One of the most important discussions we had on Erie County Paranormal Blog Talk with Deonna Kelli-Sayed was concerning regulation of the paranormal investigation field.
The burgeoning interest in “ghost hunting” has led to the formation of many disreputable groups that take advantage of clients through lack of knowledge and false or misinterpreted evidence. These groups are springing up everywhere creating a need to police them.
While organizations like TAPS – The Atlantic Paranormal Society have gone to lengths to approve of “family members” based on technique and practice, they are not likely to monitor the activities of the members as the organization is not set up to do that.
One of the suggestions we came up with was a union or paranormal investigation guild where qualifications need to be met. In order to remain a member, one would have to uphold certain standards. They would be “bonded” and perhaps insured. dedicated to be a honest, upstanding ghost hunter. This would protect prospective clients from a bunch of teenagers who call themselves ghost hunters, who trash their home and raid their fridge in search of paranormal sandwiches.
It would also protect clients from a group that comes in an finds demonic entities everywhere they hunt. Imagine the terror of being told you have a demon under your child’s bed when it is more likely Grandma coming to visit the grandchild she never had to opportunity to see in life.
Then there is the controversy of charging fees to investigate. The most reputable investigators do this free of charge as a service to the community. Their organizations subsist on fundraising and personal contributions. It’s a labor of love. Once money comes into the equation, there is pressure to prove a haunting, pressure to remove any discovered entities. There are no guarantees with the spirit world. It’s an unknown quantity. We really have no control, nor can we make claims that we, as investigators, can do anything about it. Thus, it’s best to leave cash out of the equation.
I’m not sure how this will evolve. But, I bet there will be movement to create a paranormal guild in the near future which will help standardize the field and research. It may even further our understanding of that which we are seeking.
Food for thought!
Tj
Discussion (17) ¬
Thanks for having me on. I agree there needs to be some effort made (although many groups are reluctant to use the word “police” since we are essentially in a field where there are no experts). But some basic standards must be adhered to before we find ourselves faced with legal issues from clients and/or other teams.
GREAT post! Another blogger I followed commented how some people act very badly on investigations in others homes and take stuff! I hadn’t ever considered how being told you have a demonic entity could play in. And the fee thing? That’s just wrong. (Haven’t seen too many groups who charge. I have seen others jump all over them immediately and then the chargers disband pretty quick thereafter, which is interesting.) GREAT post!
As great as this may sound on paper, I think it would prove to be monumentally hard to accomplish. With the way things work right now, someone like Jason Hawes or Ryan Buell would find themselves a way to head up such an organization. Count me out.
There’s a long way to go when it comes to getting paranormal research to be taken seriously by mainstream science in the first place. There’s no “science guild”.. simply because those involved in scientific research generally already have hoops to jump through… academic hoops.
“Paranormal Research” is widely not accepted by the scientific community because the vast majority of it isn’t research, it’s just a bunch of people in the dark chasing shadows. Yet these same people, many of which don’t even have high school educations, are calling their hunts “cases”, and tossing around the words “science” and “research” like rag dolls, when they can’t even properly define a theory.
Ghost hunters don’t need a guild, they just need educations. If you don’t have a badge, a doctorate, or a press pass, you ought to call it what it is : ghost hunting, thrill seeking, or adventuring. There’s nothing wrong with admitting that people do this for fun, and let’s face it, most ghost hunting is done for that cause regardless of how many times we might hear that people are “here to help”.
Just my 2 cents.
..and ease up on the teenage ghost hunters. I was one of them once, and I never trashed anyone’s place. If there’s ever a “guild” (and I hope there never is), they’re going to be the ones running it.
I agree that the idea is problematic on every level, but perhaps an “informal” list between reputable groups in local areas is a wise thing to alert teams if they know another local team is unprofessional or unethical. Perhaps the team would not be identified until at least two documented examples of poor conduct could be provided. Sometimes, clients and/or historic locations become pawns and often are victimized by one team’s lack of professionalism, then they close their doors to the whole community. I’m also increasingly worried about the legal aspect of it, and it is something more people in the community are discussing.
I doubt Hawes or Buell would “head” such an organization. They are too busy. But any efforts may be subject to who-knows-who, and this would need to be avoided, if possible.
Last note: I know a young investigator who started her first group when she was 17, and she rocks. She is far more mature and responsible than many adults!
I like the idea of education. Perhaps some of these “bootcamps” can be put together to form a curriculum to certify paranormal investigators.
The more we talk about this, the closer we get to figuring it out.
I’m for a “ghost hunting” school… or paranromal degree.
TJ
Terri,
Your last paragraph pretty much sums it up and I agree wholeheartedly!–and we need to look at this as a positive thing irregardless of what we think ‘may happen’ it is the only way to keep us moving forward.
JOE
I belong to several professional organizations. They were started because individuals (or groups) had no direction and a small subset of people in the field got together on their own and started having conference and training procedures. Eventually enough people in the field saw the utility of it (especially as clients began paying attention to it) and joined and therefore became more professional just be association with people doing it “the right way.”
This model may not work for ghost hunting, but without some kind of professional organization with sets of standards, this field will never be taken seriously by anyone other than investigators themselves. It is a major problem, IMO, that disreputable or unscrupulous groups essentially con people seeking help. We all know groups like that, but there is no way for the general public to check out a group or its ethics.
“I like the idea of education. Perhaps some of these “bootcamps†can be put together to form a curriculum to certify paranormal investigators.”
I think you misunderstood the thing about being educated. We’re not talking some weekend “Bootcamp” put on by TAPS Family runoff, we’re talking university degrees in parapsychology. As long as we continue boffing our cousins in some weird backwoods ghosthunting training, we’ll never be taken seriously enough to advance the “field”.
I agree with WF?_Greg on all counts. All kinds of people throw the science,research,and professional words around more than they should. Those claiming that they are any of that should step back and ask themselves one question. What kind of monumental discovery or breakthrough of any type have i come up with to break new ground in the paranormal field.
If you can’t think of an answer then by god you’re a ghost hunter deal with it.
I agree there needs to be some clarification — most groups claim to be scientific based but they have no idea about scientific protocol. Yet, I’m not sure about the “certification” aspect of it. There are plenty of very good, critical thinking investigators who are blue collar workers by day and I’d hate to make this field an elitist one. What I’d like is a “ethics” review panel that focuses more on that end rather than academic type qualifications. Here is an idea! Look at jobvent.com where employees can go and crap on unethical employers, anonymously, of course. What if there were some sort of moderated site where people could share bad experiences with unscrupulous teams? If people slandered without cause, legal action may be an option, and this would discourage crazy investigators from launching campaigns against reputable folks. Just an idea…
Love this discussion! We are in the process of growing right now. Where it leads, we don’t know yet. However, it will be for the good of the field as that is what we all are striving for.
Tj
How about a happy medium. Regulation sounds good, to a certain extent. Since the paranormal field is still evolving in terms of equipment and procedures used, etc, regulation only makes sense at a very high level. Creating a paranormal discipline for a college degree also seems problematic for the same reasons.
I also hardly think that the paranormal field is at risk of becoming “elitist”. I have a Master’s degree in Physics, with all of the coursework for a Ph.D. and have been unsuccessfully trying to join a reputable group for 2 years. I also have 10 years of experience in R & D, as well as abundant experience in dealing with customers who expect the utmost in professionalism, quality and perfection of the product (the US NAVY). Since I have used some of the equipment on previous projects, including an infrared camera, I am already one step ahead of someone who has never had any experience. I have a lot that I could offer this field in general, and a group in particular. Yet 2 years later, I’m still trying to find a way in. It seems as though this field, at the moment, is less about WHAT you know, and more about WHO you know. Being a scientist, I’m very familiar with creating a hypothesis, doing research, writing scientific papers, and giving presentations to my peers and customers. Why is it so much harder to imagine giving me a shot at this field than it is someone who barely made it through high school? Perhaps we should aim the regulation towards hiring practices, as well. Discrimination is frowned upon in every other field. Why not this one?
So perhaps an open meeting that anyone is allowed to attend is the PLACE to discuss regulations.
I’d be happy to have you on my team. You probably haven’t found the right mix of people yet. Be patient!
Tj
Robin, I have found the “average Joe” aspect of the field makes some teams uncomfortable with Ph.D. holders, especially those in the hard sciences. And that may be because most teams, even those with the best intentions, are fearful of someone with more knowledge or whatever. Being territorial is another problem, and this includes geography and knowledge.
I like the idea of a “Good Housekeeping” seal and Terri is right. Let everyone participate in the field, but if real research or client cases are conducted, experienced teams should be the first considered. Back to my first paragraph, experienced teams should also make efforts to mentor new folks, as well. We don’t want a glass ceiling in the field, do we?
TAPS network is impressive in its idea and global in its expansion. It intends to provide the “Good House Keeping” seal. It could be more effective in regulating its own family teams once they get status and creating networks with non-TAPS teams in their area. Some do that, but others don’t. So the idea of “paranormal families” are great and that may be on way to work.
Oh, Robin, our team has Ph.D.holders and we are proud to be considered a well-educated unit. I think everyone has a college degree and we have a relationship with the Rhine Research Center. We would love someone like yourself to be part of our group! But, I also acknowledge there are some great investigators out there who don’t have college experience. So no one take offense, ok!?
Thanks Tj and Deonna. You’ve given me hope that I may find a team to join yet. If you know of any that are based in New England and would be willing to take someone like me, please let me know. I am based in Massachusetts, but am willing to travel. I’ve added my E-mail to this posting and will allow Terri to share it with you, if you would like to get in touch off-line.
I also want to make sure that my paragraph was clear. I’m not trying to say that someone without a degree can’t make a great investigator. I don’t want to see ANYONE left behind. Everyone with the right intentions and a passion for the field can be great at some role within a group, but the role should be based upon experience (both within the paranormal field and outside of it), not on who you know. So, if we’re going to talk about regulations and creating a group to oversee them, then perhaps we could also set up a group to aid people who are trying to get into this field.
I hope that I didn’t offend anyone. That was most certainly not my intention!
Respectfully,
Robin