Hello readers,

It's been a few months since I last created a blog, but since then, me and the rest of my RPS crew has met some interesting people and have even teamed up with a few. Each new person met has their own paranormal theories and things that we can each compare and contrast to our own experiences.

One such theory that has arose from such discussions is the increased amount of activity that can be present on stairways at an investigation site. Over half of the RPS family has had some kind of activity happen to them while standing or walking up a staircase, whether it be hearing steps below them or having something physically touch them on the shoulder area. What could cause this increase of activity? From the words of one of the past psychic mediums we built a relationship with, stairways and staircases are not only seen by us living as a way to get from one floor to another, but also as an in-between area for spirits. Our past psychic medium explains the dimensional theory of the universe as dimensions on top of dimensions, inches above each other spinning in opposite directions. We are only witness to one dimension unless you are in tune with your special clairvoyant skills. Take this theory as far as your openess and beliefs can take you, but she also goes onto suggest that stairways and staircases are ways for these spirits to pass back and forth in between the dimensions they are allowed.

I have not studied this theory long enough myself to fully believe in its claims, though I am always open to some kind of dignified explanation. Is it possible that even spirits rely on some kind of landmarks or objects to move freely throughout the universe, something as simple as a staircase? As far as I see it, anything is possible, because there are so many things yet to be proven in the paranormal field. I will do my duty to keep studying this and come back with some kind of blog response.

Another item in recent news is the large amounts of solar flares coming off the Sun, the worst of which that will be pounding the Earth on the same day I am writing this article, February 17, 2011. These solar flares are solely responsible for the possibility of disrupting shortwave radio waves, satellite links, and even power capabilities to homes and businesses to reach their destination. Things like CB radios, amateur radio services, land-to-air radio signals, and GPS systems could be crippled throughout the length of the solar storm activity.

My theory for these solar flares is quite simple: With all this extra radiation and energy from the Sun pounding the Earth in the next couple of days, is there a possibility that paranormal acitivity could increase due to this foreign energy? Also to compound my theory, is the fact that February 18th begins the next full moon cycle, something of which many investigators believe has an effect on the amount of activity present, even though RPS has studied and monitored this and has found no link to such. It will be interesting to see if these solar flares have an effect on hunts, but it is definitely worth studying.

RPS has a joint investigation this Friday night with Bob Barrasso from Demonic Duo Paranormal Consultants at an abandoned house in Wernersville, PA. I will make sure the whole team monitors things closely to see if these theories hold some kind of validity, and I will try to post our findings in the next week or so, so readers can chime in with comments.

Wish us luck and until next time,

Mike Snyder, founder and director of Reading Paranormal Society

After watching group after group start up and fail within months, I found myself pondering, what drives my fellow ivestigators and I to investigate the paranormal? I am much more detail-oriented in writing, so I felt writing this blog post would be best.

1.) Some groups and individuals investigate the paranormal for the thrill of the unknown. These are the people that are psyched to come along on an investigation and try to make the best of this experience. However, if a group is only around for the thrill of the unknown, they will never last. The investigation is only a small piece of what any paranormal investigator does. These are the indviduals who complete the ivestigation, and then realize that he/she has to review the evidence from this event. In most cases, this evidence review will be rushed or not even completed at all. And in instances such as this one, this will leave a client with a sour taste in their mouth and they will end up asking themselves, "Why did I allow these idiots into my house or place of business? They didn't solve a damn thing!" I have seen this happen locally. I have called so-called 'haunted sites' about conducting an investigation, and the potential client says, "Nope, never again!!" So and so group "came in to do an investigation and never got back to me", or "were unprofessional", or "I just wasn't happy with the way they did things". To all the groups that this applies to, thanks for nothing. If you do not wish to take the process of paranormal investigating seriously, then just stay at home and watch your favorite paranormal TV show. Don't give people that idea that paranormal investigators are buffoons that don't know how to act professional or follow through on the whole process.

2.) Some groups investigate the paranormal to establish their own theological beliefs in God and the afterlife. This one, I don't have as much of a problem with. However, through years and years of people trying to prove that their religious beliefs are true and absolutely proven, no one has been able to do so. An investigator trying to find his ideals in religion who finds evidence of paranormal activity is truly only being selfish in his own right and not putting the client's intentions first. Find your religious answers on your own time, and if you capture an EVP, don't believe right away that it is a message from the heavens. If you want to find some answers, let's actually find some kind of scientific facts related to the field of the paranormal, because those facts are few and far between as well.

3.) Some groups investigate the paranormal for their 15 minutes of fame and fortune. Seriously???? You are on the back end of the fad my friends. And most of the groups that do just this are not helping their clients that much at all. They are just trying to find the next gold mine, that next investigation that will receive huge exposure. Meanwhile, when you do get a TV show in the works, the producers of the show will want you to change your ideals to make your investigations more 'entertaining' to the viewers, which will make you completely lose your identity. What kind of life is that? Be yourself, be studious, intelligent investigators and good things will eventually come to you.

4.) Some groups are actually out investigating the paranormal to help their clients and to make them feel more comfortable about any activity occurring around them. Unfortunately, I see this percentage shrinking everyday. In my opinion, this is the best attribute of RPS. I can confidently say that every client that RPS has worked with, if anyone would confront them with a question on their overall opinion of working with the group, would say that they were helpful, professional, and definitely seemed to get the most out of their time. Not only does RPS provide positive information and follow-through during the investigation process, we go out of the way to speak with clients after all is said and done. Numerous times now, I will call or chat with a client on Facebook and 'check-up' on how their situation is at home and if anything new has been happening in relation to the paranormal. I don't really like to even call our clients 'clients'. We talk with these people and become so close to them and their situation, that we honestly become 'friends' through the whole process.

#4 should be the reason why all groups investigate the paranormal. We are in the business to serve people with our time, money that bought the equipment we use, and the passion and determination that it takes to complete the investigation process from the beginning to the end with no shortcuts. Sure it is great to capture an EVP, or catch some great photographic or video evidence of the paranormal; however, I feel the best feeling comes from teaching people to understand and cope with the paranormal happenings occurring around them. When the client finally breathes a sigh of relief, that is when an investigator has done his job. At that point, take a minute, give yourself a pat on the back, and move on because there are plenty of other people around that need your help.

Until next time,

Mike Snyder, founder and director of RPS

Hello all readers!

I'd like to voice my opinion on something I have read about in the last couple days and it has to do with the concept of certifying investigators and groups to conduct investigations the 'correct way'. What is the 'correct way' to conduct an investigation? Undoubtedly, this is just another way to capitalistically fuel our society and to make some 'all-knowing' schmuck a success. Cetification classes would probably be online classes that would hand you a piece of paper at the end of the lesson, and that useless piece of paper would probably end up costing you a few hundred bucks in the end.

Let me just set the record straight: there are no paranormal experts! There are too many theories that exist that have not been analyzed and proven enough to have become scientific fact. There are such things as physics experts, biology experts, and chemistry experts, but these fields have been studied and mulled over for hundreds and thousands of years. The paranormal field is still in its infant stage of study, but it seems to be beginning to takes its first steps.

This is why certification classes are rediculous. Every paranormal group needs to be comfortable with their own methods of investigating. This is only achieved through experience in the field. There are currently classes held locally in some areas to show people how to set up and use video and audio equipment, which is fine, but do not tell people what they can or cannot do on an investigation. I guess a good example of this would be the opinion of most viewers of the show that aired last year on TV called Extreme Paranormal. These 3 guys would go into buildings and draw blood to draw spirits out, hold seances, and even buried one of the investigators alive in the one episode. The show lasted 3 episodes, and had plenty of criticism to back up its cancellation from the network. The viewers, including myself and other RPS teammates did not agree with their investigatory methods; however, if they were comfortable with doing these things, who are we to judge?

I don't care what tools you have and how much research is put into a case, one of the most important piece of advice to adhere by is this: Keep a positive attitude out in the field. Attitude is everything. Coming out to an investigation site and assuming that the client is crazy and that everything will be debunked is not the way to go. Put yourself in your client's position: this person called you out to their house, place of business, etc., because something is making them uncomfortable there. Your job out there is not much different from the person working the McDonald's drive-thru window or the cashier at the local grocery store. Make your client feel comfortable and make the event as easy and pleasant as possible.

Can a certification class teach you that???

Until next time,

Mike Snyder, co-founder of Reading Paranormal Society

Hello Readers:

One year has come and gone since Reading Paranormal Society formed, and yet none of us really seemed to notice. We have been busy booking events and investigations, going over hours and hours of audio, photographic, and video evidence, and also are spending countless hours researching our next possible destinations to investigate.

It is hard to believe that a year ago this very day, we conducted our first investigation at the Shartlesville Hotel. We had no prior group-investigating experience, knew very little of what our tools could do for us out in the field, and hardly fathomed how much work goes into the process of reviewing hours and hours of data from each investigation. We had no real contacts in the field to touch base with about investigating places and barely anyone to give us support in our endeavors except our families and close friends.

As our Shartlesville investigation came and went, and we discovered we captured some interesting EVPs there, our desire to prove ourselves grew. Months went by, and we kept booking investigations and kept capturing startling evidence that something else may be out there in this world, but may just be hidden from our sight and other senses 99.9% of the time.

We did not know why we were capturing this great evidence at almost every single investigation site, but then one of our contacts said it best about ghost hunting groups in general: She said, 'Groups walk in here sometimes thinking that they will absolutely debunk every claim we have...they give you this look when you tell them the claims, and you can tell that their hearts aren't in this for the right reason.' That sums everything up: some groups don't get it. Walking into a sight with a pessimistic view of what you might find does not help your cause---it only deters you from doing your job the right way!!

I can honestly say on behalf of RPS, that all of our investigators love going out and investigating a site for a potentially worried or curious client. Our first job is to debunk any claims that a client may have; however, we do not shrug any claims off during our initial meeting or give clients a strange look. The paranormal world is full of things that we quite possibly have never seen before. Even the so-called 'experts' have not seen or heard everything, and no one has all the answers, because too many theories are just that: they are theories and not scientific fact.

So I guess if you remember one word from this blog, I would want you to remember this word: ATTITUDE. Attitude has been what has kept us afloat. Sure, RPS has had its share of hardships, drama, and personnel changes in a year, but the ATTITUDE has never diminished from the group collectively. RPS has proven that you do not need the best equipment, the most knowledgeable staff and all the resources in the world to do research: the only thing you truly need is ATTITUDE.

Mike Snyder, co-founder of Reading Paranormal Society