So, what are we looking for?

I do a lot of research for the podcast; I visit many sites, read many books and listen to an extraordinarily large amount of podcasts. The other day I was listening to Where Did The Road Go. I've listened to this podcast for many years and love the easy way Seriah and his many guests discuss their stories and beliefs. But the other day they asked a fascinating question which I think we should all ask ourselves; What are we looking for?

The paranormal is a vast subject and to be honest; there's something for everyone, maybe ghost stories are your bag, psychics and mediums or UFO’s, you will find something that will get your heart pumping and your hairs raising. But I've noticed on a lot of the forums available for this subject that there are the rock fast believers who class every fart in the night or high emf reading as paranormal. Then there is the disbeliever who even if you dumped a family of Sasquatch at their feet, they would find a way of telling you it's 'fake' while telling you to provide evidence as though it is your job to convince them.

The other day I posted a video on our Facebook page; a woman had posted it on Reddit, you can find it HERE. It was a throwaway account that she had only recently made and it shows her daughter dancing in the kitchen, now I have thousands of video's like this of my kids but in her video there is an image in the background of what looks like your stereotypical 'alien' poking its head around the door frame. 

This picture really doesn't do it justice

There were an array of views of whether this was real or fake, and a few put forward the theory that it was maybe a promo for an upcoming film, which to be fair was a good shout. I read through the posters history (I suspect this to be the main reason why she didn't post on her actual account, having herberts like me going through her post history!)

​Her first post asks ‘How do you know you’re being visited?’  which is a fair question, she posted a link to her Twitter account (another new account) and she had posted a picture of a mark that had appeared on her back 

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It started with her feeling that she was being watched and at specific points, she had lost time. One morning she had woken with her back itching and found the above mark on her back. She then posted a video HERE after hearing noises downstairs; she captures something running past the door. Now whether you believe this or not, if stuff is happening shouldn't she feel comfortable enough to post about it on the relevant forums without being abused?
If you join these types of sites or pages surely you have an interest, so why would you call someone a liar or fake? Is it because if it does turn out to be a fake, you can say I told you so? Why not just click on past?

When I posted it on my Facebook page I put it on there to discuss it; I have a genuine interest in peoples views and opinions. One poster stated it was a hoax and then questioned why I had posted it. Well apart from the fact it's a paranormal page, and that's what you do, I was interested to hear what others thought. Unfortunately, the poster informed me that I was wasting peoples time and being disrespectful. Thankfully they deleted themselves from the page. I could have tried to explain, but if they are so closed minded to possibilities, then there's no way I'm going to change their mind and nor do I want to. Because let's be honest here, there is no 'expert' in the field of the paranormal, no one has the answers. Even if you have been on a thousand ghost hunts or can speak to my dead Aunt Hilda no one knows what happens to us if when we die. We are all guessing at what the paranormal is so just because you can shout louder than everyone else does not make your theory the truth.

But it got me thinking, Why are people so quick to call something fake? And where is the evidence to support this opinion? 
By shouting people down with our views, we never get the chance to learn something new or educate ourselves. Now I'm not saying I believe her story, as let's be honest I’ve no real way of knowing, but what if it is? What if this woman is genuinely asking for help. What is it that these people are afraid of? That they may look foolish for believing in something or are they afraid that it might be true?

As James Patterson said ‘Assume nothing, question everything’  I've seen enough posts about orbs with faces in them to know that some things are merely dust and by applying just a little logic or investigation we can get to the bottom of it. But by insulting people and being pig-headed to believe that our view is the only correct view, we run the risk of becoming close-minded and missing out on some of the strangest stories because we have dismissed them straight away as being fake and more importantly frightened off people from sharing their experiences.

So ask yourself the question, what am I looking for? You might just be surprised by the answer.

The link to the ladies Reddit page is HERE have a look and make your own mind up