Finally My Post of Some Thoughts and Concerns

[Salt Lake Ghost Hunters Society (Billy)]

Through two trials, and some reassurance from dearest Webby, I think that I am finally going to post my blog. Yes, I was afraid that there would be some offended or upset with some of the thoughts that I have really been thinking about. I have spoken with some members of my group (The Salt Lake Ghost Hunters Society) to get their take and their feelings and thoughts. Our main concern was that we may burn some bridges or be known as a "heathen" group. After an initial post that was way too emotion-filled and negative, that was only followed by a much more revised and civil posting, it is time to post some thoughts. I (and my group) really love Webby and her insights and I was very hesitant that some thoughts may be offensive or too critical to her and everyone. NONE of the topics that I wrote about had ANY ties to Webby and her methods or any that have been seen here on this site. All of my thoughts stem from a late night of looking around all the Utah-based paranormal investigative sites that I could find. I looked at all the photos, audio, videos, and blogs that they offered and a few things really jumped out at me. So, without further ado, here are my thoughts...

One thing that we have always found important in regards to investigations is the need to be respectful for the location, the people and all things involved. Our group strives to show the utmost respect to those that allow us to investigate their location and lately that has been reciprocated by a number of people at a couple of locations have spoken with us during an investigation about how they really preferred our group because we are respectful. They have told us that other groups, upon entering the location after booking the reservation, act and begin investigations as if they owned the place. Often, these groups are involved in investigative methods that may be offensive to the owners, managers, etc. Investigators and groups should remember that we are being allowed into these locations and that we should "cover our bases" upon entering and ask if there should be any actions or methods that shouldn't be carried out. I urge other groups and investigators that when they enter a location that they remember that respect should be the primary focus and that comments, such as those that we have been hearing from managers, owners, etc., may stop and quit giving paranormal investigations a "black eye".

An additional thing that jumped out to me when looking at photos, videos, and audio was the extent that some groups/researchers go to in order to claim that they have captured evidence. A question that I would like to pose is what extent should we go as investigators in order to say that we have captured definitive evidence? Orbs are up in question almost across the board, but it goes beyond that. Some sites have photos that are so filtered that the image begins to appear totally different. This is similar in regards to audio clips. On many sites there are numerous clips that are claimed to be EVP's. I get really excited to listen to them upon seeing this, but more often than not I am almost completely let down. With so many audio editing and managing programs out there, people change the audio clip to the point where it seems that I am watching a 1970's sci-fi robot film. May I suggest that in regards of the evidence that we may have captured that we, as investigators and groups, strive to maintain the least changed and/or manipulated media as possible. It is almost embarrassing when groups go on TV or radio and play believed EVP's only to have the hosts respond with something along the lines of "I don’t hear anything clear" or "that sounds like you have enhanced that to the highest level possible." (Both of these quotes are verbatim from clips that I have seen on video links on paranormal sites)

Finally, to cram two things into one, I would like to touch on ethics and methods. As Webby has mentioned in her own blog post, ethics and standards are a hot topic. A universal code of conduct is out of the question in regards to paranormal research and investigation because there is no way that all involved would agree. Nonetheless, 99.9% shoot for the same thing in research: more information/proof to help our desire to explain the unknown source. I find it horribly unethical to bring young children on investigations. I have found that other groups/researchers have brought children as young as six on investigations. I see problems with liability, coercion, and propagandizing when bringing young children on investigations. That’s my own take, you don’t have to agree, but in order to avoid all possibilities of false evidence, and the environment should be as controlled as possible. I also would urge all investigators to begin to use scientific principles when researching and investigating. Upon listening to another group's account of "calling out" a ghost by screaming obscenities and hoping that the negative energy that they were bringing would entice paranormal activity, I was blown away at how unprofessional and unorthodox this was. Granted, I can see that some may say that by acting like that may be a variable in a control/variable experiment but it very well may be thought of as disrespectful in the investigative process.

I say this hesitantly because I don’t want to sound in any way better or cocky, but I urge other groups/investigators out there to be more respectful, professional, scientific and less manipulative of evidence. Interpret this as you may, but I just want to avoid possible negative associations with our research into the paranormal.
Please comment in regards to this...I want to hear what others have to say.

[Joff]

Awesome post, Billy.

I agree wholeheartedly with everything you covered though I like to sum it up by referring to these better practices as common sense ; something sorely lacking in this wacky fringe science.

Anyone that takes offense to your observations aren't worth their salt as a paranormal investigator. I certainly wouldn't want to work or collaborate with anyone who didn't know how to handle themselves or someone else's property.

P.S. I'm a fan of manipulating evidence, most notably photos with no abnormalities. I do this strictly for the purpose of experimenting on groups / individuals to gauge their immediate reaction. The lesson is: don't trust paranormal photography unless every possible explanation has been eliminated.

[randy]

i agree about the respect thing privacy should be number 1 showing off should be very last

[HauntedWebby]

You can't be the heathen ... that's my job :) I feel to love in the room!

Se now I thought the age thing was coming about from the new A&E Show Psychic Kids. A really retarded concept for a show, but they are doing it.

While I do agree that six is way to young, you can't really set an exact age for doing research. What people need to set is a Competence level. Like I’ve said before, my son is 15 and I have more competence in him than most 20 or 30 year olds entering this field. He did a lot of book research before ever going on his first investigation. I can’t take him with a big group because of his age for two reasons. One, he’s still in that “Oh shinny object” distraction mode and this misnomer that teens can’t be smart enough to do this.

The respect thing I see a lot. I almost shut down my own place because of it. I’m still very leery of people coming inside the Exchange. As an owner of a property I completely understand how people feel.

I’d like to add to the respect issue should also be a confidentiality issue, especially with residential homes. While the own now might not care if you talk about the property, but about people in the future? They may not want people to know or bother them about paranormal happenings. Commercial buildings I think are different because of public nature of the site. But sometimes even commercial owners do not want to be bothered by all of this.