Do you believe in psychics? why do you use psychics?

I am a firm believer in using whatever I can get my grubby paws on. The whole concept of a paranormal team is the idea that things can happen out of the "normal parameters"- I do not believe in all psychics and I have an extremely hard time with folks that charge money for their services...I guess I feel that God has gifted them and this gift is given freely and ought to be shared freely. Too many people claim to be psychic and I think those that are gifted are really rare...

We do have people who, I feel, have some abilities in these areas and they would all admit that they are not always right on. However; they are a resource and in collaboration with tech tools (emf meters etc) they can prove to be very valuable.

Do you have a favourite investigation?

I don't want to sound diplomatic as people who have contacted us have all generously shared their homes and experiences with us. All these people need to be acknowledged and sadly I am honour bound to not tell you who these great people are who allow us into their homes and trust us to respect their privacy.

I guess the way I look at it is: Every time we get a call to go out, we have a remarkable chance to explore something that is a mystery. Now whether or not we uncover the mystery is not the big issue-it's that opportunity to perhaps be there when something happens...more than anything else. When things are quiet I am rarely discouraged and in the back of my mind is the hope that the mystery in time will unfold (before I make the journey myself lol). Every person who calls us with an investigation offers our group a gift...the gift is the opportunity to open some sealed doors and see the mystery beyond.

Why don't you charge?

I think it's immoral to charge outright for something such as what we do. I also believe strongly that keeping our services free adds to the credibility of our research. We are looking because we are interested in what might be happening. We will accept donations towards the expenses we pay out-gasoline, film processing, telephone toll charges etc. We carpool to save on costs but they do mount up and it is hard to constantly take money out to do this. We'd only accept cash for the exact amount we have spent and again, we do not insist on this. We also do not insist on new members paying the donation for joining.

What has been the most scary for you?

Carla getting possessed was unexpected and as a result pretty scary (We were in a place we had always felt safe in and let down our collective guard-So if experienced investigators can be careless-Anyone can). I was more annoyed than scared but we did lose two regular members when that happened as it was an intense experience. I was annoyed because after I got over my initial shock and concern for Carla-I thought the spirit was quite rude to jump in uninvited. Incidentally we handled that situation by being firm, polite and respectful to the spirit-I think a combination of our respect and compassion for the spirit and Carla's own tenacity eventually encouraged the spirit to leave.

I have also been made aware after the fact that other members of the team have been extremely freaked from time to time when out on other investigations...At one investigation in Chilliwack, I found out afterwards that Marisa was really spooked when we were checking out an abandoned residence. I have walked into a room and four sensitive people in our group have all almost collapsed and I felt nothing. I think different things "scare" different people...I have only been uncomfy once or twice and annoyed a couple of times :o).

I have been jabbed in the leg and other members have been touched while we have been out on some of our other investigations and I tend to take that all in passing. At a Surrey investigation, Kevin's daughter was bitten on her finger and it drew blood. I think though that the main scary episode was Carla getting possessed as we were not expecting it and the onslaught was very sudden. Incidentally this is probably the number one reason why your team never investigates with less than two members in one location. Carla was right beside us and it happened.

How can I start a team?

I think you need at least one other member who has the same dedication that you might have. I think that's the most important thing. If you have more interest than the other then they are not going to want to apply themselves with the same level of input you want to apply. I think any sized town or small city has enough spooky activity for a group to start.

You need to keep looking for other folks as well...they are out there but not organized-You may be able to collect these people and be the lynchpin. putting up posters, canvassing message boards such as Ghoststudy.com (usually has a section of people looking in particular areas)etc may be helpful. I have even known some folks to take out an ad in a newspaper (although I think that might cost a little more money and I'm not sure it's necessary). Build a website with your town or city name and the words "ghosts or paranormal" in the title and stick yourself in as many search engines you can find. Above all else don't give up, it can be such a rewarding field and you will find new and dear friends as a result.

Lastly and I really think this is really extremely important- try to get members with differing opinions on the paranormal than yours....Nothing makes a person think more than hearing other people's theories...Be brave and allow for differences-You want a paranormal team of Investigators not a bunch of sheep. Everyone sharing the same opinion as you, can make things nice and mellow but also pretty dull...So don't insist that member adopt your beliefs- All members need to do are to follow your established procedures and protocols and leadership (within reason-don't encourage to break laws and do not lead into dangerous situations) but not your mindset. Be willing to hear differences of opinion and respect the diversity.

Who has the best paranormal group?

LOL we do lol....Seriously I honestly feel that everyone that looks for ghosts is doing his or her part to further the collective knowledge of us all. When I am looking for information, I go to websites like TAPS, DC Hauntings, TrueGhosts, Winter Steel, Shadowlands etc, Obiwan's. These are fine resource areas and online paranormal websites. For example, TAPS has a great orb analyse section that is always updating.

Every Tom Dick or Henrietta who seeks the spirits in their own environment adds to the information gene pool and you know if I could list every single group out there I would but it would be a huge operation. The various paranormal groups are probably out stripping any work that mediated science is doing...Simple folks with compasses and cameras are capable of turning the paranormal community upside down-Everyone does something that is worthwhile and interesting to the larger study.

I am not being ms nice person here...I really believe we can learn from everyone. I am the first to admit that the things we have uncovered baffle me (Hey I said it on TV as well)- So best paranormal group? I think as long as they are honest about the data they have, they are all the best.

Can anyone be on a paranormal team?

I think provided you have an honest and sincere interest in the paranormal world then you should look at doing it. I think sceptics and believers can totally enjoy the search together provided there is mutual respect.

I don't think all people though, should be on teams or start teams. People who see it as a lark or a chance to get silly should certainly not make a team or join a team. Going ghost hunting is not daring someone to knock on a door or tearing around a cemetery. I also think ghost hunters are naturally born to do this. They have a long history of being fascinated by ghost stories and paranormal events. It takes a methodical organized brain to do this- someone willing to sit quietly for hours on length-willing to log details and get readings. On the surface so much of a real paranormal team's duties would seem to be quite dull.

What's the hardest thing you do?

Do you mean about actually ghost hunting or do you mean with regards to organization? Since I find the organizational stuff the most stressful-I'd have to say that lol. We are approx 20-25 people (I use approx as about four people are not as involved as others are. Presently I am working on a "Team Evolution Idea" that will create three smaller groups (all of which will still be known as Vancouver Paranormal). The purpose of this is: making the team into smaller groups means more one on one with a team leader, Protocols can be maintained easier, individuals with special abilities or interests and opinions may get noticed more, tighter movement and no crowds. So in the days and months to come, there will be a slight shift in how we go about investigations. Actually it was this question that forced me to finally consider that we were getting too big and we have to stop taking in new members presently.

Are you experts?

I am really glad this question has been asked. I keep meaning to post something on this and then get distracted and forget.

Let me begin by saying that the science of the paranormal is by no means an exact science like chemistry or botany wherein one could be considered by his or her colleagues as an "expert". In these applied sciences things can be calculated, measured, known and understood. Consequently, one who masters these subjects, applies the knowledge and demonstrates its validity could be considered an "expert". However: in the science of the paranormal, it is better related to the theoretical sciences like quantum physics or even metaphysics or any number of other sciences or philosophies that deal with the unknown and are thus poorly understood. It is in this regard, (and particularly so with the paranormal studies) that we can emphatically say "We are not experts". Simply because we don't really know for sure what we're dealing with, but rather, we are trying to find out what we're dealing with.

So no we are not experts and with all due respect to the various groups out there, I don't think there are many experts in this field of study at all. I can't see how someone can be an expert if they have never made the trip and I do mean "The TRIP". My point of view is simply this: the other place does a very good job at keeping its secrets. However; and there is always a "however" maybe the secrets are there to be discovered when one is persistent, patient, compassionate and wanting to learn.

Before I continue though, I do want to make it clear that there are certainly some people who have done a lot of research into a considerable number of hauntings and they have made this information available through books, websites and other venues. While they may not be experts on why an afterlife seems to exist, they have certainly earned my respect with the volumes of work they have provided. You simply cannot do this for twenty odd years or so and not have a wealth of information. We're still very much in the backwoods as far as reaching their levels of research.

The best analogy that I could come up with was stamp collecting...the person who does it as a hobby knows a considerable amount more than the person who simply licks them. The stamp collector reads everything and anything revolving around their area of interest and learns all there is to know. They know what stamps are rare, how many are still around, the value etc. They often pursue their interests with single minded thoroughness. We're the stamp collectors and not the person licking the stamps.

Another reality is: we're nothing more than a (at times) group of people with a real different hobby. For most of us, it started as an interest and a desire to know more. We read all the books and watched all the shows and when the internet came along we went to all the sites. Gradually I suppose watching others do it, write about it etc., became less interesting to us than actually doing this ourselves! We wanted to do this ourselves. Every last person on our group confesses to a lifetime obsession with spooky situations and then finally having that obsession culminate in a passionate desire to be on the paranormal front line.

At first it was just myself and Kevin and the first time we went out I was smoking and it was also raining. We figured out pretty quickly that wasn't so smart. We learned more each time we went out...we learned to respect the "unseen people around us" and developed a more spiritual understanding about what we were trying to do . Over time, incorporating other techniques, adding a few of our own, and always striving to be honest, we started to get photographic images and first-hand visual sightings that were intense.

I think also that our lack of "expertise" keeps us all open minded and perhaps more careful about making presumed spot judgments on any given situation. We are students in this.

We made notes and catalogued various kinds of events and phenomena�s that seemed to happen more and more often. We found that we got more orbs with colours and vibrations when we were talking or laughing. We discovered when we were quieter, the orbs seemed distant and paler. People seemed to suffer more from headaches and other complaints.

We found that "when we talked to the attending spirit community in cemeteries" , we became more relaxed and when we ignored them and just took pictures we found ourselves more uptight and edgy. We also found that asking for permission from the spirits usually upped the activity and we got some intense ecto and apparitional figures. When I think back to the original days when Kevin, Sara, Robyn and I went out to the cemetery in the pouring rain and four years later we have progressed to using control pictures, notepads, emf meters and closed circuit cameras etc. Well, it seems to me that there were different people in the cemetery in those days.

Over the years we have implemented many new tools into our search, enlisted a variety of different people from all walks of life to look with us. We have invited other ghost groups to come and show us how, etc. We read, pore over documents and search the internet. We have meetings to collaborate on what we are discovering, we have socials to strengthen team bonds. We do everything we can to ensure that we are all on the same wavelength in terms of being a responsible, responsive and cohesive unit. We have practiced, perfected and honed our abilities until "ghost hunting" is now done as professional as possible and in fact, has become rather second nature to us. We have had a lot of experiences along the way...sitting in cold basements, exploring older buildings and asking questions, questions and more questions and always cataloguing our findings. Noting the similarities, observing the discrepancies...always wondering why things are the way they seem to be.

The bottom line is: when we do an investigation, it's actually class time for myself and the group. Just one more opportunity to expand on what we "think we know" and maybe one step closer to finally understanding what it is all about. And what does a ghost investigation look like? Well imagine a model plane kit, you follow the plans faithfully and when you're done, one of three things might happen...You have a model with a bunch of pieces left over, you have a partial model and no more pieces are left....orrrrrrr you have a model and a whole pile of pieces left over that seem to belong to a different model altogether. That's kind of what a ghost hunt looks like-I don't think it's possible to get exactly what we see on the cover of the model box. I think if we ever do an investigation where we get every answer and all the pieces to fit then that will be the time to hang up the old ghost hunters hat (see cafe press store for spiffy designs lol ;) ).

We don't have the degrees and diplomas snazzily hanging on the walls but we are certainly dedicated amateurs. We are all experienced and have learned to respect this unseen world. We love it despite the fact that it confounds us and leaves us stooped in deeper mysteries. We have learned to ground ourselves ..and to trust in a higher power. We have learned to ask questions, and to question our data ,and to constantly analyze and examine everything that we encounter. I'll be the first to say (and I've said it many times) that whatever we are finding only serves to confuse us more. Each question we think we might have answered only poses a thousand other questions. It's like unravelling a ball of yarn made with thousands of long threads...each one has to be unwrapped individually and when you finally reach the end of it, there is nothing there in most cases.

Maybe we're experts at being baffled and confused and maybe we're experts with the feelings of awe and wonder...We are merely a group of diverse adults with a desire to try and get to the bottom of things and knowing that will never happen.