BOO! Meet A Ghost Hunter :D

It's going to be a balmy 80 degrees here in Massachusetts today (should be in the 40s), and with this fantastic blast of sun I'm thinking...ghosts? I'm always thinking ghosts! It's no secret, I love my ghost hunters. I'd like to introduce you to Pamela Croker, top ghost hunter, savvy publicist, and gracious friend. I interviewed her recently and here is what she has to say for her sassy self:

1. When did you start working in the paranormal field?

March 2011.

2. What inspired you to work in the paranormal field?

My own personal experiences with the paranormal, plus Randy and Doris DeLong of M.O.P.S. (Maryville Old-School Paranormal Society).

3. Any projects/investigations coming up?

There is a private investigation of one of the most historic places, in Knoxville/Smoky Mountain area, that M.O.P.S. has exclusively been asked to do. I am hoping to be able to get out there and help with that investigation when Randy is able to start investigating again.
I’m also working with Paranormal Romance Author, Amy Armbruster, as her publicist. She has a new book coming out soon, Devon’s Curse, that is another wonderful story, although slightly different than her first book, Whispering Coves. I have been working with Amy to promote her first book, as well as helping to proof read the second book.

4. Do you find it hard to share your work with others?

Yes!! No one likes to be ridiculed when it comes to their beliefs. I am a very private person, so it’s hard for me to share what I’m passionate about unless I know the person fairly well, OR I feel comfortable with them right off the bat. The paranormal field has opened doors on some great new friendships with people that are just like me.

5. What is your opinion on teams who post bad/fake evidence?

To each their own. I think there are a lot of teams who are inexperienced in this field. Everyone is new to something at some point, and they may not know that their evidence is bad or it’s fake because of their lack of education or knowing that they do need to actively educate themselves. I think it’s up to seasoned investigators to make sure they approach another team with caution to help them learn. As far as those that do it on purpose, their true colors will shine through at some point, and karma is not a nice thing when it comes back on you.

6. What advice would you give to someone just starting out in your field?

Keep an open mind to learning, stay humble, work well with others, and most importantly -- play well with others! The paranormal is not a competition to see who can get the best evidence. I believe it’s to prove to the non-believers and the scientists, that there IS something going on in our world that is unexplained, beyond our comprehension.

7. Did your work in the paranormal field follow a particular experience that you had?

When I was really small, my dad and I lived with his girlfriend and three daughters in a double-wide trailer in Davie, Florida. His girlfriend was a widow, and her husband had passed away quite tragically a year or two before they moved in together. In our home, the lights would turn on and off at random, the stove burners would turn on of their own volition, and voices would be heard calling the name of someone else in the house when the house was completely quiet or you were alone, One instance in particular that happened on a nightly basis, is the master bathroom light would turn on. One night, my dad decided he was going to put masking tape over the light switch so it wouldn’t be turned on that night. The next morning, they woke up to the light turned on. Upon inspection, the masking tape had scratches through it so whatever it was could peel back the tape to turn the light on. I also lived in another house as an adult that was quite active. We saw apparitions and experienced activity there that no one can quite explain, even to this day.


8. How did you get started in the paranormal field?

Randy and Doris DeLong of M.O.P.S. (Maryville Old-School Paranormal Society) had just started their own husband and wife investigating team the year before. I had started talking to Randy about the paranormal on another fb ghost hunting page, Ghost Cowboys Paranormal. I fell in love with a photo M.O.P.S. had caught on an investigation (Cowboy in the Cemetery). It interested me enough, so I started talking to Randy even more about the paranormal. Randy’s big wish for the M.O.P.S. fb page was to have more people like their page so that they could bring together the paranormal community. I saw the need to help with this, so I started promoting them on fb by going to other paranormal team pages and inviting them to like the M.O.P.S. page. Mind you, they did not ask me to do this. I just started doing it lol! Well I guess I earned my place on the team, when Randy gave me a job title. The funniest part about this whole thing is that I live 70 miles or so north of Dallas, Texas, while Randy and Doris live in Maryville, Tennessee! I still help with public relations work for them, and I plan on getting out there to visit and do an investigation when Randy starts investigating again.


9. Will you ever quit working in the paranormal, and have you ever had a moment that you felt like quitting and why?

I think I will always in some capacity be working in the paranormal field. Even though I’m not a full-fledged investigator at this time, I plan to get to that point after some more study and personal time opens up that I can start my own team in the future. For right now, I am happy with the public relations work I do for both Amy and M.O.P.S. It keeps me busy, along with my fb page, Paranormal Stalker, my personal life with my family, and my full time job as a medical administrative assistant. I haven't thought of quitting the paranormal, but have gotten frustrated with many people who are extremely self-involved and cause a lot of trouble for others. I will NOT associate with those types of people, no matter how much they or others preach paranormal unity.

10. Any websites you would like to share? Your own? or one that has helped you as an artist?

Yes, there’s a few!! lol.

The first one is dear to my heart because it's Randy's medical website. He is terminally ill with Emphysema and COPD. Disability has been denying his requests for coverage, and he has no insurance, so all of the specialist care he's needed has been out of pocket. His wife Doris works a full time job inside the bakery of a grocery store, and what little she makes cannot begin to cover all the bills they have in order to live. Thank God for good people who donate to his cause so he can go to the doctor and get his medication. The website is full of information about Randy's disease, and what's going on with him.
To donate to Randy DeLong: http://randysmedical.weebly.com/index.html

Paranormal Stalker fb page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Paranormal-Stalker/143133669096395?ref=ts

M.O.P.S. fb page: http://www.facebook.com/MOPS2010

Amy Armbruster’s author website: http://authoramyarmbruster.webs.com/
Her book Whispering Coves is available on Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Whispering-Coves-ebook/dp/B006XIH72W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332418189&sr=8-1

Ghost Cowboys fb page: https://www.facebook.com/GhostCowboysParanormal

11. If you could go back in time and meet one person who would it be and why?

I have often thought about that, but I always come up blank. So I guess I'd say Elvis lol. The reason being, my mom is a huge Elvis fan, and when I was a baby she had the chance to go see him, but it didn't work out. He died not long after, so she never had the chance again. I would want to meet him so I could bring my mom along. I also think he was a fascinating person because of how humble and generous he was.

12. How did you go about starting your own site, Paranormal Stalker?

I was heavily influenced by Randy DeLong, who is a real history buff, along with being a great mentor to those who are just starting out in the paranormal field. As I was learning from him, I could see that history is very important to the paranormal field. It helps to know the history of a place you've investigated because it can bring to light any evidence you may have caught. I decided that I would start a page that shared evidence from paranormal teams all over the world, in a unique way... by sharing the history of these locations, featuring not only groups that caught evidence there, but the locations themselves. I've been able to share a lot of interesting evidence from a lot of fascinating haunted locations in the past 9 months!

13. Why do you think that the paranormal genre is so popular?

I attribute the success of the paranormal genre to the movies. I can remember since the early 90s, the paranormal movies have gotten better and better. I would attribute the success of ghost hunting to TAPS and their show Ghost Hunters on SyFy. That is a show I watched and learned a few things from before I started in the paranormal field.

14. If you had the chance to live in a book, what book and what character would you be?

I honestly have lived in every book I've ever read! When I'm reading a book, it's almost like I'm in it. I become very involved in the characters and what's happening in the book. I can't pick just one book, I've loved them all :)

15. Who did your cover art for Paranormal Stalker? Did you design it yourself?

April Abercrombie of Abercrombie Research in Colorado. She is fantastic with digital art! I had a hand in the design because I knew what I wanted, and she was the genius who helped to put it all together. I am quite picky, so the fact that she put up with me without coming to Texas to rip my head off is amazing! She's a very patient woman :)

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Pamela, thank you so much for your time and answers to my nosy questions! I loved rereading this. LOL xoxo