Sue St.Clair and Matthew Didier's Paranormal Blog

The quote above was brought back to my attention yesterday evening... and it spurred many thoughts...

It's not been a mystery that life (fiscally) for Sue and myself has been hard... and we are most certainly not alone.

Often, we think of two examples... both Ufologists... we have been privileged to know. Both men have an unbelievable body of work and excellent standing and respect within their field... and yet, one died rather recently having basically gone bankrupt and losing everything... to the point of trying to sell his library and notes just a couple of years before his passing. The other fellow is still trying to eek out any funds he can as he can... even selling off many of his personal possessions to make ends meet.

The people we know legitimately working with ghosts and hauntings also tend to be in a bad spot. Many of the "big name" ghost folks of the past came into the study as people of leisure... money wasn't an issue for them... but thousands of not-as-wealthy people who are legitimately serious about the study literally go hand-to-mouth in order to do what is their passion.

The same is true for Cryptozoologists and psychical researchers and investigators... If you didn't come to the table with funds or were hired by a wealthy patron or group, you must be prepared to starve for your passion... because, although there are ways to "make your living" in the paranormal, the majority of those vocations mean having to usually be very flexible in your ethics and morals.

"...bad for business..." the quote above said. Writing an article and truly making my point in a valid and testable way was bad for business.

What this says, and she was right, was telling the truth and being honest would mean less people would send me photos that I knew were 99.9999% natural in origin to post on my website as "Jenn-You-Whine" ghostly images... and in today's world, no pics means no flash and no sizzle... and lower hit rates... less traffic... less chance to make "business" happen with "customers" seeing our "wares".

One COULD say that this lack of "business" also means less reports and visitors who might talk to us about their experience and we could lose valuable data for our work... but honestly, other than a few bumps when I initially published that paper, we've grown... and reports have increased year over year...

...but it's that word... "business"... Are we a business? We aren't making a dime on this... and to be truthful, we know we probably never will... but obviously, it would be grand to do what we have a genuine thirst and passion for as a "living".

How could someone like us make business?

Well, we could write books... Not as profitable as one might think and we'd be in an over-glutted market... plus Sue and I have discussed it and if we did write something, we'd want it to offer you, a reader, something really new... and honestly, so far, the best stuff we have is right here... free... and we're cool with that.

Okay, no book... yet... and none on the immediate horizon.

There are "ghost tours" and the like... and we actually see a LOT of value in these. They're fun, entertaining, and often educational. Really, a good "ghost tour" is often great value for the money... but there are many really excellent tours in our neck of the woods... and we never set out to be a tour operator and very happily promote the ones that are out there. Also, we would never set up a long-term operation that might run competitively against those that have been around a long while...

So, no tours.

There are classes, lectures, and the like... but these have a limited appeal and shelf-life with the masses. Doing this might leak in a coin or two to the coffers... we did even try this once or twice... but overall, sadly, in order to look after our daughters and ourselves, the "day jobs" must be first and foremost in the financial gathering department... that, and we really don't have the space or facilities to use either... Top that off with the fact that we would not and could not "fib" about what these would entail... and not having "extreme videos", "amazing pictures", or other "proof" of the existence of the paranormal is not a crowd-grabber... even when you do report to have these, people get bored unless they're new ones available every time they come out... and although we work this way anyway, many people (especially "down South",) are not terribly interested in having their evidence scrutinized by any recognised authorities like a university, professional photographers, or audio engineers.

So, no regular full-time gigs doing lectures or classes.

The three ideas above would really be the only ways we could "Self-Start" a business of sorts using our field of study... and we'd be okay with them... but have had to discount them for ourselves.

Of course, there would be "Find a Wealthy Patron" who'd pay us to continue our work... or be hired by a school to become full-time paranormal researchers and investigators... but those are pipe-dreams.

Then, there's the more common routes people DO try to make coins from this... and they are most certainly not for us...

#1: Charge for work or investigations. Why? How would you justify this fee? Also, the information gathered helps us find answers and leads to a greater understanding of the paranormal in general... the thought of putting one's hand out and saying, "Money or no work!" for this study is just horrible to us. Also, in terms of charging for "house clearing" or the like... again, our own honesty would be our undoing. First, most house clearings don't work. Second, how can anyone give any sort of guarantee that they've successfully removed something that no one has absolutely proven to exist AND even if you have a belief or faith in the existence of these things (and honestly, we do believe these things are experienced ourselves,) how do you quantify their existence so you can measure that they are gone when absolute no one before you has?

...so that ain't happening with us.

#2: Hope for a media gig. Fantastic... except... I have daughters... and need every penny I have... Would I be guaranteed a paycheque for "X" amount of years to ensure their needs are met? What if this lasted only one year or less? Would I be out on my bum and jobless? We've worked with media before... and one large multinational company told us Do things our way or we don't work together... we didn't work together... and my fabled story about being asked to dance to the "Ghostbusters Theme" for a camera? It happened... it was a major news organisation in the city I live in. Basically, our overwhelming experience with media has been they're more than willing to not guarantee any pay, ask you to tank your ethics and principals for their "version" of how things should be, and after all is said and done, you usually lose the respect of authorities and people who can help the study... but you MIGHT gain a "TeeVee" fan base... which in the long run, is counter to what we would like to achieve. We need the universities, museums, and historic sites... and we've seen how the quest for fame by some ruin those contacts and people not only for themselves, but others. Most importantly, Sue and I have never claimed to be entertainers and are not actors or the like in either an amateur or professional sense.

...so that ain't happening in the near future either.

#3: Try to sell "stuff". Again, in a glutted "ghost hunter store" market, this isn't a winner in many respects... and the competition from what we've seen is brutal. Worse yet, many of the gadgets at these stores are available, often much cheaper, in legitimate science shops... they just don't have a "ghost sticker" on them or claim to capture UFO's in flight 80% of the time. Some things have a proven negative track record in terms of finding evidence of the paranormal, and yet are still peddled as "real" investigative equipment... Some people have even taken items that are free or could be built cheaply and marketed them as their own creation with a huge price mark-up. Again, we just can't do that... This is counter to what we want to accomplish and in some cases, even criminal.

...no go on that.

I could continue... there are other ways to make coin... many of them in the "unscrupulous" category.

Perhaps I should add something... to be clearer... for those new to Sue and I and our groups, and that is lay out what *is* driving us in our efforts...

Sue and I have had our own experiences. We have also heard far too many other people with similar and different experiences. We are both people who want to understand those experiences. We believe the understanding of these things benefits everyone. We think of ourselves as investigators, researchers, thinkers, and educators. We are pleased that we are not alone in these thoughts.

So, seeing that above, you can see how we really will never be able to properly set aside our ethics or morals... and that, indeed, this is a passion... an obsession... and we know it will be a money-losing proposition.

I recently updated the "PSICAN Help Us" page which lays out what we do with any gifts people toss our way... and what we'd do with larger gifts... and the ultimate dream of a PSICAN learning centre...

...but will some of the larger goals be a reality?

Perhaps.

...are we willing to do what best for "business"?

Y'know what?

No.

We won't.

What you see is what you get... and we won't sell out our vision, our ideals, or our ethics for anything.

We're like you.

...and as such, we cannot and will not bend our ways or possibly corrupt our vision just for money's sake.

If the funds come, they come.

If they don't, oh well... it's been a great experience and learning adventure...

...and maybe we will never own our dream home or make our other wishes come true... but we'll build a decent life for our family, we will continue as we can, and we really - in the long run - will have few regrets.

"Business" may be bad... but our self worth is quite amazing... and that's the important thing in the long run.

Of course, if that wealthy patron is out there, we WOULD love that learning centre and think other's would love it too!