I have seen some crazy things in the past 6 years since I
have been involved in paranormal investigation, however some of the craziest
things I have seen or experienced have nothing to do with the paranormal
itself.
The paranormal has now gotten to a point where most
people I have met blindly believe in it without questioning. I, or any
investigator for that matter, could put anything in front of them, say that
it’s undeniably a ghost and they would believe me.
What’s wrong with that you ask?
Well, it is dangerous to the field as a whole. Blindly
believing opens the door to fame chasers looking to make a name for themselves
with bogus evidence-which is a disservice to those trusting us
to look for answers and for those who look to paranormal investigation for
comfort following the loss of a loved one.
In order to keep the field on the right track, we must
continue to question it. Staying skeptical, asking questions and investigating
claims with a rational head is the only way to keep the field honest… and to
make sure it doesn’t suffer the same fate as the spiritualist movement.
This morning I posted on Twitter, “There’s no such thing
as a location being "certified haunted" & if they claim to be
"most haunted location" they are just looking for your $” and I stand
by that statement 100%.
It is not my job to lie to you. I didn’t get into this
field to fool people. With that said, I felt the need to point out what I have
been seeing more and more locations boast lately.
I recently took part in a paranormal
event in St. Augustine and I was approached by a paranormal investigator who
handed me a business card for, what the card claimed was, a “Certified Haunted”
location. Right away, I thought, “Bullshit” and I wanted nothing to do with the
location-or the paranormal team.
This morning, I was followed by a
location (which I will not name but I am sure you will figure it out) that
claimed in their bio that they were the “Most haunted location” in their area.
Funny enough, I just checked their page again… and they changed their wording
following my Twitter post. It was at
their location that I experienced what I believed was my first shadow figure.
Here’s the deal. I have been to
hundreds of locations in the 6 years that I have been involved in this field. I
would like to believe the following I have gained is due to my continued fight
to be honest and call BS when I see it...
And this is a BS moment.
No experienced, trusted, honest
investigator would claim a location is “Certified Haunted” and no location can
honestly claim that. Have I had experiences over the years? Yes. If I hadn’t I
wouldn’t have bothered to stick with the field as long as I have. Are there locations
that I believe have some sort of activity-Yes.
The difference is that, those
experiences were mine. There is no way for me to prove 100% with out a doubt
they were cause by a ghost (or what we call a ghost). There is also no way for
me to prove 100% without a doubt that the paranormal even exists.
Now-before all your paranormal loving
heads explode and decide I’m a hater-hear me out. There is no certification
process to be a ghost hunter. Why? Because there is no way to prove what we are
experiencing is a ghost (what we commonly believe is a person who has passed). With
that said, ANYONE can be a ghost hunter and many claim to be a professional in
a field that is (at the moment) impossible to prove beyond a doubt and
impossible to regulate.
Unfortunately, with the popularity of
the paranormal you have many not so honest people coming out of the woodwork
looking for fame and fortune. They claim to be “professionals” or “experts”,
which is easy to claim in a field where you don’t have to prove your skill set,
accomplishments or hard evidence.
Then there are the locations that have had
a paranormal group come in, or they form their own team and run ghost tours
because they see the tourism other locations are getting off the popularity of
believed paranormal activity… the next thing you know there’s a sign hanging
outside their location or a business card made up boasting, “Certified Haunted”
or “Most Haunted” hoping the tourism will go up and dollar signs will start
rolling in.
Here
are some truths.
I am not a professional. I am not an expert.
No honest hunter will claim to be either of those things. I am a girl from New
Hampshire who got into the field looking for answers after I had FIVE friends
and family members pass away in 11 months.
I have 6 years of experience behind me
in the paranormal-that does not make me an expert. People who have been at this
for 30+ years are still in this field because they have had strange,
unexplainable experiences they STILL can’t explain. They are STILL looking for
answers.They are STILL learning.
For people getting into the field
looking for a TV show, fame and fortune… one thing you will never see is
fortune in this field-if anything be prepared to SPEND more than you make. A TV
show and fame will come to a very small circle of people and neither is a
reason to get started in the field-unless you are looking to destroy it.
NO location can honestly boast “Certified” or “Most Haunted” location.
Anyone or team can have shirt made with
a team name printed on it. Anyone can have a business card printed. Look into teams
before you let strangers rummage around your house/location.
Why
is staying honest so important…
Honesty in this field is needed to keep
it grounded and to keep it alive-without it, we will eventually find ourselves
back in a place where no one talks about it. You can say I am being too hard on
evidence or accuse me of being a non-believer… however, as I learned from an
investigator who I look up to greatly (Steve Gonsalves) …the harder you are on
evidence and it still holds up-the better the evidence and the harder it is to
dismiss. Again, it’s about looking for answers-not fooling or misleading
people. Being tough on something doesn’t make you a hater or non-believer and
jumping to the conclusion of paranormal before going through every other
possible explanation doesn’t strengthen the field-it weakens it.
It’s
just a TV show…
I have had many people ask me why I am
so hard on things. For one, thats just how I am. I have always been a skeptic.
Not because I don’t want something to be true… but because I WANT to believe it.
However, I need it to check all the boxes before I jump to believer.
Another reason, I was trained to be
hard on evidence. The harder Steve was on me as an investigator and the harder
he was on my evidence… the more faith I had in the field.
Finally… it goes back to how I was raised
and what got me in to the paranormal.
I was raised by my parents to be as
honest as possible, not to deceive and use people’s weaknesses against them. I
was taught to stand up for myself, to be a strong female and work hard to be a
successful, good person.
And when it comes to it just being a TV
show…
As I have said in the past-if I was on a typical reality show where it
was my job to party and act like a dumbass, I’m sure I could pull it off.
However, paranormal shows are very different. Many people don’t know what they
believe in anymore or what to believe in. They look to paranormal shows and
investigators for answers, comfort and confirmation. What we do screws with
their belief systems… and I am not ok with lying or misleading people with this
subject matter. It was only 6 years ago I was the broken person having lost 5
people. I was looking for answers and the last thing I wanted was lies.
I got into the paranormal to find
answers for myself and help others out there who have found themselves in a
similar situation of loss.
Love me or hate me-I am who I am and
refuse to be anything but.
Stay Skeptical,
Kris
