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:: ARTICLES :: :: 7. THE DEMISE OF MODERN GHOST-HUNTING :: For this article there are no nice pictures or fancy photos as this is a subject that I feel very strongly about. I believe that the current paranormal scene in the U.K. is in a very sad state of affairs and I have the eternal hope that things can improve. Over the years, I have become increasingly disheartened and disillusioned with ghost-hunting, to the point where I have stopped investigating altogether. I have lost faith in the modern investigation scene, it is too full of amateurish practices, misguided notions, over-inflated egos and mistrust, perpetuated by entertainment TV programs such as "Most Haunted" and "Dead Famous". The reasons for my discontent are varied and the following is how I see things, so it is important to remember that what follows is a point of view based upon personal experience. I do not, by any stretch of the imagination, pretend to be an expert because, in the world of the paranormal, there are no experts. How I view things comes from an informed opinion, born from personal experience and the application of a small dose of common sense. Some of you reading this will not like what I have to say, and if that's the case, go back to your dark, cold, damp building and continue to fork out a small fortune to owner of that "haunted" building who is laughing all the way to the bank with your money. Get where I'm coming from yet? If not, read on MacDuff!!! The pioneers of parnormal research and investigation would be appalled by the practices and beliefs of the modern ghost-hunter. I am surprised that a few of them haven't returned to haunt some of the silly people running around these days callng themselves "paranormal investigators". Pah!!! You know, I have seen groups that do no research before going into an allegedly haunted property!!! How crass is that???!!! I am stunned by the sheer stupidity of the attitudes and applications (or lack of them in some cases) adopted by so many groups in this country. Surely, if you are going into investigate, then you need to know where the alleged activity takes place and what is believed to be the cause. Ah no, it seems we go in with a "boil-in-the-bag" medium and we chase shadows all night. So, I start on the first reason why the modern ghost-hunter is rubbish The increasing use of mediums is wrong, I'm sorry, but it is. Use a medium for your investigation and it removes immediately all credibility or tangibility of any potential evidence. And to really top the whole thing off, we are infested with a fast growing number of "over-night" mediums. For this, I feel so sorry for the true spiritualists as their years of hard work and development run the danger of being laid waste, all because some irk has watched Acorah and company, felt a bit of a draft down their back and then believe themselves to be a medium. Sorry guys, you are deluded and you are laughable and you are an insult to those who have put in years of training. Also, you have tarnished the very nature of the medium with your over-the-top antics and dramatics. You are as false as those that peddle their wares on T.V. and in the papers, the sad part is that you believe you are the real deal. You make a mockery of the work done by the genuine mediums and forced many of them to operate behind closed doors. And you are a danger to those who are vulnerable and susceptible, drawing them into something over which you have no control over or no understanding of. Mediumship isn't about popping down to Tescos and buying a packet mix - the just-add-water, boil-in-the-bag medium doesn't cut it. It isn't about attending a couple of open circles at the local spiritualist church and it certainly isn't about reading Colin Fry's latest book (more of your money lining another bank balance). I spent one full year within a closed medium's development circle and didn't even scratch the surface because my development was geared towards I.T.C. and over-seen by a very experienced and widely respected medium by the name of Minnie Ellis. And to the ghost-hunting groups that regularly drag a "boil-in-the-bag" along: thanks for nothing, you have set back the cause of genuine paranormal research. You have removed the glimmer of hope that once shone in the distance that was the prospect of the subject being taken seriously. But, ham-fisted amateurish practices have, as the with the "boil-in-the-bag" mediums, tarnished the image. Now, you are all Most Haunted clones and you don't even see it. So let's look to the so-called "haunted" venues. Has anyone stopped to think about just how many people have "investigated" these so called "hot beds of paranormal activity"???!!! Judging from the size of cars etc driven by the people who own these properties, I would guess not!!! And something else that makes me smile, how many "clearances" have been conducted at these different premises? I know for a fact that the Derby Gaol has had at least 5!!!!!! All I can say is that Mr. Felix must have good credit with Ghost-R-Us!!! In fairness, to some extent, we've all tread the road, but only a few of us have learnt the proper lessons through experience and paying attention to what we're doing. Also, paying to do an investigation? Get real!!! Has it not occured to anyone that the only benefit gained from going to paid events is the benefit to the bank balance of the person you pay your money to???!!! To the owners of haunted buildings - good luck to you and long may you earn good money from the deluded. Again, I speak from experience in that I have taken part in organised events and was very well paid for it, and I was once interviewed as a potential replacement for Phil Whyman on "Most Haunted" - people who knew me at the time thought I was mad, particularly in view of my critisisms of the show, but the pay would have been good and the pounds speak for themselvs in this day and age. And even now, if the phone call came from them, I'd go for it with the appropriate bottom line and all expenses paid. This I feel illustrates the point I am making here. Money. The paranormal is a money-spinner and I for one haven't done badly out of it. Workshops and "investigations" bring the paying public in their droves and a good few paranormal event companies have now sprung up - take a look on Google and see for yourself and ask yourself if planchette, table-tipping, glass moving, psychic drawing, automatic writing, scrying and seances are really the best way to gain credible and tangible evidence. And ask yourself if you see this as a good representation of how ghost-hunting should be. I don't think so The practices of many ghost-busting groups leave a lot to be desired. I cannot remember the last time I saw a report that showed good, solid background research before the initial investigation, looking at the social background of the individuals concerned, the events that may have led to the cause of the alleged haunting or even anyone questioning the probability that the whole thing might be a hoax or an attempt to drum up some business. And then when the investigation actually goes ahead, a boil-in-the-bag medium is used instead of focusing averything at the area where activity has been reported. "Okay guys, we've been told that old uncle Fred appears in the corner of the living room by the standard lamp, but instead of that, we'll follow the paranormal world's answer to Uncle Ben's and chase unseen spirit forces in the attic room!!!" Don't laugh, this happens and happens a lot. No wonder the paranormal is laughed at by the rest of the world. Surely, if you are told that something happens in a particular place, your own common sense tells you that this is where you aim everything you have? And, the believer part of me says that to bring in a medium at this point has to disrupt everything that is needed to cause the reported phenomena. To my thinking, a medium is intrusive, because a proper trained medium has the ability to tune into the vibrations required for the manifestation, this is an invasive action and logically speaking has to disrupt the balances which provide for the paranormal occurence. I have also seen the good old Ouija Board putting in persoanl appearances in the "investigations" of many groups. Take a look HERE for an over-view of Ouija Boards - a Victorian parlour game marketed by Parker Brothers - they also made Cluedo and Monopoly, need I continue? The Ouija Board has two uses on a paranormal investigation: doorstop and/or firewood. Anyone who seriously uses these Victorian parlour games as part of a credible investigation should hang their heads in absolute shame. And that's why there are very few credible ghost-hunting groups in the U.K. at this time. It's about time people started realising that what Parker Brothers (who also made Monopoly and Cluedo!!!) sold was A GAME and that they are as bad as using "boil-in-the-bag" mediums on investigations. Both are like broken pencils - pointless (I love Blackadder - get over it). And then we have the ghost-busters getting all orgasmic over the little bastard that infests digital photographs with the monotomy of a winter cold - the orb. I have no hair to pull out and as such I will be dedicating an article purely to that little carbunkle on the grimy arse-end of paranormal research in the vain hope that at least one pair of eyes will be open to the fact that orbs ain't ghosts, spirit manifestations or paranormal, but nothing more than an aberration. A "click here" will appear soon. The 21st century ghost hunter has, sadly, realised itself to be not an evolved creature of good intent, determined to gain that one piece of credible and tangible evidence, but in truth, it has proven itself to be a one-celled beast, with a rich protein make-up of mistrust and exploitation. Those who stay true to the cause are now, tragically, few and far between. I hope things will change, and change soon. Crap paranormal TV programs are now, thankfully, starting to fade from our screens and maybe a new Golden Age of Paranormal Investigation will rise from the ashes of pathetic circumstance - my fingers are crossed. As it stands at the moment, ghost hunters are playing right into the jaws of the sceptics and proving everything they have to say to be right. The bottom line is that groups have to stop shadow-chasing, focus on the reported hauntings intelligently and get tangible, credible and definable evidence without some half-baked over -night medium!!! Maybe then, the paranormal might be taken a little more seriously. Neil Fellowes Copyright©2003/2004/2005/2006/2007 Neil Fellowes. All rights reserved. |