Certified ghost hunter? Licensed? Competent ?  How do these terms affect us as ghost hunters?  The following include my answers to a reader’s comments and questions on these topics.

The reader asked why my free Introduction to Ghost Hunting course issues a certificate.

A certificate is just that… a certificate. It’s a piece of paper (or a digital certificate) that indicates something, usually that the person has completed a project or course of some kind.

So, anyone can be “certified” if we’re talking about earning a certificate. That’s different from being officially licensed, or claiming to be officially licensed when there is no agreed-upon licensing board.

I offer certificates of completion with my courses. If the person chooses to say that they’re “certified,” that’s is correct. However, your comments are evidence of the confusing nature of this terminology.

I suppose that anyone can claim to be a “certified ghost hunter” if they have some training and earned a certificate. However, when it’s said in a way that indicates some official board of licensing and certification… that doesn’t exist in the paranormal field. Until our studies can be quantified and expertise determined in a truly scientific setting, there won’t be any way to license or broadly certify someone’s skills as a ghost hunter.

Can anyone earn a certificate for completing studies in this field? Yes. Can they say that they’re “certified”? Technically, yes.

Does that mean they’ve achieved a standardized level of competence and are professionally certified by a licensing board of examiners? No.

In spiritual fields, we’re often dealing with subjects that — for the present — are unable to be quantified, weighed or measured. Legally speaking, someone is an “ordained minister” whether they printed out their certificate from the Universal Life Church or graduated from Harvard Divinity School. I’ve met devout spiritual people with certificates from the former, and nasty cynics who’ve abandoned their beliefs after graduating from Harvard.

We’re not in a field where we have annual licensing reviews, or we’re required to complete X number of hours of continuing education or in-service training.

This is one reason why I’m so eager for more people to become active researchers in paranormal fields. The sooner we have more definitive answers to what we call “ghosts” and “hauntings,” the sooner some standardization will be possible.

(By contrast, I doubt that there will ever be a similar measure in pure spirituality. But, I maintain that we will find proof of ghosts and hauntings that can be proved, scientifically. That’s the difference.)

Can someone be taught to find ghosts?

The reader asked if there’s a definitive way that someone can be taught to find ghosts.

I replied: At this point, there is no way to say with 100% confidence that a ghost can be found, period. That said, in this field we tend to use the word “ghost” when we actually mean “phenomena that many people believe may be caused by the spirit of someone who once lived.”

It’s just easier to say, “ghost” and most people know what we’re talking about.

Ghosts are different from demons

The reader asked who has the expertise to tell the ghost to cross over, except the experienced exorcists.

I replied to the reader:   Some exorcists may help a spirit “cross over.” In most cases, exorcists I’ve spoken with are dealing with demons, not ghosts. They don’t care if the demon “crosses over” or crosses the street, as long as it leaves people alone. So, I believe that many exorcists would not say that they’re qualified to get a ghost to “cross over.”

From my experience, getting a ghost to cross over involves empathy, patience, a strong sense of spirituality, and — above all — time. Those are skills best acquired through education and a lot of experience in the field.

Do all ghost investigators want to help the ghosts?

The reader commented about the first lesson in my introductory course, “I would hope that you are trying to help someone or help the ‘ghosts’.”

Not all ghost hunters are interested in helping others, or even helping the ghosts.  So, the following is my reply to the reader’s comment:

In a beginning ghost hunting course, I think the first step is to find a haunted place and determine for yourself if (a) you believe in any of this, and (b) what your specific interest are, if you continue past the point of confirming that something is going on at haunted places.

For some, this will be a scientific pursuit, and have nothing to do with “helping” the ghosts. For others, it may be entertaining like a game show, as in, “How many famous ghosts can you witness?” but on a personal level.

That’s not my call. I present the course so that people can learn enough basics to determine what (if anything) they want to do, after they’ve visited a few haunted places and decided if this is — or isn’t — real.

Should we always warn people not to trespass?

The reader suggested that I should put a warning about trespassing at the top of the first lesson.  I understand the logic of that, and I’m sympathetic to the readers’ concerns.  However, I have a different outlook, as I explained in my reply:

The “never ghost hunt on private and/or posted property without permission” line, appears at the foot of every page of HollowHill.com, and in my ghost hunting rules/guidelines. It’s also common sense and the law.

I’m trying to keep the course concise, and I mention the private property issue in the course. I like to think that most of my students are bright enough not to need it said yet again, when they want to read something new and different as they begin my four-part course.

(Frankly, I think that most of my students are as bright as you are, and — like you — they read everything on the page, including the caveat about private property.)

So… how do you feel about these controversial issues?  Leave your comments in the form below.

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