Antietam Paranormal Society

In the last 20 years we have seen paranormal television bring ghost hunting and paranormal investigation mainstream. Many seasoned paranormal researchers say their interest in the paranormal began from watching television shows, the inspiration of these shows spawned thousands of new investigators and teams worldwide. We can all appreciate the benefits of having paranormal phenomena becoming part of everyday conversation rather than be hidden due to disbelief, shame, or persecution. But we have to ask ourselves, do the benefits of paranormal television continue to outweigh the disinformation that has taken the forefront? Has paranormal television created a demographic of individuals and/or teams that will sacrifice ethics to gain a following or make money? Is the information being shared on paranormal television doing more harm than good? Disinformation is defined as false or misleading information that is intentionally spread with the purpose of deceiving or manipulating others. It ma...

Book Review: Blood and Ghosts- Paranormal Forensics Investigators by Ramsland and Nesbitt It always interests me to read books that compare a current and specific scientific approach to paranormal investigation and research. Blood and Ghosts was written by Katherine Ramsland, a forensics expert who is joined by Mark Nesbitt a paranormal investigator to bring a book that will shed light on the possibility that forensics could help aid ghost hunters and in turn possibly assist with finding justice in criminal or unsolved cases.  Each chapter sheds light on each of the author's methods and the theories or science behind their fields. They share the history of psychical research and the scientists that studied during the spiritualist movement, then branch out to newer scientific studies and forensic methods that would have helped push those pioneers further validate their results.  In one section of the book it describes an entire case of paranormal investigators gathering data, c...

BOOK REVIEW: An Introduction to Parapsychology by Irwin and Watt I will begin this blog by stating that this book is essentially a textbook. If you are interested in Parapsychology; this book is engaging, informative, and a very comprehensive text. However, it does have advanced vocabulary and verbiage.  The authors make a point to begin this text by stating "Most important is the point that in no way is there any presumption here of the existence of "the paranormal," contrary to the approach of many contemporary parapsychologists who actually regard parapsychology as the study of the paranormal." It is often misunderstood that parapsychology is the study of paranormal phenomena, when it is actually the study of psi as it pertains the human psychology. They also go on to say "traditionally there have been three basic domains of parapsychological research, namely extrasensory perception, psychokinesis, and the survival hypothesis." I enjoyed the disclaimers...

Through the last 16 years I would have to say that my team has been very fortunate to be called in by multiple historic locations to investigate. Their generosity and willingness to share their history and property has been one of the best parts of our journey as paranormal researchers. However not all locations initiated contact, a few of them were cold calls made by our team to gain permission to investigate. Some locations required me to meet with their board, some wanted proposals or statements to read during their meetings, some required votes, some required nothing but us to ask...  I recently asked "What are reasons that you've found that locations don't allow paranormal investigations?" on our Facebook page. The responses we received are familiar, as we have experienced them ourselves, but some are completely horrifying. When I see a few of these reasons it validates why I believe that there should be a standard that paranormal investigators and teams are held...

The Handbook of Parapsychology  By Hans Holzer I am going to start this by saying, DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. This is probably the first book I have  given a bad review and unfortunately I can't find a way out of that. I will give you the rundown but please if you are wanting to find a good book on Parapsychology look for books from Rhine, his associates, Ebon, Price, Roll, Myers, or associates of theirs. There is one inaccuracy within this book that makes me question whether you can trust other information or details that he has received second hand. Is any of it accurate information?  Hanz Holzer is a well known parapsychologist that has authored many books about the paranormal and extrasensory perception. This handbook was written and published in 1972. Holzer begins the book with a short introduction that discusses his reasons for writing a handbook on parapsychology. First to help his students and second to help those who do not have the time or inclination to take classe...

Let's set the stage a bit for what it means to provide a Paranormal Investigation for a client's home or business. (Note: Scroll down for discussion on locations charging for ghost hunts or charging teams for using space for an investigation.) The longer I look at paranormal teams and investigators, the more diversity I see on how they perform their investigations and what is involved. I personally cannot assume what each team or individual does but I believe there is a certain ethical standard that should be in place for anyone that is asked to do a paranormal investigation which is supported by protocols and procedures to maintain accuracy and reliable data. If you have read any of my postings online or other blogs, I have already shared how we go about investigations, but for us it looks something like this: A client reaches out to request our team to do a paranormal investigation of their location. There are claims of disembodied voices, footsteps, doors opening and closing...