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Who Am I? I am Jim Brown and I have been investigating claims of paranormal activity since the mid 1970s. I became interested in strange happenings back in the 1960s and early 70s after reading some of the books available back then by authors such as Frank Edwards and John Keel. The case of Barney and Betty Hill was also news back then, along with other such reports of objects seen in the sky and people claiming contact with aliens. It made for interesting reading, like Sci-fi stories but these were happening to real people, controversial, and raised many questions. Then in the mid 1970s a series of local reports were covered by local news media. Objects seen in the sky were reported to local authorities and even a few creatures were observed. The difference with these cases was that they were local to me; I could actually go out and talk with the people who reported them instead of simply reading someone else's account in a book. My investigations began, and I started compiling case histories. I made contact with local media and first responders since they were the ones those who were contacted by witnesses seeking answers. Local talk radio shows sometimes got into these discussions and I was asked to appear as a guest at times. Gradually my name was getting out and I was receiving calls from people who also shared this interest in UFOs and unexplained events. I was also developing contacts I could call on to assist me when I needed help in specialized fields of investigation. Through the 1980s I was building a file of case histories and began analyzing my data. Certain trends were becoming apparent. These events would come and go over time. Sometimes I would get several cases in a row and then a period of time would pass when things would settle down. I found that often society would trigger such interest in this field. For instance, when the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" came out, for a couple months the number of reports of UFOs and alien life also went up. But sometimes reports would ebb and flow for no apparent reason. My conclusion was that interest in UFOs was influenced to some degree, but not entirely, by what people were exposed to. Another factor was that when UFO reports increased in number, other sightings such as hauntings or creature sightings also followed the trend. Sometimes a series of sightings of hairy creatures might be followed by UFO or ghost reports; sometimes the reports might precede the UFO reports. But they often came within a short time of each other. And there were other similarities too. For example, someone might report being awakened by a cloaked figure floating just above the floor. The face was concealed; no detail present. The being might float across the room and disappear through the wall. Sometimes other lights might be visible, sometimes an impression of fear would be experienced. Then another person would report a full body apparition; a ghost of sorts. The ghost lacks feet and floats across the room through the wall. Was it ET or a ghost? Or might we be observing the same thing with only our interpretation of what we see being the controlling factor? From this I could see the need to expand my research to include all aspects of the paranormal, not just UFOs and extraterrestrial claims. So in the 1990s I expanded my work into all claims of paranormal activity to include ghosts, Bigfoot, and cryptids as well as things that just didn't fit in but weren't easily explained. About this time I began to wonder if I could utilize my electronics knowledge in the field as well. As an Electronics Specialist I design and manufacture specialized devices to detect various types of stimuli. I also need to understand the theories behind what works and what doesn't work in the area of instrumentation. I put my knowledge to work in the field. I built and adapted some of the equipment I use in my research. And when I saw some of the stuff being promoted as "Ghost Hunting Gear" I quickly saw where people were getting duped by those selling much of this stuff. I obtained samples of some of this "Ghost Hunting Gear", put it to the test in my lab, and began debunking what were clearly bogus theories or in some cases outright frauds. It became a goal to spread the word at conferences related to the paranormal where much of this was being peddled. It was also in this time frame that paranormal shows and movies became much more mainstream. TV shows and celebrities were drawing an audience and the number of claims, especially related to hauntings, increased dramatically. It was popular to have your house be haunted, and people wanted to get involved. Many formed their own groups and teams to do just what they were seeing on TV. It couldn't be that hard, could it? This was also a time when investigators including myself were getting inundated with reports. It became hard to sort out the serious reports from the ones generated by Saturday Night Ghost Hunters just out for a thrill. My response was to become more critical of some reports. Many were now containing limited information. Some people just wanted somebody to prove their house was haunted. I had to limit my work to those cases that actually might be something significant, not just any bump in the night. The field of paranormal study was clearly going down two roads; one was serious study, the other was growing fast. The thrill seekers were drawing a large crowd. Seeing how much bad information was out there, I began doing workshops and conferences. I took the side of a skeptic, not doubting that some of what was being reported was real, but rather that the paranormal by nature is rare. Sometimes something was real, but many times it was a case of wishful thinking on the part of the observer. In the area of UFO studies, there were also many more manmade explanations too. The number of satellites and other such objects was growing quickly. There were many more things out there to fool those who were not aware of what was being seen. I was doing educational programs to try to point the serious investigator in the right direction. Having a little success it seemed to be helping through the early 2000s and 2010s. I did the occasional investigation to demonstrate methodology and equipment while debunking a lot of the junk being promoted by the TV ghost hunting shows. Then COVID hit, conferences and symposiums ceased. I made this website available at the same time to keep my presence open to those who were using me as a consultant and also keep the reference available. Of course things never stand still and the same goes with the area of paranormal research. New techniques and equipment are being developed. Some are good, but there is a lot of junk being pushed on those who will fall for it. That is where we are today. We can't stop those trying to mislead people, but we can educate their victims so they don't fall for this stuff. This website is undergoing a complete renovation. It will cover some of the areas previously done in conference workshops. Some things that were covered previously have been thoroughly debunked. Others have new data added. The rework is intended to bring things up to speed again. I encourage you to bookmark this page and check back periodically as this is a work in progress. I might even show up again at a conference or two as things begin to return to normal. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to CONTACT ME with your concerns. If there is a topic you would like me to address, let me know. It might be something that can help us all to become better investigators! |
