Tuesday 4/3 The Cops come to town with Ghost Detectives!

Ghost Detectives

Tuesday @ 9PM EST Inside The Paranormal radio welcomes Ghost Detectives from the WB network. First meeting these guys in Gettysburg at Parapalooza, we spent some time talking to various members of the team. They are investigators, tech innovators and an overall bunch of good folks. Don't miss your chance to meet them yourselves, call in to ask questions or chat in our chat room with them!

Poasttown Elementary, Adventure Myths, Crossover Paranormal - Event Feb 4

Poasttown Elementary

Just confirmed: February 4, 2012 at Poasttown Elementary school with Crossover Paranormal and guests Adventure Myths. We'll be broadcasting live from 2-5 PM and interviewing the hosts, guests and attendees, building owners, you name it, we'll have them! Tune in to this page, click the player to the left and join in the conversation. You can call in, Skype in, or join our chat room and ask questions of the guests!

Ghost Hunting Certification - Who decides what qualifies?

So what exactly is a certified ghost hunter? Who decides what constitutes certified? Hell, I haven't even died yet, and have never seen a ghost directly in the 11 + years I've been involved in the paranormal world. So since I can't talk with factual knowledge (as a ghost myself) or with the direct experience that is incontrovertible, how in the world is someone certifying people to document and validate their experience?

There are several "courses" that you can take to become certified. You have online and home-based CD Rom courses you can use. There are a few courses that you take with a live instructor as a part of a larger class. The International Ghost Hunting Society has their CD Rom based IGHS ghost researcher course. Patti Starr has her Certified Ghost Hunter course (a live, instructor-led class).

So are these classes and courses legitimate, or just another form of paranormal money grabbing? Well, to say something like this is legitimate as a certification is a stretch. If they titled their courses as a ghost hunting investigation training course, I might be able to swallow it a little easier. Of course, these people don't have to prove anything to me, because I'm never going to pay to take the courses anyway. But, they do have to answer to the paranormal society as a whole. They only look to those who are new to the field, and have an interest in the genre from watching TV or in some cases their own personal experiences. But eventually, with time and effort, these people that pay to take these classes are going to learn they never had to pay to take these classes anyway. At that point, how do these "certification bodies" answer to their own clients?

So as you look to become a certified ghost hunter, or certified anything in life, take a look at the "body" that certifies the course and issues your certification. What is their expertise and qualification to state that method is the best and most recognized. If you look at the courses offered by any of these groups or individuals, are you sure the methods they teach are the most commonly used, and widely accepted, as being the best and top method of doing things? If you think so, then you should sign up and take these courses. If you don't think so, you should maybe think twice about spending the money.

How many "certified ghost hunters" have you seen on TV, heard on the radio, or met in person that has a better methodology or better way of doing things than the investigators who don't hold those certifications?

What does it take to be a paranormal investigator?

So what does it take to do what we do? Why are some people called ghost hunters and some paranormal investigators? Is there really a difference? Depends on who you ask I suppose. On our show, Teresa and I often talk about being paranormal investigators, and not ghost hunters. We believe ghost hunters will always find what they're looking for, whether or not it was ever really there.

But how do we tell the difference with all the Facebook, Twitter, Web sites, YouTube videos, Podcasts and online paranormal "radio" shows, it's tough to say if we even can. Many teams put on a great face, and they get others to follow them or buy into their agendas, and then *poof* you have a whole following of those simply doing what they do best: find "evidence". Doesn't matter if they don't know anything about building materials or the surrounding layout of the location they're in. Doesn't matter if they have no control over who's walking around in other parts of a building that may be affecting the "evidence" they're collecting. Doesn't matter if they catch "sounds" as long as they believe it's a "voice". Or does it matter?

Many teams have a singular goal: to be the next television stars. You see it in all the marketing material they have (posters, shirts, hats, stickers, YouTube Channels, paid tours of locations, etc). But they tout they're only in this field to help others. How does all that other stuff help others? Does a sticker scare a negative presence away? Does the cool new hat make the energies want to talk to you more for better EVP's? Now don't get me wrong, we're not against someone getting into this field and having fun with it, or even making a living from it. Just don't be a hypocrite about it. Let people know you're the next best TV thing, or let them know they can get your new video straight from YouTube. But don't sell them a bunch of bullshit, and not even come back for a second, follow up investigation.

Lastly, if you truly are investigating to find the hidden truths, how about incorporating some of these ideas:

• Show up to an investigation on more than one day, so that you can accrue data to truly validate
• Document each investigation like someone was paying you for it
• Know what your tools will really show you, not just what you saw on TV
• Make sure that a healthy dose of skepticism plays a part of your investigation
• Ask questions, perform interviews and record them for later reference
• Look for ways the property owner may be trying to trick or "punk" you (yes it's happening more and more with the TV stuff)