Who Ya Gonna Call?

The Association for the Study of Anomalous Phenomenon (ASSAP) announced at its 30th anniversary conference in September that it had become the Government approved Professional Body for Paranormal Investigators. It's aims and objectives in doing this remain obscure and many questions put to ASSAP still go largely unanswered.
ASSAP's announcement came as a shock to many - and several groups and individuals have expressed deep concerns about this move and the possible implications for us all who are involved in paranormal investigation. Will it become a route to regulation? Will we all have to surrender our EMF meters and join ASSAP?
In reply, ASSAP have simply said that only its own members will be affected but that goes against its own pre-announcement statements that their 'Big Announcement' will affect 90% of paranormal investigators!

Do we need a Professional Body?

Ghosts and Apparitions generally cannot be studied. The reality is that most people with an active interest in such spontaneous anomalies usually only ever encounter verbal or written reports or alleged images of such phenomena. Investigation is therefore in reality the study of second-hand and secondary sources of information. Such a situation frequently leaves room for a great deal of doubt in the minds of some as to whether that phenomena we call ghosts has ever been genuinely encountered and properly documented. Much of the claimed evidence being presented as factual is poorly understood or has little to do with the actual subject at all. Dowsing and the channelling of spirits by sensitive’s and mediums has become inexorably intertwined with modern gadgetry in the search for ‘proof’ of the existence of ghosts and the survival of death. The overuse of the depiction of such methods as providing ‘scientific proof’ of the claims of many amateur investigators adds to the state of confusion that currently exists.

Central to all strands of amateur ghost investigation is the notion that there is a series of phenomena that can be easily studied, simply by spending time in haunted locations. Virtually this entire premise of paranormal investigation assumes that there is intelligence behind these phenomena. The popular viewpoint amongst the subject’s greatest supporters is that the human spirit can survive death in some way and can return at will to locations frequented during their lifetime. A second, equally popular view has it that the environment can in some way record a traumatic event or memory into the fabric of its surroundings to be played back at some later time. Often these two notions may be mixed together and presented as definitive explanations by those who champion such ideas. There may be some logic and rational thought behind both of these concepts but there is also much disagreement and a current lack of any coherent study being undertaken to test such ideas.

The truth about ghosts and ghost investigations is that a central core of anomalous reports are continually being appropriated and hijacked by people with their own agendas, be they a believer or a sceptic. Whilst individual motivations may be well meaning, the results serve only to scatter the subject and cause disagreement. Evidence of ghosts and related paranormal activity is widely presented on the internet, published in magazines and books or shown on TV. The major casualty of all this ‘information’ is undisputed truth. Many interesting cases are now badly tainted by the poor standard and sensationalist nature of the evidence that is being presented by the investigators. The Sceptical voices often display a poor understanding of cases they dispute and readily dismiss those who continue to investigate claims of ghosts and apparitions as scientific heretics.

It is however true that the vast majority of paranormal case investigation is undertaken by amateurs and that the vast majority of investigators undergo rudimentary training at best. It may be easy to condemn the chaos and confusion of ideas that result from such methods but it is the inevitable outcome of the current popularity that ghost hunting enjoys. Here in the UK there are over 1,000 groups currently seeking to interact with ghosts; many of whose members rely for proof of their personal experience on the untested claims of some individuals with a self professed ability to communicate with, or to sense ghosts and spirits within a given location or the random bleeps and squawks of some magical meter. The members are rarely encouraged to seek explanations for their own and others experiences but instead the information they are given is in the form of indisputable fact, this is demonstrated by the many groups who claim to be seeking ‘Proof that the paranormal realm exists’ rather than seeking explanations as to why such experiences are reported. Lip service is paid to scepticism by the all too frequent inclusion of the word 'scientific' within the investigation report to describe the use of video cameras or some weird gadgetry, operating outside well outside of what its makers designed and intended it ever to do.

There are some more thorough investigations being undertaken, some of which are producing vital and challenging work. However, the continued sensationalist approach by the majority has left the subject of ghost hunting or as it used to be called - spontaneous case investigation; largely in an academic limbo. Well documented reports of ghost and apparition encounters are fascinating and more substantial that many of the sceptics would like to admit but many of those researchers employed in university parapsychology and anomalous psychology departments regard amateurs in amateur paranormal investigation groups almost as a kind of ‘Care In The Community’ branch of the study and really who can blame them given the current approach that most amateurs seem to be taking. Spontaneous case study is often seen as a sure route to career suicide for scientific and social scientific minds. Research undertaken in Psychology, Physics and Sociology has made a substantial contribution to the debate but has often failed to impress those involved in gathering field reports. In most cases those active in amateur paranormal groups simply don’t have access to or fail to understand the academic research, which is normally only to be found in obscure journals and written in a form that seems to be almost purposefully designed to exclude. In some cases, the investigators get the gist of new ideas and theories but there is little encouragement and support from the specialities. Instead of guidance and the provision of solid foundation upon which to develop their investigations; together with the realization of what they could be contributing, the amateurs are abandoned; free to interpret the ideas often in a novel or bizarre fashion, EVP research and the use of electromagnetic field (EMF) detectors are just two areas where the current trend is becoming increasingly disassociated with the original ideas and research that suggested their potential for usefulness in spontaneous case investigations.

The academics who do claim to study spontaneous phenomena seldom conduct field based research. Much academic work instead concerns itself trying to replicate such events and experiences within the laboratory and academics have often slammed the contributions of their amateur colleagues as primitive and inaccurate. Parapsychology is the general term coined that is used to include just about all academic investigation of ghosts, apparitions and other ostensibly spontaneous paranormal experiences. It is not however a science. Spontaneous case investigation really requires a multi-disciplinary approach involving experts from many fields of study if it is to ever succeed at all. The current trend within the academic mainstream of parapsychology instead leaves a vacuum that has been all to readily filled by pseudoscientific theorists and quasi-religious devotees driven along by the entertainment industry and scamsters eager to make a quick buck from an all too willing and often gullible public.

Despite these complications we have to keep one thing in mind, people continue to see and experience things we cannot yet begin to explain. Many of the people on the receiving end of such experiences did not ask for them and do not seek any publicity.
Ghost encounters may peak at times when ghosts are popular within the media but they never go away. Most, in fact many, cases can be easily explained but are kept alive by a mixture of faith and misinformation; but there is a large reservoir of cases where the evidence presents a serious challenge to established ideas.

Is there a future for Ghost Hunting and Ghost Hunters? To be honest it seems a bleak one at present. The very popularity of the subject is condemning it even further into the fringe world of entertainment and thrill seeking. With so many groups now active and so many people spending their leisure time in pursuit of ghosts and apparitions it has become increasingly difficult to find cases and locations that have not been trampled in the rush to enjoy a personal encounter with a ghost or spirit. Genuine cases have become lost and buried in a deluge of ghost hunters. Savvy venues have realised that they are sitting on a goldmine and now routinely charge extortionate amounts for a few hours access. No serious researcher begrudges paying a reasonable amount toward the costs of maintaining a location or paying for overnight staffing but does it really cost up to £1,000 to allow a few people to spend a night in an alleged haunted ruin with (if you're lucky) a packet of biscuits and cup of weak tea sometimes thrown in to sweeten the blow?

Cases which used to be frequently reported are now rarely received by serious and well established research bodies such as the SPR. The internet has become the primary contact media for many individuals looking for such help but it is more likely to turn up one of the majority of groups who seem more interested in personal thrill seeking than conducting a thorough investigation. Inevitably, the outcome will usually be unsatisfactory for the original witnesses and will often result in either poor evidence being presented as factual or more worryingly the exploitation of the case by the investigators happy to use the case for their own ends. The internet also abounds with video and photographic evidence produced to support the claims of these less than scrupulous investigators. Such footage and photography is freely shown without any regard for the privacy of the original witnesses. Many depict personal scenes of family life and all too often show young children without any apparent regard for client anonymity.

If spontaneous case investigation is to continue it needs to alter its approach radically. Ethical guidelines need to be adopted by all researchers and codes of conduct adhered to. It would be useless to try and impose such conditions upon the groups as too many hold tight to their entrenched beliefs and would resent the intrusion into their hobby and in some cases income. In the past there have been numerous attempts by groups and individuals to bring order to this chaotic situation and all have failed. ASSAP's announcement of Professional Body status is probably headed the same way. It seeks to regulate and govern the ungovernable. But something is needed to restore the credibility of those seeking to investigate and understand the claims and experiences of those who believe they see Ghosts. If regulation won't work on the disparate field of paranormal investigation what might?

Training and Education for the investigators would of course help, and there are several organisations who offer such services. However, many investigators fail to see the need for training, believing instead that they already have the expertise and capability; the internet and media frequently being the main (only) source of their knowledge base. Even sceptics display this rather view toward training - as one well known skeptical blogger recently wrote when discussing the correct way to measure Electromagnetic fields "Look it up on Google". How many I wonder would happily permit their house to be rewired or have their car's brakes serviced by someone who learned their skills primarily from Google and Wikipedia ?
Educating the public about what constitutes a good quality of investigation and by letting them know that they need to take control of the investigative process may in time change the situation. Instead of asking “Who Ya Gonna Call?” we need them to start asking “Who Ya Gonna Let Into Your Home?”

© Steve Parsons 2011
www.parascience.org.uk