to the "investigators" of paranormal?

Question

I need to know if you use mediums/psychics in your research? If you do, why? I have been doing this since 1999 and can see no reason for involving this in an actual investigation. What would they bring to the table so to speak that coud ever be evaluated by an objective researcher? I call myself a skeptical believer simply because I have no absolute proof of anything other than my few pics I elected to keep. None of which I label as a ghost or spirit. I call them simply......interesting pics. Out of thousands of pics there are maybe 20 and of those two are orbs, only to show contrast in light sources and anomalies. I have never kept an EVP simply because none were clear and audible. And I have only kept about 5 minutes of video where I caught something I am still trying to figure out. That in almost 8 years of searching. So I am much harder on evidence than your normal "ghost hunter". So if you please will answer my first questions and your experience level, I would like to know.

I have probably taken more then 5000 pics using several methods from ten second intervals, to infra red, to time lapse. I tell my group, if your gonna keep it and use it, you better be able to back it. Rule out the normal before you label it paranormal!!

skeptics, please be respectful of those who do answer this question. you might even learn who some of these people are and why they do it.

there are so many great answers I dont know how I am gonna pick one. And to the skeptics, thanks for being respectful and allowing those believers to answer the question.

Answer 1

Nuff,
I really don't see the need for a medium. Reason being is because we all have that ability in us. Example, if you are out investigating some place with paranormal happenings. Do you not have your OWN feelings that something may be there, even tho you can not see it? You are not necessarily there to find out why they haunting a place, but you are there to find proof of a haunting.
Now, if you think you may want to try to find someone who "claims" to be a medium to take with you, what would you expect to hear from them?
Stick to what you have been doing & follow your instincts. At some point you have caught enough evidence to keep you going back to research for more evidence.

Added: Orbs, really they are another topic. Some say dust some say spirits. I honesty will believe an orb is a manifestation if it has a more "solid" appearance & if they are moving in a intentfull direction.
Nuff, you KNOW the sceptics come out of the woodwork like roaches stampeeding to stomp out the thought that there might actually be some proof to this study!!! ;-P

Answer 2

We have 2 really good psychics in our group. When we go into a site to investigate we send in the psychics at separate times, and with out knowing anything about the site. We video tape them as they give their impressions or readings. Then we set up our equipment in areas that they agree are hot areas. Sometimes we do different times or days. The only one who knows what is going on is the head investigator for that site. We try our best not to contaminate our other investigators on a site. And as with you we have a lot of strange stuff, but very little that can not be explained away. I have picked up some good evp's, but they could be cross over ham or cb radio interference. I have never got a direct answer to an asked question. Our psychics are just another part of the whole operation, one more way to check what we find with other equipment. We will give a package to the site owner with any photos, team member reports, and any videos of the investigation. The psychic videos are often what the owners find most interesting, they confirm what they feel and see sometimes.

Answer 3

I am involved with a Paranormal Research group in the Inland empire part of S. Calif. It is a very professional and well organized group.
The overall attitude I get from this group as well as a few other professional (professional means not the type of group that trespasses in the name of ghost hunting) and I think to a certain extent a medium or psychic should be investigating the property on their own. When conducting an investigation there is some information that the crew needs to know beforehand to properly conduct investigations.

Sure you can with hold that info from the psychic but then the crew members are thinking about the answers and really - it can muddle up the credibility of the answers of any sensitives quite quickly.

While I have respect for legit. psychics, I think they shouldnt investigate with normal paranormal investigations. :)

Hope that helps!

Answer 4

Our group of investigators are family and very close friends..We do not use out side mediums. If we cant see it .. hear it or feel it for ourselves then we just move on. Like you we a very iffy on orbs and unless they emit their own light source its dust.. or something like it. However we have gotten some very clear and normal level or above indoor voice level evps. Some members have been investigating for well over 10 years .. some not so long .. our group is small and only three years old.

Answer 5

I have been invovled with the Paranormal since the age of five. It seems there was a gift given to the women on both my parents side and it was passed onto me and my sister. I have been actively doing Paranormal work for 10 years.
Our group is in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We donnot use meduims during an investigation either. Now a great number in our group as Sensitives which includes my self. We have over 5,000 pictures also. and Evps and we do not keep anything that we can positively identify. The same thing with our EVPs. We are hard on ourselves when we are working.
We have several apparitions that can be seen clearly, the other ones consists of mist and orbs that we can forsure say are holding their own energy and the other pic we had are ones we can not explain but look they could be something are all kept in a single file.
I have a perfect picture of this one female that we are so blessed to have gotten as she is so clear that her head looks solid and we can also the dress she is wearing and it is really the best one we have.
I just do not think that pychics or mediums are needed for our group as well. We depend on real eveidence and what one can actually see or hear.
Everyone in our group has 10 years or more time and we are very professional and we all believe with every inch of our being as everyone has also started noticing ghosts and other kinds of hauntings since they also we 4 or 5 when this started for them also. So we have a great bit of experiences since some of us are in our 50's, I do not know what level we are . Only that we have have expericences at such an early age. We truly believe in what we are doing and we enjoy it. And we are honest in what we do and how we conduct ourselves and our investigations.

Answer 6

No, I do not trust psychics in this area. I do feel there are true psychics but are few and far between. In my experience a psychic is like the self proclaim prophets I have met in certain types of churches. Most people who claim to be psychic are not and are very emotionsl and they judge things by their emotions.

I consider myself a true believer because I had an experience where i saw and spoke to a ghost and he spoke back. He looked like a live human being until he disappeared.

I am like you, I am much harder on photos and evidence than most ghost hunters. I have taken hundreds of photos and only 2 orbs that I consider paranormal. ghost hunters get mad at me when they show me pics or on line invite the public to comment on their ghost pictures and when I say they have dust they get mad, but I have taken enough photos and did take one year basic photography in collage to know dust when I see them.

I love ghost hunting and investigating the paranormal but I try to rule out everything normal as everyone else claims they do, but when they ask my opinion I just give it and it upsets many. If I do not know I will say so and I have been wrong in that I have at times been too quick to think a photo is paranormal only to change my mind. This seems to upset most ghost hunters.


I have just about come to the conclusion that we cannot obtain evidence of the paranormal using these scientific methods all ghost hunters use. I think it boils down to belief and experience. Not everyone sees ghosts and not everyone who has see them all the time. I have only had that one one ghost who did appear to me and spoke to me more than once. I have had other encounters in which I feel it was a ghost but only that one I can say for sure.
BB

Answer 7

I have been researching parnormal phenomena for roughly six years. I agree that mediums/psychics do not lend credibility to an investigation. As you say, anything they add to the investigation can not be looked at objectively. Much of this stems from the hoaxes perpetrated by previous generations of mediums. While many current mediums may seem to have some kind of gift, it just seems too easy for them to walk into a room and make up anything. It's also easy to research a building, discover a tragic history, and then go there and say "this is the ghost of so-and-so, they enjoy sitting by this window, etc.". People interested in the paranormal are no longer interested in anecdotal stories. They want proof, evidence, something to back up their beliefs, and pictures taken by others are too easy to fake.

Answer 8

I'm not an investigator, but I think that by "adding" information to the investigation before any preliminary data can be collected can render most if not all of your findings less than objective. Psychics or mediums can "steer" you in the wrong direction with fluff and not fact.

I don't doubt the ability of sensitive people being able to pick up on vibrations or activity, but on the same token there really isn't much in the way of measurable information you can bring to the table to prove or dispel a claim of a haunting.

A medium or psychic should be there after the investigation perhaps if no suitable explanation could be found by scientific methods.

Answer 9

nuff,

I too wonder what a medium or "demonologist" (whatever that is) along for the ride on an investigation. They presuppose to such a degree that they will literally see paranormal activity in every room they enter. This is not an atmosphere in which any objective investigating take place.

I have noticed your answers regarding investigations seem very level headed and objective. Rather than seeking proof of ghosts, like the majority of investigators I've encountered, you seem to be operating in a scientific manner. I congratulate and encourage you.

Answer 10

I know a woman with more than a little talent,she has been tested at the San Diego state University. A paranormal group came and tested the Meta physicians or those that had talent. She came out first, they tested all over the nation and she came out second in the nation.
Now my Question to you is this, why would you handy cap yourself, by not using a true Meta physician, to help locate the EEP that you are looking for.
But I should not be surprised, as in the F.B.I. and police both, of which she has helped, with a very high Deg. of success, you would feel, your reputation would be compromised.
It truly is to bad that the true talents of the world are being downgraded because of the many," Palm readers and tarot readers and Psychic fakes ".
This lady is on this site, and I can tell you she has and still does " Read and Council " for many famous people.
Now Nuff, I have read some of your other Questions and know what a skeptic you are when it comes to Religion and God. That's really too bad as this lady, who as far as I know is, in the top three in the nation still by now. Believes that her talents are God directed, as in the Magi's and Wise men in the Bible. You lose an a awful lot of time and information taking pictures "Scatter shot" as you apear to be doing, why not test her yourself? You may be supprised by what a true talent is, and how it could narrow down your area of inspection. Her name on this site is aprilmacfadden, she answers maney Questions. She has a radio and T.V. show, I've looked into her, and found she is impressive. Her Email address is [e-mail] , or you can reach her, as I did first through her TV station www.gcin.tv , It's not always easy to get in touch with her, as she is a very private person "would you want people Knocking on your door all hours of the day or night?" but once she knows what you are truly looking for I'm sure you will find her receptive.