A Night in Tombstone

Last night we had a chance to visit Tombstone, Arizona and investigate at the famed Bird Cage Theater. While I can't write details of the investigation here, I will relate some of the fun we had in town before and during the investigation.

Most of the team arrived in town in the late afternoon. Many of our folks from Phoenix and points north were staying across the street at a Bed & Breakfast Inn called "The Silver Nugget." The rest of use were making the drive back to Tucson following the investigation.

We had a great supper at Nellie Cashman's restaurant on Toughnut Street where we had a chance to catch up with each other and meet some of our newer team members who'd not been in the field with us before. I think the folks at the small historic restaurant were a little overwhelmed when 16 people arrived at once to eat, but they managed to handle the sudden influx in stride and the food was pretty good.

After the meal we adjourned to the common room at the B&B to have a team briefing and work out the details of the night's investigation.

Following our team meeting we pulled the SPI Pod, our mobile command center into place next to the Bird Cage Theater and began the process of setting up equipment and doing the initial interviews.

Of course, our SPI Pod draws a crowd wherever we go. Within a few minutes we had a number of tourists gathered around asking team members who weren't involved in the equipment setup all sorts of questions, asking to take photos of the Pod and the team and generally being very curious about our group and our relationship to TAPS.

I was stopped three times crossing the street to go to the ATM at the bank and asked about the team. Most of the questions began with "What channel is your TV show on?" I guess everyone assumes if you do this you must be doing it because you have a television show.

Several people came forward with stories of experiences they'd had in town. We did have several who asked if we would be interested in investigating their home or business so the next couple months could be busy as we go through those requests to filter out legitimate activity from wishful thinking or hopes of tourist dollars from a "haunted hotel" or other business. After all, ghosts have become big business in Tombstone and the surrounding areas with ghost tours, special "ghost hunts" and even insanely expensive "Ghost Conferences."

Of course, the number of orb photos that come out when regular folks see Paranormal Investigators seemed to reach fever pitch. Digital cameras came out of pockets and purses as day trippers showed us their latest "orb" spirits lurking behind family or friends. There were several reflections of people in windows that tourists were disappointed to learn were reflections in windows. It finally got to the point that I told Paul I wanted a T-shirt that said either:

"I will look at your Orb photo for $5"
"If I can hear the word "orb" you are standing too close!"
or " Unless you want your feelings hurt, please do not show me your "orb" photo!"

But, we did have a good time chatting with the tourists and residents about our mission and what we do. Many people are genuinely fascinated by this work. I found it funny to glance up one time and see a line of 7 or 8 people taking photo after photo of the Pod.

I brought a bunch of my Raleigh Tavern Gingerbread Cookies for us to enjoy. Everyone seemed to enjoy them, even the ones who said they didn't like "Gingersnaps" - they are not gingersnaps!

I was surprised also that when we were inside the building we could not hear the incredibly loud music from the bars down the street. We took turns in 6 member teams inside doing the investigation so when we were outside near the Pod we got to enjoy a variety of sub-standard rock and country music, not to mention watching the intoxicated tourists stumble down the boardwalks. Personal observation: Tombstone seems to have a preponderance of late middle aged women acting as though they are in college once again.

It turned out to be a beautiful night. They had called for storms all week and it was a bit cloudy when we arrived, but after nightfall it cleared off and the temperature hovered in the low 70's with a refreshing and sometimes chilly breeze. That made a nice break from the heat of Tucson!

Now, comes the hard part of any investigation: evidence review. We have another rather large one next week so this is going to be a lot of work to knock out without falling behind. But if anyone can do it, SPI can.

All content © Buck Bannister.
Buck's Ghost's and Hauntings
All Rights Reserved.

Really, a Fake Bigfoot?

I don't usually depart my realm of dealing strictly with the paranormal world to touch on cryptozoology, but recent events in the Bigfoot hoax have made me raise an eyebrow.

As we all know by now, two guys in Georgia claimed to have the body of a Bigfoot on ice. They sold it to some Las Vegas promoter who then thawed out the body which turned out to be... wait for it... a fake. They've now disappeared with his money and he's all in an uproar.

I don't move in the crypto circles so I don't know the players in all this. But an article today at Unexplained Mysteries caught my eye. However, it was the comments following the article by readers that really made me do a double take.

No one commenting seemed to get the obvious facts. Rather, they were all in line with "this guy's done that same kind of thing himself, he deserves to get taken" or "he's only suing them to salvage what little reputation he has."

None of the crypto fans there seemed the least bit concerned that this fraud had caught national attention and severely damaged their reputations as well as this promoters. When the general public sees the hype and hoopla of this and it turns out to be a fake they assume that the whole pursuit of cryptozoology is a field fraught with scammers and frauds.

The facts of this are clear. When someone claims to have a "Bigfoot body" and wants to sell it for tens of thousands of dollars to the highest bidder it might be a good idea to leave your wallet at home. Any normal person would turn over such an item to a zoo, university or natural history museum in hopes of discovering what it really might be. A scam artist will, of course, go looking for someone willing to shell out cash for their costume store monkey suite encased in ice.

When I first heard about two Bubbas from the backwoods selling this thing I pretty much assumed, rightly, that it was an utter fake. I didn't need to see an in depth analysis of photographs and facial topography as compared to commercially available suits. I didn't need hair analysis or DNA. I'm from South Carolina. When two Bubbas from Georgia sell a big monkey for $50K to a Yankee... I pretty much know which way the wind is blowing.

So, instead of the crypto folks saying the buyer got what he deserved, maybe it would be a better plan to work up a little righteous indignation themselves at these guys for sullying their reputations as researchers in the field.

As for me, I'll just roll my eyes and wonder at what point the logic train jumped the tracks on this one.

All content © Buck Bannister.
Buck's Ghost's and Hauntings
All Rights Reserved.

Who's Investigating Your Home?

Most people wouldn't invite strangers into their homes. Yet, when someone requests an investigation of their home or business they are doing just that. How can you be sure that the people entering your home are trustworthy and professional?

The first step in finding a paranormal investigation group for most people is to conduct an internet search. Unfortunately, Google, Yahoo and other search engines do not qualify groups. Instead, they simply list pages based on the words and data they contain. Just because someone's page ranks highly on Google does not mean that group is the best in the field.

When you go to the website for a group you should look for several things. The most important is a list of investigations they have done in the past. Are reports available online for review? If they are not then it may mean the group does not follow through after the investigation with quantifying and qualifying results. In other words, groups that do not file official post-investigation reports often are more interested in thrills than science and seeking the truth. While many groups claim they do not file official reports because of "privacy" issues this simply is untrue. It is possible to prepare an official report for public education and use without divulging private information. I do this all the time for our group, Sonoran Paranormal Investigations, Inc.

If they do have reports available, take a look at the quality of the reports. Do they simply list what happened on the site or do they delve into the history of the structure? Do they discuss how they investigated the claims and either attempted to prove them or how they were able to disprove them? Are the reports footnoted or sourced? Do they use personal experiences as evidence or do they stick to hard scientific data? Are those reports presented to the client in a professional manner in written form as well as having the group representative discuss those results with the client?

Reports can tell you a lot about a group. You should see what types of equipment were used, how many hours of footage were shot on location and the results of that process.

Since you are having people into your home or business you certainly want to know their backgrounds. Again, websites can give you loads of information. Are the members of the group listed along with photos? Does the website list the backgrounds of those members with a biography or other data?

If you find groups who are hesitant to attach their own photos to their website you may want to inquire why. Likewise, you should ask whether investigators who will arrive at your home have been checked out by the group. Do they preform background checks on new investigators? Do they require personal references and confidentiality agreements from their investigators?

Does the group employ "psychics", "sensitives," "demonologists," or "psychic cleansers?" If they do then you should be aware that more than likely your home will be haunted, regardless of any evidence to the contrary and that you will likely be told you have need of these services. Groups who use these spiritualists rarely use a scientific approach or if they do it is a thin veneer over their root philosophy. They come seeking a haunting and they will find it even if your activity has a very natural and correctable cause. The Demonologist sect, in my opinion, is very dangerous to the psychological well-being of families that include small children.

There is a large difference between conducting a true paranormal investigation and simply "ghost hunting". An actual paranormal investigation requires preparation before the team arrives. Research into the site must be conducted and the group must be sure that the site will be safe for their members to enter.


There are thousands of "ghost hunters" out there who do not perform actual investigations but still consider themselves "paranormal investigators". These are usually teams that do not require any information from you upfront about your situation. They are not interested in actually assisting you with your problem but rather in getting into your home so they can have a good time. True paranormal investigators will require information from you upfront about what is happening, who it is happening to, and what you wish to gain from the investigation. Then your needs and desires can be assessed and given the best response possible to achieve the shared goals.

Of course, there are times in emergency situations where even the best groups will forego this process. Usually, this happens when someone feels they are in danger. However, those situations are exceedingly rare.

When you review a website for a group be aware of the "evidence" listed without a full report. Many of the transitory groups will list dozens of "paranormal" photos and EVPs. Both of those things are exceedingly rare when they are reviewed professionally by experts. Even the most active groups have only a handful of truly anomalous evidence once it has been reviewed thoroughly. A small group with only a few members who finds "evidence" at almost every site should be suspect. A group with dozens of pieces of evidence should also be viewed with a skeptical eye. This is especially true when this evidence has not been vetted by other groups in the field working cooperatively or outside experts. If a group does list photos, take a moment to check what is known as EXIF data for the paranormal photo. You can even get add-ons for Firefox that will allow this using a simple right click on the photo. The EXIF data will tell you if the photo has been manipulated. Groups who state they use digital photography but whose evidentiary photos lack EXIF data should be considered suspect.

Check the website to see if the group belongs to a community of cooperation. There are many very respected cooperative groups out there. Perhaps the most famous being the "TAPS Family". The groups in this organization work cooperatively to review anomalous evidence and render opinions. This allows a single photo or EVP to be reviewed hundreds of times and subjected to many different analyses before a final decision is rendered on its authenticity. This process ensures that each piece of evidence is carefully considered.

Many young groups try to dazzle with claims they have "certified" or "licensed" investigators on their staff. There is no such thing. Online classes, community college classes, and other money making schemes cannot teach you how to investigate. It is necessary to have a wide variety of professionals within a group who are capable of using and adapting technology. A true investigative group will have members from a variety of professions from law enforcement to the arts (especially photography) to medicine to construction trades and more. Each of these people bring a lifetime of knowledge and training to bear on the subject. Many of the ghost hunting "certification" classes teach theories and without a sound grounding in other disciplines the "certified" then are unable to separate fact from fiction. For instance, while certification classes teach that an EMF spike signals a ghost there is absolutely no evidence this is the case. An EMF spike is considered an anomalous occurrence and must be combined with other factors. Likewise, you must rule out natural fields by conducting a full EMF scan and noting all sources prior to the investigation even beginning! Even during the investigation spikes must be documented fully as to strength, location, and duration.

Finally, ask what their philosophy is concerning investigation. Do they look first at natural causes for events or do they assume paranormal activity first and try to prove their assumption? This is a key point. When a group is seeking paranormal activity first they are more likely to find it. That is not to say it is real, but they will classify non-paranormal activity as paranormal in order to shore up their profile. There are many groups out there hoping for the next TV show. These are media hungry groups who will use anything to show that they can produce "spectacular" results. This means that even if they investigate for you, you will be no closer to the truth when they are done than when you started. Be very wary of groups who are eager to please by "producing" evidence for you, for the media, or for their websites.

Remember, if you think you have something paranormal going on it is in your best interest to make sure you get the truth and that at the same time protect yourself and your property.

All content © Buck Bannister.
Buck's Ghost's and Hauntings
All Rights Reserved.

Review: Spook: Science Takles the Afterlife

Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife
by Mary Roach

rating: 3 of 5 stars

I began this book with great hope. In the first few chapters Roach shows a great balance of humor and seriousness when looking at her subject. In fact, the opening section dealing with a trip to India in search of answers about reincarnation read almost like a travelogue.

Later, Roach turns her attention to some of the more bizarre aspects of the search for proof of the afterlife. From weighing dying people and animals to detect the drop in weight when the soul departs the body, to early 20th century mediums using bodily orifices to hide cheesecloth they would produce later as "ectoplasm", Roach takes the reader on a strange and interesting journey.

However, by the end of these chapters there seems to be a note of self righteousness that creeps in. While claiming to keep an open mind the closer we journey with her to the present the more her off-hand humor begins to take on a snide edge.

By the time she has tackled Dr. Schwartz and his project at the University of Arizona and Alison Dubois I began to feel distinctly uncomfortable. While I learned a few facts about this project I'd not known before, such as the serious design flaws in the earlier works, I was also unsettled by Roach's appearance to laugh behind her hand at people she seemed to be leading on with serious questions.

When I arrived at her chapter describing a trip she took to Donner Park in California on a ghost tour with IGHS, I had truly begun to lose interest. However, I plowed ahead. In this chapter she takes to a crowded park with a bunch of tourists trying to capture EVP's and claiming every thump or bump while walking is something useful. Still, Roach seems to present this farce as a true sampling of paranormal investigators. It is far from that. By this point I began to see that her goal here was not to truly inform in a light hearted way but to make fun of anyone who didn't share her attitude or rather muddled system of belief and skepticism.

I plowed further through the book, running up against her visit to Persinger and his EMF experiment, her run-ins with low frequency sound, and even her trip to a "Learn to be a Medium Seminar" where she had a field day making fun of participants and even resorting to giggling about their English accents.

Somehow, the book seemed to just go awry. From a rather interesting and light look at the history of science and the afterlife she veered into the realm of just making fun of people while throwing in enough facts to keep things moving along.

Wildly, her conclusion bore no resemblance to what I had previously been reading. She had dismissed everything she had been shown as silliness. Yet, in her conclusion she states that while most things can be explained there are some things that can't but might be one day.

Strange, but many of the people she'd been snickering about just a few pages before that are simply trying to do just that, perhaps with the exception of the mediums and the mediumship seminar.

All in all a somewhat informative book and thoroughly enjoyable in some places while rather self indulgent in others. Read it for the facts and not the humor.

View all my reviews.

All content © Buck Bannister.
Buck's Ghost's and Hauntings
All Rights Reserved.

Demon Scientists

Let's start this post off with some guidelines. First, I am not discussing here the individual religious beliefs of clients. I am simply speaking of the assumptive findings of supposedly scientific paranormal investigators. Second, I am not suggesting that clients' beliefs should be denigrated or ignored. I am speaking about how Paranormal Investigators who are supposedly scientific approach this subject and speak about it among themselves as well as publicly.

That said, how do groups that call themselves "scientific" keep getting into the "demon" and "demonology" scene?

I keep running across groups that look extremely scientific on the surface, yet when you dig a bit deeper you uncover a tendency to label certain activity as "demonic", meaning created by a demon. Many even have self proclaimed "demonologists" on their staffs.

Why is this? What is it about demons and demonology that can turn normally rational people into genuflecting, icon grasping, "believers"? Honestly, I have never seen conclusive proof that demons exist. Actually, I've never seen conclusive proof that any legitimate haunting phenomena even approaches the realm of what a "demon" might be capable of - assuming they did exist.

If a scientific group takes the tack that demons exist and are responsible for hauntings they necessarily have to make several assumptions at the outset. First, that Christianity as a religion bears validity in the scientific process. To have a demon one must buy the Christian dogmatic structure in its entirety. This immediately creates several holes in any scientific findings.

To my knowledge, there is no scientific proof that God exists. Therefore, demons who are the adversaries of God cannot be proven until we prove the existence of God since demons exist at the will of God if we believe traditional religion. So, before we go looking for demons we'd have to go looking for God. Otherwise, even if we prove the existence of demons we haven't proven the existence of demons. Rather, we've proven the existence of some negative entity who has negative intent. We can't rationally call it a "demon" because we don't know that God exists scientifically and demons are a religious notion.

Yet, I've heard groups claim not to believe in demons but still use the term because, according to them "clients relate to the idea within their religious faith." Yet, they use that term when talking to one another, they use amulets and icons to "protect" themselves during investigations and spend a great amount of time studying demonology and all its religious minutiae.

This is not scientific investigation, this is theological research. Having demonologists on staff or using them as consultants sends the message that the team is working from a religious viewpoint rather than a scientific viewpoint. It means the team has begun with the assumption that religious dogma is correct and therefore can be used to either uncover activity or, as they prefer, to limit or stop activity.

I think much of this is the lingering influence of people like the Warrens. While I respect their place in the history of paranormal investigation their methods from a scientific standpoint did little to advance the field. The use of religious terminology, the readiness to find "demons" and their reliance on religious ritual and iconography gave the impression that paranormal investigation was somehow an offshoot of religious pursuits. They also tended to accept things at face value without truly qualifying and quantifying their results.

Today, that influence remains within group members who remember the Warrens and the famous "Amityville Horror" case in the 70's. This sensational (probably hoax) event captured the public imagination and generated books, TV shows, movies, and more. Some investigators to this day recall the hype around that event and, I think, fall prey to the dreams of finding the next "great haunting". Of course, as the Warrens showed in New York that next great haunting needs a good demon and back story.

Maybe, it is not conscious but I do wonder if in the back of people's minds they don't wish they could find another "Amityville" if not to cash in on the media frenzy at least to get a site that is so hot it will produce incredible results. Of course, many people think that such activity can only be sustained by a very strong "demon." Luckily, for all involved just such a "demon" is also needed to capture the public imagination and make great headlines.

Maybe it's time to leave the "demons" and the "angels" behind until we can even begin to produce verifiable and consistent proof that the paranormal in any form actually exists. Right now, we tend to put the cart before the horse. So, until you prove that God exists by scientific methods, please don't tell me about your "demon" haunt and expect me to accept you are a scientific investigator at the same time.

All content © Buck Bannister.
Buck's Ghost's and Hauntings
All Rights Reserved.

This Week on Parazona

This week on Parazona BlogTalkRadio, the guys will be chatting with April Slaughter. April is the Executive Director of The Paranormal Source, Inc. - a non-profit research & education corporation based in Dallas, Texas.

She has been an active investigator in the paranormal field for nearly 15 years and is currently a staff journalist for TAPS Paramagazine (published by The Atlantic Paranormal Society & the Sci-Fi channel's Ghost Hunters).

April has traveled alongside many key figures in the field to assist in paranormal events and investigations, as both a representative of the publication as well as The Paranormal Source. She is currently working on several paranormal publishing projects, and with her team to develop innovative investigation protocol for researching all types of paranormal phenomena.

All content © Buck Bannister.
Buck's Ghost's and Hauntings
All Rights Reserved.