American Society for Faith Based Paranormal Research

Ryan Buell, the director and founder of the Penn State Paranormal Research Society and star of A&E's hit show Paranormal State took the time to post about this blog on the PRS forums.  I would like to thank Ryan for his honest and well thought out response.  The more I learn about him the more I like him as a person.  I think that just the fact that he takes time to do something like this flies directly in the face of many of his critics.

The original post can be found at :

http://forums.pennstateprs.com/index.php?showtopic=18358&st=0

Hey Brenton,

Thanks for posting this. I typically don't respond to criticism, especially from the "paranormal media," because they have, so far, done a very poor job of providing balanced, objective reporting. Most of these people toot their own horn about being scientific and research-oriented, yet their posts are full of generalizations and from-the-sidelines-commentary. It's one thing to have an opinion, but from a group/site claiming to be reporting facts and promoting research, they sure do a piss-poor job of representing themselves and their goals.

I have no problem with criticism and negative opinions geared towards, "Paranormal State." At best, "Paranormal State" has become a spring board for diverse discussion and debate on a variety of topics that it has covered. I don't mind dissenting viewpoints, but it'd be nice for people to have respect for the other side and be open to the possibility that other viewpoints might also have legitimacy. In other words, to keep an open mind. After all, isn't that what a researcher/reporter should do? But alas, people don't understand the true meaning of "journalism" and "researcher" anymore.

Although I am unfamiliar with ghosttheory, I find myself just shaking my head at outlets like this, who tout headlines like, "proof 'Paranormal State' is fake." Especially when it comes from people who clearly have unbalanced opinions and provide no evidence. What happened last fall from the criticizers was, at best, just an opinion. It was a he-said, she-said fiasco. And ultimately, people realized that these were just people trying to get attention geared towards themselves to promote their own agenda's. And they failed miserably.

So how is an opinion proof? But sites like ghosttheory proclaiming that it's proof that something is fake shows how naive and biased they are, and it has undoubtedly provided much egg in their face in their attempts to convince people that they are on the moral/ethical high-road.

The good thing is that there are a lot of reasonably intelligent people out there who realize when BS is being paraded around as "proof" that we are fake. At the end of the day, "Paranormal State" is about the human experience and the belief that someone is experiencing the paranormal. Although we do provide evidence when we find it (and our investigation techniques have greatly improved this past season), evidence is usually secondary to the show because we are dealing with experiences and trying to provide resolve. So for these people who rely strictly on the "show me" method, they have very little ammunition to prove that something is fake. After all, it's a difference of opinions and viewpoints. How do you disprove that? "Paranormal State" has never advertised itself as promising to prove that ghosts are real. It's a journey of both the investigator and the haunted. We provide points-of-view and allow for discussion.

None of this has ever hurt the popularity and reputation of, "Paranormal State." If anything, it's shown the hypocrisy of how far people are willing to go in order to bring attention to themselves, which is ultimately what a lot of this was - and still is - about.

At the end of the day, it's no skin off of my back, as we've continued to see an overwhelming amount of support from researchers around the world who understand the importance of, "Paranormal State," even if they don't agree with everything. My only hope is that - at some point in the future - sites proclaiming to be watch-dogs and journalistic media will realize that they have a moral responsibility above anyone else to check for facts, allow for intelligent discussion and allow for both sides to present themselves before making any judgement, if they should make any judgement at all.

Until then, they are doing a great disservice towards their own goals and the paranormal community they claim to care for.

--------------------

Ryan Buell

-Director/Founder of PRS

"To Trust, Honor, and Always Seek the Truth."