Ghost Tours vs. Paranormal Investigation Events
By: Dr. Mark Farley
I was scrolling through Facebook when I saw an advertisement for a paranormal investigation event. What caught my eye is what it said: ‘This is a paranormal investigation, not a ghost tour.” I have to admit, I was a little put off by this because I host several different ghost tours. I also host a few paranormal investigation events.
Difficulty-wise, a ghost tour is a lot harder to pull off. For example, my Lemp Haunted Neighborhood Walking Tour is one hour and forty-five minutes long. Suppose you compare this to a full-length cinematic movie, which typically runs between seventy-five to ninety minutes. If my tour were a movie, I would have to be able to recite every single line spoken by every single actor. That is a lot of information. In a paranormal investigation event, ten to twenty minutes of explanation, then you turn them loose to wander. Then, the host/s usually sits down somewhere to monitor the group to ensure no shenanigans happen.
Ghost tours take a lot more research than a paranormal investigation. The tour guide has to guarantee they have enough material to fill the entire time length of the tour, plus be able to answer any questions. In a paranormal investigation, you may only see your host/s at the beginning and end of the event. Also, everybody now carries a smartphone, which is a miniature computer that can log on to the internet, and this access allows guests to fact-check every single word the tour guide says. Everything said during a ghost tour has to be 100 percent correct. Also, during a ghost tour, guests learn the history of several sites, including their haunted and local history. With a paranormal investigation event, you get minimal history other than this place is haunted by this spirit for this reason.
My Lemp Haunted Neighborhood Walking Tour is going on its thirteenth year. The tour I gave thirteen years ago is very different than the tour I offer today. Over the years, hundreds of hours of research have gone into my ghost tour. As new and better information is discovered, it’s immediately incorporated into the tour. I’m constantly researching, and my tour is continually evolving, allowing my ghost tour to be different every year. Without this process, the tour would turn stale and die out. With ghost tours you teach, with paranormal investigation events, you feed the need to thrill seek.
A ghost tour is your best bargain if you compare bang for the buck. Most paranormal investigation events are about how much they can charge and how many people they can fit into a building. You spend most of the night listening to people’s jump scares and bumping into them as they trample through the area you’re investigating. A ghost tour involves learning history and hearing some excellent ghost stories. Also, if you’re lucky, you may be able to walk away with an authentic paranormal experience.
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