1. Where do you see ghost hunting and Paranormal groups, web sites or Ghost information, tours Books like your own in 10 years?
I think that a lot of things will still be the same. The good, well-researched books and websites, along with the legitimate ghost hunters, will still be around, doing what they do. For those of us who have been in the field for a long time (22 years for me) and on the internet for more than 10 years, as I have, we have seen and weathered many changes and fads already. A lot of people have been complaining about the ?I just want to be on TV? fad that seems to be affecting many new ?ghost hunters? who are coming to the field today but I advise them just to wait. It will pass as the others have done and the good researchers, books and websites will still be around.
2. What would you personally consider to be the definitive proof that ghosts are real?
As much as I consider science to be an integral part of ghost research, I personally believe, at this point, that real proof comes through history. Since ghosts do not perform on command, science refuses to accept the idea that ghosts exists ? thus, we cannot ?prove? it. However, I can ?prove? a house is haunted by collecting case histories of those who live at a location and from those who have lived there in the past. If the details match, with no connections or collaboration between the current and former owners, we can?t just write off that off to coincidence. So, historically speaking, ghosts do exist. This is just a pet system of mine that I have been working with but I do believe that history can provide us with pretty definitive answers.
3. What is the most real evidence you personally have uncovered so far?
That would have to refer back to the previous question and it concerned the history of a house that I was told was haunted. The owner contacted me and described the ghost. I researched the house and found that the original owner had committed suicide there and his photo matched the description the home owner had given to me. I contacted former occupants, who told the same story and were able to pick out the original owner from several 1920s era photos. The current owner did the same thing. None of these people knew one another or had any idea that anyone else claimed the house was haunted. This was one of my most successful cases in terms of evidence and historical hauntings.
4. Are you skeptical of the claims other make of their findings?
I?m skeptical of any findings, often including my own! I tried to be open-minded to the possibility of anything, which can mean a place is not haunted or even that a ?haunting? is outright fraud. However, this has nothing to do with other researchers ? my skepticism there just depends on the researcher.
5. If you could investigate your "Dream Haunted Hot Spot" where would it be?
I have traveled all over the country and investigated hundreds of places. However, even though I have been there, I would like to be able to spend the night at Alcatraz.
6. What was your first Paranormal encounter?
Although I had been interested in ghosts from an early age, the first experience that I had that I always felt was paranormal occurred when I was in high school. I had gone with some friends to check out a cemetery that was supposed to be haunted and while we were there, the headlights on our car were somehow turned out. This would nit seem like a big deal except for the fact that to turn them off required pushing in a manual knob --- and being able to do it by entering a locked car. I never had an explanation for this except to feel that perhaps the cemetery was haunted after all.
7. What scares you about Ghost Hunting or Paranormal Investigations?
The Living? I always maintain that the living are much scarier than the dead.
8. If you could work side by side with one of the Paranormal Investigator greats, who would it be?
Harry Price.. he was the father of ghost hunting as we know it today and every ghost hunter emulates him, whether they know it or not. He was the first to realize that in order to make paranormal research appeal to the general public, it had to be entertaining.
9. Read any good Paranormal Books lately other then your own?
Ghosts: A History of Phantoms, Ghouls and Other Spirits of the Dead by P.G. Maxwell-Stuart
Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life After Death by Deborah Blum
10. What Question do people ask you most when you tell them your a paranormal investigator, writer?
Usually, they ask how I got started and what made me interested in ghosts.
11. In your opinion, Where is the most Haunted city in America?
Chicago is the most haunted city and Gettysburg is the most haunted small town. I have investigated both (Chicago the most extensively) and I base that on the information that I have collected over the years.
12. Do you feel more people should get involved with Ghost hunting or Paranormal Investigation?
I welcome anyone who wants to get into the field, as long they realize that it?s not about being on TV, running around cemeteries taking photos of ?orbs? and waving around equipment that they really don?t know how to use. Those people usually burn out fast when they realize that real ghost research is not just fun and games.
13. What does the future hold for you?
I imagine that I will keep doing what I am doing for the unknown future. There are always more people interested in ghost tours and while I have written a lot of books already, I have ideas for many, many more. I don?t see my material drying up anytime soon.
14. Paranormal Conventions do you see them growing? And which ones are the Must go to ones?
I see the conventions and conferences hopefully dropping off to just the best of the best in the next couple of years. This year has seen a lot of cancelations, mostly due to the glut of bad conferences that are out there. This has affected some of the good ones unfortunately. The conference ?market? us still saturated at the moment by people who don?t realize what a lot of hard work goes into a good event and they often have this mentality of ?putting on a show? and making lots of money. Doing a conference has to be a labor of love and a money-maker a distance second. A lot of people have jumped into it but I think we?ll see fewer conferences next year and it will be a better crop that we have seen recently.
I feel that the must-attend events are the Ghost World conference, held in Gettysburg this year, the Mid-South Paranormal Convention in Louisville in September and I have to plug myself here and say the Haunted America Conference that is held each year in June. This is our 11th annual event and we started ghost conferences long before anyone else was doing them. This ?longevity factor? gets us good speakers and a good attendance every year. We plan to be around for a long time to come.
15. What is your most favored tool of the trade?
A notebook and a pen
16. Tell us about your best moment in investigating or conference attending for you?
Honestly, out of dozens of strange incidents, one of my favorites had to have been at the Ax Murder House in Villisca, Iowa. It was here where I actually witnessed a ghost interacting with our investigation group and making a door open and close when we asked it to do so. I had never seen anything like that before. I had seen things move, been touched, photographed anomalies, felt unexplained temperature drops and had even seen a ghost, but I had never been involved in something like that.
17. What is the hardest part about being a paranormal writer?
Absolutely nothing! I love what I do. It?s not a sideline or hobby for me, it?s really my day job and I look forward to every day that I get to sit in front of the computer, doing exactly what I want to be doing.
18. How do you document your investigations?
Usually by hand but when it comes to eyewitness testimony, we use the standard recording devices of audio and video. This is the best way to present an accurate record of it.
19. Have you ever taken a ghost Tour? And, What about it did you not like?
Can?t really answer this one ? I run 7 ghost tour companies.
20. What in the field of ghost hunting and Paranormal Investigating needs the most attention?
I really just think that we have to work on improving the authenticity of our research and our findings. As I have mentioned already, there is a lot of mentality about getting on TV these days and I shudder to think that anyone would ?enhance? their findings for a TV show but I fear that this is happening already and will happen more and more in the future if this mindset persists. I guess we?ll just have to see...
Troy Taylor's Illinois Tours
Haunted Decatur Tours: www.haunteddecatur.com
Alton Hauntings Tours: www.altonhauntings.com
Weird Chicago Tours: www.weirdchicago.com
Springfield Hauntings Tours: www.springfieldhauntings.com
Haunted Jacksonville Tours: www.illinoishauntings.com/jacksonville.html
Haunted Lebanon Tours: www.illinoishauntings.com/lebanon.html
American Hauntings Tours
These tours take guests all over the country for overnight stays and haunted tours. www.prairieghosts.com/overnight.html
http://www.hauntedamericatours.com/20qu ... Taylor.htm
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