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my psychological work as well as looking at subjective causes or even PSI causes for phenomena, the offer to return was withdrawn quietly.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!

A great song based on a Thoreau poem... by my husband, no less! http://ow.ly/pALW

Social Networks and the Paranormal

I used to bristle when someone would say "Everyone in the paranormal field wants to have a TV show!" Well, I didn't want a TV show so their premise had to be wrong.

Unfortunately, over time, I realized that people like me are a minority. Most of the people I have bumped into do want a television show and would give their eye teeth for it. That even goes for many of those professing to be above all that pop-culture nonsense. After all, fame (or what passes for it on basic cable) is intoxicating and it does open doors to "cool" sites. If your main purpose is stumbling around in dark creepy places that look stereotypically like "haunted houses" your passport is a TV show or some connection to one (that goes for the TAPS Family thing too).

What I have also found out is that if you truly are opposed to the pop-culture influences and reject the pseudo-science you become persona non grata. Daring to inject more than the superficial flirtation most "paranormal investigators" have with skepticism can make you a pariah.

Social Networking has become a great tool for the fledgling ghost hunter in search of basic cable fame as much as a full bodied apparition. MySpace is utterly infected with groups promoting their home made videos, their Internet radio talk shows, and their other gimmicks.

The group I formerly worked with was headed down that road for a long time until Paul eventually got a job with GHI. That pursuit of fame seems to have leveled out now from what I hear. However, it has become quite clear that someone like me who dares question the validity of pop-culture pursuits and snake oil gadgetry is not welcome among the fold of the amateur ghost hunters.

My profiles on MySpace and Facebook still list "paranormal investigation" in my interests. Almost weekly I get one or two friend requests from people who are amateur ghost hunters. A few bother to actually send me a note but most I never hear from except their weekly announcements for their Internet radio show or some local TV gig in their hometown or their webcast of their "LIVE INVESTIGATION!"

Let's be honest, these are all auditions for basic cable gigs. They are hoping like a garage band that some producer looking for the next big clone will see them and give them a shot at fame.

I kept trying to figure out how to let these folks nicely that I don't watch the professional amateurs on television so I certainly am not spending an evening watching rank amateurs on a webcast. I've consistently replied "no" to invitations for their web events. I've even sent them notes explaining my interest in studying the psychology of the paranormal (including studying them and their reactions and beliefs) when they request to be my "friend."

In fact, here's an exchange I had with a new "Facebook Friend" recently:

"Hey there Buck, how long have you been investigating the paranormal?"

My Response: "Long enough to be very, very jaded and to have switched my focus onto studying people who believe in the paranormal. I also spend a lot of time looking at the unusual trend by which "paranormal investigation" or "ghost hunting" has supplanted the old Spiritualist religions of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries and seems to be arising as rather unusual religion based on pseudo-science. Lately I've been considering the connections between Mesmerism as an historic pseudo-science movement and its connection to the rise of Spiritualism in the 19th Century and the connections between pop culture "ghost hunting" and New Age spiritualism of the 21st Century.

Anyway... I wrote my first thesis on paranormal phenomena when I was in high school dealing with the connection between abnormal psychology and the religious belief in demonology. So... that would be 26 or 27 years I suppose. ;)"

His Response: "My, my so you're quite an educated man!! ;) I've been interested in the Paranormal even as a young boy, but have only been doing investigations for the past two months. Interesting comment you made about the people that believe in the PN. I've noticed that quite a lot of "investigators" appear a bit dodgy & loony, a lot of spiritualists etc."

My Response: "Yes, it was that realization that caused me to begin to shift my focus. I realized that almost everything being done by amateur ghost hunters was designed to elicit some result rather than produce verifiable and repeatable data. As I watched the "clients" of groups respond to this process it became quite obvious in many cases the ghost hunter types were being treated with the kind of deference once shown to priests or ministers. I became fascinated by the whole process of religious belief melding with pseudo science and useless (let's be honest) gadgetry designed to let people interact with the "spirit world".

So, today I conduct my own research looking at cultural trends, pop-culture, and psychology. At some point I hope to be able to conduct some field experiments in the psychology of ghost hunting and how ghost hunters themselves become irrational in the face of their artificially created environments with darkened "haunted houses" and sensory deprivation. But, that is dependent on returning for another degree in psychology at this late stage of life. ;)

Good luck with your pursuits and keep your head about you."

Then this morning I received yet another request for another "paranormal investigator." I thought about sending yet another note explaining that I'm a) not an investigator in the sense they think and b) not a paranormal groupie. Instead, I pulled up the guy's profile and saw that he is doing some local TV thing in the middle of the night and has his sights set on having a show on SyFy. (Like they aren't already infected with enough ghost hunting .)

I decided to just hit "ignore." That was so satisfying that I decided that I would simply remove those people who are into "paranormal investigation" and whose only interaction with me is to ask me to watch their webcast or listen to their Internet radio show.

So, if you're a "paranormal investigator" and you want someone to watch your audition for basic cable, I'm not your guy. If you want someone to discuss the history of ghost hunting and how it intersects with spiritualism and historical pseudo-science movements then we'll chat. If you want someone to get all excited about your "Frank's Box" you will have your feelings hurt and end up pissed off. If, however, you'd like to discuss whether amateur paranormal investigators contribute to their own misinterpretation of events by manipulating their environment to evoke psychological responses within themselves, let's have a talk.

But please, don't ask me to watch you stumble around in the dark on a webcam. If I don't watch someone I count as a friend on national television I certainly won't be watching you broadcast from your local haunted high school.