Not sure if this is exactly the right forum...

[Aesalon]

Okay, I was thinking yesterday (Partially prompted by Stellar's cemetary picture.)
From an investigation standpoint are there places that are too 'sacred' to hunt ghosts? Either places personally sacred (Where someone close to you passed unexpectedly) or sacred to us as a 'people' (Tribally sacred so to speak - Ground Zero, or Gettysburg come to mind as examples.)

I think that this is one of those personal opinion topics, but I would like to hear what y'all think.

[Syren Song]

This reminds me back in high school when a girl in our grade died after getting in a car crash. (She actually didn't crash into anyone, but instead turned too fast on a gravel road in the country and ended up flipping her car...) She was buried at a cemetery that I passed everyday on my way to school. My friend and I at the time had just started ghost hunting. We did actually check out that cemetery that the girl in our grade was buried at. We tried asking her questions, but, to our relief, she didn't answer back.

At the time, I think we were both unsure if that was the right thing to do or not. Now, personally, looking back - I don't think that just because you know a person that has died (whether they were family or just an acquaintance) means they don't want to speak with you any less. If anything, it might be the other way around. If that person's soul still remains here for some reason or another, I can't imagine why they wouldn't want to speak with you. It may be hard on you personally to find the strength in yourself to do so, but morally I don't believe that it's wrong.

As for places that are considered sacred, such as Ground Zero for example, I think that many Americans would frown upon investigating there. It's such a sensitive thing and many people wouldn't understand our desire to speak with the dead. They would consider it disrespectful. Like I state above though, if there are those that have not passed on yet and are stuck here on Earth in death, they may just want someone to talk to and to communicate with as best as we are able. Perhaps even help them find peace. I'm not saying I would personally go to these locations just to find out. I simply think that it is not wrong. The desire for knowledge and the want to help others is hardly wrong. However, many people lost family members and loved ones in these places, so out of respect for them, I think it's probably best just to let it be.

[stellar]

I think this is a very good topic. I've been thinking about the very same thing recently. There was a thread started not too long ago on the forum about possibly investigating roadside areas where fatal accidents had occured. It made me start wondering where the line is/should be drawn when it comes to exploiting such a sad and horrific event, and when it's still considered "okay" and acceptable.

I think that the biggest factor in finding that answer is how the person(s) investigating are looking at the whole thing, what their feelings are about it, and what their goals are in doing it. I think that unfortunately there are many people out there who call themselves paranormal investigators but are only in it for the thrill, or so they can make money off of it, or can throw around their "evidence" and say, "Look what I found!" and try to impress everyone. Ghost hunting seems to have become a bit of a fad recently. For the people who are in it for the wrong reasons and just want to exploit whatever happened, I think that's obviously clearly wrong. I know I would find it extremely disrespectful if a group of kids (or moronic adults) went into the house my brother died in and whipped out a Ouija Board and tried to contact him through it. Or just walked through taking pictures hoping to catch his spirit in one. On the other hand, if a serious group of investigators went in with the intentions of helping his spirit pass over (not saying that it hasn't, just using it as a personal example), I would be much more okay with that and would welcome it.

So yeah, I think it all depends on what your intentions are when you set out for these places to do your investigating. I think that people just need to use good judgment when it comes to deciding where to do their investigations. If you have good intentions, you're going to know what feels right and wrong to do.

Basically when it comes down to it, any type of ghost hunting is, well, hunting ghosts. Some deaths are more horrible than others, of course. For instance, investigating a house where a 98 year old man peacefully passed away in his sleep and ever since, strange things have been happening is going to be seen in a much better light than doing an investigation at a site where say, a young girl was raped and murdered. But if you're going in there with good intentions, who's to say you couldn't help out the spirit of that young girl just as much as the older man? If you're setting out to help, I don't see how it could be wrong no matter where you investigate. But you do, *of course* have to be respectful of what the friends and family members want and are comfortable with!

I have had several opportunities to go to some places I didn't feel it was "right" to go to so I didn't. There were no reports of strange happenings, nor anything to indicate a spirit in need so I didn't feel right going in there. If a spirit is resting in peace, there's no need to go in and alter that.

Anyway I think I'm rambling here at this point... and I just read Jeanette's reply and it looks like I just repeated a lot of what she said. haha But I agree.

I would also like to say that I don't want you all to think I go around to random cemeteries at night and take pictures. I didn't take offense to Aesalon's reference to my picture, but I know that all the pictures I've posted have been in cemeteries. I've mentioned before that I'm very into photography as a hobby and cemeteries have always kind of been my "thing." Not for any weird or creepy reason, I just find them to be beautiful and peaceful, and I love to think about all of the history contained in them. I've gone other places with a group to investigate reportedly haunted places and it just so happens that the cemeteries, where I'm taking pictures not for the purpose of finding anything, are the main places I get stuff! haha I will explain more of that in another post.

[stellar]

I guess I didn't really touch on the "sacred" part of the question... but I think Jeanette answered it very well.

[Syren Song]

Wow Stellar, I agree with you 100%. That was very well put!

You're right about there being fad recently with ghost hunting, no doubt because of the show Ghost Hunters. I remember before that was ever even on TV and I had been researching it, and when I started getting into it, if ever I had told anyone about it, usually I would get responses that consisted of odd, confused looks or that questioning face like, "Why?" Now, if ever you mention ghost hunting, it seems everyone knows what you're talking about and they automatically think of TAPs and how cool they are and how fun that would be. Unfourtunately, I think a lot of those types of people were the ones that have contacted me since I've started the group, and then once I asked them what position they were looking for, they sort of backed off, realizing, "Oh... They actually want me to do something!?"

Anyway, tying this back in with the topic... I think it really does make a difference just who's investigating and what exactly their purpose is. If they are not serious about what they're doing and are only going into it for the thrills, then obviously that's not professional. Like you said, Stellar, I wouldn't want anyone like that investigating my family or myself for that matter (whenever I die). It just is an entirely different approach, and much more disrespectful.

However, if you're going into an investigation to learn something, to hopefully acquire a better understanding of the situation and of the paranormal in general, and if you're lucky enough, to help comfort the spirit's mind and make them feel more at ease after communicating with you, then goodness, I'd say you've done your job. And that is something that should be praised rather than stopped.

[Aesalon]

After thinking about it some more, and reading what y'all think as well, it has kind of given me a sense of greater responisibility about the field - No matter where we go we are treading on someone's "Sacred" ground.
What has already been said about the reasons for what we do is very important.
I believe that there are basically 3 types of 'ghost hunters' Those who want to help, those who want to learn and the 'thrill seeker' - I also believe that there is a little of each in all of us.
I fit into the 'learner' type - (I don't know for sure that we are even dealing with the spirits of the dead...I don't know that we aren't either.) So I think that I have to be very careful to be especially sensitive to how the people connected to a site feel about what I am doing.

[[GHoST].Chuck]

I agree with Aesalon, I think we all have those three things in us but I'm going to add a 4th point and that is curiosity. We've all seen the TAPS show and many others and I know for a fact I along with others have either looked at the person next to me or thought "What would you do?" That's the thrill seeker part, I think that's the strongest point in us too just because we WANT to know what we would do, IMO. But curiosity is huge too, like I said we've seen the shows and that question pops in your head everytime "Are they faking?" when the question really is "Can that be real?"

Don't know if I made any sense there at least it sounded right in my head.
Point is we do this cause for our personal questions that need to be answered and for others like us who have the same questions.

[Syren Song]

*nods*

I think our group too could best be described as the paranormal team looking for answers. This too, ties in with curiosity. Obviously, lol, if you aren't curious, then you don't want answers. I personally am very intrigued by all things paranormal in nature, and I think it would be very interesting to work first hand with such phenomena. I want to understand everything about it, to be able to identify things and label them for what they truly are. Unfourtunately, that's a far-off dream and most likely will never happen, as the paranormal is so odd in its nature, never giving up definitive answers.

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