An investigation is currently underway into a paranormal group that conducts tours of a cemetery in Colorado. I attended this nighttime tour and here follows a short summary of their inappropriate activities.
Before the tour all attendees were required to sign a liability waiver that included the following caveat:By purchasing your Haunted --- Cemetery Tour Ticket(s) you and other individual(s) you are purchasing ticket(s) for, you and they realize that there are dangers inherent in investigating the paranormal, and other related activities, and that mortal or serious personal/spiritual/mental injuries and property damage, including (but not limited to) physical effort, may occur from your participation in such activities.
The tour began with a show-and-tell of the group’s ghost hunting equipment, including an Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Reader, KII meter, cameras, recorders and flashlights; now a popular tool to answer “yes or no” questions when they flash on and off (usually due to temperature changes or a bad connection). But, “The best ghost hunting tool is your body”, when you feel the hairs on your arms stand on end.
Then there was a presentation of the group’s “evidence” from general investigations and the cemetery itself. This included videos of “shadow people”, photographs of “orbs” and recordings of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVPs), some of the subjective interpretations included profanity.
The tour itself involved a walk through the cemetery grounds and a discussion about selected graves, crypts and inhabitants. The tour was disorganized; the main guide read from index cards on which he’d scribbled notes prior to the tour. The guides’ knowledge was poor; they couldn’t answer any historical questions. But they shared numerous paranormal anecdotes and “proof” that the cemetery is haunted; “We collected EVPS from this crypt” and, “We could smell the scent of lavender near this grave!”
The visitors were allowed to wander the cemetery grounds freely, but they abused this privilege. Some people walked across plots and touched the tombstones and mementos; behavior that they wouldn’t display during the day with mourners on the premises. Attendees were encouraged to conduct their own mini-investigations, to snap ghost photos and record EVPs. One man in particular demanded of mausoleums and headstones, “Why does it smell in here?” and demanded of a headstone “Were you murdered?” and warned us “Stand Away! Somebody was telling us to get out!”
Worst of all, when our group asked about the location of the restrooms, we were told there weren’t any toilets, ‘but guys can go around outside, just don’t go on the graves.’
No one appeared to suffer any “spiritual injuries”, but whether you’re religious or an atheist, the tour is disrespectful and ridiculous, and leaves the cemetery vulnerable to vandalism.
Another paranormal group were also in attendance, and not only did they not have any problems with the tour, they highly recommended it on their website.
The tour cost $25 and it was claimed that all proceeds go to the cemetery’s Benevolent Society and restoration fund. However, in six months of tours, the cemetery hasn’t received any of this money.
We are currently preparing a list of complaints to be lodged with the Benevolent Society. After this time more details about the group can be released. Ultimately, our objective is to prevent this group from giving tours of the cemetery, and to set a precedent that will hopefully keep ghost hunters out of cemeteries.
With thanks to Bryan & Baxter, Stu and Rick for their research assistance.
Karen Stollznow is research fellow for the James Randi Educational Foundation.