Halloween

So I have spoken about this before and my view has not changed. We started doing events for a few reasons. One was to make a little cash so we could buy new equipment. We lose the stuff, we break the stuff and people steal the stuff. And in this industry, technology in equipment has taken leaps and bounds. So the upgrade is necessary. Another is to let those see that what what we do is real. It doesn't take very long to get the dog and pony TV shows out of your head when something real is actually happening to you. The locations we do our events at are active. We also educate people on how this activity can have a lasting affect on their lives. It changes peoples views on what is going on. We also do it as a bit of help for the locations that we hold these events at. They gain a little cash as well as publicity for whatever they are trying to do. I use to love doing the events. But now it seems everyone who has ever gone on an investigation is trying to make money at it. It is no longer novel. What was once a really cool thing to do is now tainted by a flood of over charging, under charging to cut the competition and advertisements for greed. We are right in there with everyone else at the moment. But when our events are over for this season, I highly doubt that we will do this again. Seems some have lost the meaning of what a Paranormal Investigation is. T-Shirts, coffee mugs and DVDs seem to be the meaning anymore. Careful marketing and cool flyers have always been keys in sales for every product. I don't want to be one of the groups that concentrates most of our efforts on sales. This is not why we do this.  

Searching For Live People

In the never ending quest for serious people to join our paranormal investigation team, I think i have finally figured out why it is so hard. The commitment level we ask for is high. There is no doubt about that. But I see that as only a filter for those that we do not want. I think that most have realized that being lazy in this field is easy. It's easy to join a group where only certain people go over the evidence. As well as a lack of serious evidence gathering. What I mean by that is, that what we do is record from start to finish. And we all take our own stuff home and go over it. That is not just recorders, it's also video. Most groups do "EVP SESSIONS" that are not very long at all. This cuts down on evidence review. And it's not hard to blend into a group that is large enough in where you will never get noticed. Laziness come from the individual thrill seeker posing as a paranormal investigator. Anyone can "GHOST HUNT". This can be done by however it fits the lifestyle of the individual or group. So the occasional walk through a cemetery or visit to a popular haunted location can be done anytime, by anyone. No real evidence review is required. To be one of us is definitely not for most people. The bar that is set is higher. We thrill seek. But we are also in it to help those that need it. You can not help if you are concerned with your popularity status. By flaunting the fact that you are an expert and know everything paranormal is not what it's about. We learn something new on every case. We are not in it for fortune or fame. Sure we do media stuff every now and then, but you don't see it posted on our web site. Because it doesn't matter. So we rule out those that are in it for money and status. The only status we have is paranormal investigators. We are not experts. The only experts are the dead. I guess the last issue is really just time. Yes, every week is what is required. Most who say they want to join, say this is the issue. Well, it's a choice. It's something you have to choose. If you don't have a serious passion for the paranormal, then you will never have the time. It is all consuming.   
Oh and I should just throw one more thing in there. It's a little offensive to some, but oh well. If you are trying to join and tell me you are a sensitive or medium or you could see spirits your entire life,  or any thing like that, first I will be offended. This shows me you never looked at the web site. Because if you did, you would not bother. Then you will be ruled out by default.      

IR FUN

So pretty much any team whose been investigating has used a DVR system. You know normal night vision IR lighting trying to catch a glimpse of the otherworldly way you possibly can. Well it's kind of funny sounding but don't cross the beams. So one night we had an investigation going and there were a couple of people sitting in front of the monitor. One of them happens to catch a flash of a shadow on the floor in a very odd position. So they were caught off guard and rather stunned being this doesn't happen often and called everyone to check it out. So we remind the DVR back to the spot where this incident had happened and started playing it back. Now the shadows were crazy looking like nothing else I'd ever seen. The first one looked like a man standing moving his arm up and down. The second one looked like a large mouse holding a butcher's knife. The third one I can't even describe it was just crazy. So thinking that we caught something rather special we were all overjoyed and a little freaked out. Well it being in the middle of the night and everyone's a little tired, it's really hard to make a firm decision on what you've experienced. So the next evening I went over the DVR footage and was freaked out again the entire time right up until I got to the very and of that portion. That's when I realized what it was. So the shadowing was nothing more than created by one of our own team members. You see the way we had our IR cameras set up in this area there were two almost facing each other. This is a no-no. IR shadows are always crazy and you can never jump the gun and thinking that something's paranormal when you're using IR cameras close together. You would think we would know this by now but we still have a tendency to set up how we want to see stuff. But you always have to be careful even when taking pictures around IR cameras because the shadows that you create most of the time look like something that shouldn't be there.

Cleansing

Lets get a few things straight. Yes I will troll through other groups info and check out what new places they have gone to or what new evidence they have. We all do. It's interesting. But now I keep seeing claims all over the place about cleansing. We have gone through this before. Most people that claim they can clear a house or property, of spirits, are simply full of crap. In "most" cases that I have seen, cleansing piss thing off just as much as any other tactic out there. In others I have been told things calmed down right away but then after a week or so the spirits came back with a vengeance. Telling them to go away sometimes works. In some cases it does not. Religion is another subject. When a Priest come out to Bless your house, that is what they are doing. They are not getting rid of anything. Ask them. It's not the same with every religion. Most of what people say in this field is nothing more than theory. Fact is very hard to come by. Anyone who claims to be able to cleanse your home should have some pretty strong references and proof of many positive outcomes. I am not saying it can not be done. I am saying I have never met anyone who has lived up to the claim

Social Paranormal Media

So without a doubt Social Media plays a big part in what all of the paranormal groups do. It is used to let everyone know you are there. It lets people know when you are investigating. It lets them know about your evidence. It has a great number of  ways it is used. You have Facebook, Twitter, My Space and a few others. You get cases from these different networks. People look at what you do and how you handle thing. They also check out your profile to see if you are crazy or just someone they would not want in there home or business. Facebook is the best for this. Google+ is also a great source. So most groups use these to advertise. There is also Craigslist. The unfortunate part about using Craigslist, other groups can "flag" your post. This means they can have it removed for no valid reason other than spite. Bummer. On Facebook, of course, they can't really flag you. But they can talk bad about you and then block you so you have no chance to rebut. Fan base has become a really big thing on Facebook. I think that most seem to think that if you have more fans, your group is better? There is a bunch of "you like my page and I will like yours". There is nothing wrong with this, if you want your entire audience to be other paranormal groups.  I think we get most of our clients from word of mouth. We have had a few from Facebook and from Craigslist. And then there are those that just find us from their favorite search engine. Social Media is a good tool but it can also make you look like a real ass.We all do it from time to time. It's not about how many fans you have, it's about what you do and how you act. Be a Paranormal Investigator.

SELLING OUT ?

What we do is special. I am by no means saying we are special. The task is. At this point I am pretty sure none of our group do this with the goal of becoming rich or famous. I can not say that about most groups that I run across. We have been approached more than a few times by certain shows that have asked us to show our best evidence and reveal our scariest stories. This will not happen. For allot of groups, this would be a chance of a lifetime. And I completely understand the need to be recognized. But to be recognized in this fashion is also to be ridiculed in the same. I know for at least myself, when I watch the shows on TV and they start showing the evidence, I am for the most part disappointed in what I see. Once you go on a show, you become a target for all of the other groups who think they know and can do better. In most industries, any "PR" is "Good PR". Not in this one. Once you have been outed by more experienced and seasoned or just jealous  investigators, it is hard to come back and redeem your group. You had better have a very strong and loyal fan base that is willing to stick by you and your group during your very short lived "Fifteen Minutes of Fame". This is not the part that keeps us away from the dark side. The bigger
 part of course is the money. Selling out is an even harder thing to recover from. Greed seems to get in the way of a large amount of paranormal groups. Yes it is easy to set up a successful event that helps your cause. But when you start flat out asking for donations or pushing your t-shirts or dvd's of what you would call a documentary like you were supporting the entire homeless population with the proceeds, look in the mirror because you have failed. Back to the TV shows. If the deal is a good one, what do you do? Take the money and sell out knowing that it will be a short lived and quick fail for your name and group name? Greed rules many. Personally, I think even your well established fan base would not forgive such a poor and greedy choice. What are the odds that you will be another one of the very few shows that people make a living off of? It has been tossed around for us. We have discussed TV,radio and internet shows. Most fail. So maybe it's a fear of failure or maybe it the simple fact that, we know better. The occasional  news story or magazine interview is all we will do. We are not one of those groups that are in it to win it. We do not care to compete with the orb chasers. The money would be nice and make what we do much easier. . And we are in it to help. We would not be able to help if we were side tracked by media and camera crews. So if you sell out in this industry, it's over for you. You will not retire on a fail. You can retire a successful Paranormal Investigator.       

Spirit Eradication

Seem to me that there are a number of  groups and individuals that claim to be able to eradicate or get rid of spirits. I have yet to see this work. This is an issue for the clients. The client does not know what to expect so they are being taken advantage of  for the sake of a  personal and selfish need to investigate by people who do not know the first thing about what they are doing. We do not claim to get rid of spirits. We do claim to be able to calm the situation down. And we do. We do not go to someones home just for an adventure into what could be paranormal, we do it to help the client. We have plenty of places we can investigate just for fun. This field is so full of  groups that want to be rich and famous that it gets in the way of what true investigators are trying to do. I hear the same stories over and over, "We had a group come and things got worse. Then we called a priest and nothing changed." You have to look at it in a different light. If a spirit does indeed feel that a place is his/hers, where are they going to go? If someone comes into your home and tries to put you out, what would you do? Most would not lay down and take it. You would fight it at all cost. There is the other side to this. If you or someone has invited something into your place that truly does not belong, then you have a shot at making it go. We seem to have an even amount of both we deal with. But in any case, you still have to identify what you are dealing with before you make a deal. All the Sage and Holy Water in the world will not get rid of something that belongs.