Can you give a brief history of The Shadowlands and your background in the
paranormal? 
I started in December 1994 as a safe haven for people who have
one thing in common, experiences with ghosts.  It's a place where you can
share experiences, learn and interact without being laughed at or ridiculed.
The page features over 11,800 visitor submitted stories, original articles,
many photos, video clips and EVPs. There is info on ghost investigations and
other ghost related pages including Ghost Hunting 101, Ghost Weather
Station, Famous Hauntings and Ghost Hunters at Work. There is also the
largest haunted places index with 1000's of listings by state and country. A
discussion forum is also featured so visitors may exchange info, ask
questions and get advice.  There are also a few resident paranormal
investigators that help out me with problem cases as well as a group of
organizations that can assist visitors with problem hauntings.

I lived in a haunted house for 29 years and have experiences with many types
of spirits.  I've been researching ghosts and helping people living in
haunted homes for 20 years.  I have been the director of South Jersey Ghost
Research since 1998.


What would you recommend to someone who is looking for help with a haunting
at his or her home/business?  
There are many groups out there but you want
to look for groups that fit your needs.   If you are concerned or scared
about your haunting, then you'll want groups that provide you with
assistance with a haunting along with gathering evidence about the spirit.
Of you are just curious if you have a ghost then a group that strictly looks
for ghosts would suffice.   There are also many different ways group go
about investigating a haunting so make sure you ask how each group does
this.  Some only use equipment and not psychic/sensitive investigators and
some use just psychic/sensitive investigators.   I prefer a mix of both and
that is how my group operates but go with what you are comfortable with.


What do you think that someone seeking help should do to make sure that the
group that they select to help them is credible?  
Websites can be deceptive so don't get dazzled by fancy websites.   Look for content and see how much
info they give about themselves and their investigations.   Groups that
don't use their real names or don't post many investigations are often times
more like clubs than experienced investigators.   Do not be afraid to ask
for references from a group and always meet them in person before they
investigate your home.

What types of evidence do you think are the most credible for helping people
understand what is happening to them? 
It really varies from case to case
and that is something that many researchers don't understand.  If you have a
family that is worried about their house having a ghost and you give them
some orb photo and you tell "yeah you have ghosts", you have hurt them more
than help them.   In general though I would say that "A" and "B" class EVPs
are the best evidence to show people proof that they have spirit activity.
From there you work you way down the list with photos being the least likely
contain anything substantial enough to be good evidence.

When you are conducting an investigation what tools do you use?  
Here is the list of what is in my personal equipment case that I take on cases and
along with this I use a variety of small video equipment and my laptop.  I
try not to overwhelm people when going into their homes with lots of
equipment.   FE100 Olympus digital camera, Panasonic RR-QR80 digital voice
recorder, Olympus VN240 digital voice recorder, Sony ENC-F8 Omnidirectional
Microphone, 2-Cell Sensor EMF Detector, Ghost Meter EMF meter, Trifield
Natural EM Meter, Electrosensor EMF Detector, ELF Zone EMF meter, Gauss
Lites EMF meter, KII EMF meter, Raytek MT2 non contact thermometer, La
Crosse Technology's IR101 Infrared Thermometer, Telko S003M IR motion
detector, uniden FRS radio

In your book "Positive Energy for Haunted Homes" you discuss the different
ways for people to both help themselves as well as different techniques for
the team to deal with the different situations that they may find. What
techniques do you feel have the most consistent results? 
All of them will work but how successful the technique is dependant on the person seeing it
though and not giving up or stopping once they see it is starting to work.
Quite a lot of people try a technique like smudging once and it seems to
stop the activity so they stop too and then the spirit activity starts up
again.   In many situations these techniques are to be used on a regular
basis in order to keep the unwanted activity from flaring up.


Do you approach an investigation differently when children are involved?
Yes.  One main reason is that I was that scared 3 year old once.   I saw my
first ghost at 3 and I was terrified into my teens until I began to gain
more knowledge about spirits and hauntings.   I always have a group of moms
in my group and I have them sit down to talk and play with the child in
order to get them to open up.   You have to step very carefully when dealing
with children because you do not want to traumatize them.  One technique
that has worked well with younger kids is to give them DVDs of Casper the
Friendly Ghost cartoons.   It allows to kids to see and identify ghosts with
something positive.


 In your book "Armor of God" you discuss the different types of prayers
that can be used by people to help with different situations that they may
have. What do you do make sure that when you are working with different
people that you are respectful of their own beliefs?
I've worked with people of all religious backgrounds in my group.  Currently
I have people of the following faiths on my team:  Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish,
Wicca, Pagan and Christian.   We study and learn about each others beliefs
so that we understand where a homeowner of that faith is coming from.   I've
consulted with Priests and well as Shaman on cases.  I included a lot of non
Christian prayers in the book so that people will see how much they are
similar and to help someone whose beliefs prevent them from using the common
Christian prayers.   When dealing with the home owners, you have to work
within their belief system and not force your upon them.   When you are
dealing with a negative haunting, the resident's faith is what is going to
help them overcome it, not yours.

What would you personally consider to be the most conclusive "Proof" 
That you have been witness to?
Since I can't share my observations of
apparitions with others, they are really only proof for me.  The most
dramatic I think is when a group of people witness solid objects move in a
way that is beyond any explanation.   I've seen a coat rack rock its way
back and forth across a room a distance of about 15 ft.   Other than those
kinds of things I would say that EVPs that are clear "A" class EVPs that
have been analyzed and show that they could not have been made my
interference or any kind or a human voice.



Do you think that the new interest in Ghost Hunting in the media (Ghost
Hunters, Most Haunted, etc?) has had a positive or negative influence on the
general public?
I find that it has let more of the public know that there
are people out there willing to help them with a haunting.  If it has
allowed someone to find help they would have otherwise not found then it has
to be a positive influence.



Do you have any new books in the works?  
There may be a new edition of Positive Energy for Haunted Homes sometime soon
along with a casebook of investigations I have been on primarily in the New Jersey area.


What would you recommend to someone who wants to get into the field of
paranormal research?
Read, read and read.   Absorb as much of the
different theories and methods as you can before you go out and try it.
See if you can join a local group or find someone that can be a local or
long distance mentor/friend so you'll always have someone to ask questions
and bounce ideas off of.   I have people who have been doing this longer
than me that I call about a case I am involved with.  It's very important
that all experienced researchers help out the new people in the field if the
field is going to continue to grow.  We were all new to the field once and
none of us are experts in this field.


When people believe that they are having paranormal issues, but are actually
misinterpreting natural events how do you feel that this is best explained
to the people involved?
I wait until I can prove to them that a certain
event is due to a natural source.   I want to be able to show them it
occurring and then show them what really caused it so they can see it for
themselves.   I never make that call before I can do this because sometimes
I may think that something has a natural cause but if I am wrong, I have
questioned the witness's integrity.



What do you think of the practice of having to conduct an investigation in
total darkness? 
If it is a night time investigation, I prefer it to be as
dark as possible only because I use infrared video equipment so the more
visible light the less contrast on the video.   I do conduct investigations
during the day and with the lights on as well.   I try to simulate the
conditions when most of the activity is reported.   If the activity is
occurring during the day, coming at night and sitting in the dark doesn't
make sense as a starting point.  I've probably seen more apparitions during
the day than I have at night.  


If you could do an investigation at any location, where would you like to
go?  
The list is so long so I'll pick the one I am least likely to ever get
to do, the Lincoln bedroom area at the White House.



In closing is there any other advice you would like to give? 
Everyone should keep an open mind and remember that we are all learning in this field, there
are no experts.