TORONTOGHOSTS/ONTARIOGHOSTS SUPER QUICK MEDIA FAQ
This FAQ is true for Torontoghosts, Ontarioghosts, and ParaResearchers...
To make this very simple, you can skip the "small print" (unless you want more information) and just read and understand the bolded stuff.
The bolded stuff is only TWELVE LOUSY SHORT POINTS that will save everyone a lot of grief... and if you don't read it and we notice this, it doesn't matter who you are or where you're from, the answer is an automatic "No" regardless of the request.
Please Remember: We will TRY to help and will TRY to be accommodating... and I admit, this document was written after a few fairly galling e-mail requests... so SLIGHTLY forgive the tone... but I'm hoping you'll understand if you read through...
That said, onward... and like I said, in a rush? Skip to the bolded stuff. There's only twelve sentences to look at unless you want details...
#1: Whatever's written here, if you think we'll make exceptions for you, think again.
What you read here is written in stone... and yes, on many occasions, we have turned down major production houses and networks. (See the "Bonus Point" at the bottom for details...)
#2: You know those ghost hunting TV shows? Yeah, that ain't us.
You'll see as you read on... I hope...
#3: Wanna come out on one of our spooky ghost hunts? Don't hold your breath...
If you have a read of our Rules of Governance, you'll see that for us, nothing is more important than a witness' comfort and security... and shockingly, many of them do not want publicity. This can be for any number of reasons, but probably the "giggle factor" has the most to do with it, (not wishing to be the butt of people's - not just potential "media", but also friends, family, neighbours, etc. - jokes,) and next is concerns about property values, vandals, thrill seekers, etc. Although, indeed, this isn't everyone, you'd be shocked at how few people are interested in being in ANY media on ANY level with their experience and especially when it involves their home.
If you really, Really, REALLY must "see us in action" on an investigation, as a media person, it's easier for you to book a "historic haunt" (one of the places on our website that's open to the public,) and ask them (once we've said "okay",) to have us and you in to do something...
BE WARNED: We don't have "spectre detectors" or machines that go "ping". We don't use psychics or sensitives as a front line in investigations of ghostly phenomena and really, we're pretty nuts-and-bolts. Pad and pen/pencil are the only pre-requisites for most investigators... beyond that, "normal" cameras and sound recording devices are normal... but history, folklore, and critical thinking are our main tools of the work. Not exactly amazingly sci-fi/horror stuff, to be honest.
#4: Want us to furnish scares and chills? Well, we could put on a mask and pop a paper bag behind you...
I've often said that what we do for a hobby, especially when it comes to investigations, is similar in description to how I've heard the job of "Airline Pilot" described... Hours and hours of boredom and tedium broken up by minutes and seconds of panic... except, with us as a rule, it's potentially days of boredom broken by elated minutes of "That's peculiar..." if we're lucky.
#5: Wanna see our office? So do we... cause as far as we know, it doesn't exist!
Right now we're completely un-funded... What money comes in to look after everything from book purchases to transport costs to keeping the servers online are pretty much solely looked after by our founders and directors and some of our volunteers... with a small help by those who feel we contribute to the understanding of things. (Read: Gifts or Donations...) To be honest, our GRAND TOTAL donation amount from October 2010 to September 2011 is... under $60. So for the here and now, we are a group of people "online only"...
#6: So we must be "certified ghost hunters" or something, right? WRONG!
Torontoghosts, Ontarioghosts, ParaResearchers, et al, is made up of people from all walks of life... from blue-collar tradespeople to scientists. Quite literally housewives to authors, servicemen to professors... To get a feel for one of our associated groups and who we also work for, feel free to click here and scroll down to our Friends and Consultants...
Currently, there is no (and has never been) an accredited post-secondary Canadian institution that offers "Parapsychology" (or any "paranormal studies") as a major, let alone a doctorate, the best "we" can say is we're enthusiastic amateurs.... not professionals, as no one on our team currently makes their bread and butter doing this work... which brings me to...
#7: You want to watch ME at my OFFICE doing my WORK!?! Oh joy! Watching a man install Windows 7 Home Premium on a machine then calibrating a fundoscopic camera is usually fairly dull for most people!
As pointed out in #5 and #6 above, we're all volunteers... many of us are parents... and we have "day jobs". Sorry to say, "paranormal research and investigation" is not a paying career at the moment... and as we don't "clear homes" or offer any "paid services" (like "psychical work",) we need to look after ourselves through 'normal' means as this is a hobby... a consuming hobby for some of us, but a hobby none-the-less.
#8: If you're wondering what Torontoghosts/Ontarioghosts is in terms of the volunteers, think "brain trust"... or close to it.
We are legitimately modeling ourselves from the better aspects (we hope) a host of prestigious groups... from The Society for Psychical Research which myself and several other T/OGHRS folks are members of ourselves to The American Society for Psychical Research to The Parapsychological Association to Britains Ghost Club and many, many others that we admire and respect.
Torontoghosts/Ontarioghosts is trying very hard to be a legitimate learning and educational resource for people from witnesses to students of the paranormal. We are pleased to boast friends and genuine associates with members of all the groups above and are currently (as of October 2011) working on projects with people at The Koestler Parapsychology Unit at The University of Edinburgh, other members of the SPR and ASPR, and of course, with The Parapsychological Association. We are please to also count friends and acquaintances within The Association for Science and Reason (formerly Skeptics Canada) as well as CSI/CFI (formerly CSICOP) and also friends with members of The Spiritualist Church of Canada.
In other words, if you were hoping for people screaming about demons while tossing holy water willy-nilly... or hunting ghosties armed with plumbers tools only at night... we're probably not for you.
Oh, and if you want our Ufological or Cryptozoological credentials, which are equally as good, those are available upon request.
#9: WAIT! We're referencing something called PSICAN a lot!!! But you might want Toronto Ghosts (or Ontario Ghosts or ParaResearchers)... oh wait, they are working with PSICAN too!
Yeah, well, we work on the same principals and the director here is one of the founders of that group... and with this, the same stuff applies with maybe more emphasis on history and folklore on the ghostly stuff.
#10: So you're telling me that you're not interested in a reality(ish) television show of your own?
...only about as much as I'm interested in a bowel resection with no anaesthetic.
Again, harkening back to our Rules of Governance, we won't knowingly hoax, we won't knowingly propagate a lie... making reality teevee (for the most part) a write-off for us.
We actually study... and read... and discuss... and genuinely look into things... a LOT...
Why?
Because we're interested.
Because we think it's important.
Because we enjoy it.
Because we, like many other people, just want to understand things a bit better.
That's why.
To answer some of the more legimately said startled statements from some previous interviewers, YES, we do take this seriously and YES, we're "legit".
BONUS: BUT DO YOU KNOW WHO WE ARE!?! or DO YOU KNOW WHAT EXPOSURE WE CAN GIVE YOU!?! or DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH BUSINESS YOU COULD MAKE WORKING WITH US!?! short answer... We Don't Care.
Basically, if you want a frank discussion on the phenomena, we'll be happy to help out. If you want an honest take on things, we're your people. If you want to discuss anything and everything from survival of bodily death to "natural phenomena" being mistaken for the "supernatural", that's us. If you even want to discuss the lore and myth of ghosts and hauntings, we might be of service...
LAST BIT: If you've read the above and didn't see your request kiboshed AND didn't wait until the last minute (requests with less than six days notice tend to not be fill-able,) then PLEASE, let us know you read this and we'll work as hard as we can to meet your request.
If we did shoot down your idea, and regardless, you still want to try and see if we can help, sure... let us know... but don't be shocked if we can't. We've made things pretty clear here...
Contact the and you WILL get a response WITHIN FORTY-EIGHT HOURS...
Thanks!
Matthew James Didier