Standardization in the Paranormal Community
by Kim Kowalczyk, GhostBreakers
www.ghostbreakers.com
I already feel the tension brewing, the teeth grinding and smell the fear by those who really don’t understand what it means. In fact with the tens of thousands of ghost hunters out there these days there is an extremely small number of people who do. This is not the first time nor site this topic has reared its ugly head and each time it is met with the same reactions. People seem to think that standardizing the field of paranormal investigation means that they will be controlled and monitored and somehow stripped of their right to do as they please. There is nothing farther from the truth. Standardization is not for everyone and no one wants to force it on anyone. It is only for those who want it and be part of a group that can share and compare information by all being on the same page. Besides, people could do both. Be part of the standard and do their own thing separately.
Regardless of what people would like to believe, to date there is no official recognized field of Paranormal study except in the eyes of some in the “paranormal community” and I use that term loosely also. Oh, and no offense but institutions like “Flamel College” and people who throw out certifications for profit and other paper mills don’t make it an official field of study.
Right now we see thousands of people and groups labeling themselves as whatever they choose. Everyone, you and I included, are lumped into that group that was coined “The Paranormal Community.” Regardless of people’s experience, interest, etc., the general public still sees us as all in the same boat. A bunch of unorganized people and groups trying to get noticed. Standardization, would for the first time, steer Paranormal Investigation and splinter fields, towards being recognized fields of study and make it much easier for those serious about what they are doing to have their information, ideas, methods and findings, scrutinized and recognized as legitimate work in the field.
The next point that so many have heartburn with is who would make up this entity that would set down the standards and protocols. Well, the general comment you will always see from people is, “There are no experts of the Paranormal.” A very safe statement to protect us all in our personal endeavors but not completely accurate. Maybe not many paranormal experts but there are experts in what all people and groups say they do. There are experts in photography, audio/visual, lighting, educators, psychology, investigating, the collection of evidence and I could go on and on. These type people would be needed to form that entity. People not necessarily even interested in the paranormal but experts in their respective fields to separate the wheat from the chaff so to speak. Standardization is nothing more than organizing people and groups who want to be part of it and educating them in a standard way of collecting information so it all can be officially documented for all to use. Only if the field is seriously recognized by the main stream can it become a recognized field of study.
There are really more pros than cons for those serious about what they do. The real problem is getting people on board and getting someone to champion the cause. There is a lot more to it than this, and I am sure it will take a long time to hash out. It also seems that not only those in the general paranormal community but even those who profess to be experts in the field do not want this to ever happen. I can only wonder why…
Now, for those who have and will voice an opinion. Please remember the rules of testing arguments and one important one. You should attack the argument, not the arguer.
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I could not agree more Kim. There should be ground rules laid out for how an investigation is run and the standards that we use. One of those old standards is honesty, there are far to many people out there faking evidence and that can and does make all of us look like liars and sensationalists. The group that I investigate for has a core belief that keeps everything we do on the down low so to speak because we are out there to help the client. To many people see the paranormal as a meal ticket and are looking to make a quick buck. Am I oppossed to making money? Never, it just should not be done on the backs of over a hundred years of research and in the name of sensation seeking.
Excellent point Rick. Many groups are already following their own standards anyway, so they possess the dicipline needed to follow a field wide standard and can still do as the please for their own personal reasons if they choose.
Unfortunately you are also correct about the meal ticket. Now some would take offense to that but I don’t mean those who are up front about what they do. I don’t mean the authors, site owners, or even the guys on TV, etc. Just those who are taking advantage of the naiveté of others to make a buck.
Funny that you should bring this up Kim. This is something that has been bandied about by some of the founding members of this site, even back in the days before this site when we were over on GhostDose.
I, and others, are currently working on some special projects associated with standardizing the paranormal. It is a very exciting time for those of us who want to bring paranormal research and investigation into the mainstream. I know it will be a long road, but through patience and perseverance I think it is a goal that can be accomplished.
Great blog!!!
Sorry Kim I should have clarified that, of course I don’t mean the authors, and TV producers etc. I mean those people who follow the old model set up by the fake mediums of the 19th century I don’t want to name names and get my ass sued off (I ain’t got shit anyways) but those people who make false claims about little boys who they say died and they turn up living just a few blocks away alive and healthy. Or the jerkoffs who claim to have supernatural abilities and exploit children who possess legite abilities on a nationally syndicated television show for their own personal gain. Maybe we should collaborate and see if others would like to join and set up some kind of council that oversees the activities of such people and make some F-ing noise.
Thanks Chad. From reactions of people on other sites and blogs I was beginning to think I was alone in my thinking it was a positive thing.
I understand where you are coming from Rick. I am not convinced going after these people is the right course at this time. However, putting them to the test causing them to reveal themselves might be a course of action if approached correctly.
I do however agree 100% on distancing myself from those who are still relying on and promoting as fact, 19th century ideologies and methods. I guess they feel it is a safe route to take since the ideas have been around so long and accepted. Time to not only think outside the box but time to get out of the box altogether in my opinion. Not to forget where we started but to focus more on where we want to go.
Now that is not to say that I am on board with all the weird ideas & gadgetry out there but I have to give credit for the thought and attempt to progress. Oh, I mean by those who are serious not the ones that are trying to make a buck on something they invented for that purpose. Well, that’s another blog I guess.
This is, as you mentioned,a tense and tired subject…not tired as in it’s been done and should be dismissed, but tired in that I’ve seen so many efforts to do so fail and devolve into the usual infighting and ego tripping.
Given this, I think such a standardization cannot be a large, loud movement with banners and mission statements and t-shirts sold on CafePress.com One of the comment responses mentioned how many groups are already doing this and I think that is the key. Instead of making a big gesture and saying, “HEY, we’re going to standardize the field!” maybe we have to just silently agree to do things a certain way. It starts with one. Then one becomes two…and then four…and so on and so on. Perhaps the way to do this is to just do it and let others see it working and have them want to come on board because of that. Leading by example, so to speak. I say this as neutrally as I can, but when I hear people tell me they’re going to a client’s house for a “reveal”…I know exactly where that term came from…and those groups use it because they are following an example, not being told that’s what it’s called.
In summary, I am in total agreement with the sentiments of this article, and having taken courses at Flamel College myself, the things I do in this field are not for the purposes of building fame, but enhancing my knowledge. They might be doing things for the wrong reason, but I’m going to take what I learned and try and make it a positive thing. That being said, my group and I have been developing a small, modest project for a while now. It’s a DVD of procedures. We show HOW we do things and explain why we do it, each step of the way. We talk about the use of equipment, we talk about the inclusion of psychics and essentially it’s just a glimpse at what we do. It’s not done yet, but when it is, we plan on giving it away free to anyone who wants it – give it out at shows, conventions, etc. That way, people can watch it and take away from it the bits they feel are good and use it in their groups. Hell, they can even throw the DVD out and say it’s crap, but who knows…some of it might catch on. That has been our idea of “leading by example”. We know not everyone will want to follow, but we’re not going to stop trying either.
Lastly, I think those of like minds should collaborate on such things. Ideas?
Most of this has already been solved. At least as far as a set of standards go. It’s seen everyday in science. To have a body try to choose what pseudoscience methods are preferred over another is pointless. Pseudoscience has nothing to show for it’s record of accomplishment, science does.
As for getting people on board, there’s only one way I see that happening. If a group using scientific methods showed there was something to the paranormal then I’m willing to bet that other groups would be quick to follow. The problem here is if there is nothing to the paranormal then there will never be scientific evidence to show to the paranormal community. That’s why pseudoscience is so alluring to them. They feel good that they’re finding something, even though that something equates to nothing.
Exactly Dreamsinger. Standards & definitions are already set as far as investigation and scientific study.
The definition to be considered an investigation.
Investigating is the process of inquiring into a matter through research, follow-up, study, and formal procedure of discovery.
The definition to be termed scientific.
A method of inquiry must be based on gathering observable and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning. Also a scientific method consists of the collection of data through observation and experimentation and the formulation and testing of hypotheses.
Long drawn out process? Yes but what you end up with are answers. Maybe not the answers we all want however and is probably why most don’t go through the trouble.
if anything paranormal research is more of a social science than physics or chemistry. With paranormal research we are delving into the core beliefs of various cultures that existed for thousands of years. Man has always looked up to the sky and wondered if we are alone or if we share the heavens with other beings. And of course we look not only without but within to see whether or not we are just more than bags of meat and bone. I oftentimes wonder if the paranormal question can be solved with the scientific method, probably not only because you can’t take a ghost out of a home and put it in a lab and make it perform like a circus chimp. Besides hardcore skeptics will never believe anything that deals with the paranormal, I oftentimes say that if a UFO landed on the front lawn of the White House and the ghost of bigfoot came out skeptics would say, “Well, where’s the zipper” Is paranormal research a lost cause and should be abandoned? No, it enriches our own lives and answers so many questions. You can’t force others to see your worldview.
Paranormal research encompasses both psychological and physics. I’ve personally seen how belief can make a person see an event far different from what it was and actually make it fit a paranormal story. There’s also pattern recognition, both audio and visual, that makes us think something mundane is more that what it actually is. But there’s also things that investigators misperceive for something other than it is because they allow their beliefs to steer their perception. Many EVPs are of this nature. Not only do those who listen to them fall victim of pattern recognition (it sounds like ….. to me) but they also fail to understand the physics involved when it comes to electronics and magnetic radiation; mostly RF.
The argument about hardcore skeptics doesn’t hold water. While there will be non-believers who would not believe that a UFO landed on the front lawn as you describe, and there was good evidence of such an event, a true skeptic would side with the evidence. People such as James Randi are not skeptics. They are non-believers and fall into the same category as those on the other side of the spectrum that will not accept facts presented, such as those who still believe that Gibbon’s Statuette is a paranormal event.
In either case, those are the ones who will never find anything because they’ve lost objectivity. That’s why I never look to those people for answers unless they can back up what they are saying with reasonable facts and argument. Red herring arguments that both sides use in this case are pointless, as neither proves anything or advances knowledge.
thank you for the correction dream, I was just trying to be funny.
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wow kinda sounds like a union of sorts instructing one how to perform, but a question is who would set the SOP if you will?
I have a preference not to dress up like a midnight commando with my team and siege someones home.
Some like K2s I like a compass.
Some like to set up lazer grids, I occasionally like to spread flour that I had learned from my grandmother.
Some things work for me that may not work for others.
I have told jokes before and have gotten results, others have chastized me for doing so.
I don’t provoke but that is my choice, I don’t tell others how to do there business.
I don’t believe that people exploit hauntings to seek profit, others make a living from it.
In theory this field is not considered a field at all by most. Had it not been for a certain show with plumbers in it, you (any reader) may not even be here at this time. Do we follow those guys? or do we go by one of the other organizations that have been around for 100 years?
I do think however that if this paranormal investigation field should grow then maybe if not get on the same page at least connect with each other and discuss theories, findings and so forth.
I think through such maybe someday we will get on the same page adopting an SOP by knowing what really works and what doesn’t and not just someones preference.
Myself I do not see the reason why the states or federal government does not make up a course criteria for standardization. It would pay them to do so. Both fractions of government would be bringing in money from testing alone for the certificates and or licenses issued after course completion.
I agree with you as well. There are too many groups and individuals who are so busy trying to promote themselves as the greatest ghost hunters with 50 years of experience and all of the answers. I know, I used to belong to a group like that until I finally became so frustrated and disappointed with their actions of self promotion that I finally left and continued on with my own little group.
The fact of the matter is, as a paranormal investigator, I don’t even know what a ghost really is. And I certainly don’t know where the photos, videos and EVP recordings that we obtain at an investigation come from. Is it another dimension, or a parallel universe or something that modern science isn’t even aware of yet? Hopefully (but I doubt it) that answer will come in my lifetime. Due to my career in Engineering, I tend to look at this from a different perspective than most. I search for answers, which only produces more questions. That’s called scientific research, not walking around some location with IR cameras and digital recorders. If we ever are able to get past our own ego’s and find some answers to what exactly it is that we are recording, it will take the actions of the scientific community. And that won’t happen until we that call ourselves paranormal investigators clean up our act and start working towards that goal instead of our personal ones.
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