Paranormal Investigators or Charlatans?

People sometimes see the word paranormal investigator and their minds instantly conjure up images of Ouija boards, and ectoplasm spewing mediums. Throughout history there are accounts of people who go to great theatrical lengths to siphon the money out of people who are harrowed by dealing with a situation that they find inexplicable. What genuine paranormal investigators find harrowing, however, is that these charlatans are out there making money off these tactics, that have been proven to be elaborate hoaxes time and time again.

There are several reasons that a person might one day call upon the services of a paranormal investigator, even if you can't think of any right now. There are things that would need to be considered before deciding whom to hire. First, it's important to understand what a paranormal investigator actually does, as opposed to your average medium for hire. Paranormal investigators take measurements, witness accounts, photographs and scientific data such as the presence of unexplained electromagnetic fields, or cold areas in a room and document these experiences, then in turn, go about studying the situation for causes other than a haunting. Ultimately, a paranormal investigators greatest goal is to arrive at some definitive and undeniable proof. Unfortunately for them , what they usually do is arrive at a set of facts and observations that prove nothing other than that the situation is 'unexplained'. arriving at the conclusion that something is unexplained is good enough for a paranormal investigator though, because rarely do they ever get the excitement at ending up there. Most investigations end in finding reasonable probabilities that the situation being studied is the result of some very ordinary phenomenon. This is where one of the greatest distinctions is drawn between investigation and outright fakery.

The career medium almost always has the luck of running into what they determine to a verified haunting. The medium 'channels' contact with the spirit world through seance, trance Ouija board...whatever their mechanism of use is, and will in turn usually rid you of the spirit as part of the package. While I am not insulting those investigators who employ the use of 'psychics' as a tool to locate disturbances in an area, and then document what they see or record in that area~ using a psychic method of communication in order to prove that an occurrence is genuine, or a bunch of hocus pocus that only the 'chosen' medium can perform to understand/correct the situation, is at best an open door for fraud.

The hard and fast way of detecting which one you have before you?

A legitimate investigator uses tools. Perhaps these tools consist of nothing more than a camera, or a thermometer~ but they are tools, and he collects data using these tools. A Charlatan needs only their precious gifted self to communicate with otherworldly spirits. An investigator gives you answers such as " I have no explanation for this phenomenon as of yet". Whereas the Charlatan tells you that the ball rolls across the floor because a ghostly child is playing with it, even though the floor is an inch out of level. A paranormal investigator says, "These are images that I have come to associate with ghosts because...," while showing you a picture of the image, whereas the charlatan says..I see the spirit of your father standing behind you..he drops pennies on the floor all the time..."

Whether your are looking to hire a paranormal investigator, or looking toward a career in that field this article has, I hope, cleared up the difference between the two somewhat. Paranormal Investigative classes are taught in state (and even Ivy League) colleges all over the world, It's time to allow paranormal investigation the place it deserves and leave the mediums in the parlor.