Oklahoma Tours, Events & Books?
It seems there is a lot going on these days in Oklahoma. Tours, ghost hunts and public events are busy as ever. It does not have to be Halloween to celebrate things that go bump in the night. In fact, things reports of paranormal activity take place all year around. Just wanted to shout out about a great event that will be taking place March 21, 2009 in El Reno, Oklahoma.
The 4th annual Oklahoma Paranormal Conference (ParaCon 2009) is set and tickets are already selling like hot cakes. New teams and individuals are starved for education when it comes to paranormal claims and this is one reason why we feel this years conference is going to be the best to date!
On top of having a great line up of speakers this year, it’s just going to be fun for everyone. Watch the promotional video here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXy1vYcGW5Y
Or visit www.ghouli.org for speaker details.
You will notice NewsOK blogger will be speaking at this event. We are happy to have his skepticism present this year. http://blog.newsok.com/smokeandmirrors/
No matter what you believe, most people enjoy a good ghost story. The Oklahoma Paranormal Conference is celebrating the ghost story with the states top story tellers and paranormal leaders. A new Oklahoma book will also be released. GHOSTLAHOMA is released at ParaCon 2009! This is a series book and we have already started writing Part II of this series. The next book will feature places where you can eat, sleep and drink… with a haunting history of course. So, we are taking your stories and following up your leads now. Want to help our or submit a story? Email us tonya@ghouli.org
Investigations- My team and I are priviledged to be investigating the Historic Overholser Mansion. We have paired up with Preservation Oklahoma to investigate and potentially validate the haunting tales that surround the Mansion. We are excited about being able to work with such respected organizations within the state of Oklahoma where they are allowing us to preserve history, one ghost story at a time. If you would like to nominate a location, just contact us!
Tours for Fundraising- We ask that you support your local historical tours. Just pay close attention to where the money is going. If the tour is hosted by a ghost hunting team find out how much of the proceeds are going to historical preservation. Many property owners utlize haunting history to make extra money for repairs and up-keep. It is important that these properties are allowed to make as much money as possible to keep the lights on, windows in and paint on the walls. Most teams suggest that they are not for profit or they work for free. Please check with the property owners to make sure the funds are going into the building, not the ghost hunting teams pockets. If it’s a fund raiser for the team, they should have this posted on a website or brochure. It is typical for teams to be compensated for time and marketing efforts but it’s more important that these historical properties are raising funds more. Ask questions before you turn your money over. Not all tours are rip off’s! There are a lot of fantastic tours in the state of Oklahoma that offer a very nice evening and are very affordable. There are even teams that are licensed to run tours in the state of Oklahoma! Have fun! Red flag ghost hunting teams that have a tendency to scare people, get demon possessed or are utilizing tours for self promotion or a TV show. The teams should be promoting the historical property, not themselves. Just ask questions about where and how much of the money is going towards the historic property that is offering the tours.
I just wanted to give a heads up. My 2009 goals was to blog more and I will. I also wanted to let people know how they can get involved and network with others that have an interest in the paranormal. I will admit, we are excited about the great things the state of Oklahoma is allowing us to do this year and we hope to continue preserving the stories and legends that make Oklahoma an Unusual State.
Sincere Blogger,
Tonya Hacker
Paranormal Eyes
Paranormal Myths
Outside of filtering through what is fact, fiction and legends while conducting paranormal research, a new concern is growing stronger every day. Paranormal myths are the fluffy stuff you see on TV and read about while browsing through ghost hunting websites. There is a trend starting to set and most of them are based off nothing more than a myth. A lot of teams seem to think they make a lot of sense with what they are doing while conducting “scientific paranormal research” at locations they are already assuming or wishing to be haunted. The truth is, there are more myths floating around out there than ghosts. I wanted to start a blog that helps educate those that are not ghost hunters and I wanted to broaden the mindset of those that are ghost hunters. With this blog, I just hope that people will reflect upon what they believe, why they believe it and what has convinced them that they are reporting the truth compared to a myth. I will start out with a few myths that I have personally observed during my many years of paranormal investigating. It seems to be getting worse with each new team of professional “scientists” that pop up. (Insert sarcasm)
MYTH-Paranormal Investigations are done and should be done only at night. Teams will say they investigate at night because they can use night shot and things are quieter and it helps with what they call “data collection.” I will admit I used to think like this. Then one day, I remembered I have common sense and started to utilize it once again. For starters, ghosts do not sleep. If you have a theory that they do, please share. Do they have their days and nights mixed up? Giving into the theory that ghosts were once people, people characteristically sleep at night right? So why would a ghost wait until night while everyone is asleep or when everyone is from the house? I find it rather immature and boogie-mannish to assume that ghosts only creep at night. We are not nine year olds right? I have personally conducted better investigations and have been able to witness more unexplainable activity during the day time hours. I have talked with many reputable teams and they agree. Those that continue to run investigations only at night, find out why. What is their theory? They are “scientists” therefore they should have a fantastic hypothesis to share with you and their peers.
MYTH- Ghosts need our help or want our attention. Has it crossed anyone’s minds that a ghost may just be clumsy or forgetful? Just like when they were alive? Nobody is perfect. So, let’s say you are a ghost and you walk around at night because everyone is sleeping and you accidentally kick a chair or break a glass. So, what makes these ghost hunters think that because the ghost stubbed its phantom pinky toe in the middle of the night, in the dark and moved a chair or made a loud bang is in need of OUR attention? All these people trying to cross over ghosts and specters need to think; maybe they are happy where they are. Maybe they are working to avoid the living and slip up every now and again. But no, the big bad ghost hunters must bother the heck out of them because they think they want to make contact? There are so many sad and depressed ghosts out there according to most ghost hunting teams out there. Well, sure. It’s probably lonely being a ghost. But would it make you sad, upset or even depressed all the time if the living called you by the wrong name? Shouted at you all the time for you to “Show Yourself”? Maybe it would make you sad because people simply make up lies about who you are all the time. Maybe you are sad because you accidentally scared Little Timmy or you seem to have some paranormal funk scent attached to you? Would you be happy? When teams claim that they are able to do clearings and cast away banshees from your bathroom ask them how they know for sure if the ghost is willing to go. There are a lot of hokey psychics in the paranormal field and unfortunately a lot of them are attached to ghost hunting teams. Just be aware of who is telling you stories or creating a great paranormal case for their website. Ghosts do not necessarily want our attention. If they did, you must ask yourself why there is not more substantial evidence showing the world that ghosts do in fact exist.
MYTH- Ghosts see in the Dark. Okay… where is it written that we get night vision when we die? Why are ghosts up and roaming in dark places? Perhaps the “orbs” we are capturing are their flashlights? Why do ghosts see in the dark but we the living can not? (PS- Orbs are not ghosts)
MYTH- Ghosts can go home with you. There is a 50/50 chance of this of course. But, I have to ask. If you are a ghost and you have lived in an abandoned Hotel for over 60 years, why at that moment are you able to leave and go home with a schmuck “ghost hunter”? Was the ghost hunter just so “hot” you the ghost had to tag along with them? Were they the “nicest” person you the ghost had ever met, with all the shouting and light pointing that they did? Was the ghost hunter the first person EVER to enter that hotel in 60 years so as a ghost you were so lonely that you had to hitch a ride? What makes ghost hunters so special where they are privy to a tag-along ghost? If a ghost could leave in the first place… why did they wait for Mr. or Ms. Ghost hunter to show up? Why not haunt the new Holiday Inn down the road? Why not hitch a ride to the local bar? Better yet, why not haunt your favorite celebrity? Maybe retire in Cancun, maybe
MYTH- Paranormal Teams that claim to have experience in all types of hauntings. Real hauntings are random and different with each case. Since there are no true and documented base lines for activity, these teams are suggesting that their science is based off random activity, probably searched on the internet and based off other myths. Nobody out there has experience with “all types” of hauntings. There is no type. Paranormal is not common and it’s not yet proven enough to categorize.
MYTH- More years in the field equals more knowledge. It seems that people that suggest they have more time in the field know more? Well, think of it this way. Mr. or Mrs. Super Smarty Pant Ghost Hunter is taking a report, building a case and taking it seriously from a person that has had very limited time in the field. The person they are trusting did nothing but witnessed something they could not explain and the smarty pant ghost hunters believe and want to believe everything this inexperienced person has just thrown at them. Here is the kicker with this myth. The person without any “time spent” in the field just witnessed full blown apparitions, moving objects and watched their dog float across the room. Ms. Smarty pant ghost hunters on the other hand are getting NOTHING out of the investigation. Who’s the better person here? Um… my vote is for the witness. They watched paranormal activity take place, Mr. Smarty pants are just hoping that it happens for them and their ghost hunting team. Years in the field does not make a ghost hunter smart, experienced or even half way correct. It’s very easy to regurgitate information passed on by other not so smart or even less knowledgeable ghost hunters out there. I have met researchers that have been in the field for a couple of months and they have more knowledge, common sense, skepticism and critical thinking skills than those that have many years in the field. It’s not how much time is spent, it’s how the time has been used is what counts.
FACT- If a person has spent more than five years active in the field of paranormal research/ghost hunting. They typically have evolved into a skeptic. They may still believe in ghosts but they are not easily convinced anymore. If a team or person seems to be gung ho and haunting happy, chances are they have an agenda that is not related to the truth? That agenda may be a TV show, popularity, fan base and website hits, Truth not so much.
MYTH- Ghosts can read our minds? HAHAH that’s just dense. Of course the ghosts were psychic or became psychic mind readers when they died? Perhaps they can enter our brain waves and become telekinetically in tune with our psyche and transparent consciousness… okay I will stop there. Why would they be able to read our minds? Because, ghost hunters believe in myths, that’s why.
MYTH- You can learn to be a ghost hunter by watching TV. Well, this is actually true. Today’s ghost hunters are TV trained. But a excellent ghost hunter/paranormal researcher probably does not watch paranormal TV because they are not that dim-witted enough to mimic an entertainment based TV show… If you do watch TV shows that teach you how to be a “ghost hunter”, please keep it at home or utilize it as a party favor. There is much more to paranormal research than what is seen on a 30 min television show with commercial breaks. So, that myth is in the air?
FACT: A person can learn his or her ABC’s from watching
I hope this blog helps readers, skeptics and believers understand that there are many wrong things in this field. If they are not wrong than these myths need to be tested more and applied to logic. Today’s Ghost Hunters are no longer looking for supernatural phenomenon. They are doing nothing more than searching for incidences that they as a team are unable to explain. They are ignoring the possibility that someone else may have the explanation for these events. Just because one person is not able to explain it, does not make it a ghost.
FACT- Most ghost hunters are more afraid of peer review than things that go bump in the night. Here are more MYTHS submitted by real paranormal researchers: MYTH–Ghosts exist and we are studying them and we only need to find evidence to prove that which we believe. MYTH–Electronic gadgets provide this elusive proof of the afterlife. No…They only provide some readings that some paranormal researchers/ghost-hunters think support their beliefs. Period.- TonyaK
MYTH – All hauntings are because of a previous tenant, owner, breathing life has died and wants to be heard in the afterlife. – LoveYourself
MYTH – You have to take an expensive online class and receive a ‘Certification’ in order to ghost hunt!- Kristy
Myth- Simply because a large number of people believe something it is true, or exists.- ReapSow
Myth, if a paranormal investigation team uses a psychic this is evidence that the psychic is authentic- Chasing Midnight
Myth – When your batteries go dead on an investigation, regardless of type, it means that a ghost obviously stole your batteries power/energy to manifest more easily.- Amanda
Myth- All Cemeteries are haunted. Nobody dies in cemeteries, it’s just a place where the bodies go. It’s rude and disrespectful for ghost hunters to visit them. People do not DIE in cemeteries- TH
March 21, 2009
OK-PARACON2009- The Oklahoma Paranormal Conference is almost here!
visit www.ghouli.org for details.
For early bird tickets email tonya@ghouli.org El Reno, OK @ Historically Haunted Elk’s Lodge. Book early and SAVE!
