The Hard Work Is Done, Time For Fun!!

The one thing ghost hunters don't do is have fun. Am I saying that going on investigations and hanging out with friends isn't fun? No, that's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is, with all the investigations, the preliminary investigations, the walk throughs, getting to learn your equipment, getting to learn new equipment, putting together your standards and protocols and teaching that to others, keeping up with the paperwork - that includes emails, maps, releases, and then having to watch all the video footage, listen to the EVP, look at the pictures. Whew!!

It takes a lot to be a ghost hunter which is why not everyone can make it their job. Those that can are VERY lucky. They are in a position that not everyone can be in and there aren't very many of us that can do that.

I enjoy the stress that comes with doing this. It keeps me going. I may gripe and nag some but it's all worth it in the end. Ghost hunting is great for most of us. I enjoy the little bit of exercise I get, the fresh air sometimes, the thrill of the hunt. But, one thing we don't do is take a real vacation.

A vacation is something that a ghost hunter does every time they go on an investigation. To them, the travel, the time spent, the thrill is all their vacations and they use the vacation time from their regular jobs to do this as necessary. I try to take a vacation every year. A vacation is one that is hopefully a new place where I don't have to put on my "game face". There's no film crew, no reporter, no media of any kind. There's nothing but a hotel, a historic and haunted place and a pool or preferably a jacuzzi. I can relax if I want. I can look at pictures, video or EVP if I want. I can get in the jacuzzi if I want. No real pressures. I can play with my audio recorders or play Mario Cart on my Nintendo DS (yes, I do have one - don't you??). I can listen to music or meditations.

This year four members of our group are going to Fredericksburg, Virginia and then Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This is huge for me. I don't fly for one thing so it will be a big deal that way and then to visit a spot second on my list after Tombstone (which we did and shot our first documentary there) and New Mexico (haven't done that yet). I've always wanted to go but not flying. I enjoy driving. This is a flight and it's five days. My mind is racing. What equipment can I take that I won't worry about. How much stuff do I need? I hope I don't forget underwear. Nothing worse than going commando I hear.

I'm very excited. I can't wait. I know the people we're going with but we also have our own car in case they want to take off or do something else. I'm very excited.

Gettysburg is some place I've always wanted to see. I'm not interested in the re-enactments or any of the ghost tours but I want to see the battlefields and spend a great deal of time on them with my cameras and recorders. I want to experience the things that go on there that I've heard and read about for many, many years. Weather shouldn't be too bad and short of events going on there, it should be lots of fun. I'm very excited.

I'll let you know how this vacation goes but suffice it to say that we have an investigation to do before we go and so work again comes first but the vacation will be great.

Did I mention I was VERY excited??

The Ritualistic Gathering of Ghost Hunters

Awwww, spring. The blossoms bloom, there are showers that bring flowers, and the time that the Ghost Trackers gear up for our yearly California Ghost Hunters Conference. This year was the sixth year of our annual conference. While we Ghost Trackers try really hard to bring a good program to people attending, this by far, was the best year for our conference. We didn't have anyone that was exceptionally different from one another and the agenda itself was the same as it has been from the beginning, a cocktail reception on Friday followed by an investigation and a day long schedule of events on Saturday followed by an investigation. The difference with this year was that our bonus investigation was the best that could be found....anywhere!!

We work very hard at finding the best, out-of-the-way places we can to book our venues hoping they would give the best investigations for our attendees. This year was extraordinary.

But this brings about the question of where do ghost hunters gather and what do they really get out of it?! I have watched for years as the same ghost hunters or ghost hunting groups put on the same conferences in the same place every year. The list of speakers for these conferences is always the same. Let's think about that for a moment. If you go to a conference in, say, Nevada, you see the same speakers listed as say one in California. My question would be why? Why would you want to go to a conference in one state only to get the same people speaking at another conference in another state? Well, the only possible answer would be to be in on the investigations that are being held. Do you think people really travel all over just to see the same old people? No, of course not. They want to go to the investigations.

I am amused at the number of people who do this. While I would want to go to the conference to go on the investigations if it's some place I have never been (and was interested in the place) but I would ditch the speakers and see the town or surrounding area. Why listen to the same old speakers talk about the same old stuff. Let's face it, there's only so much EVP, ghost photography, how-to's on investigation that one person can take. While it may be interesting to learn anothers' techniques, you will do an investigation the way you want or have been taught but not by going to a workshop. You may incorporate some of that information but you will not be doing one step-by-step nor will you discard your current equipment for new, pricier equipment recommended by a speaker just because it's what he uses. While it would be nice I suppose and quite flattering to the speaker, it's just not something people do as a rule. They would consider it when purchasing new stuff but they just won't run out and purchase it because someone said so.

I am surprised at the number of people making the exodus to the same conference in the same place every year even when the people are different (yet, in some ways, the same) and the investigations are the same. What is it that people see in doing this? There are the typical conferences that use this format in Illinois, at Gettysburg, at Waverly Sanitarium, and a few other choice places but these are the same old places. Why? Just as with the paranormal, there are far too many questions and not enough answers. So, again, why? Why do they make it a habit or ritual to do the same old thing every year. While the price is less than ours, they don't get a meal unless they pay for it, they don't get extracurricular activities or investigations unless they pay for it and it usually includes the same people speaking. Again, why?

Now I would tell anyone looking to go to a conference to be sure that, 1) it's somewhere they want to go and, 2) that they have an idea of what or whom they are going with, whether it's the group putting it on or someone they know who will be there, you need to be sure. Many groups put on conferences with no why or wherefore of what they are doing. Case in point, a group in Sacramento put on their first conference in a town called Volcano. They stated they were going to have 10-15 speakers and that they would have the town available for investigation where the main point would be the only hotel in town which had ten or so rooms. They wanted people from all over the country coming to their conference and gave instructions about the hotel, other hotels, all the speakers, and the local airport. So what happened? I have heard from numerous people that have gone to this so-called conference that it was a big joke. Why? Because the only hotel in town was reserved for the people putting the conference on and the guest speakers. Remember, the hotel is the only one in town and only had about 10 or so rooms. The next nearest hotel was 20 miles away down a small, winding road. There was supposed to be a shuttle and that never materialized. The "available" spots in town to investigate were two other places - the saloon next to the hotel and a coffee shop. The town consisted of 105 residents. Can you figure out why it was a big joke? Yet, I understand by the attendees of this conference that the people putting it on were stating their praises and patting each other on the back because they feel they put on such a great conference. Of course it was a great conference to them, they stayed in the only hotel in town and hung out together. I've been told that these attendees will not be attending another conference they put on. It's this type of conference and these type of people that give such a bad name to those of us who are seriously trying to put on a conference for people to meet and learn. They are a disgrace!!

You should always check on the people putting it on, where you're going and what the agenda is. The conference should be geared specifically for the attendees, not for the possible big headedness of the people putting it on.

A conference should be fun and a great learning experience. You should have fun and make sure it's geared to you as an attendee. You should be aware of how they put it together, what's included, what types of hotels are available to you, are the people putting it on making it worth your while or theirs? Be aware of what's going on.

Most importantly, try and have fun!!!