Fwd: How Britain became a nation of ghost hunters

[Wings Like a Dove]

          http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/oct/30/ghost-hunters-halloween

How Britain became a nation of ghost hunters

Ghost-hunting events are on the increase, and not just at Halloween. Rachel Dixon asks why we became so interested in the paranormal - and whether we're wasting our money

• 
  
• Rachel Dixon
• guardian.co.uk, Friday 30 October 2009 11.00 GMT

Oxford Castle, the spooky setting for the ghost hunt. Photograph: PR

Midnight on Friday. Thirty people are crouching in a dark castle crypt, silently waiting for … what? A ghostly apparition, or an otherworldly sound - a communication, in short, from beyond the grave. Suddenly, a woman screams. "Something just hit me on the head!" The tension broken, everyone starts talking at once and turning on their torches.

We are on a ghost-hunting event at Oxford Castle, one of a growing number of paranormal-themed experiences springing up around the country. Fright Nights, the company behind the evening, organises ghost hunts at 170 locations in the UK, scaring - or trying to scare - 1,000 customers a month. While it claims to be the "undisputed number one ghost hunting company in the UK", it has certainly spawned a lot of imitators - Haunted Happenings, Dead Haunted, Let's Be Spooked - all making a living from our desire to be frightened.

Martin Jeffrey founded Fright Nights 10 years ago. At the time, there were no public ghost hunts in Britain, but interest in the paranormal had been piqued by TV programmes such as The X-Files. Jeffrey, who carried out his first investigation into the supernatural when he was 14 years old, began by taking groups of friends on informal ghost hunts. A business idea was born, and Fright Nights now employs around 40 full- and part-time members of staff and has a turnover of more than £500,000.

Ghost hunts, as you'd expect, take place in old buildings that are thought to be haunted. Members of the public are guided by a medium or 'parapsychologist' through vigils and seances, 'glass divination' and gadget-checking. Some companies place the emphasis on fun and frights, while others pride themselves on a more scientific approach. The event I attended was aimed at sceptics, so the opening remarks from medium Ian Doherty were a little surprising: "I'm like the little boy in the Sixth Sense: I see dead people."

And indeed he did. Dozens of ghosts paraded before Doherty throughout the night, all described by him in impeccably accurate historical detail. Unfortunately, none were seen by the rest of the group, though some valiantly reported feeling "a bit cold" from time to time. The fact that we were spending the night in a draughty 11th century castle may or may not be connected with this strange phenomenon … To be fair to Doherty, he was certainly entertaining.

 Nothing to be scared of?

Ghost-hunting participants vary enormously, from devotees of the paranormal to hen parties looking for something different. On my visit, several sceptical-looking groups clearly found it nothing more than a bit of a laugh (I overheard one woman's no-nonsense description of Doherty: "Full of shit!"). Others took it deadly seriously. Tony, the 'believer' of the group, plied the experts with questions and took their answers about 'spirit energy' and 'alpha waves' at face value. In return, he regaled them with tales of spooky experiences of his own - and his friends, and even a relative's cat.

An analysis of Fright Nights' customers found that they are "a complete cross-section of society", says Jeffrey. They vary in age from 18 to 85; they have different religious beliefs; some come in couples, some in groups. But many of them have one thing in common: gender. Seventy per cent of ghost hunters are women. "Maybe men are more sceptical?" posits Jeffrey tentatively.

Ghost hunting has become a popular pastime. According to Dr Ciaran O'Keeffe, a parapsychologist from Living TV's Most Haunted programme, there were 150 amateur ghost groups in Britain in 1999. Now there are 2,500 and counting. Ghostly experiences can be purchased as gifts online, and sales of "ghost-detecting equipment" are soaring.

The recession has done little to dampen the public's enthusiasm for the supernatural. (And ghosts, presumably, are unaffected by the credit crunch, having no fears of eviction.) Since the end of July, Fright Nights' bookings have been up 20% on the same period last year, previously the busiest year ever. Interestingly, August is the busiest time, not Halloween.

What has caused this surge in popularity? Television is credited with bringing the paranormal into the mainstream, from America's Ghost Hunters to Britain's Most Haunted. On the latter, spooky experiences happen to 'ordinary' people, from cameramen and makeup artists to members of the public. This, says O'Keeffe, "has made an interest in the supernatural more socially acceptable."

The success of Most Haunted, which is currently on its 13th series, seemed to be a major trigger for the setting up of new ghost-hunting companies. Jeffrey complained about the "sense of commercialism" that informs the later additions to the paranormal marketplace. "People with no previous experience have started companies", he says.

His own company can hardly be said to lack commercial instinct. The night at Oxford castle, which ran until 5am but included no food other than biscuits, cost £75 a head. Jeffrey defended his prices - this was a premium event - and argued that Fright Nights deliver a good value and "fulfilling" experience. "Even if there's no recognisable paranormal activity," he added.

There's clearly a difference between watching a spooky television show and wanting to spend the night in a haunted house. What drives this desire to experience fear? Psychologists refer to this contradictory impulse as the "paradox of horror" - seeking out that which should be unpleasant.

One theory that attempts to explain this paradox is that horror provides a relatively safe thrill, akin to bungee jumping or riding a rollercoaster. Jeffrey describes ghost hunting as "the new extreme sport". The fear is largely simulated and safe, and therefore enjoyable. In Oxford, people were positively determined to have a frightening experience. "My fingers are a bit tingly", said one woman, more in hope than certainty. "My arms are heavy", said another, prompting much excitement and jostling to stand in her spot.

 Woman in white. Photograph: Maria Pavlova

Another theory is that people are looking for answers to existential questions, and are willing to take risks in order to find them. They want tangible proof of life after death. O'Keeffe agrees. "Ghost hunting is the new religion", he asserts, tongue only slightly in cheek. (Ghost-hunting experts secondary mission seems to be to appear in Private Eye's Neophiliacs column.) During our 'glass divination' session, when we tried to contact the spirit world via a beaker and six fingers, some participants were practically begging the unseen spirits to make contact. The glass didn't move for me, but the hectoring tone of medium Mandy Taylor may have put the ghosts' backs up: "Spirit! Can you move the glass, please! Move the glass please, spirit!"

Jeffrey points out that people look for evidence of the supernatural in times of loss and grief. "One of our busiest weeks ever was after 9/11. It was incredibly sad and disturbing," he said. He advises those suffering trauma to seek proper counselling, not a medium.

It might be assumed that ghost hunting is an American import, as Halloween is such a big celebration in the States. Certainly it has taken off there too, but Jeffrey believes there is something peculiarly British about this strange pursuit. "It has always been in the British psyche", he said. "We have the greatest ghost story writers in the world - including Charles Dickens."

Indeed, Charles Dickens was a member of the Ghost Club, which is thought to be the oldest paranormal research organisation in the world. Ghost hunting is nothing new, then, but it is only in recent years that it has become easy for the average amateur to pursue it. Gadgets and other merchandise have become affordable, and websites and forums allow people to share their discoveries. Professor Chris French, co-editor of The Skeptic magazine, which takes a sceptical look at claims of the paranormal, says the demand has always been there. "In the past, we had ghost stories around the campfire," he says. "Now, people can actually get involved."

If it is a simple case of supply and demand, is there anything wrong with charging up to £100 for a ghost hunt, as some companies do, even if there is little chance of witnessing any supernatural activity? (In 20 years of investigations, O'Keeffe has only witnessed two incidents that he was unable to explain; French has not witnessed any.) Ghost hunts, frankly, can be rather boring - we sat around drinking coffee and waiting for something to happen for much of the time. Worse, though, are the groups that deliberately fake paranormal activity. "Some ghost-hunting groups - not all - are deliberate con artists who are just ripping people off for their own benefit," says French. "A lot of people are being ripped off."

O'Keeffe agrees. "The huge majority of ghost groups are operating unethically," he says.

EU regulations that came into force in May last year have tightened up the rules in this area. The emphasis is now on the medium to prove they did not mislead the customer, rather than the customer having to prove the medium was fraudulent. Jeffrey welcomes the change in the law. "There has been a huge increase in fraudulent mediums [in recent years]. It saddens me. It's the biggest lie you can tell." Fraudulent mediums must be exposed, he says.

• guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009

Is Ghost Investigation Dangerous? – One man’s story 

October 26, 2008 by drywind 

http://drywind.net/blog/ghosts/is-ghost-investigation-dangerous-one-m... 

The following account is not secondhand or in any way fictionalized. 

 This is a personal account of my own experiences. 

A group of people enters a old building, armed with all sorts of 

 electronic equipment and digital cameras. They come from all walks of 

 life, a college student, a grandmother, an engineer, but they all 

 share in common one purpose: to discover evidence of ghosts and 

 therefore a paranormal world. This activity takes them out of the 

 mundane, depressing ordinary world of the physical existence. 

 This scene is played out hundreds of times each night across the 

 western world with the newfound “hobby” of ghost hunting or paranormal 

 research. The popularity of this activity has been heightened by such 

 high quality radio programs as Coast to Coast a.m. and television 

 programs as “The Ghost Hunters.” 

 This pursuit used to be one I participated in with great zeal.. Armed 

 with the latest Digital Video camera and audio recorder, I would 

 cruise locations ranging from historical graveyards to modern-day 

 office buildings in search of evidence of a life beyond our physical 

 existence. I most certainly did come away with evidence. 

 The interesting thing was the more I searched the more I found. At 

 first this phenomena would only occur at the locations I was visiting. 

 However, the phenomena began to follow me home. At first, there were 

 strange movements I would see the corner of my eye. The phenomena 

 began to elevate and until not only I was experiencing these things, 

 but other people were experiencing them as well. 

The problem was these experiences were no longer fun. Shadow people, 

 semitransparent dark blurry forms of human like shapes, would be seen 

 regularly running down my hallway towards my bedroom. Family members 

 began to have bizarre dreams and incredibly vivid nightmares. If these 

 manifestations were only happening to me, I could’ve passed it off as 

 vivid imagination. When precious family members began to be negatively 

 affected I realized the seriousness of the situation. 

 The height of this activity reached the pinnacle shortly after there 

 was an unusual murder in the otherwise quiet suburban neighborhood in 

 the third most safe city in America according to the FBI. We also 

 began to have UFO sightings, and incredibly bizarre buzzing or 

 whirring sounds flying over our neighborhood. My son while walking on 

 a trail near our house, saw an upright red-cloaked creature with 

 animal-like legs as clear as day. 

 Several teenagers in our neighborhood had been experimenting with 

 occultic conjuring on a hill above our neighborhood. Occultic symbols 

 that I was familiar with due to my research, began to be painted like 

 graffiti on one of the high-voltage transmission line towers. A 

 feeling of dread enveloped the area. 

 The only thing I did know was that I and my family were oppressed by 

 some very dark forces. The spiritual world was very real to me. All of 

 the “happy thoughts” and New Age appeals to the “protecting light” had 

 no effect on this activity. I cannot tell you how terrible and 

 dreadful some of these experiences were. 

 In desperation, I appealed to the son of God, Yeshua, known in the 

 Western world as Jesus. After I gave my life to Yeshua, the oppressive 

 activity stopped. Activity continued, and to some degree continues 

 today, for the others in the neighborhood. However, for me and my 

 family, we are at peace. While it may sound corny or hokey to you, I 

 know for certain that when I pled the blood of Jesus and asked for the 

 forgiveness of my sins, this unleashed a far greater restraining power 

 over these dimensional experiences. 

 I can’t say for certain that all the activity we experienced was 

 caused by my paranormal research. Clearly there are those in the 

 neighborhood who were practicing Occultic worship and perhaps even 

 overt Satanism. However, I do know one thing for certain. If you seek 

 communication with the spirit world you can very well open the door to 

 negative entities that masquerade as dead humans. Ghost research is 

 very much like a Ouija board; it is a vehicle of communication. 

Ghost researchers often see the danger in séances and Ouija boards. 

 However, the very act of this hobby-research is reaching out in hopes 

 of communication with this spirit world. When you run a digital 

 recorder in hopes of Electronic Voice Phenomena, you are inviting an 

 entity to talk to you. In my opinion, opening up yourself to the 

 spirit world in this manner is akin to putting a fresh steak in the 

 middle of the jungle full of hungry, cunning and deceptive tigers. 

 Lots of ghost research websites promise protection via happy thoughts 

 and mysticism. For example: 

The first most important thing to do is to envision oneself in a 

 “Christ like” white lights, . . . Also remember that it is important 

 that you believe that God and his angels will protect you because this 

 protection is only as powerful as you believe in your heart it to be. 

 - http://www.angelfire.com/scifi/deliverances/dangers.htm 

 Instead of saying strictly Christian based prayers, we gave her 

 prayers of protection based on Michael the Archangel 

 - http://ezinearticles.com/?Does-Religion-Play-A-Part-In-Ghost-Research... 

In my experience, “visualizing” yourself being surrounded by imaginary 

 light is not going to cut it in protection. Despite what you may hear, 

 human beings cannot use mental power against multidimensional entities 

 of incredible potency and cunning, anymore than you can use mental, 

 positive thoughts against an oncoming locomotive. The spiritual world 

 is very real and can manipulate our physical world. As for the 

 conjuring of Angels, the Bible is very clear that good Angels do not 

 respond to prayer and worship; it is the fallen angels who seek 

 worship. 

 Ghost research for the sake of science is one thing, but most people 

 are not doing it for science; they are hoping for experience. So if 

 you’re so inclined to want to experience the spiritual world, I would 

 invite you to seek God through Yeshua. I know that He makes the 

 spiritual world for me very real now in a very positive way. I don’t 

 need to creep into darkened buildings to know that there is a world 

 beyond my physical reality. Now instead of dark oppression, I have 

 daily amazing things happen to me that could not be coincidence, and 

 are very positive. I still maintain a research into this world that 

 most people don’t believe in. However, now I am not on my own, but 

 relying on God in his infinite word for guidance. For me, all is 

 supernatural now. – DryWind 

Are you being bothered by fallen spirits,  alien entities or other 

 paranormal and related phenomena? Many troubled  contactees, 

 abductees and others now can get help. The following researchers and 

 their websites may be able to help you or provide councillors who can. 

       Joe Jordon       http://www.alienresistance.org/ce4.htm 

 and       alien Resistance HQ <alienresistanc...@gmail.com> 

       Click the following link to watch Joe Jordon's talk in Roswell 

 New Mexico July 2009 

     "UnHoly Communion: The Spiritual Nature Of Abduction Reports" 

     http://vimeo.com/5902168 

       Jim Wilhemsen         http://paapsi.org/         

Isa.8,    [ 19] And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?, 

1Tim.4

1. [1] Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;