Touring America's Greatest Haunted Areas
Declaring a site Haunted
I am asked quite frequently is what criteria do I use to determine a site is haunted and how many sites have I declared or certified as haunted?
Thus far I (aka G.H.O.S.T., G.H.O.S.T. Enterprises and Bridges2Beyond), have only declared 1 site to be haunted. Gabriel's Inn located in Ijamesville, MD just minutes outside of Frederick. To my knowledge, we were the first group to declare Gabriel's Inn a haunted location back in November of 2008, although it has come to my attention that another group has now declared them a haunted site sometime in 2009.
"Certification" takes on certain requirements, for example, a lot of professional program requires certifications which means there are precise standards, training requirements, etc. Usually a "certifying body" or national association of some kind is involved in "certifications". Essentially, I chose to avoid any legal wranglings that may arise out of the jargon. So G.H.O.S.T. will offically decalre a site meeting the criteria.
There are a number of things we consider before we will even consider declaring a site "haunted". First, let me back up and say there are two major classifications I consider applicable to this arena. I believe that many places may be spiritiually occupied. Places that may be occupied may or may not be active or known to be active.
Let's face it, there have been a lot of peoples on these lands for many years before us, so it's hard for me to believe there may not be spirits who choose to occupy these places even today. This may possibly account for some of the residual type hauntings, then agian, it may not. No way to say for certain.
I hesitate to even declare a site as "haunted" becasue more times than not, that seems to take on a negative connotation. I infact believe that most "haunted" places are NOT faced with any kind of negative haunting. It is my opinion and belief that we have been "conditioned" to have "hauntings" be something that is scary, spooky and perhaps even evil, when in fact, it has been my experience that many activities at places believed to be haunted are largely due to the fact of people being startled coupled with the association they have made to what they have heard from stories and legands. Being startled certainly comes with a certain level of fright but it's much different than assuming that all hauntings are negative, freightful things.
Obviously evidence is going to make up a large part of the criteria needed to declare a site as "haunted". At the same time, I have learned to place a lot of trust in my senses and personal experiences and do consider those in making my determinations. I also have to consider those other tangibles that may have some influence on the potential for a site being haunted. Histories of the locations, buildings and property, composition of the native rocks, soils and bedrock, etc. All these are things are considered. I also have to consider the client in the process. What does declaring them as haunted potentially mean to them. For some it can be a good thing, for others, it could comprise their home or business value and how others may perceive them. So there my be other cases where I belive a site to be haunted where I will not declare a site to be haunted, simply because of the impact it may have on the current owners.
In the end, when I delcare a site to be "haunted" I want to be able to lay out my case in a clear and concise manner. I'm not saying everyone will agree with me, I'm not going to debate MY (any my group's) position with them. I simply want to be able to lay out my case for a place being haunted in a manner that is professional and well documented.
Thus far I (aka G.H.O.S.T., G.H.O.S.T. Enterprises and Bridges2Beyond), have only declared 1 site to be haunted. Gabriel's Inn located in Ijamesville, MD just minutes outside of Frederick. To my knowledge, we were the first group to declare Gabriel's Inn a haunted location back in November of 2008, although it has come to my attention that another group has now declared them a haunted site sometime in 2009.
"Certification" takes on certain requirements, for example, a lot of professional program requires certifications which means there are precise standards, training requirements, etc. Usually a "certifying body" or national association of some kind is involved in "certifications". Essentially, I chose to avoid any legal wranglings that may arise out of the jargon. So G.H.O.S.T. will offically decalre a site meeting the criteria.
There are a number of things we consider before we will even consider declaring a site "haunted". First, let me back up and say there are two major classifications I consider applicable to this arena. I believe that many places may be spiritiually occupied. Places that may be occupied may or may not be active or known to be active.
Let's face it, there have been a lot of peoples on these lands for many years before us, so it's hard for me to believe there may not be spirits who choose to occupy these places even today. This may possibly account for some of the residual type hauntings, then agian, it may not. No way to say for certain.
I hesitate to even declare a site as "haunted" becasue more times than not, that seems to take on a negative connotation. I infact believe that most "haunted" places are NOT faced with any kind of negative haunting. It is my opinion and belief that we have been "conditioned" to have "hauntings" be something that is scary, spooky and perhaps even evil, when in fact, it has been my experience that many activities at places believed to be haunted are largely due to the fact of people being startled coupled with the association they have made to what they have heard from stories and legands. Being startled certainly comes with a certain level of fright but it's much different than assuming that all hauntings are negative, freightful things.
Obviously evidence is going to make up a large part of the criteria needed to declare a site as "haunted". At the same time, I have learned to place a lot of trust in my senses and personal experiences and do consider those in making my determinations. I also have to consider those other tangibles that may have some influence on the potential for a site being haunted. Histories of the locations, buildings and property, composition of the native rocks, soils and bedrock, etc. All these are things are considered. I also have to consider the client in the process. What does declaring them as haunted potentially mean to them. For some it can be a good thing, for others, it could comprise their home or business value and how others may perceive them. So there my be other cases where I belive a site to be haunted where I will not declare a site to be haunted, simply because of the impact it may have on the current owners.
In the end, when I delcare a site to be "haunted" I want to be able to lay out my case in a clear and concise manner. I'm not saying everyone will agree with me, I'm not going to debate MY (any my group's) position with them. I simply want to be able to lay out my case for a place being haunted in a manner that is professional and well documented.
Tags: ghost, haunted, hauntings, hunting, locations, paranormal, parnormal
Comment
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Comment by Michael J. Varhola on October 19, 2009 at 11:02pm - Debra, that is all very useful information and I suspect that it will prove helpful to a lot of America's Haunted Road Trip readers. It bears mentioning here that I have availed myself of your expertise in technical matters and, especially in light of the assistance you provided with the EVPs I captured at the "Exorcist house" in Mount Rainier, Maryland, that I have a very high regard for your abilities in these matters.
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