| There
are many amateur paranormal investigative groups out there who will use
a variety of means to make themselves appear more creditable than they
actually are.
The
most common of these is to affiliate themselves with the International
Ghost Hunter's Society (IGHS). The IGHS is a worldwide Society of ghost
believers, ghost hunters and ghost researchers and have over 14,000 members
in 87 countries. IGHS is a open membership society and becoming a member
is free and quite easy. As a result, these fly by night investigators
latch onto popularity and reputation that IGHS has achieved and attempt
to use it to provide some creditability for their amateur organization.
It is important to mention here that IGHS has many standards that they
hold to the organizations associated with them and many of these "newcomers"
do not even bother to follow those standards. In the end, their
bumbling, bad manners and ethics cause damage the image of paranormal
investigators everywhere.
To
help aid with this, IGHS has a page on their site which lists the groups
that follow their protocols and which groups that they are unsure of.
It is suggested that any group claiming to be affiliated with them be
checked out on the appropriate pages of their website to ensure that the
group is actually affiliated with them. That page can be found here.
Another
instant credential you may find is the American Society for Psychical
Research. While the main body of this group is active in valid research,
they offer "membership" to anyone who has the money to pay for it. To
see how easy it is to become a member, click
here.
You
can be a fourth grader, mentally unstable and a general fruitcake and
be a member in this organization. Once again, this is another venue which
amateur organizations use to "beef up" their resumes.
Memberships
and Associations with such organizations need to be viewed with a cautious
eye. By
joining an society or group, you are associating yourself with them and
there are many elements that are out of your control.
|
