The Curse of Amateur wannabe Ghost Groups
I have become very saddened and disgruntled by the recent rise of interest into the subject of ghosts and the paranormal. I used to dream of it becoming more popular, as years ago when it was unpopular I was considered a freak because of my interest into the paranormal and Occult, but now I dream of being that freak again.
The reason why I say this is because since fake programmes like Most Haunted and Ghost Towns have hit our TV screens its brought in a new and unwanted wave of people with interests in the paranormal, who randomly start their own so called investigation teams, because they want to be like their Most Haunted heroes, and are basically thrill seeking and wanting to feel important or in some cases make money. They also embarrassingly always end up in conflicts with other groups because of rivalry and jealously and childishness. Now this applies to most (but not all) of these amateur groups, most of them only know what they have learnt from TV shows on Living TV or have read a book or two on the subject, then go around claiming to be professional paranormal investigators, and booking places, or invading old buildings or properties, such as abandoned buildings and graveyards, most of which will show no respect for the places they visit, this in turn gives serious investigators a bad name, and in the past have had locations completely closed to the serious investigator because of the Most Haunted fans incompetence. Graveyards have been closed to the general public because of these wannabe teams that run around chasing dust, insects, and moisture and even their own breath and cigarette smoke. Its got the the point where its become frighteningly embarrassing. These people are not even willing to learn or hold alternative view points and add nothing constructive to paranormal investigation at all.
I am talking from a UK point of view here, but from talking to professional American investigators they are having the same problem too, because of shows like T.A.P.S. Not that T.A.P.S are a bad group, but I mean the groups that form from watching these shows are.
Also because of these shows, and rising interest, “investigation” type of tours and "Ghost Nights" and "haunted Nights" have started, basically businesses cashing in on this kind of thing, also making real paranormal investigation look like a money making scam, targeted at making money from the gullible.
Paranormal Investigation should be about learning more about the supernatural and investigating the paranormal, NOT MAKING MONEY.
Yes people have to pay pay for costs, but the people who run and contribute to the group should do that, or an organisation like a College or University should contribute to the financial side that is funding the project.
In my opinion the general public should never be allowed on investigations, unless in the rare case of a charity fun investigation (Not done as real research), where ALL the money collected should go to a worthy cause.
If members of the public want to be thrilled and scared they should go to a fairground and ride the ghost train. Haunted locations are not circuses or fairgrounds.
The Paranormal is a serious subject, not something to be made a mockery out of, by cashing in on the gullible public.
I have seen amateur paranormal groups do a lot of damage to peoples lives, and properties, in most cases making an alleged haunting even worse, and even fuelling the fears of others that might be suffering some form of PSI phenomenon, or an actual haunting.
I think there should be some kind of official requirement or qualification that has to be gained in order to be classed as a worthy paranormal investigator, to weed out the thrill seekers, and uneducated orb and Derek Acorah fanatics, that have damaged the occupation so greatly, and as a result placed serious paranormal investigation community in the same light as the amateur thrill seekers as a huge joke.
Many use blind faith as their only tool, when "investigating" which amounts to no evidence at all. Faith is fine, as long as it isn’t the main tool of investigation, as that just makes it look stupid with no solid content.
Paranormal investigation used to be mostly about finding evidence for or against the existence of paranormal phenomena, as did the study of the Occult and supernatural and experimentation into PSI, and to even convince the public that it is in fact real. Most of the amateur groups and shows that inspire them have had the opposite effect on the public, and convinced more people its all a joke, and made people more sceptical, because of the mindless mentality of these thrill seeking groups, who don’t seem to have the education to even simply investigate things as simple as what orbs are, or understand basic things such as ultrasound and automatic suggestion, and refuse to look at things as the facts state, but rather to continue to remain ignorant, so that they can continue on with their thrill seeking orb fantasies that all their dust particles are King Henry the VIII, fuelling the ridicule real paranormal investigation now have to suffer as a result.
Wouldn’t some kind of qualification weed out these damaging groups? As you need at least common sense and an objective mind to gain the qualification. I believe that without the qualification it should be illegal to conduct any investigation in the name of paranormal research, or pose as a paranormal investigation team. Just as a DR has to gain a qualification to practice medicine, I know DR's and Paranormal investigators are not the same, but based on the same principle.
Would this work and put real paranormal investigation back on track? I believe it would.
I my self am not a paranormal investigator, I prefer the study of the paranormal my self, and have only been on a few investigations, but with experiences teams who have been in the business long before Most Haunted ever came about.
I don’t think views should be banned, I just think to protect both the credibility of serious paranormal investigators and the locations that are investigated, something should be done to stop the people only in it for purposes of jumping on the bandwagon, and to look cool, or to mimic the rubbish we see on TV, or to try and climb the fame ladder.
I think when starting as a serious paranormal investigator you need the following assets. Objectivity, an open mind, a certain level of scepticism, honesty, reasonable knowledge in the field, respect for both location and its history, and respect for the dead, and no ego, and most of all a genuine interest and need to find out more about the unknown.
This doesn’t apply to every team out there that is amateur, just to most of them. You know who you are!!!
By Barry Stevens (Faeden)
Please click the following link to read an article by Neil Fellowes for further reading on the sad downfall of modern paranormal research at the hands of amateurs.
THE DEMISE OF MODERN GHOST-HUNTING
The reason why I say this is because since fake programmes like Most Haunted and Ghost Towns have hit our TV screens its brought in a new and unwanted wave of people with interests in the paranormal, who randomly start their own so called investigation teams, because they want to be like their Most Haunted heroes, and are basically thrill seeking and wanting to feel important or in some cases make money. They also embarrassingly always end up in conflicts with other groups because of rivalry and jealously and childishness. Now this applies to most (but not all) of these amateur groups, most of them only know what they have learnt from TV shows on Living TV or have read a book or two on the subject, then go around claiming to be professional paranormal investigators, and booking places, or invading old buildings or properties, such as abandoned buildings and graveyards, most of which will show no respect for the places they visit, this in turn gives serious investigators a bad name, and in the past have had locations completely closed to the serious investigator because of the Most Haunted fans incompetence. Graveyards have been closed to the general public because of these wannabe teams that run around chasing dust, insects, and moisture and even their own breath and cigarette smoke. Its got the the point where its become frighteningly embarrassing. These people are not even willing to learn or hold alternative view points and add nothing constructive to paranormal investigation at all.
I am talking from a UK point of view here, but from talking to professional American investigators they are having the same problem too, because of shows like T.A.P.S. Not that T.A.P.S are a bad group, but I mean the groups that form from watching these shows are.
Also because of these shows, and rising interest, “investigation” type of tours and "Ghost Nights" and "haunted Nights" have started, basically businesses cashing in on this kind of thing, also making real paranormal investigation look like a money making scam, targeted at making money from the gullible.
Paranormal Investigation should be about learning more about the supernatural and investigating the paranormal, NOT MAKING MONEY.
Yes people have to pay pay for costs, but the people who run and contribute to the group should do that, or an organisation like a College or University should contribute to the financial side that is funding the project.
In my opinion the general public should never be allowed on investigations, unless in the rare case of a charity fun investigation (Not done as real research), where ALL the money collected should go to a worthy cause.
If members of the public want to be thrilled and scared they should go to a fairground and ride the ghost train. Haunted locations are not circuses or fairgrounds.
The Paranormal is a serious subject, not something to be made a mockery out of, by cashing in on the gullible public.
I have seen amateur paranormal groups do a lot of damage to peoples lives, and properties, in most cases making an alleged haunting even worse, and even fuelling the fears of others that might be suffering some form of PSI phenomenon, or an actual haunting.
I think there should be some kind of official requirement or qualification that has to be gained in order to be classed as a worthy paranormal investigator, to weed out the thrill seekers, and uneducated orb and Derek Acorah fanatics, that have damaged the occupation so greatly, and as a result placed serious paranormal investigation community in the same light as the amateur thrill seekers as a huge joke.
Many use blind faith as their only tool, when "investigating" which amounts to no evidence at all. Faith is fine, as long as it isn’t the main tool of investigation, as that just makes it look stupid with no solid content.
Paranormal investigation used to be mostly about finding evidence for or against the existence of paranormal phenomena, as did the study of the Occult and supernatural and experimentation into PSI, and to even convince the public that it is in fact real. Most of the amateur groups and shows that inspire them have had the opposite effect on the public, and convinced more people its all a joke, and made people more sceptical, because of the mindless mentality of these thrill seeking groups, who don’t seem to have the education to even simply investigate things as simple as what orbs are, or understand basic things such as ultrasound and automatic suggestion, and refuse to look at things as the facts state, but rather to continue to remain ignorant, so that they can continue on with their thrill seeking orb fantasies that all their dust particles are King Henry the VIII, fuelling the ridicule real paranormal investigation now have to suffer as a result.
Wouldn’t some kind of qualification weed out these damaging groups? As you need at least common sense and an objective mind to gain the qualification. I believe that without the qualification it should be illegal to conduct any investigation in the name of paranormal research, or pose as a paranormal investigation team. Just as a DR has to gain a qualification to practice medicine, I know DR's and Paranormal investigators are not the same, but based on the same principle.
Would this work and put real paranormal investigation back on track? I believe it would.
I my self am not a paranormal investigator, I prefer the study of the paranormal my self, and have only been on a few investigations, but with experiences teams who have been in the business long before Most Haunted ever came about.
I don’t think views should be banned, I just think to protect both the credibility of serious paranormal investigators and the locations that are investigated, something should be done to stop the people only in it for purposes of jumping on the bandwagon, and to look cool, or to mimic the rubbish we see on TV, or to try and climb the fame ladder.
I think when starting as a serious paranormal investigator you need the following assets. Objectivity, an open mind, a certain level of scepticism, honesty, reasonable knowledge in the field, respect for both location and its history, and respect for the dead, and no ego, and most of all a genuine interest and need to find out more about the unknown.
This doesn’t apply to every team out there that is amateur, just to most of them. You know who you are!!!
By Barry Stevens (Faeden)
Please click the following link to read an article by Neil Fellowes for further reading on the sad downfall of modern paranormal research at the hands of amateurs.
THE DEMISE OF MODERN GHOST-HUNTING
