Paranormal State: My Journey into the Unknown Read Online Free PDF

felt things should go, starting with the briefing we always had before going out on an investigation. In a way, our briefing scenes are a real-life homage to The X Files, one of my favorite shows. They often have a scene with Mulder doing a slide show for Scully to explain their case. I think every paranormal investigator relates to Fox Mulder, but, to be a little cocky, I believe I have a stronger connection than most. As a child, Mulder experienced a sudden shift that changed his life. That was similar to what I went through.
    When it came time to shoot, with all those cameras aimed at me, I was nervous. What was I supposed to talk about? How could I keep it interesting enough for a TV audience? In the end, I just went into the details about the case, like I had for years, and things worked out. “We were contacted back in February . . .”
    That first briefing is particularly interesting to go back and watch. Aside from being our first shoot, there are people who have since left PRS and don’t appear again. Except for the faithful few, the membership changed over time. People graduated, grew in different directions, and many months passed between shooting the pilot and shooting the series.
    Adam was a special case. Though he wasn’t technically our instructor, he’d been staff adviser for PRS. He came back for the pilot, but had already left the group. He’d told me that partly as a result of what we’d witnessed during those extreme demonic cases, he now had a more rigid view of doctrinal Catholic Church belief: Since every human spirit is sent to heaven, hell, or purgatory at death there can be no earthbound human spirits, no ghosts. Therefore any paranormal activity must be demonic.
    It’s funny, but because of the demonic cases we’ve done on the show some viewers conclude that I think everything’s demonic, but, based on my experience, I just don’t believe that.
    After the briefing, all twenty-three of us were on our way to Mount Pleasant. I called Shelly from the road, and, unfortunately, things were getting worse. Matthew’s experiences were even more frequent now. The night before he’d felt something tighten around his neck.
    As per the procedure we’d established over the years, when we arrived, Serg and the others set up our equipment while I sat down to talk with Shelly. Usually, though, I’d be alone with the client. Now I was surrounded by a film crew.
    Beyond the short outline I’d written there was no sense of a formula, no plan. As it turned out, this worked very well. The producers and crew hung back and let us do our thing, a process that we’ve found leads to our best work and most exciting episodes.
    It was easy to see that Shelly was upset. She told me how Matthew’s experiences made him miserable and disruptive in school. He was even seeing the spirits manifest in class. They appeared more strongly at night, though, and Matthew was having a lot of trouble sleeping, despite medication.
    One crucial thing I’ve learned is that there’s nearly always an emotional aspect to hauntings. On the one hand, stress can make people see or hear things that aren’t there. On the other, many believe that spirits don’t have their own energy and have to borrow it. Stress can generate an excess emotional energy that attracts activity. Then again, encountering the paranormal creates stress, so it’s hard to know how to unravel things.
    I’d also learned, partly from Adam and his psychology training, to always proceed cautiously, with sympathy and concern. I try not to play pop psychologist. I leave the big issues to the professionals, which is why a counselor, like Adam, is an important part of the team. If the situation is clear to me, though, I do try to empower my clients to help themselves.
    Here I felt a lot of sadness the moment I walked through the door. Caring for a daughter with a terminal illness had already put the marriage under pressure. Their new worries for Matthew, coupled with