02/02/2007 News: Supernatural Summit/WNY Paranormal
Supernatural Summit
The Official Newsletter of the Supernatural Summit Ghost Hunter's
Conference
And Western New York Paranormal, Inc.
Visit us on-line at http://www.SUPERNATURALSUMMIT.com
Vist us on-line at http://www.WNYPARANORMAL.com
02 February 2007 --- Welcome to the New Issue of the Newsletter!
More and more exciting things are being added to this year's Summit as
the weeks go by. Presently, one of the evening activities will bring a
little bit of class to our investigators with a paranormal art show
and wine tasting on Saturday evening from 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM. A local
gallery will be presenting original artwork used in the documentary "
"Searching for White Crows" by Michael Keefe. This is the story of the
Fox Sisters. And at this gallery showing visitors will have the unique
opportunity to hear about some of the research that went into this
documentary with how it helped to form this artwork.
Make your reservations now for the Supernatural Summit Ghost Hunter's
Conference. Before you know it April 13-15, 2007 will be here.
For those who like to wait until last minute, reserve your place now
because it will guarantee you a place in the evening activities should
you decide to join them. In addition to over 30 workshops on
paranormal science, theory and practice, there are open forums,
spirituality and psychic development workshops and more.
The after-conference events for the weekend include:
Friday Night: Table Tipping Experiment. Participate and record this
event of
paramount spirit communication.......7 PM - 9 PM $15 pp
Saturday Evening: Ghost Stories of the Genesee. A two hour
presentation of local
lore and legend with supporting evidence....7 PM - 9PM $15 pp
White Crow Gallery Showing...two hour presentation of local art
with a wine tasting.....7 PM - 9 PM $15pp
Ghost Hunt at an Undisclosed Location with PROVEN activity.
Maximum of 16 investigators.....9:30 PM - Midnight $30 pp
E-mail us at in...@supernaturalsummit.com to pre-register for evening
activities.
You can register at http://www.SUPERNATURALSUMMIT.com. Registration
may be done on-line or downloaded and sent by snail mail. Groups of 5
or more e-mail us for a special link that receives you a 15% discount!
You can download the registration forms from http://
www.supernaturalsummit.com/register.html
And it's not just the conference that we are talking about in this new
issue but also some other great articles from our members
Contents for this Issue:
* Supernatural Summit Ghost Hunter's Conference and Psychic Fair
* Ghost Hunting and Dead Presidents By Vince Wilson of Ghost tech
* Mirror, Mirror Who's Looking Back At Me By Dwayne Claud, Western New
York Paranormal
* A Night In An Asylum By Linda Zimmerman, Author
2007 SUPERNATURAL SUMMIT GHOST HUNTER'S CONFERENCE - REGISTER NOW!
Don't Miss out on the Supernatural Summit Ghost Hunter's Conference
and Psychic Fair!!
All the information you need to sign up can be found at
http://www.SUPERNATURALSUMMIT.com. Reservations are first being
offered to those working in the paranormal community. Beginning March
1, 2007 - tickets go on sale to the general public. You may also call
585-399-7765 for more information. Registration forms may be
downloaded at http://www.SUPERNATURALSUMMIT.com/register.html .
Payments are accepted in the form of check or money order, credit
card, paypal, or google check out.
About the conference: The 2007 Supernatural Summit Ghost Hunter's
Conference and Psychic Fair, hosted by Western New York Paranormal,
will be held during the weekend of April 13, 14, and 15 at the Holiday
Inn in Batavia New York. This annual event is one of the quickest
growing paranormal ghost conferences in the United States bringing the
experts in field research together to share their information with
you. This year's conference will again feature leaders in field
research presenting over 30 workshops, lectures and other surprises.
This event is specially tailored to let you pick your own area of
interest with two different choices each hour to choose from on a
variety of subjects. New this year, is a Friday night mixer and
orientation with the speakers followed by a special paranormal event
with special events also on Saturday evening.
Speakers for 2007 include: Conference Vince Wilson of Ghost Tech,
Derek Bartlett of CAIPRS, Christopher Bailey of Grimstone Paranormal,
Parapsychologist Mary Grace, Jeremy Hawthorne from ARC Paranormal, Joe
Cetrone and Michael Puccerll from R.I.D.D.I.A., Richard Kimmel of the
WW2 Paranormal Organization, Robin VanPelt of the United States Ghost
Chasers, Ralph Esposito of RE Paranormal, Jenni Oneski of East Coast
Paranormal, psychic Karyn Reece, and Dwayne Claud, Reverend Tim Shaw,
Steve Salatino, Sarah Higgins, and Rich Eider of Western New York
Paranormal. Ghostly Talk Radio will also be on-site with Scott and
Doug all weekend.
Booth Space is available to paranormal organizations to promote their
group for just $50.00. The space is 8' x 10' and includes a table,
linen and two chairs. In the past, many people have attended looking
for information on groups in the region to call for assistance or to
even join. For more information email in...@supernaturalsummit.com .
Space is limited.
VENDOR SPACES ARE STILL AVAILABLE...if you are a reader, sell paranormal
merchandise and are not simply presenting paranormal material like a
group would, 8x10 spaces are still available for $100 for the entire
weekend.
Registration for the 2007 Supernatural Summit Ghost hunter's
Conference:
Admission: $125 Per Person until February 28th (groups of 5 or more
save 15%)-- Includes Friday night mixer, Saturday and Sunday Workshops
with breakfast and lunch both days and admission to the trade show!
Discounts are available at The Holiday Inn in Batavia by mentioning
the Supernatural Summit. See More About the conference at http://
www.SUPERNATURALSUMMIT.com or register at http://
www.SUPERNATURALSUMMIT.com/register.html
GHOST HUNTING AND DEAD PRESIDENTS BY VINCE WILSON
Sony HandyCam with NightShot - $385 (Digital 8)
AC Tri-Field Meter - $139
Natural EM Tri-Field Meter - $229
TIF Digital Thermometer - $149
35 mm and Digital Cameras - $99+
Actually catching a ghost on film - Priceless!
The list above is composed of some of the most sought-after devices
used for "ghost hunting." This list uses the average price for each
item with a little leeway for shipping and taxes. Just five pieces of
equipment and you will be paying over one grand. Ka-ching!
Now, for the beginner ghost hunter there are alternative techniques
that are both inexpensive and worthwhile. A compass (a nice camping
compass for around $10) is a great alternative for an EMF meter. A
digital thermometer from Wal-Mart, although slow to react, will get
you through your investigation with very accurate readings. Finally,
as long as your flash is more than 2 inches away (or more) from the
lens of your cameras, you will be Okay! Spend wisely. A new ghost
hunter on the scene once asked me at a conference what types of
equipment I used on investigations and where did I get them from. I
gave him a list and a week later he bought over $400 worth of
equipment that he didn't even know how to use. I understand he still
calls a trifield meter a "tricorder." I may be the author of a book
called Ghost Tech, but even I know that fancy gadgets do not an expert
make. C'est la vie! I'd hate to think that his wife and kids had to
eat microwave dinners because Dad needed ghost-hunting gizmos so
quickly.
In case you haven't figured out yet, this article is about money.
Specifically raising money for your ghost hunting team. Equipment,
gasoline, and film -- it adds up. Where does all that money come from?
Usually -- you! Now what we're going to discuss is different ways to
raise money for your group honestly and legally. But first...
Giving Ghost Hunting A Bad Rap
In an article for Ghost Hunting 101 that I plan on writing very soon,
we will be talking about sharing information with other investigators
and teams. What good is having all that acquired data if you cannot
share it with other investigators? If we are going to solve the
mystery of what ghosts and hauntings are, then we need to have some
better standards. For example at the official Ghost Tech website
(www.ghosttech.net) you can download forms that will help you document
nearly all aspects of an investigation. Developed by the Maryland
Paranormal Investigators Coalition these forms are believed to be some
of the most comprehensive in the country. The best part is they're
free!
There is a group or two out there who are charging new investigators
for accessing data from their Web site. For a yearly fee you can
download their videos and pictures. How is the field of ghost hunting
going to move forward if there are people like that? Although it is
important to receive recognition for hard-earned research, it is never
acceptable to charge for data that should be available to the public
and peer scrutiny. Call me self-righteous if you'd like.
I did an article once for Ain't It Cool News (www.aintitcoolnews.com)
for the movie White Noise. It wasn't favorable. Regardless, the
moderator for the site was a little excited about getting an honest-to-
goodness ghost hunter to do the review. The sites message boards were
a little less "excited." Some of the comments were about how all
paranormal investigators were rip-off artists that preyed on troubled
people who thought they had ghosts in their houses. They sounded like
Walter Peck from Ghostbusters! Who can blame them though? There are
people out there like that. In California there is a group that
charges as much as $7500 to investigate your home. Scoundrels! That's
what they are. It is an honor to be invited into someone's home and to
charge to do investigation is deplorable. You can say that you will
accept a donation for gas and film development, but that's all. Most
of the time the homeowner will insist on feeding us or at least making
us coffee. Usually bad coffee, but it is the thought that counts. If
it were a long distance to travel though, it would be okay to ask for
lodging of some kind.
When we tried to create a local Baltimore group here in Maryland I
would talk to other, more experienced ghost hunters around the country
for advice. This is when I found out that Maryland had an appalling
reputation for serious research. Evidently there are groups that are
claiming to train investigators for a "price." They would have
investigations with up to fifty people then charge each person for
attendance! How can you control fifty investigators? All running
around at the same time with their EMF meters and digital cameras and
not a minute of good training. So much for real research!
Don't Burn Yourself!
Williamsburg, Virginia -- 2005. The Queen Mary -- 2005. Two examples
of ghost hunting conferences gone wrong -- Really wrong...
Have you ever been to a ghost conference before? Some are very good
and have been around (such as the American Ghost Society Conference in
Illinois) for a long time now. Some are new and have yet to prove
themselves, but have proven talent behind them (such as the Ghost
World Conference [www.ghostworldconference.com] in 2007 [Please excuse
the shameless self promotion]). On the other hand though, there are
conferences that are simply awful or simply not well planned. Let us
talk about the ones that are not well planned, shall we?
In 2005 a few colleagues and I were invited to a ghost conference in
Williamsburg, Virginia. Williamsburg is well known for its colonial
era hauntings and all involved were genuinely excited about going. So
the conference got closer and closer and closer. And the updates from
the conference planners became fewer and fewer and fewer. Then, just
three weeks before the date of the big Williamsburg Ghost Conference
we got an email. The planners were not very good planners as it turns
out and had driven themselves into bankruptcy. We would later find out
that these people had invested so much money into the conference that
they lost their house having not made enough money from projected
reservation sales. Many who have bought reservations still have not
gotten their money back. Yes... Ouch.
That same year a huge and exciting conference was planned on the
famously haunted RMS Queen Mary in California. They were going to have
hundreds of people attend, dozens of famous ghost hunters and special
events like investigations of the ship's more infamous ghost stories.
They planned on using money from a documentary of the ship's ghosts to
help pay for the conference. Their contract stipulated that they had
to rent the entire ship. Too bad the Queen Mary said they couldn't
film there. The proceeds might have saved them from going into debt
and having to cancel their conference.
In 2004 the Maryland Paranormal Investigators Coalition headed by
yours truly decided they would have their own conference in Baltimore.
We had some truly great speakers like Troy Taylor, Rosemary Ellen
Guiley and Mark Nesbitt among others. Only 75 out of a planned two
hundred-person conference bought reservations. I personally lost about
one thousand dollars that year. We thought we were doing it right. We
researched and planned and asked for advice from other conference
planners. Perhaps we should have listened. Most conference planners
said don't do it!
Since 2004 we have done two additional significantly more successful
conferences for the Maryland Paranormal Investigators Coalition. Each
one was called the Eastern Regional Paranormal Conference and each one
about doubled the previous year's attendance. Not all planners are so
lucky. Even if you have a great conference your first year doesn't
mean you will be so lucky the next year. We had other issues as well,
of course. We couldn't help but notice that we were so busy planning
conferences three months out of the year we were neglecting our duties
as paranormal investigators and subsequently creating a backlog of
investigations that needed to be done. Also the stress of the
conference caused all sorts of conflicts among our inner circle.
Suffice it to say, 2006 was the last of the Eastern Regional
Paranormal Conferences. Life goes on for us as we focus on our goals
to advance research into ghosts and hauntings.
In the past few years the country has become saturated with ghost
conferences. Just Google "ghost conference" and you'll see what I
mean. Are you willing to take the risk we did and those poor (now
literally!) souls from California and Williamsburg? You may find your
conference lost in a teeming sea of conferences or worse you my find
yourself in bankruptcy court. Author and ghost hunter Troy Taylor had
this to say about ghost conferences, "It's kind of like a Little
Rascals mentality. Remember the old 'Our Gang' serials? 'Let's put on
a show,' they'd say. That's what a lot of these groups are doing.
They're saying, 'let's put on show and everyone will come and spend
lots of money! It'll be easy!' Well, it's not east and you can get
yourself in a lot of trouble." Trust me fellow ghost hunters, there
are better, safer ways...
The Better, Safer Ways...
So the questions at hand is, "how do I raise money for my ghost
hunting group honestly and without putting my family out on the
street?" There are several ways actually.
Dues
This is the simplest, easiest way to earn money for your ghost hunting
gear, film development, and gas for the Mystery Machine. However,
careful consideration should be made as to how dues are collected and
how often. Your team should have regular, monthly meetings. These
meetings can take place in a home, park, library, restaurant, etc.
Your group, preferably, should have some kind of regular traditions
and/or practices. Reciting your team's mission statement at the
beginning of each monthly meeting creates a strong sense of purpose
and dedication amongst the team members. For example, the Maryland
Paranormal Investigators Coalition has the following mission
statement:
Our mission statement:
To provide leadership in Maryland through the application of
scientific research of the paranormal.
To provide education, assistance, and resources to new and existing
paranormal organizations, the public and the media.
To foster and create new paranormal organizations throughout
Maryland.
An independent Treasurer should be assigned who will make monthly
reports on the amount of funds in the team account. This person will
also be responsible for collecting the dues. As far as how much dues
are? This is up to the budgets of your average team member. I
recommend no more than $10 per member per month. Dues can also and
should also be collected on a per investigation basis. Try to
calculate how much it will cost for gasoline per vehicle (carpool if
possible!), how much film development will be, how much new audio
tapes will cost, etc. Then, at the end of the investigation collect
divided total from each investigator (Example: Film, gas, tapes = $30.
Six Investigators = $5 per person).
Fundraisers
This one is not so easy. If you already have a full-time job you're
probably not going to like this one. Fundraising requires real hard
work. You are pretty much limited to bake sales, car washes, candy bar
sales, etc. You will have to go to your co-workers to hock your
stuff.
"So... What are you selling the Christmas wrapping paper for? Your kid's
school? Band?"
"Uh... Actually it's for our ghost hunting team. Do you like peanut
brittle? It comes in a decorative can..."
The other negative of course is you usually have to sell a lot to get
a little.
Ghost Tours
The best ghost tours in Gettysburg are Mark Nesbitt's Ghosts of
Gettysburg based on his best selling award-winning Ghosts of
Gettysburg book series. Many of the most famous (or at least very well
known) ghost hunters in the country do ghost tours. There's Troy
Taylor in Illinois, Dale Kaczmarek and even myself from time-to-time.
Starting your own ghost tour has many advantages besides making money
from something that you enjoy doing.
There are many ghost tours out there that are not exactly accurate in
either history of ghost tales. In my own hometown of Baltimore there
is a ghost tour in Fells Point that is horribly inaccurate in its
telling of Edgar Allan Poe legend and lore. Know your history first
before planning your ghost tour! Years, names, and dates always
impress your customers. Look for the bloody, gory and grisly murder
stories too. They're always popular!
Only report eyewitness accounts of ghosts if you can. Documented cases
are even better. There is a famous B&B in Gettysburg that rhymes with
"barn's girth" that has many exaggerated stories associated with.
Exaggerated is a nice way of saying made up. People (especially ghost
hunters) will try to prove you wrong. Best to keep honest. For more
information on starting your own ghost walk/tour read Troy Taylor's
Ghost Hunter's Guidebook for a whole chapter on the subject.
Workshops
This is where we separate the kids from the adults. Well-planned
workshops can serve your group well in many ways besides earning
spending money. They can also help you find only the most dedicated
investigators to work with your team.
First of all, you want to make sure your core group is well on its way
to being established. I recommend that you don't try doing workshops
until you are at least a year old having done multiple investigations.
Also, it would be good if you are well read in the latest techniques
and perhaps have attended some other workshops or a well-established
conference.
Although they can be done practically anywhere, an indoor location is
best for your workshop. Scope out the your town for a place that is
willing to host a group of ghost hunters. The best possible place of
course is somewhere known to be haunted. Look at libraries, dance
halls, theatres, bookstores, and restaurants. Restaurants with private
rooms work well. Tell them that if they let you have your workshop
there for a few hours you will encourage your team of would-be
investigators to eat there as well.
Privacy is a factor to consider as well. If you are conducting mock
investigations and/or hosting a course on the proper use of EMF meters
snickering patrons who don't appreciate your line of work can be very
distracting.
Although establishing a regular place to have workshops is important,
sometimes a change of pace is nice too. Every once in awhile have your
workshop at a haunted fort or cemetery (with the permission of
management of course).
Once you have established a location you should try to have one on a
regular basis. At least once a month is perfect. It is essential to
establish regularity if you are going to have the public ascertain
your team as professional and reliable. Each month should focus on a
different aspect of ghost hunting. Topics can include "Ghost Hunting
Technology," "Spirit Photography How-to's," etc.
Now it's time to establish price. A well-run workshop should be no
more than $10. This is a fair amount to charge individuals. If the
location you are having the workshop has a mandatory entrance fee than
you can talk about upping the price.
A good way of getting better attendance would be to have local authors
and well known ghost hunters. I myself will gladly help out as long
you are within four hours of Baltimore and don't mind me bringing
along some copies of Ghost Tech and Ghost Science (hint, hint). At any
of the workshops I do in and around Baltimore (including Gettysburg,
Fredericksburg, Virginia, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, etc.) you may
see Rosemary Ellen Guiley, Mark Nesbitt or any number of popular
authors and ghost hunters in the Mid-Atlantic area.
Whatever combinations of fund raising you decide to, I really hope you
do it honestly. You will definitely get my respect for it.
If you have any other, honorable, ways to raise funds for ghost
hunting groups other than what I have mentioned in this article,
please tell me about it in an email. Write me at vi...@ghosttech.net.
MIRROR, MIRROR WHAT'S LOOKING BACK AT ME? BY DWAYNE CLAUD, WNY
PARANORMAL
As children we're fascinated with the light reflections that bright
shinny objects make and often entranced by our own reflections in
mirrors. Perhaps it's the excitement as children of seeing ourselves
for the first time, or perhaps the captivation of a doppelganger-like
figure mimicking our every movement. Mirrors have long been the object
of superstition, occult practices, and just plain idle curiosity. Is
this why then, after death so many spirits are attracted to mirrors?
And why we often capture a reflection looking back at us in the
photographs we take?
Cultures from around the world have similar traditions and beliefs
regarding mirrors. Many cultures believe that mirrors are more than
panes of glass with a silver backing but are also a spiritual trap or
portal. For centuries, caring for dead relatives at home was a
traditional part of family life. Bodies were washed, dressed and laid
out in a dining room or parlor by family. Visitors were then allowed
to drop by to spend time with the family and pay their last respects
to the deceased. Consequently, the deceased would remain in the house
for days.
After the death, all of the mirrors in the home would be covered. They
would remain covered in the home until the body was taken for burial.
It was believed that if the spirit of the deceased caught a glimpse of
themselves in a mirror, it would be trapped behind the mirror forever.
This brings to light the urban legend of "Bloody Mary." In the legend,
saying the name three times will invoke a spirit from behind a mirror
thus becoming not only a trap for a spirit but also a doorway portal
between the world of the living and a spiritual realm.
There are many beliefs about mirrors and the paranormal. In fact, too
many beliefs to address here, but it's important to remember the
beliefs that mirrors have in many cultures when conducting a
paranormal investigation. Be conscious when you take your pictures.
Look for places that you can have reflections. What you may find in
those areas will definitely surprise you.
"THERE was a ghoulish shock in store for Gazette cameraman John Myers
when he downloaded photographs taken during a ghost hunt at the
famously haunted Red Lion pub in Avebury. One of his photographs
taken of a mirror in the pub restaurant shows a gruesome reflection of
a bald, pale faced man streaked with blood. The photographer was
unable to explain how his digital Nikon camera had captured the
reflection when there was no-one even faintly resembling the man in
the building." It happens all over the world and is documented
everywhere.
When examining your next set of photographic evidence - don't be so
quick to dismiss what you see in reflections. Take a closer look, and
you may find the spook that's hiding from you.
A NIGHT IN AN ASYLUM BY LINDA ZIMMERMAN
On the afternoon of April 20, 2006, fellow Ghost Investigator Mike
Worden, his brother Scott, friend Marge and I packed his SUV full of
equipment and headed for Batavia, New York--through 300 miles of
rolling farmland, an occasional city and a whole lot of nothing. Our
destination was the former Genesee County Asylum, now owned and
operated by Jeff and Lori Carlson as a Country Mall. For almost two
centuries, the complex of buildings housed the poor, orphans, drunks,
TB patients, unwed mothers and the criminally insane--often in the
same rooms, or even sharing the same beds!
This place beheld untold misery, and over one thousand deaths had been
recorded within these walls. It certainly sounded like a prime
location for ghosts, but could we find any proof for the claims of
haunted activity?
First off, before you get all excited about "orbs" surrounding the
building, the air was thick with bugs and dust, so that is what is
being reflected by this flash picture I took just after we arrived.
Our first surprise was the sheer size of the place. It doesn't appear
very big from the outside, but the inside is a confusing maze of over
65,000 square feet of tunnels, hallways, rooms, ramps and endless
staircases. We dropped all of our gear at "base camp" (the cafe), and
were given an excellent tour of the building by Kirk, a member of the
Genesee County Ghost Hunting Society.
To use Lori and Kirk's own words, the season's ghost hunting had been
"dead" so far, but even as the tour was beginning strange sounds and
passing shadows promised a very active night. (This wasn't the first
time Mike and I had heard, "Things were very quiet until you got
here!" I guess we just have a knack for stirring up things.)
A lot transpired over the next several hours, which will all get their
proper treatment in my next ghost book, but I have to share one
amazing encounter. When we reached the east wing of the second floor,
we all felt an uncomfortable feeling. Marge didn't want any part of
that area and decided to sit out that part of the investigation back
at base camp. As Mike, Scott and I proceeded down the long corridor, I
commented that it felt like we were walking into a gunfight. The
atmosphere of confrontation was thick in the air.
What was also in the air were sounds, like banging and tapping, coming
from the far end in the solarium. However, when we reached the
solarium there was silence...but only for a moment. The sounds then
started up again behind us, where we had just been. Following the
sounds, we headed back down the corridor in the near-total darkness.
About halfway back, I was maybe 10 or 15 feet ahead of Mike and Scott
when I encountered what I can best describe as an extremely
threatening male presence--one that had a very nasty and old habit of
targeting women. In a move unprecedented in my ghost hunting career, I
suddenly felt the urgent need to get between Mike and Scott, that I
would be protected in the middle of their male energy. "Must be in the
middle," I repeated over and over in my head.
Saying nothing to the two men about what I was doing or why, just as I
stepped between them Mike came out with these remarkable words, "Have
you ever heard of Monkey in the Middle?" He went on to describe the
feeling that we were being manipulated into this position--the
position of being in the middle of some very hostile male energy.
Scott had been thinking the same thing.
I took a brief moment to voice my amazement at his choice of words,
told them what I had just experienced and then moved quickly to get
out of that wing. I have encountered many things that felt
threatening, but this was personal and specific. These entities hated
women, and I did not like the feeling.
Later when I mentioned to Lori that I had an unpleasant encounter in
that wing, she said that they believe that area contains the angry
spirits of two men who, "Hate women." Unfortunately, that wasn't news
to me!
The investigation went on into the wee hours, and then Mike actually
drove all the way home. I don't do sleep deprivation well and was
something of a zombie the next day. The day after that I came down
with a nasty upper respiratory illness I'm still fighting, so I
haven't been able to go through all the video and audio yet.
Even if there isn't any photographic evidence, we did record plenty of
inexplicable noises, and the confrontation in the east wing of the
second floor personally convinced me that at least some of the inmates
have not yet left the building. But why take my word for it when you
can spend the night in the asylum. Whether you have a ghost hunting
group or want to take part in a public event, you can experience the
mysteries of this place