I’ve been reading some pretty disturbing articles and blogs about unethical behavior in the paranormal community. These range from conventions selling tickets to events that never happen, to groups preying on other groups. I think it’s time for people in the paranormal community to wake up, take action, and start making it harder for the unethical behavior to continue.

Unethical behavior homeowners need to be aware of

One of the worst examples of unethical behavior is when groups take advantage of homeowners whether it’s eliciting funds, or even worse when groups use an investigation as a guise to take inventory of a homeowners belongings for later theft, or even committing theft there and then. Groups who behave in such a manner need to be reported immediately. Those that commit theft should also be prosecuted when enough evidence exists to warrant legal action. In any case, if there is documented evidence of such things then the victims need to make sure they get the word out about what happened. Hopefully, doing so will help prevent that group from taking advantage of anymore homeowners.

Unethical behavior groups need to be aware of

Another form of unethical behavior that I’ve been reading about is group on group attacks. These range in nature and severity from smear campaigns to theft of equipment and identity. For those groups that are out there claiming superiority over another group I ask that they back up their claims by showing what they have done to make any progress in establishing proof of the paranormal. So far, I haven’t seen one group that can produce a piece of evidence that can stand the test for the rules of evidence. So as far as I can see, every group that is out there is in no better standing than any other group out there. I’ve seen some claim superiority by the awards they’ve won from various organizations, but considering those organizations are in the same boat as far as paranormal research and expertise as any group or investigator out there, those awards mean nothing. They may make people feel good and special, but they’re pointless when it comes to establishing claims of superiority. The same goes with how long someone has been investigating. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been investigating for one year or one hundred. All that can be claimed by how long someone has been investigating is just that. It gives them no more superiority than any other group.

Not that this type of mentality with groups isn’t bad enough but it actually gets worse. Some groups that engage in this type of behavior also resort to smear campaigns, which is one of the most cowardly and loathsome acts that a group can do to another. To resort to smearing another group with false pretenses noted above, groups that do so to make themselves appear superior are truly pathetic, and when doing so to try and steal participants at another groups event is not only unethical, but truly speaks volumes about the despicable character of the group launching the campaign.

One other form of unethical behavior amongst groups is theft of other groups property. While I haven’t seen a significant increase in reports of this, it still should be addressed. This behavior is pretty sad. How low is someone will to go if they are sink so low as to steal property from a group who is working with them to try and achieve the same goals. Groups who are caught doing this should definitely be reported to the authorities, and facts about the theft made know amongst the community.

The last form of unethical behavior by groups is identity theft. This is something that seems to be on the rise and is yet another show of how low some groups can stoop. Identity theft can take many forms from impersonating members of a group on a message board to impersonating a group to gain access to a site. Neither is good and both are unethical. Most of what I’ve seen when it comes to impersonating group members on forums comes in the form of smearing the character of the person and/or group. This is often done by assuming the identity and then making inflammatory statements and remarks in order to paint the assumed identity in a negative light. This often goes along with a group participating in behavior already mentioned, but can also be simple jealous rivalry.

The one that really gets me with identity theft is assuming a groups identity to gain access to a site. To me, this is truly pathetic behavior as it not only show unethical behavior, but also shows a degree of laziness since they are stealing all the effort an legwork the true group put in to gain access to the location. For groups that do this I have one thing to say, “Get off you butt and do your own work to get access. If the owners won’t give you access but they will another group then you need to address that issue within your own group!”.

Unethical behavior of homeowners

This is a rare one, but it does occur, and it seems it may be on the rise. Most often this is when the homeowner contacts a group about investigating their home and arranges for the group to come out. Once there the group is in for a surprise after they finish unloading equipment and the homeowner then demands that the group leave immediately, without their equipment. In some instances the homeowners demands are made as they brandish weapons. One really tragic thing here is that if the group cannot establish they took equipment into the house then the police may not be able to do anything to help recover it.

Unethical behavior of Conventions

This is one area I disagree with when it comes what constitutes a scam. Many people label all paranormal conventions as a scam because of their view of the speakers and Para-Celebs that these conventions revolve around. While I don’t hold any of these Para-Celebs in any high regard because they have done nothing to advance the field of paranormal research, I do not regard the conventions that often revolve around them as being a scam even though they offer nothing to the field. Conventions are entertainment. If someone wants to spend their money to attend a convention then that’s up to the individual. If they were entertained then they got what they paid for. If they believe anything these Para-Celebs say is fact then I would highly recommend doing some research as to what constitutes a verifiable claim and what constitutes an opinion.

What I see as unethical behavior in conventions can best be exemplified with the events that Brent Fair had a hand in. For those of you unfamiliar with Brent Fair, he is someone who promoted two conventions which collected monies for those events and then failed to produce those events. While some people did receive their money back, many did not. For more information on Brent Fair and TAPSCon 2, Paranormal Underground has an excellent page on it.

But Brent Fair isn’t the only one out there. Currently Darkrealm Labs is keeping an eye on Extreme Paranormal Conference (Extreme Para-Con). This was a convention that was suppose to take place on October 13th of this year, but was pushed back to December 11th. This is exactly what happened with TAPSCon 2, which was then all together canceled without notice to ticket holders. While the exact reason for this rescheduling is unknown it does draw need for concern, especially after reading Loyd Auerbach’s MySpace blog about his experience with them, from the perspective of a speaker scheduled to appear at the event.

One thing that disturbs me with many of the conventions is the “No money back guarantee.” This is what you will find when reading many of the refund policies of these conventions. Just about all the refund policies I’ve seen state that regardless of whether or not the convention occurs you are not entitled to a refund. To me, this is not only poor business practices, it is also opens the door to temptation for unethical behavior. With the industry as a whole, these types of refund policies are detrimental since they make it easy for con men to scam the innocent with phony conventions. I would think that community would want to do it’s best to prevent that so people are not discouraged from attending these events.

Don’t be a victim

There are several steps to help keep from being a victim of unethical behavior for those who choose to engage in such practices.

For the Groups

Groups should be careful when investigating private residences. Though rare, there have been a significant number of reports from groups who have had their equipment stolen by people posing as clients in order to draw them into their home, and then order them out, keeping the equipment. Here’s some steps that can help protect you with this issue, as well as being a good general idea:

Conduct a detailed phone interview with the client. Gather as much information about the activity so you can draft a good agreement to present the client with, which will detail start time and end time of the investigation as well as who will be present, and what equipment will be brought onto the site.

Make your first face to face meeting in a public area and bring your draft agreement so you can iron out the details with the client. By doing this, you are on neutral ground, and if it’s a public area it is less likely for a client who has bad intentions to try anything. One thing I would make sure of is to get the agreement notarized. This takes the burden of establishing the clients identity off of your shoulders, as well as strengthening the documentation trail.

When it comes to other groups trying to claim superiority then I would call them on it and ask, “What have you done to advance the field?” I’d be willing to bet they can’t answer that question with anything but a bunch of bull. As I mentioned earlier, if any group has done anything to advance the field then they would have documentation to prove this, and they wouldn’t have to resort to, “the theory is…..”

For those groups that are being attacked with smear campaigns, again I would confront the other group and ask them to back up what they are saying with documented facts. Don’t get into a pissing contest or shouting match. That only drags you down as far as credibility and image goes. Simply ask them for the facts and when they state something that is not documented fact then point that out. Also make sure to document the incidents. Personally, I would post them as well for informative purposes so other groups are aware of your experience with them. As long as you’re civil about the whole situation and don’t use it as a counter attack, you will keep your reputation intact and help get the word out about the unethical behavior of other groups.

For the Homeowners

For the homeowners I recommend they first do some research about potential groups they may ask for help. Check the length of time the group has been around, but better yet, check the message boards. There are many out there, and often they have information on groups, especially those who behave poorly. One thing the homeowner must be mindful when doing this is that as mentioned, there are some groups or fans of groups who will try to smear other groups. Make sure to check more than one source when gathering information, and make sure to read between the lines when it comes to information gained from message boards.

Once a group is chosen then make sure to discuss an agreement with that group. They should provide a written copy of the agreement for both parties to sign, but make sure they are going to do this. If they do not want to take on the burden then take it upon yourself to do so. Also, make sure the agreement states who is going to take part in this investigation and what their purpose is. Most importantly, get the document notarized so their identification is properly checked.

Lock away any valuables. Leaving valuables out in place sight when strangers come into your home is not a wise idea, and to do so with strangers who are wondering around your home investigating is downright stupid.

Document the plate number(s) of the vehicle the investigators arrive in. This is just another precaution in case things go wrong and the authorities need to be called in.

For those attending conventions

One of the first thing I do when attending any type of convention is to check out its history. This can be done in several ways. First would be to check the Better Business Bureau to see if any complaints have been filed, and if so, what the resolution was. With start up conventions this won’t help much since there’s no track record. With those types of conventions I NEVER pay in advance and wait to buy my tickets at the door. Usually first run conventions don’t sell out and the few dollars extra that it costs are well worth the expense when considering the alternative of losing all the money you spend on admission. Message boards are also a good place to find out about conventions. Not only can you find out about any shady practices, but you can also get information that can help make your convention experience even better.

If you are going to attend a convention and you are going to buy tickets in advance then make sure the method of payment you use has some sort of fraud protection. Many credit cards offer this as part of their regular service. If you’re unsure then make sure to find out before you make your ticket purchase. PayPal offers this service as well, but has a narrow window of coverage. Many credit cards have time windows in which to file claims as well. In any case make sure that you do not purchase your tickets so early that this protection does not expire until after the convention is held. Far too often conventions that fold are not discovered until the day of the convention. If your protection runs out before then you’re out of luck.

Check the refund policies. Some of these basically state your out of luck if they cancel, leaving you with nothing. Others will state that they are allowed to change dates and that unless they outright cancel the convention then you’re at their mercy for scheduling. My personal opinion on this type of business behavior is that it’s a load of crap. Conventions that run with such policies do not get my advance ticket purchase, and they get a letter from me that states that because of their refund policy there is no way I will ever purchase tickets in advance. Many of these conventions I do not attend because of those policies. If more people call them on these poor business methods then they will be forced to change those policies.

If for some reason you do find yourself getting scammed make sure to report it to the authorities, and the community. Go on message boards and tell people about your experience. Don’t be slanderous or bitter in your statements. That’s self defeating most of the time. Instead, report the facts and report as much information you can, such as who the people are who were running the convention, the reasons (if any) as to why it was canceled, and if they are involved in any other conventions. Just make sure you are civil throughout as more people are going to listen to someone who can intelligently and calmly state their case.

Well, that’s about it. As you can see there is a lot of unethical behavior in the paranormal community. I hope that at least some of this information is useful to you, and I hope that it can help clean up the poor behavior of some that are in the community. There’s no good reason for it, and with the surge of new interest in the subject there has also been a surge of unethical behavior. So keep your eyes open. Remember, there is no one policing this field except those in the field. It is up to us to clean it up and keep it clean.

When I first heard about this show and how they were going to use scientific methods to explore the paranormal I though, “Excellent.” But knowing it was a TV show I wasn’t expecting too much, and good thing. Ghost Labs falls flat on it’s face when it comes to that.

As far as support equipment and mobile lab, these guys have everyone else beat hands down. The touch display they have is a pretty cool toy/tool, and I think it’s wise that they chose an enclosed trailer over a van. The amount of space they have to devote to equipment and operations monitoring is far superior than what can be achieved with a van. Also, from a marketing/promotion angle, the size of the mural that can be painted onto the sides is impressive. These guys definitely get an A+ for toys/tools.

Before I get started into this episode I thought I’d go over a few things that look as though they’ll be part of the main premise. First is the claim made at the beginning of the show:

The following program documents the case studies of Everyday Paranormal.
All evidence has been gathered by the Klinge brothers and their team of investigators.
Nothing has been manipulated or manufactured.

This basically puts the ball of responsibility of evidence into the court of the Kilnge brothers and their investigators. The company that produces the show is simply responsible for recording what they do, not what they produce for evidence. This means that any evidence which is found to be staged is sole responsibility of Everyday Paranormal and not the production company. Seems a bit risky to me, and if I were the Klinge brothers, I don’t think I’d take that risk since there’s no telling if production company is going to stick to their jobs and not tamper with things. If they do, people will look first to Everyday Paranormal, since it is they who are responsible for evidence.

The Klinge brothers opening statement for the show

“We are the Klinge brothers. And we believe that science holds the keys to unlocking the secrets of the dead. We formed an investigation team called Everyday Paranormal. Our mission: visit the most haunted places in America, find evidence, and test new theories to probe the existence of the afterlife.”

The episode begins with Brad’s story of an encounter he had. “July 6, 1990. I was on a family vacation in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was broad daylight and we were on our way out of town in my dad’s truck. I look over into the field and I see this small group of Union soldiers, just walking through the field. I thought they were doing a reenactment, so I told my dad to stop the truck. I jump out with my old VHS video camera and I start running after them. They’re in frame for several seconds and I think, “You know what, I want to try and get closer to these guys so I can get them on film better. I stop the camera and I start running after them again. Right at that moment they disappeared before my eyes. There was no explanation. I mean there were no signs of a reenactment; there were no crowds, no cars, nothing like that. There’s no way they could have gotten to the treeline that quickly, and it was just unexplainable.”

Whether it’s true or not is impossible to say. There’s nothing in the video to suggest anything paranormal, and we have only his word that the events transpired as they did. At this point we’ll assume that he did experience what he claims to have, but whether or not it was paranormal, there’s no way for us to know since there’s no evidence to support the claim. Basically it is to establish why Brad became interested in the paranormal. Anyhow, on with the show.

This isn’t looking good. The Extreme Paranormal Conference, which was to be held October 16th – 18th has been moved. Their website claims it was due to conflicting schedules with guests, but reading through Loyd Auerbach’s MySpace blog, that doesn’t sound like the truth.

Here’s Loyd’s blog:

So the question remains: Are we in the midst of another paranormal convention scam? Or just poor management?” Either way, it seems a lot of people are going to be greatly disappointed.