Misconceptions of Skepticism

Often times when I am in a group, imploring critical thinking, I'm met with criticism of being a disbeliever. Sometimes I think that skepticism is confused with cynicism. Dr. Michael Shermer, founding publisher of Skeptic Magazine, explained Skepticism as not a position, but a process.

Skepticism, according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary is, "the doctrine that true knowledge or knowledge in a particular area is uncertain". Rather than making the determination that something is untrue, it's reserving judgement until all facts have presented. In the case that the facts are
ascertained and insufficiently support that a claim is true, it's then that "disbelief" takes place. When this disbelief is supported by fact, it's then that is becomes knowledge.
Many believe that skeptics are close minded to the supernatural, which is not entirely true. Most skeptics believe in some sort of scientific method. Scientific method is essentially being flexible and open minded to all possibilities:

Form a hypothesis
Test
Retest
Form new hypothesis, according to new data
Start over

On the contrary with blind faith, the belief seems to stay the same, despite new information. This is proven to me time and time again, in the interactions I have with devout believers of the paranormal. We can very carefully, and in the most simplistic fashion, lay down facts and most blind believers will remain unwavered. To me this is the most quintessential example of close mindedness.

Often times, the paradigm of those in the paranormal community who do take the blind believer stance, seem to believe that if someone tries to obtain further information about a claim, they must be a disbeliever. This is not true. Many self proclaimed skeptics are in fact open to the idea of paranormal phenomena. There's a misconception that skeptics are atheist, when in fact many are very spiritual or religious.

Skepticism is not something that we only use for looking at claims, but also in everyday living. We utilize skepticism everyday. We utilize it when reviewing political agendas, researching care providers, choosing vaccinations for our children, avoiding scam artists, deciding how to eat, and even delegating problems that arise at our jobs. We use it in our everyday interactions with each other, when we are trying to understand one another. It's essentially taking the time to look at all the facts, in order to be able to make an educated decision.

When looking for a doctor, would we pick the first one we see? Or will we research their care reviews, talk to friends or family, and look at what they specialize in? Do we give the guy our information over the phone that claims to be a debt collector, or do we question his credentials? This is applying skepticism. It's not as unhealthy or negative as many think. It's not always about debunking, but rather removing the untrue or the unnecessary, to make way for what is correct or useful. It's considered a method of rational inquiry.

If we were to remove the negative connotation that is attached to skepticism, we may learn that we are all not that much different. All of us have a contingent desire to discover truth. It's simply a matter of implementing all our tools and resources to come up with the best possible solution to an infinite question, "Does paranormal phenomena exist?"

We may never know, but when we all work together towards the same goal of truth and integrity, we will stand the best possible chance of gaining a better understanding of those very difficult questions.

Client Creates GOFUNDME to Escape Home Investigators Claim Haunted

This morning I was shown a gofundme account  from a woman named Cora Ellis Greenwood, claiming that ghost hunters had come to her house and given her proof of her home being haunted. According to the gofundme, "there are 60 ghosts and even a Incubus demonic spirit that is here." (please note update at the bottom of this page) This fundraiser was shared 201 times and accumulated a total of $1,060 by 6 people. An update followed saying they did move, but that they also needed funding to buy a new truck. I'm not sure what this has to do with the "haunting" but none-the-less, they were still accepting donations.

Video starts out very dramatic and, admittedly some nice fancy title shots of their team name and a title page that says" Original Client Copy from initial investigation, Authorized for Release". This page also notes that the investigation was 2 hrs long, and of this they've come up with 25:50 of investigative "findings" (including title shots).

Here is the video for you to make your own determination.

I find it funny this is titled, "Private Investigation: Goshen, Ohio *Client Copy*" but yet it is made public and it isn't private at all. Through this video, I see the client, the town, and even occasionally photos of herself and her children on walls throughout the home. Plenty (aside from the gofundme) identifying the client.

Here is my take on what I'm watching "play by play":

** UPDATE** this article has been updated 9/23/15 with a response from Arc Paranormal
Sorry this will be long winded as it's a lot to review. You can either choose to read my take or watch the video for yourself and come up with your own conclusion, up to you.

Starts with the GH (ghost hunters) saying that this is only an initial investigation and that the team will come out with the intentions of "Validating" the claims of the client. This to me, says they may be going in with some bias, seeing that they are looking to validate the clients claim vs. trying to find alternative causes for claims. This is just my guess, I'm typing this out as I'm watching.

Here they say they do not bring out all their gear, only some. They claim to only look for "legitimate findings or captures, to see what we can put together". They also claim to do a "who died in" the house, I assume using www.diedinhouse.com. He says this gives them a list of who died in the house or if previous owners died elsewhere. They also note that they will also help clients find psychic mediums or priest, catered to their needs, granted they gather "evidence" supporting a haunting.

**ADDED NOTE** A screen shot of the information bar on the video in at the end of the video, shows that their findings show there were NO DEATHS IN THE HOME. Please keep this in mind.

So at this point the GHs explain they are about to show you their findings, that they are in no special order.

1) "EVP MAHAYLA" -The scene opens with a dog crying and you will hear a whisper that honestly isn't too clear for me. I only assume it says "Mahayla" because the GH have told me that's what this says. If a small animal is on scene this is already a contaminated scene. For me, this audio clip should be disregarded, hence the scene contamination.

2)" EVP HEY" -This scene opens to a dog barking, again- contaminating the scene. They say that they have, at this point, vacated the apartment. This for me, tells me that there is no one present to debunk what is happening. This could easily be auditory pareidolia of the dog grunting or sighing.

Noises can travel funny in different areas, depending on the acoustics of the building. -At the end of this clip we hear a strange noise and the GH explain that this is an "EVPBOT". Best I can find is that there is an "EVPBOT" that is a phone app. I found one on YouTube and the developer at Moditronic Paracorder says this "Guarantees proof positive EVP sessions". (We haven't proved ghosts, so how is this proof positive?) I can't take anyone serious who uses phone apps on a residential investigation. This also will add contamination including EMF, which will mess with EMF equipment. I have proven that even on airplane mode, that you will still get a mild EMF "blip" on meters. I do not know yet if EMF meters will be used on this investigation, but will note this for later on.

Here is a video, explaining the "EVPBOT":

3) "EVP YES"- This scene starts, "This is up in your bedroom we get another response". The GH asks, "Who killed themselves in here. You Stuck?" A strange hum comes across the speakers. At this point I am not looking at the screen. I am instead typing this. I hear nothing that sounds like a voice to me, but a hum that is then electronically digitalized and slowed down. Looking now, I see the prompt written across the screen that says "YES". To me, this again is fear inducing ghost hunting aimed at proving there's a ghost, rather than using logic to analyze whats happening. Again, I suspect auditory pareidolia or the GH catering what he sees as answers to their questions for their own agenda of "proving paranormal phenomena" in the home.

4) "Particle"- Scene starts in the living room, GH indicates at this point that the client has returned. Dog barking again, scene is still contaminated. Now rather than being actual audio, the GH points out this very small amount of sparkling to the left of the screen. At this point we know we have investigators, a dog and the home owner there. This can mean any one of them are stirring things up.

Upon seeing this, the GH shouts" WHAT WAS THAT? IS THAT YOU?" Immediately the GH says, "now we know a lot of people mistake things for dust particles." He goes on to explain its pulsating and that its away from the camera. In fact, dust particles are microscopic. Their size depends directly on the amount of light reaching them. The closer to the lens the brighter and larger they seem. Something that's centimeters from the lens, can appear to be across the room. As they fall away from the spectrum of light, they appear smaller until they dissapear. This sometimes gives the illusion they are entering or exiting solid objects such as inanimate objects like walls, or even people.. The "pulsating" they describe is the particle that has an uneven surface, in motion, turning. This can easily be a light dog hair or dander floating through the air. As it turns, since it is not a perfect sphere, the light dynamic changes, giving it the optical illusion of pulsating.

At this point the GH changes the camera setting to "negative", which shows the object loftily moving through the air. He is now moving his camera to look for the object, causing his camera to move out of focus. Instead of using rational thought considering the camera is being moved about, he accuses the "spirit" of knocking his camera out of focus. GH confirms that "THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT A PARTICLE"

4:52 minutes in, I am literally seeing no skepticism at any time during this investigation.

5 & 6) SB7 "BITCH" & Gibberish- Okay...SB7 is one of my least favorite pieces of equipment, but I'll keep an open mind here. Upon hearing this "voice" saying what they believe is saying "BITCH", they're immediately excitable. Rather than reserving an opinion, they already assume its saying "bitch". I want to add that in this video, they express that they "finally figured it out" (the SB7), that this was the first investigation that they used it on. So- they really don't know how to use it? They claim there's no way to pick up voices with this radio scanning so fast. They don't even know how to use the box, how do they know? My first thought here is, is a residential the time or place to guinea pig a piece of equipment?

7 & 8) SB7 "Crazy"/ Sigh "USE ME"- This scene opens to the GH calling out the "spirit" calling it a coward, which I don't personally recommend being confrontational with "spirits". We're in their home, let's be respectful, in case they are here. You hear a voice that the GH interprets as "crazy". Immediately the GH assumes this is supernatural and further calls out the "spirit" saying, "Hell yeah! you don't like me?" More gibberish is picked up which could be anything, but again the GH puts across the screen what they think the "spirit" is saying.

*Note- at this point I feel it's safe to say that these guys have already proven themselves new to the SB7, this being their first time using this piece of equipment in a "field" setting. They also have proven to be extremely excitable and bias in their critique of each scenario that has arisen from this investigation thus far. We are 7:14  into this 25:50 investigation video....

9) SB7 Session "DUMMY" -This scene opens with them asking for "April" he asks over and over and over again, seemingly waiting for a response that confirms "April" being present. At this point I do not understand the significance of "April" but assume, it must be a name they found?

The first several times there's no response. He continues to ask until he hopefully finds what he can consider a confirmation of "April". He gets no confirmation, so instead he moves onto a "spirit" named Franklin. I consider this "FISHING" as a way to keep on until a desired result is found to cater to a claim. To me this is the Ghost Hunters Equivalence of "cold reading" by mediums.

During this time I'm glad they let the box run and they've continued to show footage, because it helps support a point I'm about to make. They say that the radio is scanning too fast to pick up anything, but at this time we can hear several melodies that come through as obvious music, vs. voices. Some of those melodies are even familiar.

Of course, another blip comes through that they say they find a word "DUMMY". I'm actually shocked that they didn't immediately translate this one to something like "DEVIL", since its indiscernible in the first place. Phonetically speaking, it's closer to "devil" than "dummy" in my own opinion.

Another GH suggests using an app that the client has told them they like to play with. *RED FLAGS* This suggests to me that this client may have been spooking themselves out, by playing with ghost apps, prior to the investigation. There is an obsession, I've noticed in my research that happens with clients who conduct their own investigations with equipment, or worse, smart phone apps that they do not understand their function. Here the GH's are more than happy to oblige their claims, by increasing their fears by promoting app usage.

**Most apps carry a disclaimer that they are intended for entertainment purposes only. I find it disappointing that this video does not point that out.

10) SB7 "Rastafarian voice?/"BADA BOOM!" -At this point in the video, there seems to be a change in dynamic, at least for me. At the beginning of this clip, I think I hear the client in the background saying that shes captured audio (prior to this investigation) of a man's voice saying "moist" in this location. Again, RED FLAGS, the client is showing signs of being really absorbed in her own findings shes gathered before the arrival of this team.

To me, this is where a team shouldn't be playing into this type of of claim, but rather keeping an open mind and considering that the client is excitable and emotionally invested, leaving it hard for them to remain unbiased in their own findings.

Now we hear a voice come across the radio which sounds like Reggae music, "BADA BOOM!". Very obviously MALE. At this point the team should be realizing they are indeed picking up radio stations. Instead, from the play backs and digitizing, it seems apparent they've added this song to their "findings". This to me sounds like the music group "Sublime".

8:57 minutes...again, I am STILL seeing no skepticism at any time during this investigation.

11) SB11 "CHRIS"  Now they say they've moved on to the SB11. I'm not going to waste much time here, except to say, it doesn't sound like "CHRIS" to me.

12 - 21) SB7/SB11/"The clusterfuck"- Now we're in a room where the opening scene shows GH claim that the temperature meter is going off. This doesn't really surprise me with the amount of people that appear in this room. Here video is showing a set of legs near the approximate area of the Mel Meter, KII, and said temp sensor- also I see what appears to be a speaker (?)

Seems there's a lot going on here...they have the SB7 and SB11 going on, multiple people in the room, multiple equipment. At the beginning of this video they said they didn't bring everything along, Id hate to see this scene with the introduction of anymore equipment. They catch what they believe a voice, on one of the SB's that says "Jealous" after a temp spike. You'll see at this point the camera is being held in the GH's right hand as he brings his hand into frame to fuss with more equipment.

Distraction would be a HUGE word for me here.

And now they catch "something" on the right hand side of the screen that they can't seem to find a rational explanation for. Seems rather obvious amongst the chaos of this scene, someone raised their hand. But instead, the GH proclaims, in the reveal, "WHAT IN THE FUCK IS THIS?" (Super professional) GH says that it's transparent. In my opinion when I slow this down and look frame by fream, all that's happening is that his hand is in motion in dim light, causing the appearance of transparency.

Also, if you notice, he only says something during the reveal, rather than during the time of the event because they are so caught up in all the chaos of the scene, he doesn't realize he's moved his hand in front of the camera.

This screen caps the GH's right hand is free to move about and is fully capable of coming into frame. The camera is being held in the left hand. The next two frames show what the GH is excited as previously explained. To me, I can clearly see four fingers that are slightly parted around the ring finger.

At this point of this scene, again you will hear the dog barking in the background, which should immediately cause concern for any audio captured during this time. The scene is extremely noisy. The GHs are all very distracted.

You'll see a large red "WTF??" come across the screen, which indicates they don't know whats happening. GH makes speculation, during the review, that this could be something saying "Die" or anything else. He is admitting he doesn't know. I would assume since he doesn't know, might be best to toss it out.

Upon the temp sensor going off, again, they express that something is "definitely here". Again, this shows bias. At this point it's apparent that whatever happens in this scene is definitely paranormal in their eyes. All rationale has gone out the window (if there was any present in the first place?).

The client is laying on the bed where the meters are, making room for false positives on the meters. I hear more noise contamination, and again we're looking for "April" (finally they feel they have April, although it sounds MALE and nothing like "April", and no one reacts to the response at the time). To more this is more indicating bias of paranormal activity.

I count at least 9 occurrences during this scene that they believe are paranormal, but I have to admit they are hard to distinguish because they seemingly run into each other. This scene ends with what the GH feels is the "spirit" using the SB7 to say his name, showing proof in his opinion, of the "spirit" being  "really intelligent". Again, showing bias that this is indeed a ghost.....there really is no reason to analyze this scene further.

WHEN IN DOUBT THROW IT OUT

22 - 24) EVP "CHRIS"/ SB7 "We Used It"/ Particle-  New scene in bedroom, again tons of contamination. SB7 is going off loudly, people talking, who knows. These guys are really excitable with the use of the Spirit boxes. Want to remind everyone, again, clear music/melodies are coming through the box. It's very possible voices from the living, in commericals or radio broadcasts, could be coming through.

Again another particle that the GH says that there is no way it can be dust...even though he is standing and moving around, right there. They try different angels from different cameras that caught nothing, but this one camera did. Had it been spirit energy you'd think all cameras would have caught it from various angles. It being dust, only the one camera caught it, because it was in closest proximity of that light source at the time. At this point, with the risk of sounding sarcastic, I am suspect that physics isn't this teams strong suit. I promise you this isn't sarcasm, but an honest opinion based on observations I've made during this investigation.

18:36 minutes: I STILL see no skepticism at any time during this investigation.


25) SB11 "HELP ME"- Now they've moved onto one of the children's rooms, (the son's). The GH talks about previous voices were all female, although I've noted 2 male voices just in this critique. He says they all seem friendly, although in my observation I've noticed the words "BITCH" and "DUMMY" being suggested by the same GH earlier in this video. Seems like a huge conflict of observations here. Again dog barking away, they feel they catch a "HELP ME" on the SB11.

AGAIN- contamination and the use of a piece of equipment they have admitted they barely know how to use. Basically they are testing it on a client based residential investigation. Again- I reiterate, is a residential the time or place to guinea pig a piece of equipment?

26-28) "EVPBOT"/Particulate - Now we get to see the GH setting a cellphone up in a bedroom while an overly excited investigator enters talking about KII hits happening in the kitchen. Everyone leaves the room and they turn the lights out. Why the lights out? Idk. The beginning of this session demonstrates the EVPBOT chanting out loud. Its indiscernible what's being said, if anything. Now the app is chanting for spirits to come closer to the box. At this point air particulate flys into frame of the camera and IR lighting. This according to the GH, is not particulate, but "totally anomalous". Again, bias. The GH is already convinced this is paranormal. I wonder, had they left the light on, would they have caught what the GH claims is paranormal? A self illuminated energy of light should be invisible lights on or off.

More particulate happens. Again GH claims it's impossible that it was a particle or bugs. GH proclaims, that this PROVES" There is DEFINITELY something moving through your sons bedroom". Again- "This is totally totally anomalous"

Personal bias and unfounded claims are being used as "definitive proof". This seems irrational and irresponsible to me, in my opinion, at this point.

21:52 Still yet to see any type of critical thinking or skepticism being used.

29) KII readings/cold spots. Not going to spend a lot of time here....except KII being hand held when it should be stationary, next to another electronic, and we know cellphones are of use in the house during the investigation, (hence the last scene). They claim that the WiFi router is the only thing that puts off EMF, but no one notes that it is off for this investigation.

Noting what appears to be an entertainment center and a light switch in proximity to these readings. An investigator on scene, does try to explain something was putting off some high EMF but, the reviewing GH seems to pay no attention to this in the reveal.

Cold spots are noted near the air vent.

Dog is still barking.

Again- GH proclaims "Something DEFINITELY going on in your house" while emphasizing on the clients children. This is fear mongering and instilling more fear on top of the fear already felt by the client, in my opinion. Much of what is seen in this video is easily debunkable and not very solid in terms of undoubtedly being "paranormal", again- just my opinion.

More of my opinion: Completely irresponsible.

They offer the chance for the client to get rid of it (the spirit(s)). How?

Funny moment for me here, GH claims to steer away from the Ovilus, which may "confuse" the client although they've welcomed pseudo-scientific ghost finding devices like SB7, SB11, KII, Mel Meters, and even phone apps like the "EVPBOT"?

Gh says here, that ghosts play off emotions of people and its best to "step away from the place". I'm not sure what he is insinuating by that.

At the end of this video here, he decides to show the DiedinHouse report. He claims that they see that "April" died in the house of an overdose. Contrary to that claim, the top of the report states, "DiedinHouse did not find any information relating a death to this address."

He says that "April did pass away there last January like you said due to a heroin overdose in the living room" BUT, the report at the bottom of this page clearly shows that DiedinHouse has no record of April dying in the home.
Again, conflicting and now FALSE information.

Now not only has the GH identified their client, but now they are giving away personal information, publicly of everyone who has lived in the home. A simple Google search of "April" gives me complete information about her family. Now they have all taken it upon themselves, to tell the world publicly how she died.

At this point I'm actually very perturbed at what's occuring in this video.

They're telling the world that she is 'stuck here" based on shotty, bullshit "findings" that they call evidence. What makes them the expert on that? What do they have that proves they have the credentials qualifying to come up with these conclusions? What right do they all have to do that to her family? What happened to client advocacy, or advocacy for the dead? Are we not there to help?

How have they helped these people?

Conclusion

I admittedly was shocked when I first read this gofundme, and even more so once observing the first half of this video. I felt moved enough to go ahead spend my entire labor day, breaking down this video, and doing a write up about it because it genuinely struck a nerve with me. THIS SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING.

This case is, in a nutshell, demonstrates the type of behavior happening in the paranormal community that is extremely unethical. It shows exactly why I stopped doing residential based investigations.

Those that DO, do residential based investigations, owe it to their clients to do their due diligence to try and help them, bring understanding, and to be HONEST. It is NOT your job to increase their fears, to impose your beliefs on them, or cause more chaos or damage. To me, this is the perfect, "What not to do while investigating a private residence" video. So much is wrong with  it, that I'm sure while even trying to be thorough, I've missed a lot.

I see a few things happening here: A client who has already been investigating her home, and seems to be in a vulnerable position, so she calls in what she believes are "professional Ghost Hunters". She's already possibly had an unhealthy fixation on her home possibly being haunted. I don't know her back story, so I do not want to make any assumptions other than that I can base my own observations on. The fact she started a gofundme to leave a house ghost hunters claim have "60 ghosts and even a Incubus demonic spirit" is disturbing. The fact that she is also trying to get a truck using the same gofundme is suspect, but I will reserve judgement.

This very well could be someone making an attempt to capitalize on a situation, but I will let you all come up with your own conclusions.

Now, a very jumpy, excitable, bias team has been brought in to give her answers. While their "About" section of their Facebook says they've been in operation since 2009, their lack of knowledge about their equipment, the inability to recognize false positives, and their lack advocacy for both the living and the dead...lead me to believe they are far less experienced in critical thinking than they realize. Their Facebook states, "Our main goal and focus is to use radical and unconventional investigative techniques to gather paranormal evidence. We specialize in images and video in the ultraviolet spectrum". But, on the contrary, their actions in this video shows me that they are anything but unconventional when it comes to the average run-of-the-mill team. The actions I see them taking, mimics exactly what we typically see other teams doing; using equipment wrong, coming up with conclusions using biased based belief before reviewing all their material, and using broken theories that are unfounded to express their false "knowledge".

A 2 hr investigation should not render close to 30 pieces of individual "findings" that were concluded as "evidence of the paranormal". This is irresponsible and sloppy, in my honest opinion.

I could honestly go on and on about what I feel is wrong with this scenario, but I think my point has been clearly made. No need to beat a dead horse. This is a very sad, unfortunate case of using a vulnerable client to beef up a YouTube with broken paranormal theories and techniques.




*UPDATE* 9/23/15 Message from Kevin Caldwell of ARC Paranormal (Anomalous Research Cincinnati):

"Hey Anna Hill, I just noticed this post about the Goshen investigation and you have quite a few things wrong about your assessment. My name is Kevin Caldwell and I am the founder of ARC and I would be more than glad to correct you and answer your questions. First off, none of us had any idea about the gofundme page with our video on the Goshen investigation. That was created by the client and we have nothing to do with it or had any knowledge of it being up with our video on it. We have never told any of our clients that they have a ghost, ghoulie, goblin, demon, angel, or alien. All those are just theories and they have never been proven and may never be proven. We do not call ourselves ghosthunters or care to be labeled as such since we investigate the phenomenon and don't go into psuedoscience unfounded claims. Which is funny, since that is what YOU are claiming that WE are claiming in this video. This particular client was scared to death before we ever came out to investigate. We try to work with people and tell them that there is nothing to fear with these things, but that is all we can do. We never fear mongered anything and try our best to dissolve the clients fears. The claims of 60 ghosts and a demon is absolutely ridiculous! That never came from us, that is the belief of the client. Maybe its from the psychics she had come out? We never recommend psychics or priests, since they indulge in pseudoscience nonsense. This client chose to contact a group of psychics, after we had advised not to because it would only lead to misinformation and fear mongering. Our investigation did not instill more fear, but it helped to validate the clients claims. And yes, we believe the anomalies itemized in this video are evidence of anomalous activity at this location. We never say ghosts, or demons because honestly those are just bullshit theories. I can say they are invisible unicorns and have the same credibility as someone saying ghost or demon. No one knows what these invisible intelligences are or really much of anything about paranormal phenomenon since it is still a mystery. I'm sure you understand this since you are a bias skeptic. I seen you put some work into your blog on the Goshen video attempting to debunk the claims. I'm close to being a biased skeptic too since most of the paranormal field is fraud, misconception, and rediculous theories. There are no professionals or anyone doing scientific study of the paranormal at all! To be scientific you have to be able to recreate the conditions and that is impossible to do with the paranormal. So when biased skeptics like yourself say a group is not doing anything scientific, your totally correct! By biased skeptic I mean that you totally deny any and all claims of paranormal phenomenon. I understand your stance, but you are wrong! No we are not paranormal posers or frauds like many others out here. Nothing we put out is for entertainment or based upon some garbage paranormal tv show. I don't research to prove anything to you or anyone else. You make your own assumptions about this stuff. With that being said, there are a few EVP's in the video that are of a female while we were outside of the townhouse. Yes we spent only two hours in there, but with 7 cameras that equals 14 hours of video. So, 25 minutes worth of 14 hours is not much compared to you saying out of two hours we have 25 minutes of findings. A big difference when you see it that way. And we know many groups think dust particles are orbs or other nonsense. But, what is itemized in this video we consider to be anomalous. Why? Well, show me an infrared video where a single dust particle is floating around 10-12 feet away from an IR camera. Particles highlight close to a lens from the IR light, not 10-12 feet away from the camera lens. You show me a video where this is normal, or until then I consider it to be anomalous. And it is flashing! The other anomaly in the kids bedroom is of an odd shape and it clearly goes right into the wall! If you can replicate something like this then I want to see it. Because you can't, it is anomalous along with a few other things we catch flying around. We have tons of video of bugs and dust to compare these things too. The spiritbox replies you mention is all just Sublime coming through the radio? All of them? Sorry, but who can take that seriously? I know, I thought the spiritboxes were a bunch of annoying bullshit too. But, we have captured too many responses on cue and we rip the antenna off of ours so it mainly gets static. Now the Ovilus's are total bullshit and we don't use them. I can be as critical as you, except I don't make excuses for things that cannot be explained as you do. Am I wrong? Then, tell me what you think is genuine paranormal evidence? Exactly, which is none. Right? And that blob looking anomaly going up on the right side of the camera is not Chris's hand! You can see right through it and that is a badass HD camera and you can compare it to when he does move his hand in front of it. No blur, no transparency. People like you should spend your time and effort focusing on the paranormal frauds out there since it is easy for you. Sorry, we are not frauds and these are all real captures. Just because you don't believe any of this stuff is real is fine with me. Just as you claim we are disrespecting the client by investigating, you are disrespecting the client by giving your theory of it being nonsense. This client at Goshen was talking about moving before we investigated the place. And her claims were EXTREME compared to what we captured there. As we tell all of our clients that we do not know what any of these things are. We can only do an investigation and itemize what we believe to be anomalous. It's that simple! So, you are wrong in assuming that we made someone leave their house because of our pseudoscience claims. Because there were no claims other than our video saying here is what we found to be anomalous. So don't tell us that we ran someone out of their home when you don't know all the details anyways and I respect my clients not to give that info out. And we never said there was a ghost or demon there at all. We advised against believing that to our client over and over. I respect your skepticism and I know most the paranormal field is total bullshit theories and we try to explain this to our clients. But, at the end of the day they are the ones who have to deal with this phenomenon themselves. We cannot control them or their actions. We have no fear of these goofy invisible freaks as I like to call them. But, a lot of people do whether you believe it is all nonsense or not. Focus your efforts on exposing the real paranormal frauds out there instead of heckling those who take this seriously. I agree that the gofundme page is ridiculous! I'm amazed that she actually got $1000 from it. Go tell those people that the activity is not real. We have nothing to do with any of that. And it is called a private investigation because it is at a private residence. Easy to take some of this stuff out of context huh. I hope this answers your question of why we ran a family out of their home? lol, I would say that the phenomenon itself or maybe a financial situation ran them out???
Like · Reply · 16 hrs"

The Land of Make Believe (Paranormal Community)

Okay my dad wasn't a candy maker, never learned the art of sugar coating anything... But I'll give it my best shot.  👍🌈   

Welcome to the Land of Make Believe;

Where everyone is equal despite their lack of moral integrity, their methodology, mental health status, criminal history, their "research", their education, or their ability to discern truth from bullshit.

Where our motto is- "I'm good. You're good. We're all good. Unless, of course, you talk about anything that doesn't compliment what I believe. Then you're a bad neighbor "

Where anyone with $400 can receive any certificate stating they are in fact the Master of the Universe at any given skill set. Please remember, even if others outside the Land of Make Believe are fooled into thinking they need many years of schooling to achieve such accreditation, this does not take away from your certificate of Unicornification. It's not your fault you found a shortcut, haters.

If normal titles are too bland for you, you can always acquire a flashier title like "Orb analyst", "Evp specialist", "Demon Doctor" or "Grand Puba of Weird Shit" (that's mine, don't try to take it). They are all socially, and "professionally" accepted in the Land of Make Believe.

Where anyone with the slightest amount of technical ability can make a flashy Thingy McBob™ and call it a Ghost Annihilator 5000©. (Patented, don't steal my idea).

Where red hula hoops in photos serve as the greatest tool to combat disbelievers and naysayers. If there's a hoop, there's a ghost.

Where if you forgot to book your ghost in advance you can simply make one "happen" via Ghost Capture. (This is where proof has no bearing on what my friends uncles cousin caught while photographing the corner of his room)

Where the same little girl ghost in plaid has been everywhere from feeding a deer in Texas, to your little brother's sock drawer in New Zealand. (And no one questions if ghosts can have a twin or time travel.)

Where despite if you're found, with proof, to be a fraud... You can be accepted by minions of the Social Media Underworld, who will defend you with the greatest amount of brainwashed honor.

Proof has no place here in The Land Of Make Believe.

And lastly,

Just remember,

It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood,
A beautiful day on my YouTube, good.
Would you share mine?
That would be fine...

It's a neighborly day in this Facebook group,
If you don't like me, boot me...
Wont you like mine?
Share it that's fine...

I have always wanted to have a neighbor, that agrees like you...
If you disagree with me, I'll block you- it's true....

So, let's make the most of this share button today.
If you don't, I might as well say:
Would share mine?
No you won't, fine?
Then you can't be my neighbor...

Won't you please,
Oh don't you please,
Please don't you be... my hater.

Why "Paranormal" Isn't Enough For Me

Often in my journey through the Paranormal Community, I'm asked why I choose a more skeptical way of thinking, rather than a believers stance. Why I don't feel well enough in the "magic" of an event, but rather dissecting to exhaustion. My only honest answer could be, is that it's in my nature.

Since I was a small girl, I had a knack for tearing things apart to see how they work. I didn't care for the covers on some tape cassettes so I would tear them apart, splice them (if I didn't like songs), and decorate them with different colored cases or decorate the inside of clear ones. I enjoyed seeing how different things worked. The mechanics of it was fascinating to me. I have to admit, I still do it today. 

If I see something working and it appears a little complex, I will no doubt take the back off and check it out. I've always been good with mechanics and methods of operation.

When I was a little girl I had this nearly life sized doll that had a music box inside of her, they called them "companion dolls". She was absolutely magical to me. You'd wind a key on her back and she would play a melody. I loved this doll, I remember taking her with me, even if she was awkward with her size. I seat belted her in where ever we went. I remember looking at this doll and thinking she was somehow alive in there. 

Patti Play Pal Child-sized "Companion Dolls" were all the rage in the early 1960s-70s. For all of us who did not have any sisters, this was the next best thing! There were slight deviations in size but the majority stood at 36", about the size of a three year old child. The popularity of these dolls started with the beautiful Ideal Patti Play Pal (also seen it as Playpal). Soon other companies started to get into the market as they saw the explosion in popularity of this new life-sized doll.

Her eyes were so glossy. She strangely spooked me a little all the while I felt her as a friend.

Most girls would be content to leave her as she was, but for me every time I dressed her I found myself attempting to open the compartment on her back to figure out what was playing music inside. I went out to my dad's workshop and brought in a hand full of tools I've seen him use often. I was no stranger to any of them, as I was usually my dad's right hand "man" when fixing things. 

The door on her back was screwed in and even had some glue to keep the back from being opened. This obviously didn't stop me, instead I used a screwdriver to wedge the back open. Inside I saw this strange gold contraption. At this time it was nothing short of finding my dolls heart amongst a major operation. It really seemed I found a gem. 

I unscrewed the mounted music box from inside and brought it out and put it on the kitchen table. I'm sure I fumbled with it for awhile before I finally turned the key and watched it play. A small "comb" brushed along the bumpy cylinder, and that familiar tune played. I marveled at this tiny piano plunking keys one at a time. I watched it as it was freshly keyed, how it moved in time and how it slowed as momentum gave way.

I was mesmerized by it. I remember glancing down at my doll on the floor feeling as if her soul had left and it was sitting right here on my kitchen table. The doll lost her magic, but I opened up a whole new world, marveling at how such a tiny complex mechanism could create such a beautiful, haunting sound.

Upon seeing what I had done, my parents took my doll to the community dump. I mourned for her. In memoriam, I kept her music box. I played it until one day I left it outside and it became rusted and it never played again.

But my curiosity continued. Who figured out how to create this? How did they do it?

After this I was never able to look back. The magic of dolls and jewelry boxes didn't matter. To me the magic was in figuring out how this is happening. How can something so simple and so complex create such magic?

The paranormal is no different for me. The magic I felt in that doll is no different than the magic people feel day to day when something they don't understand, happens. Sometimes it's an event that provokes a memory of a deceased loved one, sometimes it provokes fear.

People have the desire to believe in the magic of it, despite the emotion or anguish that may accompany it. Most will completely avoid the fact there maybe some mechanics working, natural or otherwise, somewhere that are causing this phenomena. People want so badly to believe in the magic of an after life, they will not take a minute to open that compartment and look inside.

People are afraid that if they look inside, they will become disenchanted to the world as they wish to know it.

For me the magic isn't in the enchantment, but in the marvel how simple and complex something can be at the same time. What is it? Who or what is creating it? How is it creating this magical event I'm witnessing.

To me, that's the wonder of it all.

Scene Safety & Paranormal Code of Ethics

Standards, ethics and safety are all consistent topics that are almost always being tested by the paranormal community. Recently, all of these issues came up in a topic shared with me, by a friend. According to USA Today, on Sunday a group of ghost hunters discovered the body of a 69 year old woman who had been missing while investigating the old Kuhn Memorial State Hospital in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Many paranormal enthusiasts shared the topic among social media. 

Reading the articles and videos being posted, I came across the name of David Childers of Mississippi Paranormal Research Institute (MPRI) whom news outlets interviewed to explain the condition of the abandoned Kuhn Hospital. David had been on scene, and explained the gory scene he encountered (He was not with the group of ghost hunters who discovered the body and according to him has no affiliation). He also explained the rather well known, poor condition of the hospital itself. "In my opinion they should tear it down. It's condemned and is open for things like this to happen. It's an unsafe environment, there are open elevator shafts, black mold, asbestos, and debris, and people ought to stay away from that place."

Quite a visual for anyone who's never been in the hospital. I was actually kind of glad a paranormal enthusiast was taking the time to address the unsafe conditions of the structure. He also took to Facebook to express that he would have no dealings with anyone associated with the hospital, had they failed to heed warning of the unsafe conditions of the building and continued to investigate.
 

Originally known as Delta Paranormal Project, MPRI's other members and friends took to the comments section to express either support for David's stance on the issue, while others took opportunity to publicly disagree with his decision to sever ties with the hospital. The issue arose from one MPRI member, Karen Fisk Camp. She says "Now it's (the murder at Kuhn) in the spot light though. Now is when TV will be looking at us to do something." This raised a lot of eyebrows among those participating in the conversation.

People began expressing that this was not the time to be worrying about catching the attention of TV producers when a woman was just brutally murdered. Childers has not commented nor responded to people's concerns about using this tragedy as a platform to gain notoriety. Sometimes saying nothing at all says volumes.

It's apparent David does not share the same views with his teammates.

According to MPRI's Facebook, they were originally created for a documentary entitled "The Documentary of Ozbo", but later continued as a "real entity". They are also working on creating webisodes called "Ghost Scouters". This raised suspicion that some of the members of MPRI were looking to capitalize on this gruesome killing to make a name for themselves in the paranormal community.

This prompted a lot of questions concerning safety and ethics in the paranormal community. 

Where to Draw the line 

I will say first of all that situations like this are not anything new in the paranormal community. Everyday we hear the gamut of questionable situations occurring from people being injured to immoral practices occurring.

Safety:

According to Author Chad Stambaugh who wrote "An Investigators Guide to Paranormal Safety", a survey he conducted last year with over 5,000 respondent turned up the following results; "2014: there were 4,738 reported injuries. This is ranging from a splinter all the way up to hospitalization for lung issues or a broken bone. We also had 24 deaths that were related to/or classified as paranormal investigating/ghost hunting." These numbers are staggering when you look at the amount of people being hurt from issues that could otherwise be prevented by refusing to investigate locations that are obviously unsafe for public safety.

Websites like www.paranormalsafety.com have sprouted up trying to teach investigators the dangers of paranormal investigation that can range from anything from carbon monoxide poisoning to electrocution to falling through a ceiling while in an attic. We will add that according to many Facebook comments, Kuhn Hospital's ceiling fell in on MPRI members not too long ago.

People who deliberately disregard no trespassing signs, ignore laws and refuse to heed warnings, are attributing factors to many of these injuries. Carrying a first aid kit, wearing appropriate safety gear, abiding by the law, and most of all using common sense are all things that may help prevent many of these deaths and injuries that happen yearly.

Being in the wrong place as the wrong time could cost you your life.

There is no substitution for getting permission and refusing to explore uncharted areas that may result in injuries to you or your members.


Be smart. The safety of you and your team members are number one.

Ethics:

With the popularity of paranormal TV and in the move to constantly keep in competition with a ever-growing community of paranormal enthusiasts, people are always looking for a way to stay ahead of the curve by constantly pushing the boundaries of what is both morally and socially acceptable by most standards. It's no secret that many paranormal investigators create YouTube channels mirroring what they see on TV. We have learned historically, that controversial topics put ghost hunters at the forefront of the popular mainstream of paranormal investigating.

Those that are consistently putting out edgy or controversial material are the ones who typically bear the most followers. Those that also put out what the average person views as "evidence of the paranormal" on a very regular basis quickly become fan favorites. And yes, these people have fan bases.

In the race to be the latest and greatest, people forget that a lot of we do, effects other people. Namely this includes private home and business owners seeking help, and the families of the deceased. Running to our devices to speak to celebs was one thing, but now attempting to jump on a fresh scene of a murder is another. At the end of the day we are responsible for our own actions, and how we effect others lives.

Do we want to be known for being edgy and morally impotent, or do we want to have our legacy be that of truth and integrity.

While we are attempting to seek the dead, we need to remember that the living need advocated for as well. This is a concept I learned in nursing. While we are tending to the dead, there is generally a family who needs tending to as well. When a death is fresh, and a funeral has not even occurred yet, an investigation is not appropriate.

How do I feel this can be fixed? I don't know that it can. In a large community that has no solid set of law, standard nor rules. Who says that's right or wrong?  Who do we have to answer to?

I would guess the same courtesies we use in everyday life and interactions should apply to this facet of our lives as well. Starting with "treat other as you would want to be treated" would be a good start. Who we should answer to should simply start with holding people accountable for their actions as a "community". Refuse to stand behind those impose immoral practices.

If you google "paranormal code of ethics" you will see many have tried to establish a set of moral code of conduct practices for everyone to follow.

Like any one in the public eye, as we are, I feel that this comes with the responsibility of being a good role mode with firm moral integrity. We should take pride in setting good moral standard for others out there.

Again I will say, sometimes the RIGHT thing, isn't the popular thing.

For David Childers of MPRI, I commend you for standing up for what you believe is right, by fighting for the safety of others and not giving in to immoral conduct.



***UPDATE;

I reached out to Karen Fisk Camp for an opportunity to explain her comment which had since been deleted, regarding using the Kuhn Hospital murder as an opportunity to get on TV. When inquired about the deleting of comments she responded, "Oh lord woman I never deleted anything. If it got deleted I didn't do it." Valarie Myers provided a screen shot contradicting her  statement in the original forum this was discussed.

She has yet to respond. 

Giving Ghost App Ghosts a Face and Name

 May 14th 2014 a woman by the name of Laura Harrison posted a photo, she claimed her daughter's boyfriend took, the night her daughter was going to have their baby. Suddenly, as of June of 2015 the photo has gone viral as a "great catch". For me, it was immediately obvious that this was a ghost app, but for many others that fact was not as apparent. Of the 8k+ comments and growing, the majority were those believing that this was a real ghost. 

For me personally, this prompted some thought. I run a page called Ghost App Ghosts, which is a debunking database for ghost app images. I knew this photo of the nurse well, and I knew she was a real woman, I just didn't know anything about her. I took to my own Facebook page. I asked my own FB pals their thoughts of photos of the now deceased being used as a game to prank other people, or to gain attention and sympathy. They all agreed that it seemed disrespectful. I decided that I would like to research some of these faces we've grown used to seeing as "ghosts". Little did I know that my search would lead me to such a goldmine of information about this nurse.

I began digging for information. At first I was only able to see that she was in fact a nurse, because of a photo I had found of her. My Facebook pal Rob Depew sent me a screen shot with a name of Georgina Pope, and the rest was easy.

Georgina Pope was real Canadian nurse during World War One. She led the first group of 4 Canadian, first contingent nurses over seas to South Africa. All of them ranked as lieutenants.

I can get into a lengthy rant about this woman's history, or about how amazing and brave she was, but I would only be regurgitating information that you can find by going here:

Learn more about Georgina Pope

Despite this service, her legacy today by most, has been deduced to that of a zombie-looking ghost app.

Many people would ask, why do I waste so much time trying to convince people like this that their photos are an app? I'll tell you why. For about every 100 people commenting or sharing this kind of crap, there's about 10 who actually are trying to learn the truth. I gave up long ago trying to convince people like this woman sharing this app, that this isn't pparanorma. On the other hand, I can do a service to the people commenting and sharing who really want to know answers.

That's why I speak truth, not to convince this lady she's wrong, but to teach people who want to really know the truth. Some do want to learn.

This photo is not paranormal.

Back away from the para-reality shows and pick up a history book. You'll see your "reality" begin to shift.

Monument dedicated to Pope in Ottawa

The Real Faces of Ghost Apps

Unfortunately Georgina Pope isn't the only person who's been converted to a ghost by app developers. Another popular app that became known as the "Deer Cam Ghost Girl", is also a real little girl who lived around the turn of the century. Aside from first showing up on this deer cam, she was also used as a ghost app on the application "Ghost Capture" among others. She has probably become the most recognized "face" of ghost apps.

I've looked extensively to find out who this little girl is, with little success. She first showed up around September - November 2010 when she was posted on a White Tail (Deer) Chasers forum. The claim was she was captured on a deer cam, near feeders in Sterling City, Northern Texas. She was then identified as a "native American little girl". But, as we can see by the photo she is clearly Caucasian in descent.

Unfortunately, we haven't found her name, but we can give her a face. The fact remains that she was someones child. Possibly someones mother or grandmother, and she deserves respect.

Another ghost that became popular was this Civil War Soldier from the app "Ghost Capture". Unlike most of the soldiers we see turned into ghost apps, this one was not a real combat solider (in the Civil War), but rather a reenactor.

According to the Living History Productions of Ashland Ohio website: "Civil War soldier Jack Skelly was the beau of Jenny Wade of Gettysburg, PA. Corporal Skelly was fatally wounded at the Battle of Winchester in June of 1863 when the Confederates advanced North. Jenny Wade was killed on the third day of fighting at Gettysburg. Neither one knew of the others death."

Even with this being a more modern photo, (and I really don't know if the man here is alive or dead), it still goes to show that these apps are made using the images of real people.

Actor portrayal of  Jack Skelly

In another app by GhostCam by Nightinart, this 19th century woman also became a well recognized ghost app. The odd thing about this one, is that this ghost app, is eerily similar to this woman's original photo. Spirit photography was very popular in the 19th century, just as it seems to be today. This ghost app was pulled from a photo online of a "Double Exposure" tintype, owned by Andrew Daneman of Denmark. This image is titled "Spirit Fakery" in the Luminous-Lint collections.

As much as we would like to think we've outgrown such trickery, Spirit Photography is alive and well, over one hundred years later.

Conclusion

Beside the fact that these apps are sometimes used to hoax others, I am aware that most app users do not mean to to do so with malicious intent. As I've explained before in another blog I've written, I have seen apps used to manipulate others to gain attention, sympathy, or to instill fear.

Aside from that, these apps are used by paranormal teams to beef up their paranormal investigating resumes. When a "news outlet" posts these apps as ghost sightings, you will see a slough of paranormal teams sharing them thousands of times over. This in my opinion spreads ignorance and misinformation to the general public, who assume that if a paranormal team posts it, it must be true. Unfortunately, those who are outside the paranormal community don't know better, but we should.

Now stating that, I think it's important that people associate these "ghosts" as real people with a history and who deserve respect, not to be passed around as a joke. What about the ethics of using other's photos, namely the deceased, to deceit others? Is it not disrespectful to treat the dead in this manner, using them for hi-jinx or tomfoolery? It would be nice if people could see that these people had lives and a family, even if most that loved them are probably gone.

While many may not see my point of view, imagine your family members who died as children, served in the armed forces, or dedicated their lives to tending to the wounded- all being turned into false history?

My mother passed away after a traumatic incident and died in the oldest wing of our local hospital. Ghost stories were passed back and forth at our hospital, and many took the stories as fact. I would not want that for her legacy.

I feel my friend and fellow para-blogger Carolyn Doughtery, of Carolyn's Creepy Corner, said it best, "Sadly, a lot of people in the paranormal community use other's suffering and grief for their own entertainment and/or profit. I've heard the, "Who cares, they're dead" rationalizing before. It's called respect for the dead and respect for their relatives. My late dad served on a well-known ship that's now a "haunted" attraction. It would break my mother's (and my) heart if some asshole used a pic of him from the ship to make up a ghost story."

Whether or not we think about it, there may very well be living loved ones who don't want to see their loved ones images being used for pranking others. Kids will prank kids, I get that. Adults on the other hand should know better. Members of the paranormal community should especially know better. We should be working hard to advocate for the dead. That means the physical embodiment of the deceased, as well as their spirit. We need to get back to ethics and pull away from the side show the paranormal community has become.


This blog is the prelude to a new quest of mine, hoping to put the faces and history of these people to the forefront. 

Looking for help with a project....

Some of you guys who follow my blog, may know that I run Ghost App Ghosts, besides blogging about various issues I see in the para community.

If anyone runs across any real photos of the people they use for ghost apps (or fantastical entities like The Maiden of Bachelors Grove thats used frequently). Im trying to put together as best I can, the real faces of ghost apps. I'd like to find information about them and show that these are real people.

Any of you who can help with what I'm trying to do, it would be greatly appreciated. Full credit will be given to anyone who can help me on this!

Looking for a way to debunk those Ghost App Ghosts? Here are some resources I use;Ghost App Ghosts ran by myself and Andy Henson

Paranormal Dustbusters and Truth Seekers

"There's A (ghost) App For That"  ran by Tkay Anderson and Angela Sangster

Bust That Ghost

I am Kenny Biddle

Steve Huff "Doing what people want", but at what price?

The paranormal community has it's fair share of controversial characters, no doubt that Steve Huff is one of those. When it comes to pleasing the masses, no doubt he's a paranormal enthusiast favorite. Steve's a smooth, fast talker who can pretty much sell anything he's putting out there. This includes trying to convince people that he's contacting the dead practically before the coroner has arrived. To him this is probably is alright, as many clamber to his page to get a listen to what people believe are their favorite stars speaking out about their journey to the other side.

Before getting into why this irritates me so, let me start by setting up what's transpired over the last several hours.

His most recent video is what he claims to be spirit interaction concerning the recently deceased B.B. King.King died May 14, 2015 in Las Vegas Nevada. Upon hearing about his death, a buzz across Facebook started already predicting that Huff would be talking to B.B within the next 24 hrs. People were right. May 15th Huff posted a video claiming to have received over 50 requests to hear from King. He did so using his Andre's box and SCD-1. He starts with his Andre's Box. In usual fashion, garbled sounds come through the box. As noises start to form, Steve puts up text across the screen suggesting what's being said. For one, this is misleading and influencing those listening to it. Instead of  allowing the audience to listen and make these determinations for themselves, Steve puts what he wants the audience to believe to supports his claim. He claims matter-of-factly, that this validates the Andre's box. I cannot personally hear what he is claiming to hear and from the reactions many, others cannot either.

Many took to the comments section to express their distaste for Huff's antics. Huff mostly reacted by swiftly removing any rebuttal. Those that he did take the time to reply to, like mine, he claimed he was doing "what I do" and doing "what people want to see".

There's no doubt he's right about that. His counters rose to 10,680 views within the first 17 hrs posted. My thoughts are that people don't care about the reality of the situation. They want the ghost story. Most aren't even really thinking about the stories unfolding in the privacy of these people's homes, as they grieve for their loss. Most people see celebrities as a commodity, not as human beings. There's an air of entitlement that these celebs owe it to everyone to be a public story no matter what.

Even in death they owe it to us to perform? What about their families? Do they sign on for this?

What happened to advocating for the dead? Steve said he feels it would be wrong to not pass on the information. Information, that he tries to convince others, are messages from beyond the grave. Let's face it - he really doesn't know. Nobody does.

Why stir up emotional turmoil over speculation?

My View

I'm not gonna sugar coat here, and I assure you this is not going to be the cliff notes version of how I feel. This is going to be long. This is going to be as direct as possible, as to have no misunderstanding of how I, and many others feel.

There's a lot of issues going on in the paranormal community that I see people addressing daily. Bad moral practices by paranormal teams. Bad business practices by event promoters. False credentials being presented to boost resumes. Bad evidence. Bad people with criminal records -up to child molestation- doing residential investigations. The list goes on and on and on.

What about material being presented publicly, that may cause emotional damage to grieving families?

It's my observation anytime anyone addresses issues like this it's instantly labeled as "para-drama". This has become a safe word for those facing opposition in the community for what many see as unfavorable practices - even if the accused is clearly in the wrong. Label it "para-drama" and it seems instantly those contesting are the ones at fault.

It isn't drama if the situation is potentially harmful, and an adversary is attempting to bring public awareness to immoral practices. Stop abusing the term "drama", and stop displacing accountability in the name of being accepted by these people. If people cared half as much about morality as they do popularity, we may actually begin to evolve and move forward in this "community" without the DRAMA.

So now with that put out there, getting onto with my issue with Steve Huff. Last thing I wanna do is fluff his ego by pointing out that the guy is popular, but its a fact that he is. I don't deny that. I can appreciate another's hard work or rise to success, when done with good intent. He's obviously got the ability and/or talent to tell people what they want to hear, and show them what they want to see. He openly admits, this is what he does. I respect that he's straight forward about that, but where do we draw the line? What price do we pay to "give people what they want"?

I know his followers are going to come over here, read this and say nasty shit about me and I'm cool with that. For the record I'm not a 'hater", or jealous. I'm someone who sincerely sees moral fault with what others see as entertainment or God-forbid "research" (used loosely in this case). I rather pursue what I do with my integrity intact. I don't, in fact, give people what they want. I tell people what they don't want to hear, and what they need to hear.

I'm not claiming to be perfect. I have made mistakes in the past that make me cringe today, but I learned from them. I have endless faults, but I can say in good conscious I try my best to be honorable in my actions. I feel I do my best to advocate for the living and the deceased. I would never pervert or exploit the tragedy of another for my popularity nor my pocket book. Seeing this type of non-sense makes me want to be a part of this "community", less and less.

Why does this situation get under my skin? Why do I care what Steve Huff does? I'll let my message to Steve himself explain. Excuse the language, I was angry at the moment after reading his response. (sorry that the screen shot bounces around a bit)

I took a few minutes to reflect on the fact that maybe my anger was overriding what I really wanted to do, which was to express why I felt it was wrong. I'm human. I realized through my reaction, I was probably going to receive a "shut down" response because of my name calling. I decided to go ahead and really express why his practices upset me personally. I have no clue if he'll respond or not, probably not because my best guess is that he really doesn't give a shit. If you're not with him, your opinion is worthless.

 

**I just want to add as a side note that Robin William's daughter Zelda left social media after her fathers death because of the 3 ring circus the internet became with people harrassing her and cashing in on her father's death. Why in the fuck would anyone want to contribute to that?

I'm not going to sit here and try to bash Steve as a person. I don't personally know the man. All I know him for is what he puts out there for the public, and for that I am entitled to an opinion. I am openly going to say that I absolutely disagree with his practices.

I pose the question to you all.

At what price are we willing to sacrifice another's emotional welfare; for ratings, for crowd pleasing, for spectatorship, or for monetary gain? 

Steve Huff isn't the only one guilty of this. I see it all the time. But like any one in the public eye, as he is, I feel that comes with some responsibility to be a good role mode and to set the standard for others out there.

Sometimes the RIGHT thing, isn't the popular thing.