Though scams and con artists are relatively rare in this field, they do exist.
Recently, a new problem has emerged, and it’s related to publishing.
This came to my attention a few months ago, when an associate mentioned that he’d paid someone to publish his book.  However, the book was never published and the associate never received [...]

This isn’t about ghosts.  It’s a book I’ve enjoyed and friends might, too.  However, unless you’re familiar with Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice — and liked it — this review probably won’t interest you.
If you do enjoy Jane Austen’s books, and you have a rather dark sense of humor, this book might delight you, too.
The [...]

Sometimes, being a paranormal researcher is tremendous fun.  Sometimes, it’s not.
In general, the research community — beginners and pros — are bright, wonderful, interesting people.  Many of my closest friends are people I met through ghost hunting.
At every event I attend, I meet great researchers, and every one has an important question or story to [...]

People continue to ask me if certain ghost hunting TV shows and movies are real or just entertainment.

Are the Ghost Hunters fake? I replied to that about a year ago, in my article, Ghost Hunters TV show – fake? Nothing since then has changed my mind.
Is Extreme Paranormal fake? I supposed that some of it [...]

I rarely watch ghost-related TV shows.  They’re entertainment. They’re produced, edited, and sometimes scripted to convey something about hauntings, in a way that will capture the viewers’ attention and (hopefully) loyalty.
Most shows don’t represent what ghost investigations are really like. Even the live/event shows are clearly staged and far more fast-paced than what goes on [...]

Patterns emerge when I study profoundly haunted (or “active”) areas. They help me identify overlooked ghosts and paranormal phenomena.
In my previous book, The Ghosts of Austin, Texas, I described two major paranormal patterns connecting almost all hauntings in downtown Austin.  With that information, ghost hunters can find dozens of unreported and overlooked  hauntings to investigate.
In [...]