More Schoolyard Fun from GH

Recently, I posted about the Donna LaCroix blowup on her appearance on an internet radio show.

Fast forward to the promised “press release” from Ghost Hunters, TAPS, and the production company that still hasn’t come (to my knowledge). But, sharp eyed Cullan noted a posting at Scifake.com that purports to be from Jason Hawes addressing the issue.

Now, Scifake seems to be a bunch of amateur ghost hunters out to “expose fakery”. Yet, they remain committed to belief in the traditional “spirit of the dead” paradigm in paranormal research and the usual BS and suppositions attendant upon it. In short, it sort of strikes me as a place where amateurs level accusations at TV shows and have pissing contests as the fans of one show square off against those of another show. Now, that’s just from a very cursory look at the site. As you know, if you read this blog, I do not frequent these places at all.

Anyway, you can read the alleged response by Hawes here.

The gist of it is this was all someone else’s fault. The Ghost Divas are evil. They haven’t scared Donna into recanting her statements. The Ghost Divas are evil. No one has ever done anything remotely hinky on their show. The Ghost Divas are evil. There is no staging crew. The Ghost Divas are evil. Donna loves them and they love Donna. The Ghost Divas are evil. This isn’t the first time this has happened. The Ghost Divas are evil. People have called them who have been on the same show and since the Ghost Divas are evil they’re calling the police!!

It’s the usual crap from these amateur ghost hunting types. Despite being quasi-famous the folks at TAPS and Ghost Hunters remain rank amateur pseudo-scientists given to flame wars, dramatics and overreactions. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen amateur ghost hunting groups threatening to call the police on each other because someone got their feelings hurt over something someone said. Honestly, it’s like those people who go on TV court shows to sue each other for “slander” because during an argument someone called someone else a bitch.

Here’s my advice to anyone who is remotely serious about studying the paranormal. Stay way from this stuff if at all possible.  Don’t frequent the websites of these amateur ghost hunting groups and fans. Don’t watch the TV shows, don’t listen to the ghost hunting radio shows. There is nothing any of these people have to contribute that is even slightly of value to anyone other than themselves.

Brutal I know, but that’s the way it is. There is nothing they will possibly uncover that will be useful to science because they don’t bother to quantify, qualify, or correlate their findings and their “theories” are usually based on incorrect reading of true scientific findings. Most of the amateur groups are very secretive about everything they do unless they find some questionable EVP or something they want to use to get famous. Other than those they keep everything secret and private. Part of that is that 99.99% of the time they don’t bother with anything else. The other part is just what I noted above – the dramatics and general silliness. Another frequent “I’m calling the police!” cause is one group claiming another group stole the top secret design to their latest blinking light whirlygig piece of uselessness.

So, read, think. Take some classes at your nearest college in psychology, physics, sociology, folklore, religion, medicine, or pretty much anything that helps you understand how the world and our minds work. But by all means: stay away from amateur ghost hunting groups and their sites, ghost conferences, classes offered at community centers or community colleges by amateur ghost hunters, sycophantic fan sites for TV shows, and sour grapes amateur sites devoted to creating drama.

If you are “looking for answers” you aren’t going to find them. You’re only going to find more questions and if any amateur ever tells you they are getting closer or “moving forward” in finding one…. they’re deluded.

It’s Enough That YOU Believe…

I’m well into R.C. Finucane’s excellent work on the sociological aspects of belief in the paranormal., Ghosts: Appearances of the Dead and Cultural Transformation.  I’ve been very impressed with the book thus far as it tackles the social perception and role of ghosts and hauntings and how those have shifted over the centuries.

It’s a serious book for serious people. While it could possibly be even more in depth, it’s not something you’re going to find on the shelf of most ghost hunters. Why? Not a single thing about EVP’s, EMF meters or the other gadgetry du jour. Just a lot of footnotes and comparative analyses of ghost mythology.

In fact, Finucane’s introduction quotes famed psychologist Carl Jung who noted that it does not matter whether ghosts exist but whether one BELIEVES that ghosts exist. (paraphrased)

Now, if you make the mistake of visiting many of the amateur groups who like to give a thin veneer of respectability they’ll note an anecdote about Jung “seeing” a ghost. But few, if any, will dwell on that profound statement.

It is enough that you believe in ghosts. Perhaps, that is where our amateurs fail, for they believe in ghosts but are searching for “proof” of something that may not exist outside their own construct of reality.

I think that’s why I shifted out of the amateur field of ghost hunters (I refuse to call my former field “research” or “investigation” because it is neither). For me, it is enough that you believe. It is not required that I also believe. I am much more interested in why you believe, how you believe and what effects that belief has both internally and externally. After all, is it at all possible that “ghosts” far from being otherworldly entities are just reflections of our own psyches? Could all this so-called evidence simply be a combination of psychology and some unexplained PSI phenomena? Could it be nothing more than psychology?

At any rate, the book is excellent and I’m enjoying the historical look at social attitudes toward hauntings and wish some of the folks who get so wrapped up in the BS of amateur ghost hunting would put down the EMF meter and pick up a book too.

Which brings me to the latest blow up in pop culture land! This comes to me via my good pal Cullan over at Strange State who reports that Donna LaCroix, late of Ghost Hunters and GHI made a little appearance on some internet chat show about ghosts and the usual stuff. Seems Donna intimated that TAPS and GH have been fudging “evidence” for quite awhile.

I didn’t listen to the show, but I did read a rather long and rambling regurgitation of the whole controversy on the blog of one of the hosts. Long story short: Donna says fakery. Anti-TAPS people jump up and down “ah ha’ing!” each other into a stupor. TAPS people and production company to issue a press release (coming soon to a fan or anti-fan site near you!). Internet talk show host tries to play humble while dislocating shoulder to pat self on back for causing a stir. Usual amateur ghost hunting suspects wreck the English language trying to sound intelligent by dropping names of other notorious scam artists and media hucksters in comments as evidence their non-GH heroes would ever be publicity or money whores.

Honestly, fascinating people when you get right down to it. I love the way the hostess goes on about it being a TV show and what do people expect but then feigns outrage on the part of the “community” that they would fake something.  The motivations are just too easy.

Speaking of which, before they hitch their wagon to Donna LaCroix, they might want to remember that she has some pretty dull axes to grind with the folks running that show. She was dropped fairly unceremoniously and punted to GHI which seemed to be the original realm of the problem children from Ghost Hunters. She was only there a short time (less than a season?) before she was dropped from the franchise completely. She then attempted to launch her own money making empire with none other than tireless self-promoter Brian Harnois that included syndicated radio and internet shows as well as ghost tours, seminars, and other things. That seems to have not panned out (last I heard) so now she’s doing the minor league talk circuit selling her “inside scoop” – book in the offing?

I don’t say this to defend Ghost Hunters. Honestly, I think that show is about one good writer away from being a movie called Paranormal Activity. But, what I do find interesting are the people who feel that if it’s fake they must somehow get in on exposing it and then pretend indifference because “it’s a TV show. What did you expect?”

I further think rank amateurs need to be wary of getting themselves manipulated by a group of people who know how to play a “celebrity fight” to the max.  LaCroix, Harnois, Hawes, and Grant pulled a similar stunt last year when they were all launching new projects.  The infamous MySpace feud was all the rage for several weeks last Fall.

Ahhh, don’t you love it? As for me, back to Mr. Finucane’s work and thinking about the sociological aspects of the paranormal and what they’ve meant at various times in history. Hmmm… wonder if he would revisit the work 25 years on (it was originally published in 1984) and perhaps add a bit more on this latest pop culture fad.

PS: Out of curiosity I did a very quick (less than 5 minute) search to see if LaCroix has any projects bubbling at the moment. Nothing really leaped up online… but keep your eyes open.

A Personal Update…

As I was glancing through previous posts here on the blog I realized I’d had a grand total of about 17 posts for 2009! You might be wondering why that is considering the frequency of my posting in the previous year.

In early 2009 I officially left Sonoran Paranormal Investigations. There were a number of reasons for that decision ranging from the usual drama that surrounds paranormal groups and my position as a team manager to a shift in my own beliefs and interests that were not entirely welcomed by some members of the group.

As my personal interest in psychology and perception increased I found that exploration of those topics caused some in the group to feel very uncomfortable. There are those who are true believers in all things paranormal and who find the questioning of the veracity of those beliefs to be threatening. In short, they do not want any avenue of inquiry that might lead down the road toward disproving paranormal phenomenon as an objective experience. It’s fine to find the occasional squeaky door or loud water heater, but not to posit experiments that might show “ghosts” as a class to be illegitimate or outside the neo-Victorian folklore model or New Age paradigm.

After Paul Bradford was tapped as a cast member of Ghost Hunters International, we spoke briefly about my returning to the group since it seemed to be experiencing some stasis. When I laid out my desire to continue to pursue my psychological work as well as looking at subjective causes or even PSI causes for phenomena, the offer to return was withdrawn quietly.

Unfortunately, much of this conflict originated with a self-proclaimed psychic who did not care for me personally (considering my well known skepticism of psychics. Certainly, my suggestion that if we were to “study” psychic impressions the “psychic” would need to be tested independently via standard PSI methodology for accuracy was viewed negatively by this person who took it as a personal attack on her “gifts.”

Thus, as so often happens when research runs headlong into hobby and ego… I found myself outside the fold.

I have resisted any criticism of SPI for nearly a year and still feel they are a superb group 0f amateur ghost hunters. However, like so many, serious research is not something that seems to be on the agenda at the moment. In the aftermath of that and without any means to continue research alone, I lost interest in the turmoil of the paranormal pop culture world for much of the year.

I am beginning to regain some steam now, though, and am thinking of putting together a group of 2 or 3 others who are interested in conducting serious research into the psychological, sociological and folklore aspects of hauntings as well as field research looking at paranormal investigators themselves and their reactions to environment and belief systems. I would also like to conduct some PSI statistical studies to attempt to determine if haunting phenomena is objective or subjective.

Interested and live in Southern Arizona? Leave a comment or drop me a note.

The TV Machine Explodes

First there was Ghost Hunters, then we expanded with Ghost Hunters International, Paranormal State and Ghost Adventures, now we have Ghost Lab and Extreme Paranormal and soon we’ll have Ghost Hunters: The College Years (or whatever they are really calling it).

In fact, amateur ghost hunters are springing up like Zombies after a chemical spill! It’s even worse on the Internet where it seems every 3rd or 4th person is either in some group, starting some group, or looking for some group to join.

I know, I know, it’s October when a young man’s (or woman’s) mind turns to thoughts of the macabre. But, it does seem to be overkill at times. The TV Machine, which loves its sensational storylines, wacky personalities, and drama doesn’t help matters by giving people a platform who probably should best be kept offstage and unable to influence the public at large.

In the case of Extreme Paranormal I heard a recent episode included what amounted to occult rituals to “raise” ghosts. I watched some of the premiere episode on A&E’s website and have to say: These guys have absolutely no business in the field of paranormal research. In addition it is incredibly irresponsible of A&E to give them a television show.

In their very first outing they do everything that serious researchers warn amateurs not to do. They destroy property, they engage in occult rituals, and they generally make nuisances of themselves with nothing to show for it at the end.

I predict that if this show is allowed to continue we can expect the headlines to begin around the country: “Teenage Ghost Hunters burn down historic site!” “Teen Ghost Hunters caught breaking and entering to perform Satanic ritual to ‘Raise Spirits’!”

Of course, A&E’s entries into the paranormal pop culture genre have never been stellar. They launched their franchise with Ryan Buell and his demon loving team of twinks. However, in comparison, the guys on the new entry make Buell and rosary loving friends appear sober and reasoned.

So, what are we to make of the new entries in the already infested field of Paranormal Pop TV? Let’s look at A&E’s hype about the goofs on “Extreme Paranormal” which includes the quasi-Blair Witch Project symbol in their logo (sigh):

In "Extreme Paranormal," irreverent paranormal explorers Shaun, Nathan and Jason investigate chilling local legends, attempting to seek the truth by provoking spirits. Unlike other paranormal investigators, they put themselves directly in harm's way - taunting ghosts, summoning the dead and daring the demonic to attack.

"Extreme Paranormal" gives rabid paranormal fans the ride they've always wanted: the chance to follow a team that dares to challenge legends, curses, and hauntings by actually attempting to provoke paranormal activity. These guys have spent the last ten years kicking sand in the face of ghosts across America. Every Sunday at midnight, they recount their latest mission on their popular radio show "Ghostman and Demon Hunter."

While other paranormal investigators keep the spirit world at arms-length, our guys lack that part of their DNA that tells other investigators to "be afraid" and run away during intense encounters. The team has developed a bring-it-on mentality when it comes to their explorations.

I don’t think “investigators” is exactly the right term for these guys. Thrill seekers? Irresponsible goons? Immature asses? Those all fit fairly nicely, but not the label investigator, certainly not researcher, and certainly not serious.

Perhaps it is time that the paranormal community stands up and tells these networks that there are far too many shows on already and they are harming research by continuing to try to outdo each other with sensational and often fake “ghostly encounters.”

There is a reason you never see serious investigations into the paranormal as conducted at major universities on these television shows. TV networks rely on sensation, gullible amateurs willing to do anything for their 15 minutes of fame, and a serious lack of critical thinking about paranormal activity and the occult in general.

A&E should be terribly ashamed of this program and should be held accountable for the inevitable clones that is spawns in the real world and the harm that comes to people and property because of it.

That’s Queer…

Yes, it’s been a long time since I posted here. But, I return with great news. Ken Summers, a real friend and colleague in this madness that is the paranormal has written a very interesting book.

Queer Hauntings: True Tales of Gay & Lesbian Ghosts (Lethe Press), is a must read for anyone interested in often overlooked stories and even a few familiar stories with overlooked parts.

In the paranormal field with its rather high incidence of religious belief, issues related to LGBT people are often swept aside. LGBT paranormal investigators are even subjected at times to insensitive remarks, name calling, or even inappropriate jokes. This is abundantly clear if you look at the Ryan Buell thread on my political blog where I was called any number of names by “paranormal fans” when I suggested that I actually did NOT care whether Ryan Buell was gay. In addition, the lengths that these people went to to assure me he was not gay were hilarious. In their mind being gay is an insult and a character flaw.

So, it is not surprising that LGBT ghosts also get short shrift when it comes to investigation and even our folklore. This is where Ken’s excellent book comes in. Ken allows both the LGBT reader and the Straight Ally a glimpse at the hidden folklore of our community. With this work he brings our own stories of love, loss, and tragedy into the pantheon of mainstream folklore.

While the straight community has their ghosts of TB, Cholera, or Yellow Fever epidemics, Ken reminds us of our ghosts of AIDS. The correlation cannot be lost on those of us written out of history and folklore for so very long.

By collecting these stories, Ken has done a great deal to advance our own sense of self as a community with a history and a mythology; a community that sees itself reflected in those scary tales that we often recall around campfires or crisp Autumn nights.

The stories are all very readable and relatively short making the book excellent fare for quick reading or storytelling. I might be biased since Ken is a friend, but I honestly think this is an important step in understanding the role of folklore and mythology in a community and seeing how it is developing as that community is allowed to share its stories with the wider world.

You can get a copy at Amazon.com and I urge you to pick this one up today.

Psyched that my friend Ken Summer's book, Queer Hauntings, arrived! Great book! Check it out! http://ow.ly/pBf4

@Paula_Deen Y'all have a safe trip!