Ghost Hunting, or How Popular Has the Paranormal Become?

There have always been ghost hunters, or people investigating the world of the supernatural. I grew up reading Hans Holzer, who wrote books about his investigations into many supernatural occurrences. In fact, I’ve noticed that his books have been brought back for sale in brick and mortar bookstores and through Amazon. You can find them at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/104-8791274-6338361?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=hans+holzer&x=17&y=21 , if you are interested in reading them. And not just his books, but other ones came out in the ‘60s and ‘70s, along with other investigators of the paranormal. I got to know about not only ghost s and UFOs, but of the Mothman in West Virginia, lake monsters, the New Jersey Devil, and more. Then it seemed you didn’t hear much more, except for a few books.

Then the television show, “X-Files” premiered September 10, 1993. People watched it, loved it, and it got good ratings. No, there is no division in the FBI for investigating weird cases like Mulder and Scully did, but suddenly, the paranormal became popular. People questioned it. They wanted to know that, ‘the truth was out there’. Wanted to know more about life beyond death. And some more paranormal groups were formed.

Years later, “Ghost Hunters” premiered on SciFi. People watched it. And suddenly groups like TAPS began popping all over the world. Other shows of paranormal investigators sprouted in other TV stations and more and more ghost books began coming out everyday.

Some groups use psychics. Others wouldn’t have a psychic in them, instead they believe in the scientific approach, using engineers, policemen and scientists and cut and dry investigations to prove or disprove if the haunting is real. Others are amateur sleuths. Others have a mixed bag of everything. There are no set rules. Instead this is fabulous, for human beings are questioning, something we all should do. No one is an expert on life after death. We can only offer theories and hope we prove them right. My own is that the supernatural is dimensional and that anyone can see a ghost, it just has to happen at the right time when a dimensional door opens. Whether I am right or wrong, it’s a theory. Right?

I admit I wrote a ghost book, Haunted Richmond, Virginia, published by Schiffer Publishing, and doing one on folklore and legends of Virginia next for them. And yes, I am a member of a Virginia ghost group, Virginia Society for Paranormal Education and Research. I’ve done my own investigations with other ghost hunters, using camera, DVD camcorders and EVP (electronic voice recorder). I even wrote things down. Not only is it fun, but I am hopefully offering insights and maybe a path toward proving what is right or not.

So what are you waiting for? Go read those books. Find a ghost group in your area—MySpace and MeetUp.coms are great places to start. It doesn’t matter if you’re a believer or skeptic. Like I said earlier, there are no set rules. But one thing is very certain these days, the paranormal is very popular.

Pamela K. Kinney is an author of published horror, science fiction, fantasy, horror, poetry and the nonfiction book, Haunted Richmond, Virginia, published by Schiffer Books. Also as Sapphire Phelan, she has published erotic and sweet paranormal/fantasy/Science Fiction romance. She lives in Chesterfield, Virginia with her husband, Bill, and their cats, Ripley and Bast. You can find out more about her and what she has or will be coming out at her website:
http://FantasticDreams.50megs.com or at either of her MySpaces: http://www.myspace.com/SapphirePhelan
and http://www.myspace.com/PamelaKKinney
She admits she can always be found at her desk and on her computer, writing. And yes, the house and husband sometimes suffers for it!