WHEN IS TRESPASSING OK IN THE NAME OF ‘GHOST HUNTING’?
by Alison Oborn
NEVER! As far as I am concerned.
It is not often I am reduced to a public rant. I generally like to write about constructive topics. However, last night I watched a news story run on Channel 7 about the Julia Farr Centre, here in Adelaide, that closed down several years ago. In fact it was where my husbands grandmother resided for many years before her death. The story covered the increased vandalism and trespassing that this building and the surrounding neighbours have to endure nightly. They state that it is ‘Ghost Hunters’ breaking in that are the problem. Rumour has started, (again on the internet where all good rumours begin); that a female ghost haunts this now abandoned nursing home. Without any proof of this, it is now attracting a multitude of young people, who are calling themselves ‘Ghost Hunters’ but who are in fact just Thrill seekers and law breakers.
Another reputedly haunted abandoned building. This one had historic significance and was stunning until the vandals moved in looking for the 'ghost'.Why should this concern me when I am not the one breaking the law? Well it should be of concern to all ethical teams out there. At the end of the day, the public and media don’t know how to differentiate between an ethical team that takes the subject seriously and a new trend of ‘ghost hunters' who are just a bunch of yahoos that go out there for kicks and call themselves this. For this reason, this story reflects on us all and makes our job of trying to get some credibility in this field harder to achieve.
tThey even tried to set fire to it several timesWe are not just talking about kids though that are breaking the law…for a while now, I have been dismayed at how many groups out there in the world seem to view abandoned buildings as fair game for their quest. They seem to forget that these abandoned buildings, however much the walls are crumbling and the roofs are absent, are STILL owned by somebody. Not only are they risking injury from what is commonly an unstable building, but also they are trespassing and breaking the law in doing so. Every time they do this, it reflects on our field as a whole.
The other problem I have is the giving away locations of such places on the Internet. Due to the definite prospect of attracting vandals etc, the onus is on us, the Investigators/Researchers to protect these places. Why not just put ‘old property’ without putting exactly where it can be found. This has become such a problem in Adelaide now that we have had to put a new rule on our forum that any post giving directions to such places will be removed. If these are already publicly known places all well and good, if they are places that people cannot get into like our own Adelaide Gaol, all well and good too. But lets protect these other lesser-known places from those who would wish to destroy them for fun, this also would include cemeteries. I promise you, I for one would still take as much interest in your investigation without knowing its exact location.
Those who are guilty of this will hopefully by now have recognised themselves and may not have even given it much thought before. If at heart they are serious about research, then I appeal to them to consider the consequences of the above to us all. Please consider seeking permission from the landowners. I am sure they won’t mind if you tell them it will be kept confidential and they may even be curious themselves and welcome your approach. Also please be sure to inform your local police when entering public areas such as cemeteries. We have always found our police here to be accommodating and even grateful to have been informed that we are out there, rather then waste their time when called out by concerned neighbours.
We are battling against many obstacles in this field, not least credibility, lets not add to them unnecessarily!
The following is the news item. I hope Channel 7 won’t mind me using it for educational purposes and to help bring the point home.
'Ghost Hunters' - Trespassers and Vandals
And what has been done to this old building. The photography work is stunning but the damage so sad.
http://www.youtube.com/user/Ballering247
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