There are some days where you think of a topic that has irritated you for some time and one day it just has to be brought to the light of day.
By Scott Haire
Today sitting at my laptop it’s happened my friends. This is a subject not new to this field as many of my colleges and I have ranted about it on many occasions asking ourselves if the practice is morally right or wrong. The topic of my little rant, my friend’s, is the practice of charging for services rendered in a paranormal investigation.
One day I learned of a paranormal organization, whose name I will not divulge because I don’t want to give them the satisfaction of hits on their website, who are charging $1800 US Dollars or more for their services.
They are claiming that they can eliminate the presence of the paranormal completely from a location. I then saw that they DO NOT come out to the location to see if any paranormal activity is present initially. Apparently they have a psychic who will perform a distance reading of the location for a small fee of something like $500 US Dollars.
Now I am like any red blooded person out there who looks for a way to make a little extra coin and I’m not against that what so ever, but I look at this example and think about it and I must admit the little man in my head says, “ARE YOU #@&%^$ KIDDING ME!!!!!!!”
Now there are certain groups out there that I have talked to who have said that if a location they are requested to investigate is a great distance from their hometown, they may ask the client for something for travel expenses, that mainly being gas mileage. I don’t have a problem with that kind of reimbursement. When I think about it, I have had clients who feel the obligation to reimburse us something for our time and effort in a case. Clients have helped my staff in many ways from keeping us fed and caffeinated to, in some cases, donating items to help us further our research in this field. But in my opinion, there has to come a point where a line must be drawn in the sand, and I do believe that on this issue this is where the line has to be drawn.
We as researchers and investigators come across many weird things the longer we are in this field. We have many personal experiences that amaze us. We catch audio and video footage that can make the hair on the back of our necks stand straight on end. There are many examples we can show people and much we are able to say about the topic, but one thing in the whole process we cannot do, at least to this point in paranormal research, is prove without doubt the existence of the paranormal scientifically.
Skeptics, who I believe have their role in the paranormal as they keep us honest, can take anything we present and raise doubt to its authenticity; whatever we do and however we present it. And what’s the reason for this you say? It’s this, whatever we discover and present to people does not have the measure of the scientific method in proving its weight. I’m sorry if I make people angry by stating that, but it is true. Don’t get me wrong, I am a strong believer in the paranormal and the explainable, but I believe in order to be a good investigator you need to be a healthy skeptic as well when encountering something on the paranormal trail.
So with that said, we go back to the individuals I talked about at the beginning (and the many like them) and we ask them this question. How do you charge fees and state you can eliminate something when, as of this day, no one person can prove without a doubt it exists?
I’m not out to attack any one group’s ideas or their process but charging high fees is something most people in the field I know say sounds like a way to scam money out of scared individuals desperate for answers that no one else has been able to present to them. As investigators, we have a moral and ethical responsibility when investigating to be honest in the information we provide, and that can include even the information we don’t really agree with as well. In giving a client every idea and option we have it gives them a very important thing that they desperately are looking for, understanding and peace of mind.
My opinion to anyone out there who may be interested in having a paranormal group investigate a location, private or public, is stay away from sites and groups who state that there is a charge for their services. There are many very good organizations and investigators out there whose services are free and will go to world’s end to make sure you fully understand what is going on in the environment around you. If you want to donate something we always appreciate it, but they never look for something in return for what they do.
If they are making guarantee’s to you to get rid of the activity, be skeptical of this statement. I’m not saying that there are not certain things some individuals in the field can do to attempt to smother the activity, but there is nothing out there that is fool-proof. As I said before, if we can’t fully understand something that some say doesn’t exist, how is it some can make guarantee’s that they can eliminate it.
I hope in the process of writing this I didn’t turn anybody off from asking a paranormal team for help. There are many good genuine people out there that are not just for fame and money, but to help answer the same questions for themselves that you have when you ask for their help.
Unfortunately with the good there always comes the bad, and they hope that there is a way to take advantage of a situation and the weak. As with everything, with some research and asking questions, you can be sure your encounters with the dead and the living who look for them is a good one for all.
About the Author:
Scott Haire is the Director of the Central Connecticut Paranormal Society (CCPS) in Connecticut. He is the owner of Haire Raiser Radio at www.haireraiserradio.com and is a Contributor of the radio show Earth Saturday nights 10 PM to Midnight Eastern. You can listen to him live at www.earthradionetwork.com.
