Hi Tim, 

This fall I attended the South Eastern Museums Conference at which the people from Sloss Furnaces discussed this exact topic.  It didn't pertain much to me but the people there were nice and seemed to be figuring out the same things as you.  I would suggest contacting them.

Hope I pointed you in the right direction,

Greg Palumbo
Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum
Seminole Tribe of Florida




________________________________
From: Timothy Abel <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2009 4:08:07 PM
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Paranormal Investigations


Hi,
I’m looking for advice or if perhaps someone has some experience in dealing with this type of facility use.  I’ve been “tolerating” this use of our facility because it seems to bring people through the doors.  Rumors have circulated for eons about our facility being haunted, and we have some interesting stories that have been related (and I’ve begun to compile).  We have used them in Halloween programs especially with a lot of success.  Its amazing how many people will pay to hear a good ghost story, whether they believe it or not!  With the attention, though, have come requests from paranormal groups who want to do their own investigations.  We’ve had two so far, both pretty hokey if you ask me, but they’ve generated some fodder for exhibits at Halloween and they also have fueled some very successful bus tour visitations.  Neither by the way have had comparable results.  And neither managed to find the real skeletons tucked away
 (they’ve since been repatriated).  So, now, with all of this interest, I’m wondering 1) what should we be getting out of this besides the spin-off visitation, and 2) should we be looking to control the intellectual rights to their results?  Should we want to control what they put up on their websites about us?
 
Thanks
Tim
 
Timothy J. Abel, PhD
Director
JeffersonCountyHistorical Society
228 Washington St
(315) 782-3491
[log in to unmask]
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