There’s been plenty written in the Boggo Blogabout some of the dodgy goings-on and characters in the ‘paranormal industry’. These articles might seem a bit harsh sometimes, but then I believe that if people get involved in my fields of research and lie through their teeth or act like the Age of Reason never happened then I'm entitled/duty-bound to hold them to account. Somebody has to. So we get articles about ridiculous ghost-hunting wannabes, outright lies about fake National Geographic polls, ghost stories changed to suit the circumstances, and photos of things that are not what they are claimed to be.
I know some genuinely good people in the paranormal field, but there’s some real pieces of work too. One group we had particular problems with a few years back was Queensland Paranormal Investigators, who ran Ghost Hunts with Cameron ‘Jack’ Sim of Ghost Tours. These ghost hunts (which were a dismal flop)were held in places like South Brisbane Cemetery and were also planned for Boggo Road.* QPI worked with Sim in trying to scare off 'competition', and let’s just say that during the period when we were planning our South Brisbane Cemetery Moonlight Tours they were rather antagonistic.
I honestly do try to moderate my own language in these pages, but others have been harsher. Stephen Downes, a contributor to Channels 9’s A Current Affair, pulled out of show after ACA aired an uncritical segment on the ghost hunts offered by QPI/Ghost Tours in early 2010. He didn’t hold back in this article 'Who ya gonna call? Ghost boasters apparently':
I know some genuinely good people in the paranormal field, but there’s some real pieces of work too. One group we had particular problems with a few years back was Queensland Paranormal Investigators, who ran Ghost Hunts with Cameron ‘Jack’ Sim of Ghost Tours. These ghost hunts (which were a dismal flop)were held in places like South Brisbane Cemetery and were also planned for Boggo Road.* QPI worked with Sim in trying to scare off 'competition', and let’s just say that during the period when we were planning our South Brisbane Cemetery Moonlight Tours they were rather antagonistic.
I honestly do try to moderate my own language in these pages, but others have been harsher. Stephen Downes, a contributor to Channels 9’s A Current Affair, pulled out of show after ACA aired an uncritical segment on the ghost hunts offered by QPI/Ghost Tours in early 2010. He didn’t hold back in this article 'Who ya gonna call? Ghost boasters apparently':
Harsh words, but nowhere near as harsh as those used by the folks who run the website exposing ‘Australia and New Zealand Military Imposters’ (ANZMI). These are very passionate people who do not mince words, and in a recent exposé about a military imposter they opened up with this:All right, so QPI will be dismissed by most people as an hilarious loser... But how can ACArisk its credibility as a “scam-busting” program by presenting complete and utter bullsh-t such as this? As someone who has appeared on ACAfrom time to time to comment on marketing issues — drawing on published studies in consumer behaviour and peer-reviewed academic literature on marketing and brand management — I actually feel embarrassed to have been seen in the same company as these charlatans.
A psychopathic liar has no conscience, no feelings of guilt or remorse, and he cares not afig for the well being of friends or family members he betrays. He does not struggle with shame no matter what kind of harmful or immoral lies he tells.
And it kinda goes downhill from there. They are talking about Shane Townsend, a founder of Queensland Paranormal Investigators who is seen in this photo with his Ghost Hunts partner ‘Jack’ Sim.
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| Queensland Times, 19 January 2010 |
It’s a long article that you really have to see to believe. They write:
As a further insight into the personality of Townsend, he claims in media reports and on web sites to be a Psychic Medium and claims to have been tested at the University of Canberra and the ABC Testing unit for gifted children. His claims of being a gifted Psychic are for those gullible people silly enough to believe him, we do however know that he is a gifted liar. Townsend has:
Lied about having served with SASR
Lied about serving in Cambodia, Iraq and Afghanistan
Lied about being a decorated soldier
Lied about his academic qualifications
Lied about serving with USA Navy SEALs
Lied about serving in the RAN
Falsely worn a DCM
Falsely worn 3RAR Parachute wings
Falsely worn and Infantry Combat Badge
Falsely worn other medals that have not been awarded to him
Produced numerous false military documents
Those who were offended by Shane and the Ghost Tours/QPI people 'ghost hunting' around war graves in the South Brisbane Cemetery on some juvenile TV show a few years back will sense the karma in all this.
Like I said before, I know good people who dabble in the paranormal, but shonky characters are attracted to the paranormal industrylike moths to a flame. It is not a science, it is not regulated, there is no definable right or wrong way of doing it, it lends an air of mystery to otherwise suburban personalities, and you get to deal with some very impressionable people and maybe even get to take their money.When these types try and make it hard for us to carry out our not-for-profit History activities it gets frustrating, but people like Liam Baker over at the Haunts of Brisbane do a damn good job of trying tolift standards and represent the new breed of paranormal researchers who have integrity, ethics and maturity.
Ifor my part will continue to try and hold to dodgy behaviour to account when it overlaps into my Boggo Road and cemetery work. 'Hilarious losers', 'complete and utter bullshit', 'charlatans', 'psychopathic liar'. Harsh words, but not mine. The ANZMI website puts it well:
*Senior Public Works officials have told me that ghost hunts will not be permitted inside Boggo Road Gaol.
Like I said before, I know good people who dabble in the paranormal, but shonky characters are attracted to the paranormal industrylike moths to a flame. It is not a science, it is not regulated, there is no definable right or wrong way of doing it, it lends an air of mystery to otherwise suburban personalities, and you get to deal with some very impressionable people and maybe even get to take their money.When these types try and make it hard for us to carry out our not-for-profit History activities it gets frustrating, but people like Liam Baker over at the Haunts of Brisbane do a damn good job of trying tolift standards and represent the new breed of paranormal researchers who have integrity, ethics and maturity.
Ifor my part will continue to try and hold to dodgy behaviour to account when it overlaps into my Boggo Road and cemetery work. 'Hilarious losers', 'complete and utter bullshit', 'charlatans', 'psychopathic liar'. Harsh words, but not mine. The ANZMI website puts it well:
If you tell the truth it becomes part of your past.
If you tell a lie it becomes part of your future.
*Senior Public Works officials have told me that ghost hunts will not be permitted inside Boggo Road Gaol.