Ethics and documenting the occult

I wanted to make a whole post to address the issue of ethics in documenting anything related to the occult, paranormal, or supernatural.

Everyday you can flip on your TV and tune to a show or hop on any computer and find plenty of streams or youtube videos that claim to show evidence of everything from the ability to move something small with only the power of will to others claiming they have quite literally sat down with, visually perceived, and even had physical contact with a number of demons.

At this point you might be expecting me to say its all fake and I intend to debunk them. That is not my position whatsoever.

I'm not attempting these from some sort of "this is FAKE, its debunked, BUSTED!" or any other form of self righteous idea that one small experiment is somehow an instant and all encompassing fact.

At the same time I am not going to make excuses or fabricate reasons for completely normal experiences. If I catch a glimpse of a shadow momentarily it was still a shadow. Not a demon, angel, nymph, banshee, leprechaun, or anything other than a shadow.

I've tuned in to some shows that swear every spec of dust to float by their camera is a confirmed apparition. Every single sound on their EVP is a malevolent poltergeist warning them to back off.

Youre not going to see that from me. I know its less eventful and it doesnt make for good TV that I dont edit for suspense and I dont act scared or frightened or constantly suggest that I heard something, felt something, or any other common quote on the list of go-to lines for shows that use those all the time.

Ghost hunting and paranormal investigation is huge right now in the media and among hobbyists. I dont think its ever been bigger and with recording equipment being cheaper than ever as well its accessible to a huge number of people. Anyone can explore an old empty house at night and use their cell phone with a few flashlights to capture video. Because of that I feel there are more people taking advantage of faking it than ever before and of course getting rich from it in the process. Of course some of it is simply entertainment shot from a reality-TV perspective.

I feel like a lot of it really hurts parapsychology and anyone who really wants their research to be taken seriously although I'm not sure if parapsychologys reputation could be worse among most people. Regardless (small piece of life history incoming) since its so hard to find someone you can trust when it comes to paranormal research and because I've always had a strong interest in the occult I've been doing these experiments myself.

I'm not rich, I'm not with some production company in California, I dont have any merchandise to sell you. No hats, no mugs, not even a t-shirt. I'm telling you all of this to get across one short point that I feel is the most important part of what I'm doing here and probably the only thing many of you care about - I will never fake it.

I'm not trying to get rich and famous. I was doing this off video a long time ago and now I do it on video. The process hasnt changed for me this just makes it a lot easier to get good honest peer review.

That doesnt mean I dont really enjoy the community because I do and its great to be able to discuss ideas with so many people at once.  I owe a thanks to everyone that has sent me suggestions and please keep them coming! Oh! One comment I received recently was from a person saying that although they had believed in the supernatural most of their lives, I was slowly changing their mind. I appreciate the comment but I responded and let them know my goal isnt to convince everyone out there to stop believing. Its only to find something clear, repeatable, falsifiable and thus it wont require any 'belief' at all. Nobody says they believe in turtles. 

Maybe with time and effort we can all make some part of the occult as common as turtles!

Jokes aside you get the idea. When it happens you guys will be the first to know.