It seems every neighborhood has a local legend of supernatural content, and from what I’ve observed, most of these start out with some truth to them. But over the years these stories seem to grow with each iteration as each person conveying the story adds a little more to it in order to spice up the interest for those they are telling the story too.

But this doesn’t just happen with local legends, it also happens with things in the news. Recently I came upon a story about mysterious lights over China on July 7th of this year. The lights were reported as being such a concern that the Chinese shutdown some airports. Then, this clip appeared and was said to be the light seen overhead.

First off, this clip was actually shot on June 30th, not July 7th, the date that the Chinese incident was reported. Most importantly, this video has been confirmed as the Soyuz-U rocket launch from Kazakhstan, with the mission of taking supplies to the international space station. But, even then there are those that are sold that it is some sort of alien spacecraft.

This is but a recent example of how stories get elaborated by taking a single fact and embellishing upon those facts. This is something that has been taking place in the world of the paranormal for as long as man has been talking about the paranormal. But, who can blame them. Humans love a good story, so those telling the story will often feel compelled to spice it up a bit to garner the attention of their fellow man. Unfortunately, for those who are seeking the truth when it comes to the paranormal this type of embellishing just creates that much more information to sift through when trying to determine what bits of story apply to what they are investigating. Especially when there are those who will take bits of unrelated material and use them to enhance the story, or, purposely do so to commit fraud and gain from that fraud, whether it be monetary or simply attention.

For those that still may think that this is an alien spacecraft, here’s a shot of a missile from Vanderberg Air Force base. It has the same bright trail in the beginning that soon spreads out like the clip of the Soyuz-U rocket.

With things in my life stabilizing a bit, I have decided to get back to one of the things I enjoy: the paranormal. While I won’t be analyzing a lot of the shows and such; primarily do to the repetitiveness of the formats, I will instead be searching for those in the paranormal field who are actually working to make a difference. I know, that’s a tall order, but there’s bound to be a few out there who are actually working to make progress in the field.

Of course I’ll still be making commentaries on scam conventions, techniques, and other things taking place in the paranormal community. There’s just so much to comment on when it comes to that, especially with the likes of Robert Bess out there throwing down grandstanding challenges like the one he made to the Ghost Adventures cast.

So, whether you a fan of the blog, or someone who gets angered every time you read the blog, “I’m back!” Let the fun begin.

For starters, I’ll take one out of Robert Bess’s book, except it won’t be anything as ridiculous as challenging another group to see who can catch a ghost first. This is more in the form of challenging groups to test the dogma of the paranormal, as well as picking up where groups like American Paranormal left off with the infra-sound mystery. TIPS is currently working the infra-sound project, and will be doing others as time moves along.

Personally, I’m not expecting anyone to pickup the challenge. After searching through hundreds of investigators sites they all seem to have become paranormal counselors and not truth seekers. Either that or they’re still shoveling the same old rhetoric that’s been around for decades.

Nothing will be any different than it is now:

Pretty much the same thing that’s prevented paranormal research from going anywhere will still be taking place, except the names will change. Why? Because nobody I’ve seen in the paranormal community is willing to better themselves and educate themselves. From what I’ve seen of the paranormal community, they are simply too lazy or want so badly to believe instead of finding the truth that they will not do what is necessary. Shoot, just try to get one group to do something beneficial such as confirming or denying that infra sound is something to pay attention to. You can’t find them.

But with people such as Bubba out there cheering on the idiocy we see in the paranormal, it can easily be seen why. Rule #1 for them is to “Remove brain before applying critical thought.”

Because of increasing demand on my time from school and family, I can no longer continue with my paranormal hobby. That time must now be used for things such as taking care of elderly family members, and must also be focused on getting more funds flowing to survive.

Because all of this, I am sorry that I must announce the closing of TIPS and Darkrealm Labs. The TIPS forum will be closed to posting after the end of February. It will remain online, and members may still use the PM function until March 31st, 2010, at which time TIPS Forum, TIPS Blog, and Darkrealm’s Paranormal Blog will go off-line and be taken down.

I am sorry that I must do this, but as many know I have had a very challenging year. These challenges and my deteriorating health condition have forced me to abandon anything that is not key to survival.

I would like to thank everyone who has participated in this endeavor, and I hope to keep in contact with many of you as best I can.

Sincerely,

Dreamsinger

I was just made aware of a show on National Geographic called “Haunted Prison.” While I haven’t had the opportunity to watch a full episode I have checked out a few clips they have on the National Geographic website. This show is shot at Eastern State Penitentiary, and has a team comprised of scientists who exam various aspects of hauntings. From what I’ve seen in the video clips they have posted, investigators should definitely tune in and pay attention to how real science works, as well as getting explanations of some elements of physics.

Next showing is tonight, January 24, 2010, at 9:00PM.

UPDATE: Another showing is scheduled January 31, 2010 at 11:00am

I try to keep track of what the paranormal community, and I have a few sites that I visit as well as a few blogs that I check into from time to time. Some of these sights are pretty good, others are not. Some carry the latest hype about the newest craze that’s gripped that field of the paranormal, some are carrying articles that reveal what’s going on with the ParaCelebs. Most of these sites are pretty good about standing behind what they publish. But there are a few out there that will publish things and then pull the articles later. These ones seem to be turning into attention whores and are no better than the tabloids that have been on newsstands for decades.

Every time I see sites such that fit the attention whore mold I simply shake my head. From what I’m seeing they are worse than tabloids. At least tabloids keep their stories up, and if necessary, they will later print a retraction, but will keep the original article up. But what I see in the paranormal community are sites that will publish articles and then remove them at the request of people mentioned in the article even though the information has gone public. What kind of reporting is that? I know some will defend their actions by saying, “Well, there are some articles that shouldn’t be published,” but that’s a load of bullflop. If that were the case then it should have been clear from the start that the article shouldn’t be published. Not only that, but the information is already out there. Pulling articles in such a manner is nothing but censorship and is poor journalism. What really seems to be key to these types of articles is the site wants attention and traffic. Some it’s obvious that’s what they seek since they will often have created accounts and make posts on their own site. To me, that’s truly pathetic, and what’s even more pathetic is these sites often go after fraudulent behavior of others.

How can a site expect to maintain any integrity if it allows itself to be censored by those it reports on, and has staff that posts comments on it’s site in order to make it appear busy, or to steer a concept that the site wants people to buy into. They are just as guilty of fraud as those they report on. That being said, how can these sites be trusted to be reporting the truth on anything? When I see a site doing this I immediately put it in the same category as those who create false conventions and such, for they are all liars.

I began this blog the other day, being inspired by part of Kim Kowalczyk’s blog about standardizing the field of paranormal investigation on PUG, and today when I looked I see that Karen was inspired as well.

Paranormal Certification has always made me shake my head. How can you be certified in something that has no basis in fact? What gets me more is how many places certify people in paranormal investigation when what they should be certifying them in is pseudo-paranormal investigation since what they are teaching is pseudoscience. But the thing that gets under my skin with paranormal certification is the money that is made by people who are no more expert in the subject that a kid who watches Scooby Doo, Supernatural, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There are no experts in the field of paranormal investigation as it is widely practiced.

I know many will argue with what I say here, but they can argue all they want. It does not change the facts. Just because someone is well versed in folklore and unsubstantiated theories, it does not make them an expert on anything more than folklore. In fact, most of these people who claim to be professional investigators do not understand the basics of critical thought, rules of evidence, or anything remotely close to investigating where facts are established. This is much like those who decree that so-and-so has done more for the paranormal community and advanced paranormal research more than anyone else out there.

What’s really revealing on the last bit is when asked, those who make such a claim can never provide an example where they have really done anything for paranormal research, other than to further perpetuate unfounded and untested theories. Just once I’d like to hear one of them actually cite something that has accomplished what they speak of, but so far I have not heard, seen, or read anything where anyone has made any progress in substantiating the paranormal where ghost hunting is concerned. And yet these people that are so highly revered and charge hundreds of dollars for courses so people can be certified.

“Certified at what?” Is what I always ask. “How to hunt anomalies?” These people can’t even explain the basic principles on how the equipment works. Often courses for certification offer courses in subjects that have been long proven to be nothing paranormal; and have loads of evidence to substantiate that fact, yet they are taught as though they are true. Another type of subject is one that deals with broad results that can easily be interpreted to fit just about any situation. Things such as astrology or tarot card reading fall into this category. How can subjects which can be shown how they work to deceive, as well as being shown to have no paranormal traits, be recognized as part of a certification for paranormal investigation? Unless of course it’s not certification of scientific methods or knowledge.

I see a growing number of groups and “schools” that fall into this category. My advice to those thinking about paying to be certified in paranormal investigation is to take that money and spend it on a physics class, or some other science class at a college. At least that way it will mean something and it is an investment, whereas the other is pretty much flushing your money down the toilet on piece of paper with printing on it. You’ll get way more bang for your buck, and you may wind up applying that knowledge and actually help in establishing facts instead of merely hunting the next anomaly. And, if you still want a piece of paper then I’ll give you certification which is just as credible as the next guy. Click for Certification

One thing that came up in a blog over on PUG (ParanormalUnderground) by Kim Kowalczyk, of GhostBreakers, was a discussion about standardization of methods in the paranormal community. Kim makes some very good points in this blog, and much they say mirrors what I’ve said over the years. One of the things they touch upon is the resistance of groups to want to conform to standards since it makes them feel controlled. I too have seen this in the paranormal community and it amazes me how there are a set of standards that have emerged. EVPs, EMF detectors, and others. While not totally standardized, the basic concepts have become the norm with many groups, especially since ParaTV has made it’s debut.

But these standards are a far cry from the point that Kim is noting. There are no real standards or rules of evidence. Each group has it’s own way that it sets up equipment and collects data. Most of what I’ve seen simply consists of photos, videos, and audio recordings. There really isn’t much in the way of data logging other than some groups are now using EMF detectors that log measurements made by the device, but without any sort of control in place, and much of the time is the only device of its kind. This makes it virtually impossible for groups to compare notes. Without standards of how data is collected you cannot compare what one group found and compare it to what another group found at the same location, especially if the equipments capabilities differ. Take for instance audio recorders. If one group catches an alleged EVP with a cheap voice recorder while another does not this creates a conundrum when it comes to examining evidence. Was the EVP simply created from distortion caused by poor sampling rates and compression that alters ambient sound?

Another good point that Kim brings up is “Who would oversee these standards? There are no experts in this field.” This is very true. There are no experts in the field of paranormal investigation. In order to be considered an expert one has to have vast knowledge about the subject. Considering everything concerning the paranormal is up in the air and no facts have been established, there cannot be any experts. There may be many who claim to be, and they may have a lot of knowledge when it comes to folklore, but for them to claim to be experts in the field of paranormal investigation is a lie. They are simply experts in the folklore associated with the paranormal. So, who would oversee these rules or standards? And again I have to give kudos to Kim for the suggestion of having experts in various fields be those who govern over these rules, and I would go a bit further and say that the rules that the scientific community be the standards. For if those rules are what is used then there will be little reason for them to reject the evidence that an investigator collects.

Kim also notes a key issue in wrapping up his blog, and that is getting buy in from others in the paranormal community. In fact Kim notes something I have often wondered which is why is it so hard to get buy in from the so called professionals, and what’s their motivation to ignoring the issue. I’ll take it a step further and lump the ParaCelebs in there. To me it seems that the experts and ParaCelebs would be out of business if theories were tested, standards were set, and true knowledge were gained. They thrive on being able to spew untested theories and make broad statements that appeal to the masses who are caught up in groupthink. If they couldn’t offer these lofty ideas then I highly doubt they’d survive long since the overwhelming majority of them haven’t a clue as to go about investigating using methods that the academic community would accept. Obscurity is their friend and ally, just as are generalized statements that can be interpreted to fit any situation so they never appear to be wrong. Thus is the world of pseudoscience.

But I digress a bit. I think that there are several ways that a standard can begin to take root. In fact it seems to be. More and more I run into investigators such as Kim, or ones who have stumbled across a blog such as this or Kim’s. More and more I see the light bulbs begin to come on as investigators who have read these types of materials begin to think about what is said and look at their own methods. Granted there are going to be those who will fight tooth and nail to stick with the failed methods they’re currently using, primarily because they feel like they are accomplishing something whenever they capture some unexplained anomaly, but quite frankly I believe it’s because following the rules of academia are tedious, boring, and slow to produce results. Americans don’t like to wait for anything anymore. They want instant gratification, and science generally doesn’t provide that. But I think that if a group were to produce evidence that were accepted by academia, even if it was something small that didn’t provide definitive proof of the paranormal but did provide an answer to whether or not one of the countless theories out there was true or false, we would then see the tide begin to change.

So, in closing I would like to thank Kim and PUG from bringing up the issue. And I ask of those who read this and are paranormal investigators, “What are you going to do. Continue down the path of obscurity and never gain anything from it other than a collection of anomalies, or are you going to be a true contributor and work with others in the community to develop methods and tests to answer questions and gain knowledge? It’s your choice.”

I was laying in bed with my sinuses stuffed to the roof because of a cold; and while laying here I started thinking about past discussions on some paranormal forums and wondered why believers were trying to prove the existence of the paranormal. For one thing, they already believe so why try to prove it’s existence to themselves? The other thing I don’t understand is if they are trying to prove it to the world then why not use methods that are acceptable to those they are trying to convince?

This also made me wonder why many investigators don’t try to figure out what makes the paranormal tick. If they are so convinced the paranormal exists, why do they keep going through the same motions? What could they possibly expect to achieve? After all, they are not gaining any ground or knowledge. Proof of that is in the fact that we don’t know anymore about the paranormal now than we did 100 years ago, which is basically nothing other than the fact that people are still reporting experiences that have yet to be confirmed.

So, what do investigators expect to gain in their efforts? They certainly are providing anything that could be considered proof of the paranormal, and they aren’t testing any of the theories or dogma in a way that could confirm or deny those theories and dogma. So, what do they expect to achieve? If it’s to have a successful spook hunt then I can somewhat comprehend, since spook huntin’ can be fun and exciting. At least for a while. I have to wonder if deep down many of these investigators aren’t hoping to be the next ParaCeleb. If that is true then it is a shame. From what I’ve seen there are a miniscule number of ParaCelebs that have a clue, and those aren’t the ones that investigators seem to try and emulate.

Patrick Doyle gives us another good video on hoaxes, as well as some more sound food for thought. Enjoy!