Thanks so much to everyone who came out to Dragon*Con to say hello and attend my ghost-related panels.

I learned so much from talking with you.

One of the best comments that I heard was from the young man who suggested researching in movie theatres.

His reasoning was great: Ghosts seem to manifest more when people pay attention to them.

However, skepticism–even healthy skepticism–can get in the way of acknowledging paranormal encounters, so they occur less often. In any movie theatre, the audience is already suspending disbelief. Maybe ghosts have a better chance of being seen (or heard, etc.) in those locations.

That’s a theory worth exploring. (If you’ve tested this theory, please comment about it!)

Here are a few other things that I discovered while talking with friends and fans:

- You want more first-person stories about ghosts and haunted places.

- You want ghost hunters to explain what we pay attention to (and what we don’t), and why.

- You’re interested in related paranormal phenomena… things that aren’t necessarily ghosts, but can’t be explained in “normal” terms, either.

- You’re interested in the renewed focus on “old fashioned” ghost hunting techniques that work, including dowsing rods and table tipping.

- You’re interested in how the living affect haunted places–by attracting ghosts or repelling them–and whether that’s a physical or psychic effect.

And, although I was the only Guest speaker at most of my panels, I also shared a couple of panels with some great paranormal experts. Here are links to each of them:

Patrick Burns, of Ghost Hounds and Haunting Evidence.
Author Rosemary Guiley
Researcher Graham Watkins

I also saw Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, the TAPS guys from the “Ghost Hunters” show, but we were all so busy with our panels, we barely had time to “talk shop.”

Thanks to everyone who attended Dragon*Con, and especially to those to shared questions and ideas about ghosts.

(Nancy from Texas gets special thanks for her enthusiasm.)

And–of course–huge thanks to the many people who make Dragon*Con so successful each year.