The wine and dine portion

Today was learning, not only about the other people sharing this experience with us, but also about aspects of what we do as "ghost hunters."

My day started with a lecture by Alan Blai and the Psychology of Parapsychology. Alan is a previous Roman Catholic seminary student who switched gears and got his M.S. in clinical psychology. He actually has all the work done on his Ph.D., but because he included parapsychology in the mix, his dissertation team is debating on whether or not to grant him his degree. His background also includes demonology and exorcism.

Alan gave a fascinating talk on how the brain works and why people might experience paranormal phenomena where there is none. I think the idea that struck me the most (because I have asked this myself) is what does a ghost hunter really have to offer a family being traumatized by a ghost? He gave the example of people who get an EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena = hearing ghost voices on tape that were not discernible at the time) where the ghost says something like "Help me" and all they can do is run around with the recording, estastic that they got an anomaly without any considertion to the plea for help. It seems like ghost hunting should be more than the accumulation of data.

The next speaker was Jeff Belanger whose books I enjoy reading. He is one of the few writers writing on the subject of the paranormal who actually writes well. He spoke on discovering legends and explaned why legends are real and become part of our existence whether or not they are based on fact or fiction.

I then took a NAP!

Dinner was a banquet with a long, but lively auction for a foundation for children with cancer. I bid on and won a K-2 meter that has been used by the TAPS team. At this point, I feel like a TAPS Groupie/Slut, but it was for a worthy cause.

Tonight, I plan to roam the halls with my meter, avoiding the Group I investigating teams, and see what I find. If I do have anything interesting happen, I'll jump back on and share!