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.  

A SIMPLE RANT

I do not even know how to start this rant. In this cut throat industry, there are many different types of groups and people. With ours like many others, we are in it to find out what is going on within the other side as well as help people understand what is going on to them. Yes there is thrill in. Much thrill. Nothing get you adrenalin pumping like something you cant see speaking to you from just a foot or two away. Or having something walk right through you. Your senses are at their peak during the investigation. There are some groups that are here just for the thrill ride. They claim not to be but that is fine. There are the groups that are in it for the fame and fortune that they might acquire. I know a couple and they are doing well. This is also something I do not have a problem with. There are a few others that are kind of hard to categorize. Still I have no issues with them. I use to have issues with everyone who did not see exactly eye to eye with me or what I believed in. No longer the case. I do not care anymore. All that counts to me is what our group does, so that is what I pay attention to. Our clients come first. The pay off for us is finding evidence or not and being able tell them one way or another, what is happening. I do not care about "paranormal unity", because this will never happen. There are too many groups going in too many directions. We share what we are able to put on our web site. We hate no one. We have a healthy respect for most. With all of this being said, some of the people in this industry just suck. We take crap from people all of the time. If it's not from a drunk, bible thumping hillbilly, it's from someone who is non-stop removing the ads that get placed on Craigslist. Or could be hearing third party about some half baked want to be wizard that we are nothing more than black shirts wandering around in the dark. Or from a members relative who is friends with another group who lets us know they are talking crap about us. Or knowing that a former team member is trying out of boredom to tarnish our reputation. It goes on and on and on. But I have said it before and I will say it again. In the long run, nothing that you do will stop us from doing what we do. Because we do what we do very well. You can't change the outcome of something we have already accomplished. It's too late. Hate us if you will. You are still watching us. Just do the right thing and leave us alone if you don't like us.

Dead Ends Of The Dead

We are often asked by our clients "Who is haunting us?". That is always a question that is asked during the investigation over and over. Every now and then you get the answer. We do what we can by way of research but are not always successful with the results. Unfortunately this is not an easy task. We start with the internet and most of the time that where we stop due to time restraints. The resources are usually out there. Most being at your own library or assessors office. We always suggest you do as much research as you can. Chances are you will come up with more information than we will. So then on to the investigation. We ask all of the questions we possibly can. Sometimes we get no answers that would tell you who this is. You have to keep in mind, even if the house has been there a long time and you have all of the information on every person who ever lived and died  there, it still might not be any those people. You also have to remember that there could have been something else there before your house was there. People could have lived there and no records were kept. There is a ton of unwritten history. This is obviously information only the dead will know. After all, people have been dying ever since there have been people. 

My Thoughts on Shadow People

I had recently received an email from someone concerning "Shadow People". My personal belief on shadow people is that they are nothing more than a different form of ghost. Meaning that they are just taking on a different form than an apparition. I do not see them as being demonic or evil, just a different form of scary that lets you catch a little more than a glimpse of them sometimes. The sizes and shapes are not always the same. Our group members have seen many ranging from about 3 feet  to 7 feet tall. Some with well defined human shape and some with more of a blob like shape. I have personally witnessed  them peeking around corners at me. Standing in doorways and walking into a closet. We have seen so many of them. When children see them, it is also a little different. I have one story of two children seeing one at the same time. One child sees it as scary and the other sees it as pleasant of even funny. Like I said, I think they are nothing more than ghost in different form. You only see what they want you to see.

Investigation Aftermath

You don't really hear allot about what happens after the investigation with most groups. The aftermath of the investigation is different for everyone. When we are doing a residential case, we always tell the homeowner the same thing. Be prepared for an increase in activity that will usually last for a couple of days. Sometimes it happens and sometime it does not. But its good to let them know. Now for the investigators it's a completely different scenario. And these are things that the newbies do not understand until after it happens to them. In some cases it's pretty insignificant. Everyone walks away a little drained. Sometimes it's like you just had the life sucked out of you. Then you have the ones that for some reason or another, for the next week or so, you have nightmares or sleep like you have not slept at all. For some their entire attitude changes. Their home life take a turn for the worse. They are no longer caring about investigations and completely deny having any issues. There is also the possibility that something has followed you home. That one is a little on the scary side. Do not forget about the physical damage, Anything from scratches to back pain. Headaches to muscle cramps. There are so many different things that happen to the investigators that is hard to explain to outsiders what it's like. It becomes a mental roller coaster at times. A very recent investigation that we were on for only three hours, seemed like it lasted eight. And drained everyone. There are so many different things that happen to the investigators during an investigation that affect them.We have lost several due to aftermath issues. But at least now we have a little better understanding as to what is happening to our investigators. So if your a newbie or someone who has been doing this for a while and has not experienced it, you will. Everyone does. If they say they have not, then they have never been to a true haunted location. Now just picture what a home owner goes through. They live with it. I have lived it. We do what we do to help identify why this (haunting) is happening and try to figure out how to put the location and the residence at ease.

Do They Growl At You?

We almost always think of a growl as being something bad when we are in the field. We all get them from time to time. Some are more intense than others. Sometimes other things are happening at the same time. But I don't think that every time we hear them they are a bad thing. I think that sometimes they are just a form of communication. We have had a growl come across as something completely different when going back over the audio. This has been more than a couple of times. I think that sometimes it is their way of letting you know they are there if they can not do any thing else at the time. On the other hand there are those that are with out a doubt intended to scare or warn you. Most of us in our group are pretty stubborn when it comes down to the growling. They usually catch us off guard but our reaction back more of a stand your ground type of reaction just in case it is just communication. I had one experience where Adam and myself were in a small house and we separated. We each took a bedroom. We had multiple devices running. The claims here were nothing more than a boy died in the house and sometimes he lays on the bed. Not too scary. The first thing I heard was a loud growl. Then I smelled what I can only describe as a rotting flesh smell. Then it went away. Nothing else happened. The next morning I was at my computer with my shirt off and my daughter ask me what I had done to my arm. I had a few deep scratches. I never felt them when it happened. Going over the evidence there was nothing captured. What about the growl? What did it mean? Was it a warning? We do not know. We have had them much louder and much more sinister than that one and no one was scratched. We do find it a good time to ask questions. Sometimes they respond.  I am sure we will encounter more and we will approach the situation  the same way. Stand your ground and ask questions. They only hurt you if you let them.