Ok, I've been bad about keeping this blog updated but I'm gonna try to fix that. This is a great show. we had some Navajo natives come into the studio to talk about skinwalkers. A big deal because it is considered to be a taboo to discuss it with non-natives.
We had to conceal their identity but the hassle was worth it!

So we had our annual "Strip" roulette competition on Ecto Radio. While Wild Wendy is now the champion, there is abit a controversy surrounding Racer. According to several listeners, she did not completely strip when she lost her last article of clothing.

To that I have to emphasize that since the show was also a video podcast, we are not allowed to show certain bits of the human body. So the girls had to duck down below the broadcast table when they removed the last bit of clothing upstairs.

I was there and she did indeed remove the articles of clothing in question and promptly ran out of view of the camera.
Anyway, here is the episode.

...and this one was more difficult for me to do. The story I tell is one that I have not told before. It's been too personnel, too emotional and brings back many memories that, in some ways, I would rather forget. But it is done. I listed the reasons why I decided to do it in the podcast.
To date this is the only podcast that I had to "practice" beforehand. Considering everything, I think I did quite well, wasn't too emotional and was able to keep some focus to move everything along. When i have tried to talk about it in the past, I often get side-tracked and it ends up going off on a tangent.



or a direct link below;

http://www.ecto-radio.com/shows/show44.mp3

So…..

I’m cruising around Myspace when a bulletin catches my eye. I have no clue why, since normally I ignore these things but for some reason I choose to look at this one. So I read it and it razzed my ass a little. I have copied it below for your reading enjoyment.


QUOTING MESSAGE:

So many of us got into this field for the right reasons, to learn, to teach and to help. Does anyone know where a lot of us obtained the knowledge that we have today from? It was from people like Hans Holzer, Ed Warren and Jon Zaffis.

These people paved the way for all of us! A lot of us would not be doing what we do today if it wasn’t for what these individuals shared with us… Their knowledge!

In my opinion, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson and their show let the world know that there might be something to this paranormal stuff and they also paved the way for many of us and made or lives a little easier with the acceptance of this field and those of us that are in it.


But many of you need to realize that if it weren’t for Hans Holzer, Ed Warren and Jon Zaffis, there wouldn’t be a Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson or even me.

END MESSAGE

So I posted a reply.

“Put down the crack pipe and slowly back away. You may want to seriously consider what you are saying before you “feel the need” to enlighten all of us. Obviously you are a newbie, so instead of giving credit where it isn’t due, how about educating yourself on the history of paranormal research. Then perhaps you can understand why your statement is so moronic and shows the sad state of the 'Ghost Hunting community' today.”

A few minutes later, I receive a reply from a different person:

“So why do you refuse to give da props to ma hommzies. U suck.”

Well sit your Vanilla Ice ass down and I’ll tell you why. It’s called ASS-ociation through ASS-ociation. Who you hang with and who you give “props” to, tells a lot about you. So let’s move right along into that shall we?

Hans Holzer. I think a few excerpts from interviews of him should illustrate my point well (with my added commentary of course)

Merlian News: Can you give the amateurs a few hints on how not to get in trouble?


Hans: There are many well meaning young people who like to do ghost hunting, my advice is simple. Find yourself a good, proven, deep trance medium and work with them. Because all the apparatus that you bring to find cold spots and all this nonsense about electronic this and electronic that is a waste of time and lack of academic knowledge.

Hitman: Did I read that right? What a second…I have to re-read it.

…………………


…………………


…………………


…………………

Yep… that’s what I thought. Surely anyone with a functioning brain can see how screwed up that statement is.


Merlian News: What advice would you give a young person starting out in this field?


Hans: Some of the generally interested should go to school and work in philosophy; acquire a PhD in philosophy with a specialty in parapsychology. There are several universities teaching both in this country and abroad and they should also take some journalism. You need
the attitude of a good journalist, you got to show me, I want evidence, I want witnesses. In other words, not skepticism but cautious investigation.

Hitman: Hmmmm… philosophy and parapsychology. That’s it? Both utterly fucking worthless especially considering that all of your accredited colleges have killed their parapsychology programs due to researcher bias and the inability to replicate their findings. Of course skepticism is a bad thing too, isn’t it? Everything he mentions is anecdotal evidence which is worthless.

Merlian News: Are you still involved with the neo-pagan community?

Hans: Having written in the past three books, dealing with the pagan community, with witchcraft and other forms of paganism, because that’s what it is, yes. The religion is 2,000 years old or more and its still very much in evidence today. I have a book called Witches, Warlocks, and Wizards and it is a book that encompasses all the currently active covens or groups in the pagan movement. I myself have been initiated into the Wiccan/pagan religion three times. I am a High Priest. I am usually considered an elder statesman at the meetings. Nevertheless, I know this is a religion, and like any other religion it is a matter of the other person’s opinion and acceptance.

Hitman: Witchcraft is 2000 years old? Really? I know some neo-pagan forums that would have fun with that statement. Let’s see… what’s the term they use to describe people like this… “Fluff bunny” isn’t it?

GHOST! MAG: So, if that is the case, then, what are most ghost researchers seeing when they see orbs?

DR. HOLZER: I am not familiar with the term ‘orb’.

GHOST! MAG: Some people have called them ghost lights or spirit globes.

DR. HOLZER: Ahh.. those personalities who are free spirits, who are not ghosts, can appear as globes of energy before they can manipulate that globe into the person that they were, to manifest as a full apparition. They must learn how to do this, you understand. They have to be taught how to communicate using Mediums.

Hitman: OMFG!!!………………………...now I need an aspirin…………………….….brb….



Ok… back now. For those who somehow have no clue what orbs are, I’ll tell you. (Even put it in caps so you can’t miss it)

ORBS ARE AIRBORNE PARTICLES FLOATING AROUND IN FRONT OF YOUR CAMERA LENS! NOT GHOSTS OR SPIRITS OR EVEN THE GASEOUS REMAINS OF THE BREAKFAST BOB HAD THIS MORNING! (Sorry Bob, couldn’t resist the fart joke)

GHOST! MAG: You know, there are a lot of researchers who vehemently denounce the use of Mediums in their research.

DR. HOLZER:
(waving a hand) Science means ‘quest for knowledge’. Having access to a good quality trance Medium is therefore invaluable for the investigator. My job, as I see it, is to dispense with nonsense, to point out fakery, of which there is quite a bit, and to praise the praiseworthy.

Hitman: Science (from the Latin scientia,meaning "knowledge") is the effort to discover, understand, or to understand better, how the physical world works, with observable physical evidence as the basis of that understanding. It is done through observation of existing phenomena, and/or through experimentation that tries to simulate phenomena under controlled conditions.
Hmmm, doesn’t sound like Hans is doing any of that. If his “job” is to dispense with the nonsense, then he look at himself first. Got rope?

GHOST! MAG: So, besides the trance Medium do you use any other equipment?

DR. HOLZER:
I like a Polaroid camera because of the very high speed, but I do not need or use the rest of the equipment that so many are using these days.

Hitman: Never mind, seems he already has enough rope to hang himself. I could go on and on here but its starting to bore me now. This isn’t even the tip of the iceberg. Google him up and you’ll find many more examples such as these. The ASS-ociation here… lets ignore the scientific method, grab our happy medium and go out to re-enforce our belief system.


ED Warren. Only one word needed here. Amityville.

The house at on 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville has led to controversy and lawsuits over its truthfulness. It has been debunked by so many people so many times (including the Catholic church, oddly enough, who denies anything to do with it). The claim made in Chapter 11 of the book that the house was built on a site where the local Shinnecock Indians had once abandoned the mentally ill and the dying was rejected by local Native American leaders. The claim of cloven hoof prints in the snow on January 1, 1976 was rejected by other researchers, since a check on the weather records showed that there had been no snow in Amityville on the day in question. Neighbors reported nothing unusual during the time that the Lutzes were living there.
Police officers are shown visiting the house in the book and 1979 film, but records showed that the Lutzes did not call the police during the period that they were living on Ocean Avenue. There was no bar in Amityville called The Witches' Brew at the time, and Ronald DeFeo, Jr. was a regular at Henry's Bar, a short distance from 112 Ocean Avenue.

In May 1977 George and Kathy Lutz filed a lawsuit against William Weber (the defense lawyer for Ronald DeFeo, Jr. at his trial), Paul Hoffman (a writer working on an account of the hauntings), Bernard Burton and Frederick Mars (both alleged clairvoyants who had examined the house), along with Good Housekeeping magazine, the New York Sunday News and the Hearst Corporation, all of which had published articles related to the hauntings. The Lutzes alleged invasion of privacy, misappropriation of names for trade purposes, and mental distress, and claimed $4.5 million in damages. Hoffman, Weber, and Burton immediately filed a countersuit for $2 million alleging fraud and breach of contract. The claims against the news corporations were dropped for lack of evidence, and the remainder of the lawsuit was heard by Brooklyn U.S. District Court judge Jack B. Weinstein. In September 1979 Judge Weinstein dismissed the Lutzes' claims and observed in his ruling: "Based on what I have heard, it appears to me that to a large extent the book is a work of fiction, relying in a large part upon the suggestions of Mr. Weber." In the sept 17th issue of People (1979) Magazine, William Weber wrote: "I know this book is a hoax. We created this horror story over many bottles of wine." This refers to a meeting that Weber is said to have had with George and Kathy Lutz, during which they discussed what would later become the outline of Anson's book. Judge Weinstein also expressed concern about the conduct of William Weber and Bernard Burton relating to the affair, stating: “There is a very serious ethical question when lawyers become literary agents.”

The ASS-ociation, he was the paranormal investigator that claimed this place was occupied by a violent demonic presence. His best known case was de-bunked, which also debunks him by default. In addition, he was a demonologist and a clairvoyant (enter belief system and anecdotal evidence here), and many of his “spirit” photographs are constantly made fun of by skeptical organizations. Most are simply bad photographic mistakes (overexposure,
lens flare) which can be figured out by anyone who has a decent class on photography. Not exactly the best role model for a serious paranormal researcher.

John Zaffis.

His biggest claim to fame is that his aunt and uncle are Ed and Lorraine Warren. This sent John beyond looking for ghosts and hauntings and into studying demonology under the Warrens. (How creditable is that methodology?) This led into John's involvement with cases of possession and exorcism and working with prominent exorcists in this field.

Personally, I have nothing against him but we would clash over the Demonologist / belief system thing.

TAPS

Quote; “Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson and their show let the world know that there might be something to this paranormal stuff.”

No they haven’t. It’s important to understand that “Ghost Hunters” is for entertainment purposes only. (Tom Thayer and Craig Piligian of Pilgrim Films (American Chopper) are the executive producers.)


"Ghost Hunters" is called a "Docu-Soap". I'm not even kidding; it's right on the box!

"...Ghost Hunters, a one-hour weekly docu-soap follows a group of real-life ghost busters..."

That’s from Amazon!
Just because "It’s TV, guys" we're supposed to give them a free pass on accountability? It’s true. If you ask about obtaining some of the original footage to verify the claim of paranormal activity you’ll be told that the show is for “paranormal entertainment purposes only” and they will not release it.


Yes, they have increased awareness that there are groups out there that investigate the paranormal but there is a bad side to that as well. People watching this “entertainment” show become interested in ghost hunting and jump out, mimicking what they have seen on TV without the knowledge, theory or methodology that goes on when the cameras are off. The result is that suddenly, the “field” is flooded with newbies who are basically clueless. Meanwhile the skeptics are having a field day. Just Google up “Ghost Hunters” and “skeptical” in the same search and see what pops up.

In my opinion, the skeptics are our peers, not other ghost hunters. This is why this post annoyed me, other than the fact that it is just wrong information. It shows who the people are (the methods involved) and where the newbies are getting their ideology from.

Those who are interested in how this ghost hunting thing really started (and who I give “props” to) is Harry Price. We even wrote an article about him. Harry Price This is the person that everyone got their knowledge from, in one form or another; it has been modified, updated and passed down.


However, Since the 118 years since he started his investigations, the basic methodology of “Ghost Research” hasn’t changed. Our tools have, but not the approach. From this one can logically reason two things;


1. Ghosts do not exist
2. That methodology is flawed.


And that is why we have a 60+ page SOP which differs radically from the “standard approach” used by so many ghost hunters today. Will anything come from it? Only time will tell.

Just in case you didn't see it...

This was filmed during a paranormal conference, GhostExpo, in Mountainair, NM.