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Conan Doyle left the Dorset home unsure if it was genuinely haunted or if the
haunting had been a hoax. Later the body of a child, approximately ten years old, was discovered buried in the
garden. Conan Doyle became convinced that he really had witnessed psychic phenomena that was caused by the spirit
of the dead child.
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"Eliminate the impossible and whatever remains,
however improbable, must be the truth."
-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
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This is actually one of my favorite quotes regarding the paranormal and paranormal
investigations, and it originates with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This quote is featured on all Ghost Vigil business
cards!
Harry Price
(1881 - 1948)
Perhaps the best-known British popular "ghost hunter" and investigator
of the supernatural is Harry Price. His most famous investigation was of Borley Rectory, a house which stood in
a small village in England. Price called Borley Rectory "the most haunted house in England," though nobody
has proven that there are really any ghosts there. Price died in 1948, after writing two books about Borley. Seven
years after his death, three other researchers produced a report on his Borley Rectory investigation. It contained
claims that Harry Price had actually faked much of the haunting himself. The psychic researchers tracked down a
reporter who claimed that one night at the rectory he witnessed pebbles flying through the air. He grabbed hold
of Harry Price only to find that his pockets were full of pebbles! Another researcher, for the American magazine
Life, criticized Price for publishing a photograph of a brick in midair as evidence of poltergeist activity. She
had been with him when the photograph was taken and both had clearly seen a builder demolishing a nearby wall,
throwing bricks around as he did so. Even without the flying pebbles and floating bricks, so many of the tales
have no natural explanation that it seems Borley Rectory deserved its title as one of the most haunted houses in
England.
And many defend Harry Price, and insist the claims of fraud on his part are not
true. But there is one thing we do know for sure. When you picture a modern paranormal investigator, loaded up
with equipment and gear, going into a reported haunted location looking for ghosts...you are picturing something
that Harry Price essentially pioneered and created. He wrote one of the first paranormal guidebooks for his volunteer
investigators at Borley Rectory, including a basic equipment list and recommended investigation techniques...some
of which we still use today. So as controvertial a figure as Harry Price is, he still deserves acknowledgement
for what he did for the field of paranormal field research.
Hans Holzer
Hans Holzer's interest in parapsychology started early in life-at age three! As
a nine year old in Vienna, Austria, he began writing poems and dramas on the subject of ghosts and performed experiments
in "raising the dead." Holzer went on to college and earned a Ph.D. Today Dr. Holzer is the author of
ninety-six books dealing mainly with ghosts and hauntings. He has taught parapsychology for eight years at the
New York Institute of Technology and lectures all over the world. Holzer also writes and produces television and
feature films, and is a regular guest on television and radio talk shows.
Ed and Lorraine Warren
Ed and Lorraine Warren investigated hauntings for over 40 years and claim to have
mountains of proof for the existence of ghosts. The New England Society for Psychic Research is a theological society
founded by Ed and Lorraine Warren in 1952. The Warrens investigated almost 10,000 hauntings and paranormal phenomena
in the United States and Europe over the last five decades. Ed and Lorraine Warren hunted ghosts - ghosts, apparitions,
demons, possessed people, places and things. They lived in Connecticut and were world renowned. Ed sadly passed
away on August 23, 2006.
Lorraine Warren can best be described as a clairvoyant. The definition of the
word clairvoyant actually means clear seeing. A clairvoyant sees things, sometime in "snapshot" type
form, and sometimes like viewing slow motion video. Sometimes people who are clairvoyant can see ghosts. The Warrens
were the nation's top psychic researchers for over 3 decades, and lectured extensively at colleges and universities
throughout the country. They were 2 of only a handful of investigators ever allowed into the famous "Amityville
Horror" home and have the only pictures ever taken inside the house. The Warrens have had 2 movies made of
their cases, one "The Haunted" from their book, and the other "The Demon Murder Case'' also from
their book "The Devil in Connecticut."
Maurice Schwalm
(1928 - 2001)
Maurice Schwalm was an innovative paranormal investigator based out of Kansas
City in the 1970's, 1980's, and 1990's. Its amazing how many investigations Mr. Schwalm organized and led in and
around the Kansas City Metro Area. He was a product of his time...and his investigation style involved seances,
psychics, and other techniques that were the norm at that time. But even with the use of psychics, Maurice attempted
to set up controlled experiments. In one experiment, he brought a group of psychics to a reportedly haunted location
and had them walk through the location taking notes. They were not allowed to talk or confer with each other.
Maurice then collected their notes and spent time comparing and compiling them, looking for instances where psychics
had written down similar information about the location.
Maurice wrote a wonderful book called MO-KAN Ghosts, a collection of stories,
investigation reports, and his experiences over his long career. Looking over all the locations that Maurice investigated,
you quickly gain an appreciation for not only his knowlege and experience, but also the large number of paranormally
active locations in the Kansas City area. After his death, Maurice was cremated and buried beneath St. Mary's
Church in downtown Kansas City. St. Mary's Church was not only Maurice's church...it was also a haunted location
he had investigated!
Loyd Auerbach
Loyd Auerbach is Director of the Office of Paranormal Investigations and author
of the classic paranormal book, ESP, Hauntings, and Poltergeists. For over twenty years, he has been investigating
cases of reported paranormal phenomena, and helping people understand what may (or may not) be going on in their
lives. In 1989, he founded the Office of Paranormal Investigations, a group for people to call when they believe
they are experiencing a psychic or paranormal situation or disturbance.
Loyd's recent book Hauntings and Poltergeists is an excellent book for beginning
to understand how paranormal activity works. Loyd supports the belief that most paranormal experiences are made
possible by an unexplained area or ability of our brains to perceive paranormal energy or forces. This unexplained
sense is called Psi. If Psi-Theory is correct, we do not see ghosts with our "physical" eyes, or hear
ghosts with our "physical" ears. Instead, we "perceive" ghosts with our Psi...and misinterpret
our experience as something we are seeing or hearing.
While Psi-Theory fits with many of our experiences while on paranormal investigations,
many people have trouble comprehending the theory and its implications. Learning what Psi-Theory means is an important
step in becoming a serious paranormal investigator, whether you end up agree with the theory or not.
Grant Wilson and Jason Hawes
Grant Wilson and Jason Hawes, plumbers by trade, manage The Atlantic Paranormal
Society (TAPS)...a group of intrepid souls who are far from the usual collection of bespectacled PhD's. They're
ordinary, everyday people. Office managers, factory workers, teachers and even psychic-hotline gurus — with an
interest in getting to the bottom of your otherworldly disturbances. Jason, Grant and their team of moonlighting
ghost hunters are our first and last defense against uninvited paranormal visitations. TAPS is featured on the
show Ghosthunters on the Sci-Fi Network...and have been for three seasons now.
The popularity of the show Ghosthunters has changed the field of paranormal investigations
drastically. Everyday people are getting into the act. The number of paranormal investigation groups has exploded
in the years since Ghosthunters first aired. Some celebrate the fact that more people are getting involved in
the field...and that the paranormal has become mainstream. But others point out that many of the new groups only
know what they know from watching the show.
If you love TAPS and you love the show Ghosthunters, then you have to know that
Jason and Grant would expect you to read books, study the paranormal, and prepare for your job as investigator
by doing more than just watching their show! Watching Ghosthunters does not make you a paranormal investigator...even
if it is their show that got you interested in the first place.
Ghost Vigil Investigations
Ghost Vigil Investigations and its members are not famous. We don't have a television
show. We have not published any books. And we don't claim to be particularly important in the world-wide paranormal
field. But we do help people in need, and that's what's important to us. Home-owners, business-owners, mothers,
fathers, grandmothers, and all manner of folks write us for help and advice regarding paranormal activity they
are encountering where they live or work. The photo above is of Jamie King and I at our birthday party this year.
Jamie is Ghost Vigil's Case Manager and I'm the group's Founder and Lead Analyst.
Ghost Vigil is a member of the TAPS Family, and handles cases in Kansas and Missouri
for The Atlantic Paranormal Society. I serve as the Co-Manager of the TAPS Family, and help to choose which groups
are admitted as TAPS Family groups. Ghost Vigil Investigations attempts to raise funds for historic sites in the
Kansas City area, by conducting ghost tours at the locations with a heavy emphasis on history, education, and a
realistic approach to the paranormal. And, through workshops and appearances throughout the region, we attempt
to raise awareness of credible methods of paranormal investigation. We have an amazing group of investigators...and
we're proud of what we do. Visit our main website to learn more about Ghost Vigil and all of its members.
Perhaps one day, you will be on this list of famous or important
ghosthunters! It takes time, study, and a willingness to have fun while learning...but you can do it!
| Mark Stinson |
| Founder of Ghost Vigil |
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