the results we are looking for. I don't want to beat a dead horse in this blog, rather I am going to discuss the advancements in technology that could potentially lead us to the opening quote.

You might be surprised to learn that pagers are still in use by many emergency personnel as well as Information Technology (IT) professionals. Don't remember pagers? Well, my first "Emergency Contact" number used for my paranormal group was for my pager. I was the last in my family to get a cell phone and I am now on my fifth phone in I don't know how many years. Even when cell phones were becoming mainstream we never dreamed they would be taking several minutes of video, connecting to the internet with ease, providing GPS data, PowerPoint presentations or all of the other things that come standard on many phones today.

The biggest advancement over the years with cell phones has been the camera phone. This of course, follows on the heels of the advancement of digital cameras which are taken for granted in this day and age. When I first began in this field I had to buy film for my 35MM camera as well as pay to have it developed. A typical roll of film held 27 exposures (I use to take as many as 30). If you knew how to handle the photo business you only had to pay for what you wanted, and you were sure to tell the technician to develop all of the pictures regardless of their appearance. Of course there was also the Polaroid camera that took instant photos that was the rage for quite a while in the paranormal field and it saved you a trip to the photomat.

What a hassle, that's all I have to say about film cameras. It wasn't so much the cost, it was all of the hassle about buying the film, keeping it out of the sun, away from static, loading it in darkness, taking it to get processed and sometimes having to go back to pick it up. While it did cost a lot to buy and process film, digital cameras balance out that cost, but have less of the hassle. Although, when digital cameras made their splash with the paranormal field so did a little problem now known as "orbs". This phenomenon is not new nor was it coined by some "Dr." who cruises around on subscriber's money in a Winnebago. Orbs have been around since the film camera days as mentioned in many magazines and books about photography printed in the 1960s and 70s that I have read (I was a big camera fan as a kid).

The field I call "Orbology" came into study when digital cameras made their way into our field. The big problem in the early days was pixelization. Basically, the camera was adding pixels to the picture due to the limitations of the technology at the time. So what's the cause now? One word: Flash. The camera technology has gotten better and with better comes compact. When the cameras got better they started getting smaller and when they got smaller the flash moved to over top of the lens. The flash can reflect off of close proximity dust or airborne debris right into the lens thus creating orbs. We see the orb as being in the picture, hey; the cat is looking at it! In reality its 0-4 inches from the lens of the camera and thus won't be seen by the naked eye.

Another double-edged sword that came with digital cameras was the technology to alter the images taken by them. When a picture was taken with 35MM there were only so many ways the photo could be faked and if the negative was provided as evidence it would narrow down the possibilities to chemicals and static electricity. Digital manipulation has rendered photography and video nearly useless for paranormal investigation as well as use in other anomalous fields (UFO and Cryptozoology) since even children can create photos and videos that can take even a little work to uncover manipulation. How can you prove a photo has not been tampered with? Well, EXIF information in photographs is a start, but how can you do the same with video?

Along with cameras, the other recording media that has advanced from magnetic recording to digital is audio recorders. My first recorder I used in paranormal investigation used a regular sized tape cassette and was "portable", meaning you could clip it to your belt or carry it around as it certainly would not fit in your pocket. The big "rule" about using cassette tapes was to use fresh ones and only record on one side to prevent bleed-through. Well, I used both sides and would use the same tapes over, but only on recording the interview. I used to buy TDK D90 tapes in a ten pack about once a week back then (can't remember how much they cost, more than likely about $15). Even with an external microphone you would still get a lot of hiss and the occasional squeaky wheel (I learned how to lubricate the parts and even pad certain parts to keep the "machine" noise to a minimum). I eventually bought a micro-cassette recorder which I still use to this day, still expensive to buy tapes and a real blast to review.

Now we can walk into a department store and buy a digital recorder with a USB plug and can upload our files with ease to the computer. Prices on the digital recorders have fallen sharply and the expensive models carry a huge amount of space. Again, the big problem with technology is the ability to create fake results or to over analyze files to come up with results you desire. Technology works against us
once again.

Now that the camera and recorder bubbles have been burst, we look at the other technology that we use in investigations. What about EMF detectors? My first detector was a Trifield Meter that I paid $250 for. It was worth every penny when I met someone in the field that would "oooh" and "ahhhh" over it, but it met its demise with an unhealthy trip down a flight of stairs at an abandoned TB hospital. I didn't drop it, but I can't swear it was helped by paranormal forces. Anyway, a quick search on the internet and I can find a new one for $130. We know that EMF detectors are not ghost detectors (despite some of the names given to some of them) and are not designed for our field. That is until Pro Measure introduced the MEL-8704, designed for paranormal investigators by paranormal investigators, hit the market. It has not taken long for this meter to begin to morph from suggestions given by its users; this is good advancement for our field as long as it is used correctly!

(The new Mel 8704 Hybrid with KII built right in)

Better technology and dropping prices have put many new meters in the hands of those who have little idea what the measurements mean or how the meter is affected, but it's not the technology's fault. The once $20,000 thermal imaging cameras are now only a couple grand each and getting cheaper every few months. Handheld weather devices are now inexpensive to carry. I use my cell phone to gather local data periodically to update our investigation forms, but having the data that is occurring in the room is essential to tie this data to the investigation. New technology is being developed for other purposes and beginning to become affordable.

The thing to keep in mind, again, is to remember the limitations of these instruments and use them as references, not answers. The key to using these scientific tools is to use them scientifically. Meaning, documentation of everything you do is essential if you are going to post your data and posting this data is the last big step in your work.

In order for these tools to assist us in moving forward we have to move forward as gatherers of information. Groups need to learn how to gather the data to support the use of these tools correctly. Random videos of orbs and shadows will never provide any proof beyond personal proof. In order for documentation to have weight it needs data and data needs documentation. No one likes filling out paperwork, but if we are to move forward as a field of science, we need to act like a science first.

Coming soon: Part III in this series of the Science of Ghost Hunting and Paranormal Investigation will offer a closer look into where I left off in part I with the scientific method and how the tools play their part.

Pissing in the Wind

I was talking about one of my earlier posts about paranormal groups in Ohio with a fellow group owner when I realized I had made a serious mistake. It seems that he felt I was targeting all groups in Ohio when I said there was a serious lack of communication, networking and growth within the ranks of amateur paranormal groups. He was quite offended since he has spent hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on equipment, books, web costs, travel and other expenses and has spent considerable time putting together a group of diverse approaches and talents. Not to mention he made a big effort to network with my group as well as myself with a number of aspects of his pursuit of the field.

The article wasn't meant to attack those types of groups, the ones who are pulling the silent sled of discovery and those that are helping people in more ways than just documenting their ghostly experiences. I thought to myself, the ones I meant to attack probably won't read this anyway, but the ones who are continuously in search of knowledge and approach probably will. But, I don't feel it was a complete waste of time, the message was delivered like a cannon shot over the bow.

In retrospect, I think I went about things a bit too harsh (the article has since been "cleaned up" a bit) and my rant went over like trying to piss into the wind. I kinda got myself wet for no reason and I would have stayed dry if I had just aimed a little "that way".

While there are dozens of great groups in Ohio making strides in various aspects of science and many of them helping clients through their problems (paranormal or otherwise) there does exist the ugly head of greed and ego that have infiltrated the ranks of amateur paranormal investigators. There also exists a lack of direction with many other groups who are just in it because it's the hot trend and, "Hey, I saw this on T.V. so it can't be that hard!". Well, the same could be said about Jackass and that didn't stop people from imitating that as well.

The other major problem is about science. This is a big one for me and a tender subject for a lot of people out there, especially the ones who feel they are "doing things right". Tools don't make science, technique and approach makes science. Does establishing base readings make EMF detectors more scientific? What do EMF detectors really detect when in reference to ghosts? Like Parapsychologist Loyd Auerbach once said, "You can train a monkey to use an EMF detector, but that doesn't make it scientific."

I gave up trying to solve the riddles of the afterlife many years ago after I walked away from this field after letting politics get to me. I was drawn back into this field by the clients who needed help and guidance. While I continued to focus on helping clients I realized that I needed to also look at my beliefs and practices as well as the data I was collecting about cases whether I had intended it or not. I have since felt as if I have come full circle.

Before I began in this field I was a pure skeptic, I was raised to believe that ghosts and related phenomena did not exist and parapsychology was a pursuit for those who did not understand science. When I got into this field I slowly crossed over into a true believer and seemed to believe just a bit too much about what was going on. I moved into the tool mode and became hidden behind various tools that I paid too much money for and lost touch with the knowledge I had gained from studying parapsychology. I ditched the tools and became focused on the clients, but with that I lost touch with really getting to the heart of what is really happening from house to house and client to client.

I have learned how to balance various aspects and have learned to surround myself with people with a focus in various aspects that help round out a group. Does that make me the best amateur paranormal investigator around? You bet it does! (ego inflation for demonstration purposes only). OK, maybe not and it certainly does not make it enough to make my group the best role model for everyone, but I can admit when I am wrong (after arguing for some time) and I am aware of what we are not doing that we need to work on. In that regard it does make us a little bit better than many groups who are caught up in their own fame or image of who and what they feel they are.

The realization that there will never be just one group that will make a huge discovery needs to be realized in our culture and community. Science is based upon following up on work that others have done, proving or disproving parts or even the whole. Taking what others have done to a new and higher level or a better direction. It's a series of self-correcting moves that helps the overall approach by everyone from everyone and certainly will not be the result of one photograph, one video or one book.

The groups that are fed up with the ego, fame and lack of direction need to take the first step. We need to work together and help refine our discipline. Does that mean we all have to unite and sing camp fire songs together? No. Unity in a scientific field is an impossibility if we wish to create findings. There has to be separate camps of thought and approach, but there also needs to be a little more than strings attaching groups. There should be more of a fabric feel between groups, networks and families binding approaches, findings and data so that we can all learn together as well as continuously raise the bar of standards and information. The competitiveness helps drives for new discoveries, but when the competitiveness stifles people from working together it hinders discovery almost completely.

Comments, concerns, questions and arguments can be directed: Insider