Predictions and hopes for the paranormal field in 2024
It is the end of an era! Whether you have been investigating for 30 years or this is your first year, you are probably starting to think about what to aim for next year. So in the 'spirit' of things, these are my predictions of what I think we will see in the field and my hopes for the paranormal field in 2024 on both a personal and general level.
Predictions.....
Inspired by the all-knowing Zoltar, here are my predictions for the paranormal field in 2024
Paranormal tourism takes flight
Paranormal popularity is at an all-time high! A year ago I wrote about the rise of the paranormal influencer, and this was a pretty solid prediction I made that was pretty obvious to most in the field so not exactly a groundbreaking one. TikTok, YouTube, Reels, you name it, paranormal content creators are all over it. Venues have been in partnership with many of these influencers to showcase their haunted hot spots in a way to attract more attention and hopefully more customers. Expect to see a lot more of these partnerships as well as tailor-made paranormal-themed experiences for the avid travelling paranormal enthusiast. These sorts of experiences have been on the go for many years, but thanks to social media, they are becoming more accessible and well-known to those who don't know where to start. Suddenly for many, a trip to their bucket list of paranormal destinations is planned for them giving them access to locations they may not have been able to get into before. Often equipment for investigating is provided as well as knowledgeable hosts and guides so you really can just join in and enjoy the ride.
With this however, does come a caution. Before spending your savings, make sure you are booking with a well-known and reputable company. Check refund policies and insurance requirements (especially if travelling abroad). Even some of the most well-intentioned organisers can find themselves in hot water if they are not properly experienced. Some companies and places do this sort of work and they do it really well, so if it is something you are thinking of doing, make sure you do your research. This doesn't just apply to pre-organised travel, even your local Saturday night paranormal investigation hosted by a local paranormal group should be researched before attending. Not everyone is honest and sadly, not everyone has permission to be at the locations they are investigating. If something seems off, it probably is. I think we will find more and more groups popping up in 2024 and running their own tours and perhaps gaining access to buildings that haven't been investigated before. Remember, just because a building is old, it doesn't mean it is haunted and sometimes people hold investigations at places with no reported ghost stories or strange happenings, they do it just because it is an old building and they are able to get access.
Money is going to be tight for a lot of people in the new year so people are going to be more picky about the events and venues they are attending. Our historical buildings may suffer as a result and the cost of tickets is likely to go up. Lack of funds also leads us to the next prediction ...
Scaling back on equipment as the cost of living soars
Paranormal investigating is not cheap. Some pieces of equipment can set you back several hundred dollars for just one item. A lot of people cannot afford to build or maintain their kits. The thing is, you actually don't need a lot of that fancy stuff to do an investigation and I think in 2024 people will start to embrace this less is more approach.
While apps are quite controversial, mobile phones are now more sophisticated than some computers and certainly have the capabilities to take readings of the environment around us, which is essentially what custom-built equipment does. Just the other day I was at my son's basketball game when I got an alert from my Apple iWatch that the noise environment was too loud as it was measuring decibels. People will embrace apps a lot more because they are pretty much at their fingertips and while some are free, the cost of others is so low compared to physical equipment that they will choose the app because it is all they can afford. Like any piece of equipment, understand how it works. For example, a lot of the voice box apps record you and spit words back out so check to see if the app has access to your microphone. Like anything, an app or a piece of equipment cannot tell you if something is paranormal. It simply reads the environment around you and any changes that may be happening. There is no point in using something if you don't understand how it works. Most app developers are transparent in how the app is getting its information so a little bit of research goes a long way.
While we are on the topic of apps, I can see a lot evolving in this area, particularly when you bring AI into the mix.
AI and Apps on the rise
AI was hot on my list last year and again it is at the forefront because it is constantly evolving. Specifically, this time I think you will see it popping up more and more in apps. In fact, it is already here with Amy's Crypt releasing Ghost Tube Seer in 2023. Here is what it does.
I can't comment on this particular tech as I haven't used it, but it is certainly an indication of where things are headed. Expect to see more apps using AI whether it is visual or helping with sound banks, analysing data and who knows what else really. AI is coming whether we like it or not, so we better strap in and at least start to understand how these things work. We need to have difficult conversations and listen to each other. There is a lot to be learned and it doesn't help anyone when we just dismiss something right away, without at least having a constructive look at it first. Are people in the paranormal capable of having these kinds of discussions without getting nasty? Well, that leads me to my hopes for a new year.
Hopes for a new year
In the next 12 months, I do hope that people chill out a bit. Some are so serious about the paranormal and any criticism or opinion different to theirs is taken as 'You are jealous' which is often not the case at all. Then there are the gatekeepers that tell you 'this is what a real paranormal investigator does'. Of course, then there is all the drama and the fighting and the videos bagging each other out, the vague posting and just downright being mean and doing whatever possible to take someone else down just because someone doesn't like them or what they do. It is just so far away from what the paranormal field is supposed to be about. I am not as active in the paranormal field as I used to be for these very reasons, but I still see everything that is going on and I have been subjected to it myself. My hope is that people will focus more on the research rather than the drama and trying to outdo each other. Is it going to happen? Absolutely not, but again, it is my hope and I know many of you will want the same too.
On the LLIFS side of things, I am hoping to expand my shop and I want to write another book this year. I have a few ideas of what I want to do, but we will see where the year takes me. I am not putting any pressure on myself, I am just going to do as I say and focus on the research and see where that takes me.
Thankyou for your amazing support in 2023 and I hope to see you down the road in 2024. Let's hope that road is a haunted one!
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