Fake websites - how they hurt the truth.
Recently I was visiting other sites on the net, and I came across one from the same city as ours. It seemed interesting at first - and was happy that someone else is trying to bring truth to the science of paranormal investigations. When I and a colleague studied the photos closer - most if not all were fake, or problems with the camera. There was one that did look like a true orb, but the rest were very 'fake' looking, and even my 14 year old niece could tell the difference.
Its great when people set up websites and are interested in the paranormal - but when fake sites are set up - it tends to hurt the credibility of the true sites that are trying to bring the truth to the skeptics. The one country that I see a lot of true sites it the UK. They have not only some of the most amazing photos and pictures I have seen - but they are maintained by investigators with either degrees or have been in the research for over 25 years (I have linked to a couple of these notable sites). There are also a few in the States, especially associated with the battlefields of the civil war that are amazing too.
Why do people set up sites like this? Overactive imagination - wishing what they were capturing on video or film was what they see in their mind? Or is it for attention. Unfortunately a lot of times its the later. I and other investigators tried contacting the people that run this site - but no responses.
We encourage people to open their minds and maybe start their own investigations IF THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING. Capturing photos or video is one thing - but doing a true investigation where you go in deep with the EVP's and trying to make contact is another. If you do not know what you are dealing with and how to handle any situation - it could be bad. Nothing like in the movies, but you could disturb something - and it could even follow one home!
Our investigations - we go into with a somewhat skeptical mind. When we present the 'proof' on our website, we investigate and go through all options of what the phenomenon we captured could be. Only when we are sure we exhausted all resources, we will put them on this website as true 'phenomenon'. We are committed to finding the truth and bringing it to those who are interested.
So if you are a person who is truly interested, we encourage you BUT DO YOUR RESEARCH. And don't get into situations you can't handle. And please, for the whole paranormal community - don't present something on a website that is clearly a hoax or a glitch in the equipment. Only together we can truly find out what is happening in the 21st century.
B.Fowler
UPDATE
Recently we saw another team on a local tv broadcast, and were disturbed by what we saw. For this we feel we must stress a point. Always do research. Capturing something on video, recorder or film and stipulating it as fact - is not what a true investigator does. True investigations involve finding the truth behind the facts. On this program, they video taped a dim light on film - bad film - then handed it over to the owner of the place and said it was ghosts - without examining what they have captured. Could have been a reflection being caught - to even a moth passing by the film. Also they presented a recording as an 'evp'. It was captured in a local hospital - but what you hear is a scream - then one of the team members saying 'what the hell was that'. EVP's are Electric Voice Phenomenon. True EVP's are what is on the recording device, picked up by electricity, etc. - and not heard by the human ear - so this was a false representation.
We do not mean to 'dis' other teams, but it is hard trying to prove paranormal activity as a fact when there are those out there that do not do follow ups, or do not know exactly what they are doing. We suggest if you are truly interested, do research and come to your own conclusions. But when you do your research, go to those that stand by thier facts.
A 'team' can have all the expensive equipment and neat devices they want - but when they don't do the follow ups or just take everything they get as paranormal - that hurts the rest of the community that is trying to do actual research behind phenomenon. Sometimes the beginner investigator just needs a good recording device, a good camera (if going for video - have one with night vision) - and a real curiousity on what these events might be. But they also have to have the ability (and the logic) when going into investigations to try and see what else it could be - to do away with all other explanations (humidity, high electric activity, to even things being shook by a big truck going by - it happens!), before presenting it as phenomenon. Its also good advice to always check with other reputable investigation teams with your findings, for they may see what you cannot. This is why we have a team in the UK we send videos too if we are stuck.