alentine: Thanks for taking the time to sit for this interview, Professor Crowe. How does a person become a Professor of Parapsychology? Do universities offer classes for that?

Crowe: The sensible way is to take a degree in psychology first, and specialize later. That way, you get a good overview of how people react to things like being alone in the dark. It helps to separate simple panic reactions from true events. Nowadays, in some universities, you can enroll for a degree in parapsychology straight away. I don‘t, personally, agree with that. You’re likely to attract the unquestioning-believer who starts from the premise that they will definitely find The Answer. A noble ambition, but one that gets dashed too easily. Some will then clutch at straws and produce work that is easily discredited. That just fuels the skeptics.

Valentine: What possessed you to become a ghost hunter?

Crowe: I started as one of the fundamentalist skeptics I now rage against. That’s not quite true. As a child, conversations with dead relatives were normal to me, but I was “persuaded” otherwise, and lost both the ability and the belief in that ability. Later, I became disillusioned with mediums when I found they (the ones I met) were unable to really contact anyone. I learned cold and warm reading, the use of assistants to glean information in casual conversation, the double-slate trick, and so on. Eventually I did receive uncontestable messages. Perhaps I was able to filter that out because by then, I knew all the tricks. This was no trick. It was proof to me, but will not stand as proof to anyone else. That’s what I’m looking for now. Proof that could not have been faked. Proof that no skeptic can find another explanation for. I haven’t found it yet.

Valentine: Has anything you’ve encountered during an investigation truly scared you? What about your assistant? Does she ever get frightened?

Crowe: There are things other than ghosts, and some of them are truly malicious. They can be worrying. As for Elaine, she says she’s never met anything scarier than me.

Valentine: Is ghost hunting dangerous work? Do you ever run into poltergeists?

Crowe: Ghosts are not dangerous, even those who wish harm on us.

They can make us believe they can harm us though, and that can have unpleasant results. Poltergeists and a few other non-ghost hauntings can be dangerous. Some have been known to start fires. I haven’t come across one with that particular ability myself. They are infuriating to investigate since they only move objects when nobody is watching. Poltergeists have a variety of explanations, and “ghost” is only one of them. They might all be correct.

Valentine: You live in the UK. Compared to the U.S., its history is ancient. There must be a lot of haunted places. How do you decide which to investigate?

Crowe: There are a lot of haunted places, yes, but most are well documented. Finding anything in those places is immediately met with “yes, but you could have read up on it beforehand.” They’re good places to practice technique, but not much use when looking for new evidence. I look for out-of-the-way places, which aren’t surrounded by publicity but which have local reports or even rumour surrounding them.

US history is ancient also. There were people there before Christopher Columbus arrived, and there have been skeletons that appear to predate the Native American population. The only difference is that the UK has ancient buildings, which makes the ghosts easier to find.

Valentine: Are there any places you’re just dying to investigate, but have been unable to get into? Like Windsor Castle, or Buckingham Palace, for instance?

Crowe: Any paranormal investigator would jump at the chance to get into a Royal residence at night, not least because they have been rarely, if ever, studied. It’s not going to happen though. Their security would throw a fit at the very idea.

Valentine: Do you get calls from people asking you to investigate their homes or other buildings, or to drive away any ghosts you might find in them?

Crowe: Rarely. Usually I go out and look for them myself. I am wary of places looking for publicity. Any hint that a hotel, for example, might be haunted is very good for business. There are a few places that invite investigations for publicity rather than out of any real interest. So I prefer to find places on my own.

I’m not qualified to perform exorcisms, so I don’t. That’s a different profession and best left to those who know how to do it. Meddling can make things worse.