I had taken a hiatus from my paranormal investigations between work, life, marriage, divorce, and kids, it's been keeping me plenty busy. Now that the dust has settled, I've found that I'm once again returning to my field of passion. This time though there doesn't seem to be anyone here.  This was once a thriving community of like minded people sharing ideas and stories, discussing theories, as well as how to change the field for the better. Yet upon my return to the community I've held so dear, there hasn't been any activity in almost a year (at the time of writing). I know that jump starting a cold forum is not an easy task, but I'm sure that we'll get to a new "hey-day" with all the like minded people again.

While I was away I did some thinking and refining of my techniques as a field investigator. One of the things that I noticed consistently was that there was no consistency between teams! This makes it almost impossible for verification of evidence as well as...

Audio recording technology has come a long way since I started out in 1996. My first recorder was a small radio sized recorder (sometimes called a shoebox recorder) that used regular cassette tapes. One tape could record 30 or 45 minutes per side with two sides, but the rule was to not record on both sides as “bleeding” of voices or noises could potentially occur. The tapes produced their own white noise in the form of a mild hiss along with any mechanical sounds of the recorder which were usually recorded unless a separate microphone was used and the recorder hidden.    One learned quickly how to lubricate the device to keep these noises to a minimum or buy an external microphone. Working a case would usually mean buying a handful of tapes, although I...

Late last year I presented “The Power of Belief in Paranormal Investigation” to an audience at the Northeast Ohio Paranormal Conference in Rootstown, Ohio. In this I discussed some of the belief systems that are in place and how we approach them (I’ll be discussing more of these topics later in future blog posts). One of the topics I touched on was the belief factor in the overall production of ghostly events. This was actually a last minute addition to my presentation, but was one that generated a lot of questions during and after the event.

I am currently writing a second part to my first book, “Handbook for the Amateur Paranormal Investigator or Ghost Hunter: How to Become a Successful Paranormal Group”, and have included a chapter on belief. It is not only a basic concept, but one that I feel a lot of veteran individuals and groups do not fully grasp or realize has a presence in...