The Sad Truth: Plastic Breaks - Ghost Hunting History Revealed

I stumbled across an article on the history of ghost hunting. The article made me think about what it is WE do, today.

Pondering this in-depth history, I think of many things. For one, our ancestors had the capacity to spend FAR MORE time in the field of actual research than we do today. In the old days, men and women could easily choose to gather amongst each other for hours, days, nights and weeks to further study hauntings and other phenomenon. Today, we are so caught up in trading currency, working a 40-hour week, checking our social networks, email and text messaging, telephones, television, etc... and we could never match the dedication aspired to by our forefathers when considering paranormal research efforts. Is this a challenge to us all? No. It isn't.

We cannot imagine what processes were used in the days of old to study paranormal phenomena. Today, too many of us rely on gadgets and gizmos to conduct what some call "scientific research". When we rely on battery operated devices to guide us in our efforts, it is important to know exactly what the device held in our hands was originally invented to do. Are you guilty of using a "cell sensor" as an EMF meter for electromagnetic field studies? The "cell sensor" was invented as a device to be used to monitor cell phone radiation hazards. Was it invented for use in paranormal studies? No. How about the K-2 meter? Same story applies. It was invented to detect strong electromagnetic fields from large appliances, electrical wiring, etc. The T.A.P.S. team used it as an "electronic Ouija board" and the ghost hunting world went bonkers for it -- although we all know the the use of Ouija boards in paranormal investigating is not appreciated or encouraged when trying to be "credible". Think about that statement and come to a realization that what some people do today is "backward thinking" and not "forward thinking". If T.A.P.S. carried out the use of a Ouija board on a TV investigation, they would be ridiculed around the globe. Yet they use an electronic gadget to perform the same function and the world applauds them.
Go figure.

Ladies and gentlemen, we live beyond the Golden Age of investigating. What our modern devices do is simply get in the way of the human mind. Each of us has the ability to sit in a room with several strangers and create a spirit of harmony - or a spirit of discomfort between the members present. This, my friends, is called 'telepathy' and we ALL have this power to use our minds to feel, create, and experience the paranormal entities amongst us all. Can an EMF meter or thermal imaging camera cause you to experience "chills" up your spine? Not really. The readings may cause you to feel a hightened sense of fear. However, without the device in hand, would you have felt the fear, regardless? Have you seen a ghost without holding a gizmo in your hand? Have you heard voices, or unexplained sounds, without relying on devices to find these occurrences? Surely, you could agree that the human mind is the "ultimate" detection device for paranormal investigating. It doesn't require batteries, is always ON, and needs no lights or sounds. It works to give readings in an instant and requires no instruction manual. It has not shelf life. It isn't a fad device used for a period of years and found on eBay for sale. Tune your mind. Get a feel for what is around you when investigating. Free your hands and backpacks of clutter. You may find yourself being more aware of your surroundings at the same time.

We have all read books on ghost hunting. Most of the good ones have been written in years past. These authours and investigators never used many devices to conduct their investigations. Cameras and tape recorders were used. Not much more than that. When you look for ghost photos, chances are that you find the classics on display; the body on the staircase, the face in the corner of the photograph, etc. You see nothing from modern ghost hunters. Why is this? Simply stated, because WE are a "dime a dozen". Modern ghost hunters, paranormal investigators, mediums, psychics, etc. are EVERYWHERE today! What WE DO is nothing spectacular. There is nothing incredible about our educations. Modern ghost hunters simply carry more SHIT to the clients homes and spout off bits and pieces of "online quotations" that we retain in the 10% of the human mind that we continue to utilize in our lives. We rely upon advancements in technology to make us look "credible" in the field. Why? Because what people see on TV is what they have come to EXPECT from a team of ghost hunters who come to visit. I have, personally, declined invitations to investigate homes for a few clients. Why? Because I'm not "Randy The Entertainer" who stops by to amuse the family and neighbors. If you want an investigation, I help. If you seem to want someone to stop by and listen to your crazy bullshit tales and WATCH me work on finding shit in your house, forget it. I investigate activity for my own research - NOT to entertain. If you have purchased a million dollars worth of electronic equipment and enjoy being "Mr. Gizmo", or AS SEEN ON TV PARANORMAL DUDE, enjoy your life out there. You won't get much done to make it into the next series of books that your great-grandchildren will read. However, you might be on the next fly-by-night TV airing of the ABC FAMILY Halloween special.

In a nutshell, what our ancestors and forefathers did for the research has not been surpassed. Not yet. What they did has been written about for ages. We study, amuse ourselves and walk into the night with spectacular passion for this research. Then, we arm ourselves with plastic junk - devices never used by those before us - and we become bored to death. We go broke in the process. Our teams complain of needing money to cover expenses? To cover WHAT exactly? The passion to purchase. Purchase items to assist in detecting what the lazy brain refuses to see, hear or feel. Save a buck, or two, and get your head in tune with history. Tune in with what surrounds you. Leave the junk at home. Sell it on eBay, if you choose to do so. Let another sucker buy into the mythical world of ghost hunting. As for me, I'll keep my camera handy for whenever I SEE something. Then, just maybe, I can get something published in print that someone will enjoy far ahead in the future.