A few days back, I posted up my take on "goth"... or "goth culture".

Now, I know this will shock you...

During Halloween time, we get a lot of attention from the media.

...wait a second, to newbies here, this COULD be a shock... let me QUICKLY 'splain...

Sue and I run a couple of sites...
Paranormal Studies and Investigations Canada
The Toronto Ghosts and Hauntings Research Society
The Ontario Ghosts and Hauntings Research Society
The Ghosts and Hauntings Research Societies (Canada)
ParaResearchers

...oh, and then there's the paranormal blog...

Blah, blah, blah, over a decade of experience, blah, blah, working with universities, blah, blah, working with museums and historic sites, blah, blah...

You get the idea...

WELL, you'd be shocked (read: Not at all) to find out that when certain media types hear that I USED to have very long, dyed black hair, they bemoan the fact that I now look like I work as a clerk at a mortgage company... which is in fact, the truth.

I've actually been ASKED for "old pictures" of myself for publication... you see, brains, work, effort... MEAN NOTHING!

Ooooo! You used to look freaky? That's IMPORTANT!

The media sucks often.

Now, speaking of all this... expect a BIG RANT on Sunday (tomorrow) from me on the paranormal blog for the Sunday Smackdown there because of people who seem to REALLY wish to be "goth" (who never were and never could be because when they were young, they didn't have the ghoulies to try) and want to dress to impress the ghostly crowd by dressing ALL IN BLACK AND DARK CLOTHES to do ghost investigations.

My write-up tomorrow will probably be funnier, I admit, and a little more venomous, but let me sum things up quickly...

Dressing in all black or in dark clothes is not smart when looking into ghosties... you see, when a photo is snapped and someone wearing "dark colours" (or neutrals) is moving, you get a blurred, dark shadow... I've seen these pictures time and time again... "It's either a ghost... or maybe that was John... he was going to the bathroom near there... we don't know..." Great... Excellent proof! Fantastic data collection! Great controls!

How to avoid this?

"Oh! That is John! He was wearing the yellow jacket!"

Pretty simple, eh?

Then there's the more dark lesson we learned the hard way...

The (now defunct) Western New York Ghosts and Hauntings Research Society (which was under my umbrella) had a young fellow working with them. One night, he went with another group (oddly enough, the same idiots that recommend carrying a gun on an investigation! Think about that! Scared people in a weird place ARMED WITH A HANDGUN! Recipe for disaster...) that told him to dress "in dark clothes" for the gig.

He was struck and killed by a drunk driver... who said, with some truth, that they didn't see him.

Not too long ago, another Canadian "ghost group" suggested on their site that dressing all in black or dark clothes was smart...

I felt very much like penning them a letter (they despise us, so it probably wouldn't have been read) saying it was a great idea... especially if you don't mind closed casket funerals.

Granted, after we had a little "blow-out" on our message board, it was mysteriously ammended it to recommend reflective vests with dark clothes.

Oh, if you think I'm spoiling the paranormal blog's Sunday Smackdown here, you can bet one knee, one table, and one "word of honour" that I ain't as it's a two parter coming from me this weekend...

ANYWAY...

PLEASE folks, if you decide to do anything "spooky" for this time of year, especially at night, DON'T be silly... be seen and be safe...

...and of course, DON'T drink and drive. Ever. Period.

If you think "I've only had a couple, I'm okay!" chances are you aren't... so don't.

The driver I mentioned before did not succeed with the "didn't see him" defence... they took a life into their own hands... and it wasn't their own.

They took a young man... a friend... a colleague...

...but hey, they were "okay" to drive!

In my opinion, the driver should spend the rest of their life atoning for their stupidity... but they won't.

Nice world we live in, eh?

The standard last note on the old blog... PLEASE SUPPORT THE DREAM!

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Please, if you have a few minutes, take some time to find out more about this bus and the kooky dream by clicking here.

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