Ghost Hunter vs Paranormal Investigator: Is there a difference?

 

A lot of things in the paranormal community come down to semantics. While words have definitions, there are also perceptions of words that may not really fit their definition at all. One of the most talked about "term wars" is ghost hunters vs paranormal investigators. I personally believe there is a difference.

Each person is involved in the paranormal for one reason or another and it doesn't necessarily involve work on the individuals part to ascertain any critical thinking or deep theoretical discussion. It just comes down to having fun and relaying experiences. So here is my perception of the terms...

Ghost Hunter- A ghost hunter has already made his mind up. When he arrives at a location his main objective is to experience the paranormal. Like a hunter, he uses his various tools to draw in the prey and hopes to have interaction with the tools he brought. In most cases a ghost hunter won't require documenting phenomena or experiences that aren't "paranormal" to him. Upon review of his experiences and any data, he will not dig beneath the surface to find solutions to the anomalies. Rather, he will accept that based on his perception of the event, these do not belong therefore they are paranormal.

Paranormal Investigator- The investigator on the other hand has done extensive planning and forethought before arriving at the location. They have dusted off their critical thinking skills, generated documents to make notes, done interviews, created plans, done some historical research, and packed up the necessary equipment to document their findings. When the P.I. investigates they make notes of potential sounds and visuals that could create false positives, they have done baselines, taken pictures for posterity, and done a thorough walk through to recreate any experiences that may answer the questions that they seek. But for the P.I. the investigation is only a small part of the case. There are hours of research, review, hypothesizing, note taking, discussion, and possibly more investigations. The P.I. leaves bias at the door and only seeks to find factual information. When no logical answers can be found, they are left with labeling the experiences as paranormal.

 While this discussion will never end because as passionate individuals we will always be labeling things, we as members of the paranormal community each have a different goals. Some of us seek knowledge, some of us seek answers for an internal struggle, some want to fill a void, some want to be famous, some want to be heard, and all of us have a fascination with the unknown. How we approach the paranormal is ultimately what we will get out of it. If you seek to do it for your own gain, you will never find the answers that you seek. If you seek to learn, educate, and put those in distress above your selfish goals; you will definitely find success.

 (Original blog written by Rebecca Boyer for Paranormal Perceptions. https://paranormalperceptions.wordpress.com/2021/02/06/ghost-hunter-vs-paranormal-investigator-is-there-a-difference/ )