I read programs and figured it was a mix of public programs, including TV
as that is the most visible that jumped into my mind. I have worked enough
with productions to know that most of it is hyped up and over dramatized.

On Wed, Aug 29, 2012 at 6:02 PM, David Harvey <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Thanks Elizabeth but we are not addressing the TV shows  in this course on
> the paranormal.
>
> There are many fans of the shows who derive their methods from them but
> there are also lots of people who are very critical of these shows on TV -
> many are suspected of faking things and amping up drama. In my experience
> TV shows are created for drama and to garner ratings - so I count them as
> entertainment and just that.
>
> The paranormal and ghost stories are often a mixture of history and
> folklore. Folklore is fine as long as it is identified as such and not
> confused with history and facts.
>
> I also think teaching a short online course on film and TV policies and
> guidelines for museums and historic sites would be a good idea.
>
> Cheers!
> Dave
>
>
> On Wed, Aug 29, 2012 at 2:45 PM, Elizabeth Walton <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
>
>> Oh and make sure that everything you or your staff say is verified
>> historic fact, internet fans look into these things. It is really no fun to
>> have them do something like the name of the episode, based on an easy to
>> debunk claim. I did not make the claim in our case, in fact I repeatedly
>> told everyone to stop saying it long before the filming.
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Aug 29, 2012 at 5:41 PM, Elizabeth Walton <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
>>
>>> I will say when we had Ghost Hunters, we told them very very little,
>>> especially the sensitive information about a death that occurred on site.
>>> They did end up focusing on a couple areas that they were not pointed to
>>> but that had been rumored to have ghosts beforehand, but keep in mind they
>>> are likely googling to find various legends, stories, guest images. They
>>> had two tense moments on film that we knew were because of a squirrel and a
>>> deaf cat, we found it hilarious that they were on film as being played like
>>> they were ghosts. Literally they said no living thing was present and our
>>> deaf cat yowled, and it was not edited out.
>>>
>>> I will advise, that if you are filming clean you floors and cobwebs and
>>> such, the dirt shows up on TV when  they do the spooky foot step re-shoots.
>>> Also, you will get an influx of people for about a year after, which is
>>> the best reason to do it.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Aug 29, 2012 at 4:36 PM, Mark Janzen <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi Dave,
>>>>
>>>> This sounds like a great and very pertinent course. Thanks for that.
>>>>
>>>> I admit I do not have a policy to share, but rather a request.
>>>>
>>>> Can you add something to your syllabus, if you do not already have such
>>>> a topic, that addresses effective/politically appropriate means of
>>>> educating investigators in the histories of the structures they run their
>>>> events in so that they do not embarrass themselves by discovering
>>>> "evidence" in modern reconstructions of historic buildings and/or fake
>>>> cemeteries?
>>>>
>>>> In my experience the investigators need as much education as the museum
>>>> personnel that need to monitor and interact with them
>>>>
>>>> Thanks.
>>>>
>>>> Mark Janzen
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Aug 29, 2012 at 2:34 PM, David Harvey <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hi Everyone,
>>>>>
>>>>> In mid-September I will be teaching a two-week short online course for
>>>>> Museum Classes Online on "*Paranormal Investigations In Museums and
>>>>> Historic Sites*". The course is structured to introduce museum
>>>>> colleagues to the topic and how these investigations work, to assess the
>>>>> pro's and con's, and then at the end the participants formulate their own
>>>>> policies or programs. The course is also open to people who investigate the
>>>>> paranormal who want to understand the museum or historic site perspective
>>>>> and how best to integrate their practices when they approach us.
>>>>>
>>>>> There are many things you will discover in the course that you may not
>>>>> know - for instance that many paranormal groups are devoted to history and
>>>>> preservation and often do events as fund-raisers to help their local
>>>>> historic sites and museums.
>>>>>
>>>>> I would love to update my information in regards to policies (sample
>>>>> policies would be wonderful if you can share them) and also I'd love to
>>>>> hear from museums or historic sites who have their own paranormal / ghost
>>>>> programs or who work with a local paranormal group to run one. I have
>>>>> already have examples but would love to get it all up to date. Please send
>>>>> them to my email off of the list.
>>>>>
>>>>> The formal announcement for the course will be coming out soon.
>>>>>
>>>>> If any of you are interested in taking the course you can go to
>>>>> http://www.collectioncare.org/training/trol_classes_ms013.html to
>>>>> read the course description and to register.
>>>>>
>>>>> As many of you know I have a long career in conservation so I will
>>>>> obviously have a segment in the course devoted to preservation to reinforce
>>>>> awareness as to why museums and historic sites have many policies related
>>>>> to that.
>>>>>
>>>>> Cheers!
>>>>> Dave
>>>>>
>>>>> David Harvey
>>>>> Senior Conservator & Museum Consultant
>>>>> Los Angeles CA
>>>>> CityOfAngelsConservation.weebly.com
>>>>>
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>>>>
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