Things that go bump in the night, shadows that flit across the room; most people have at one time or another experienced these kinds of spooky happenings. The thing that defines one kind of person from another is what the person chooses to do next, ignore it, find out what causes it, or find a way to make money from scaring others. Most people share the trait of curiosity, and therefore choose to investigate, which usually means they end up believing in ghosts whether they find proof or not.
Such are the Indiana Ghost Trackers, a group of investigators who choose to be one of the groups of people who look into spooky reports just for the sheer love of the supernatural (Cummings 2006). These kinds of investigators willingly go into dark houses, empty graveyards in the dark of night and other strange places no one else would like to be, especially alone, and they do it at no cost. That's the kind of person I would like to be associated with. Knowledge of the supernatural for just the love of what it is and why it happens.
I am not sure if I believe in ghosts or not, but it fascinates me and I would love to find out, if it did not scare me to death! I am a great fan of spooky tales of lore and how these spectral entities came into being and why they are still hanging around, yet I am not so easily convinced that everything I see and hear is not simply my vivid imagination working overtime. I would also require something more substantial in the way of proof. Or at least something I can see or hear. Something like what Tom Lacuzio of the Illinois based Ghost Research Society might have, a “game ear”, something that might be more familiar to deer hunters than to ghost hunters (Lapdiario 2004). Any type of recording device like this can of course be altered, but if I were at least there for the initial recording, then I would feel more confident about the authenticity.
Even though I and many others believe and would and do research for no payment at all, there are plenty of people who have felt the need to capitalize on the growing interest in the paranormal. There are several television shows now based on teams of ghost investigators and the request for ghost hunting equipment is growing all the time. Of course, someone has to reap the profits from selling all this equipment. But is this equipment really necessary? According to Radfard (2006) all these gadgets do is detect where one spot may be colder than another or where there may be a fluctuation in an electromagnetic field. Does that mean if my heat is not working properly in my basement I have a ghost down there? If I have a power surge in my den is it haunted?
And when you have the equipment do you keep it all to yourself? No, you just charge other people to use it! Alamo City Paranormal in San Antonio TX has up to $80,000 worth of gadgetry, and not only do they charge per investigation, they charge per person to take nightly tours to play with the equipment, (no ghosts guaranteed though!) (Kharif 2005). According to Kharif (2005), some small businesses actually earn enough money selling this equipment to make this their main source of income. Unfortunately, they are actually marketing this as useable working equipment, when in fact; it will not prove or disprove the existence of anything.
The fact is, at this point there is no definite way to prove or disprove the existence of ghosts. However, there are those people, including myself, who like to believe and would like to research the idea as fully as possible. Unfortunately, as with any area, there are also those who want to exploit the marker and the believers. Let us hope that those who want to scam or make a profit from the unsuspecting, get a ghostly visitor of their own!
