Ersatz: What's wrong in the Paranormal Field?

During a reading of  a poltergeist phenomenon book I came across the word ersatz. It is a strange word to be sure, but every thing that we do or experience in the paranormal field is a little strange. The definition of ersatz is "not real or genuine". As I sit down here to write this blog, I thought the word fit for what is wrong in the paranormal field.

Back in 2008 when we started Antietam Paranormal Society we really didn't have specific goals, we just wanted to document paranormal phenomena. I think we quickly realized that others were interested in joining in with us and we had to figure out what our goals would be. Through the years we encountered so many different types of people with different goals that either joined our team or we were just associated with in some way. This in turn placed people and things in our sphere that were not in line with the goals or mission we set for our team. Over time we learned valuable lessons.

FAKES AND FRAUDS?

If I had a dime for every person I have met that seemed to join the paranormal because it is an easy way to rise to popularity. I wonder all the time about how people are elevated in the paranormal field that have no real depth just a great sense of humor. One such individual that was part of our team for years always seemed a bit off, but we usually brushed it away because everyone seemed to like him. Until they didn't. We noted that he would tell people things that weren't true to stir up frustration and chaos. Do you know how hard it is to have a team that doesn't get along? It's impossible. During one of his last investigations with us we captured him attempting to fake a paranormal claim. We captured it all on camera! Within months he had determined to create a campaign to take some of our best members and leave the team. Does this story seem familiar? It should because it happens all the time. He went on to start a team with a few of our members that left, however that team lasted 6 months, falling into chaos that rivaled his exit from our team. Then he moved from team to team each one contacting us after they either removed him or he left, because they caught him faking things. There are many of these types of people in the paranormal field, the ones that love to create chaos and distract from your goals. Be wary of who you meet, not everyone is real and genuine. They are the Ersatz of the Paranormal....

FAME? NOTORIETY?

I am sure you've seen them all; the made for streaming docuseries that a lot of teams do. While a few of these teams are in it to show various equipment or help others in the community, there are those that just hope their You Tube Channel spirals them into the next big paranormal television show. I personally was part of filming a pilot for a paranormal television show that was hoped to be picked up by a network. I can't share all the gory details because I did sign an NDA but I can share my feelings during the filming. We filmed multiple days for the pilot and we had to wear the same clothes to make it feel like we did it all in the same night. There was an individual there that seemed to be attacked by some unknown spirit in every scene, I was told to make sure I was out of shot because my facial expressions told how I was feeling about her episodes. There were lines and acting. First and foremost I am not an actress. I joined in with the show when asked because I want my educational information to reach a larger audience. But at what cost? So they can have my hard earned knowledge for a mockery of what I do? No thanks. I absolutely cried at one point because I was definitely in over my head. Television isn't for me unless it's a documentary about the paranormal.... It was clear to me that nothing about feelings or genuine paranormal investigation were involved in paranormal television. Beware of what you want in the paranormal field, they will twist your story and force you to give up your ethics to get that television show interest. They are the Ersatz of the Paranormal....

CRITICAL THINKING? DOCUMENTATION?

I think the worst part of my job as the public relations person for our team is that I get to see all the amazing things that people seem to collect on their investigations, in their homes, or just while doing their thing. It has shocked me to find that a lot of these investigators don't do any documentation of known things; where their investigators are located, what are the ambient sounds in the location, what do things look like on camera or sound like on audio that are natural? Whether you are a new or seasoned investigator, it doesn't matter how serious you are about the paranormal, you can't share audio or video as paranormal when it can be explained by simple critical thinking or documentation during the investigation. We did an investigation in a large building years ago where we had 4 investigators together in the basement. When we left the basement two of us kept our recorders running, one person was in the front of the line and I was in the back of the line. Now it was easy to tell that there were several of us in this group, but I have written documentation as well as the initial tag of the audio of who was present. In our trek out of the basement to head back to base we reached the top of the steps and went into a large auditorium area. The investigator in the front had found audio on her recorder that she thought could be paranormal, but I had also been recording so I pulled up my audio and attempted to collaborate this anomaly. The audio she had captured was me talking. If I hadn't been running audio or if I hadn't known that there were several of us in a line walking together, we may have considered this paranormal. These are valuable pieces of information to have! Multiple recorders, documentation of investigators, debunking skills, and more. So many things that I see or hear today may be able to be explained! You may say that some don't know to do these things but I assure you some do. The more sensational the better! There are those out there that will try to convince you that they have some amazing piece of evidence of paranormal phenomena, but they haven't vetted it or they don't even care to. They are the Ersatz of the Paranormal....

RESEARCH? VALIDATION?

Has a client ever told you who haunts their home? Have you done an interview with a client who gave you a detailed story of death and gore? These are the types of things you should always research for verifiable documentation before you take these stories to the location and use them as a line of questioning during the investigation. A lot of people would rather wait for historical research after the investigation, however taking information that is not verified is worse than knowing factual information. I see so many people use information regarding a location that is false and claim to get verification from the spirits. So my question for each of you to ponder, if they had results for a false claim, who are they talking to? Are they creating a Tulpa or thoughtform? Are their results legitimate or a false positive? Or is the spirit they are talking to just humoring them? Either way you slice it, the results are bogus and don't give you any validation for the location at all. Be wary of the information you get, there are some that sensationalize details that aren't true just to generate more public interest. These are the Ersatz of the Paranormal....

THRILLS? EXPLOITATION? MONEY? 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with an individual that wants to go to a location just to experience paranormal phenomena. Each of us has a different reason for being involved but be wary of what roller coaster ride you may hop on, not everyone is legitimate. Each of our public ghost hunts we do are for the purpose of raising money for the location venue. We used to hold them at the Masonic Temple in Hagerstown, we have done one at the John Brown Raid HQ, and we do them at the Odd Fellows Lodge in Harpers Ferry. We are currently looking for a new venue to help, to hold educational events, and to do a few public ghost hunts. There are a lot of teams out there that do these types of events, especially if the location gives them access to the location for research. But what about the others...? Take for example Black Moon Manor. I did not investigate this venue but most of us that have been around for a while know what happened there. A ingenious con artist squatted at this historically incorrect location and sold tickets and private investigations to every Tom, Dick or Harry that he wanted. What happened when the owner found out? He had it demolished. Was it full of activity? Only those who investigated probably have a clue but if that fella was this good at faking out his ownership, do you think he could have possibly pulled some serious tricks there? Are they in it for money? Self interest? Thrills? Be wary of those who seem to exploit the paranormal for money or thrills. They are the Ersatz of the Paranormal....

POPULARITY CONTEST?

It's all about who's face is at the top of that cute little picture announcing who will be at that paracon or event. It's kind of gross to be honest to see some of these people complain about how they are not first. Some paracons have speakers that do give the ability for others to learn from their tried and true investigations and some just allow for the public to meet and ask questions. At the first paracon style event I went to in Gettysburg I was able to meet with a Tascam representative that gave an excellent lecture. There were only 6 of us in the room which was a travesty. I learned so much that day and I am still friends with the guy that did the lecture. Otherwise; what is a paracon but to make money off signing pictures or books, to be seen, to take pictures with a para-celeb, to drink or make merry? I know some may not agree with this particular section in this blog but I have no use for a paracon or paranormal event with celebrities. I like to do my research I don't need to spend a fortune to be crammed into a smelly room with a bunch of people. But to get to my point, a lot of these people who go to these events create cliques. Large groups of people that stand up for each other even when quite a few of their population are the fakes and frauds I spoke of earlier. Be wary of the popularity contests and people who aren't what they seem, they will sell you out if you don't stay in line. They are the Ersatz of the Paranormal.

I could add so many different points to this blog but hey, I can always do another.... At the end of the day people that are involved in these types of approaches to the paranormal field are not genuine. They may seem engaging and gregarious, but in reality they make it easy to scam others. Stolen valor, unproven claims, illegal actions, and chaos coordinators; they are the Ersatz of the Paranormal. 

Rebecca Boyer

Co-Founder/ Case Manager

Antietam Paranormal Society

Photo Credit: Brian Coldrick