That recently interest in paranormal phenomena has sharply increased, and this has given impetus to the development in the world of special organizations offering services in the field of parapsychology and the unknown. Back in 1984, American director Ivan Reitman shot the comedy-fantasy film Ghostbusters, which was a great success. It is interesting that, when inventing the equipment for the actors who caught ghosts, Dan Ackroyd (who starred in the role of one of the hunters) took as a basis the clothes of real-life ghost catchers of old England.
And although the word “fantasy” is still used in describing the genre of the film, this has long been untrue. Special services that organize the capture of any poltergeist and lone hunters work in many countries of the world, including Russia. Moreover, such companies are often headed not by amateur extreme sports enthusiasts, but by scientists and professors who lecture on parapsychology at universities and have been dealing with the problems of the unknown for many years.
To skeptics who are distrustful of such work, hunters answer: this is not a joke! They are serious people and have no time for jokes; their work is backed by thorough, in-depth research.
On the website of one Russian foundation offering its services for catching ghosts right in your home, the following is stated: “Foundation specialists<…>will ensure rapid neutralization of poltergeist phenomena that cause significant material damage to people living in the premises where it occurs.” It turns out that you can make just one call, and people will come to your home who will determine whether there is a ghost in your home, find the underlying reasons for its appearance, and immediately eliminate the troublesome “neighbor”?
One of the organizations working with paranormal phenomena at home in Russia is the Parapsychology Foundation named after. L.L. Vasilyeva (http://vasilyev-fund.narod.ru/). The extraordinary services the foundation provides are listed as if they were ordinary products on store shelves:
Unlocking parapsychological abilities under hypnosis;
Ambulance service for identifying and eliminating poltergeists;
Integrated environmental control service to identify and eliminate geopathogenic zones;
Analysis of difficult life situations using clairvoyance...
But why not look at such unusual services from a different perspective?
In recent years, the poltergeist phenomenon has been studied in some detail. In addition, ghost hunters in past centuries, according to eyewitnesses, often coped with their tasks - after their appearance, the activity of ghosts dropped sharply. Does this mean their half-fictional-half-real work is effective? After all, we are probably skeptical about their unusual service only because their area of work is the paranormal, something that we do not encounter every day and would probably prefer not to encounter at all...
And in reality, their equipment bears little resemblance to a shoulder-mounted nuclear reactor for a proton emitter that shoots a bright, writhing beam, which everyone saw in the movie about hunters. Modern hunters are armed with completely different devices - temperature and light sensors, computers programmed to respond to any change in the environment, etc. These devices are not so fabulous. And any action of hunters is justified from the point of view of science, and here, too, you can’t really argue with doctors of sciences and professors. And it turns out that the profession of a ghost hunter is far from fantastic. And if there is demand, as they say, then there will always be supply. Moreover, this supply is growing day by day, and they have even begun to open specialized schools for ghost hunters. Classes at the school are conducted under the guidance of experienced scientists, and the training also includes practical exercises in cemeteries and ancient buildings.
Who knows, perhaps special schools for teaching similar professions will soon appear in Russia? Judging by the development of interest in the paranormal and the number of companies offering their services in this area, we will soon be completely normal in accepting advertisements like “Ghost hunter needed for work. A higher education degree is required. Experience in catching poltergeists – at least 3 years”...
Illustration copyright Sony Pictures Image caption New 'Ghostbusters' movie expected to spark interest in spirits
When the people who worked at the Italian restaurant Nido decided that their building was haunted, they knew exactly who to turn to for help.
They called local - 100 percent real - ghost hunters.
A few days later, a team from Dead of Night Paranormal Investigations arrived in Frederick, Maryland.
After talking with the cooks and waiters, who all claimed that some invisible creature was stomping up and down the stairs, the team got to work.
The hunters wore identical black T-shirts with the company logo. They installed video and thermal cameras throughout the restaurant, hoping to capture the movements of the ghost. And then they turned on the main apparatus, called the “sound box”.
This device, about the size of your palm, quickly scans a variety of radio frequencies, which - if you believe in such things, of course - create the source of energy used by ghosts to make sounds or speak.
Shortly after this, the device recorded how the ghost (whose name was supposedly Malcolm) said: “Help!”
"Paranormal activity manifests itself in many different ways," explains Dead of Night ghost hunter Leanne Baur.
A new version of the Ghostbusters movie was released this week, and ghosts - whether you believe in them or not - are once again on everyone's lips.
Image caption Dead of Night uses all sorts of equipment to detect otherworldly aliensAnd although this Hollywood film is an obvious fiction, in real life thousands of people work as ghost hunters.
ParanormalSocieties.com calls itself the largest directory of paranormal organizations. According to the data published there, America is ahead of the rest: in the United States, more than 3,600 organizations investigate paranormal phenomena. There are only 53 of these in Canada, and 57 in the UK.
Reviews for the film are positive - most likely, it will bring considerable income to its creators. And besides, it will certainly excite the imagination of many viewers, which will play into the hands of companies like Dead of Night.
"Serious Business"
"It's just wonderful," said Lian Baur, who works as a school teacher by day.
"When you consider how many television shows deal with ghosts, it becomes clear how much the general public is interested in this issue," she says.
Illustration copyright Ghosts Of Shepherdstown Image caption Ghostbusters take their job seriouslyHowever, she reminds us that ghost hunting in reality is much less exciting than on screen.
"We do it a little differently," she explains. "It's a serious matter. We don't capture ghosts and we don't have proton traps. We want reconciliation with spirits."
No specialized training or license is required to become a ghost hunter. You don't even have to believe in the existence of ghosts.
Illustration copyright Dawn Till Dusk Events Image caption Dawn Till Dusk organizes tours of abandoned buildingsBut before you decide to turn your car into a ghost hunting van or start designing a uniform, it's worth remembering that virtually all real ghost hunters work for free.
They don't charge money because the results of their research can be interpreted in any way (either you believe in ghosts or you don't), and they want to meet the client's expectations.
"Usually people call us because they really want something out there, but they don't always get the answer they like," says Spencer Chamberlain, founder of East Coast Research and Investigation of the Paranormal, based in Rockville. , Maryland.
Because they do not charge money for their services, such organizations can claim to be meticulous and scientific.
Money on TV
Ghost hunters make money in another way - by giving public lectures or leading tours of streets where spirits have allegedly been discovered.
Leanne Baur and the rest of the Dead of Night team have been guiding tourists through the streets of Old Town Ellicott City for the past year and a half.
Illustration copyright Sony Pictures Image caption Real Ghostbusters look much more ordinary and not like they do on screen.Tickets cost $15, and each group averages about 10 people or more.
According to Baur, she and her colleagues try to both entertain tourists and educate them about paranormal phenomena.
In England, such tours are conducted by the Nottingham company Dusk Till Dawn Events (“From Dusk to Dawn”).
They organize two or three such tours every weekend - visiting a closed hospital in Liverpool or a former underground military base in Worcestershire. They say there are ghosts in both places. The cost of the tour is from 15 to 64 pounds (20-85 dollars).
The founder and owner of the company, Jessica Gladwin, says that different people come to them: “Among the regulars, there are many who hunt ghosts themselves. Others are brought by friends and acquaintances, but they themselves don’t believe in ghosts. Still others just really want to see something.” .
Illustration copyright Ghosts of Shepherdstown Image caption Ghostbuster Elizabeth Saint (center) begins her television careerAdditionally, some paranormal investigators in America make money by starting their own television shows. That's exactly what Elizabeth Saint did, who claims to have often seen ghosts as a child.
Last year, she starred as one of three paranormal investigators in the series The Haunting of Shepherdstown.
"Profession"
While ghost hunters are willing to help people or businesses determine if they are haunted, they do not "clean up" or exorcise spirits.
Clairvoyants or spirit seers promise to help get rid of ghosts, claiming that they can communicate with the other world. And these people usually work for money.
Illustration copyright Marjorie Rivera Image caption For $150, Marjorie Rivera will banish a ghost from your home.Marjorie Rivera, 47, from Pittsburgh, comes from a family of clairvoyants.
"We pay electricians to fix the wiring because we don't touch things we don't know about. I work with energy, just like an electrician," she says.
“I realized that clearing spirits from buildings is a professional job that requires training, just like you would want to become an electrician or a plumber, and I decided to charge the same prices as plumbers and electricians,” she continues.
If you want to clear your house of ghosts, Marjorie Rivera's services will cost you $150 - no matter how many sessions she has to do.
According to public opinion polls, approximately a third of the population of the United States and Great Britain believes in the existence of ghosts.
So if you suddenly hear strange noises in the middle of the night, who will you call?
Did you like the movie "Casper" as a child? Or perhaps you are a fan of the Ghostbusters film series?
Then you simply must be in the shoes of a fearless hunter of ghosts of various types!
The following character traits will help you be more successful in this career:
- Brave
- Attentive
- Genius
Trait Genius will be useful primarily in order to usefully develop the skill of logic: using a computer by selecting " Solve the unsolvable"(when solving a decision, logic develops, and if successful, money is also paid).
To start this career, select commands on your phone" Jobs and professions... - Choose a profession", and then find a job as a ghost hunter:
At all career levels, the work schedule is the same: Mon-Fri, 17:00-3:00.
- "Tarot Expert" - $280 per week
- "Ectoplasm Cleaner" - $344 per week
- "Poltergeist specialist" - $400 per week
- "Spirit whisperer" - $520 per week
- "Staff occultist" - $640 per week
- "Ghost Catcher" - $840 per week
- "Psychic detective" - $1,144 per week
- "Medium" - $1,480 per week
- "Eminent occultist" - $1,840 per week
- "Paranormal Expert t" - $2,480 per week
The first levels of your career will be achieved quite simply if you develop the skill to its full potential logic. As your character improves his skills and moves up the career ladder, his clothing and equipment (a device for catching ghosts - a ghost killer) will change.
So: five days a week at 17:00, icons will appear on the city map - tasks for a fighter against paranormal phenomena. Additionally, you will see messages in the top right corner where you can click " Get the job done" – and your ward will go to the first place of action (this is convenient, because you can send the character to work without going to the city map).
Already at the first career level, a character can search for spirits. To do this, click on the ground or floor and select “Search for Spirits.” Your hunter will search and perhaps find a spirit of some kind. If this happens, it will be possible to expel the otherworldly guest. You can try searching, for example, in a cemetery or with neighbors on the property.
There are 5 types of tasks in the ghost hunter career:
- Invasion of spirits
- Paranormal Investigation
- Fighting poltergeists
- The Phantom Menace
- Invasion of evil ghosts
Invasion of spirits- a task in which you need to expel spirits, presented in the form of ordinary clots of energy (“caspers”).
Paranormal Investigation- carried out only in public areas (as usual work). You need to go into the “rabbit hole” and complete the task.
Fighting poltergeists- a type of work when spirits inhabit furniture and household items and make them float in the air. They are expelled in the same way as ordinary spirits.
The Phantom Menace- a more difficult task, unlike the previous ones: you must first detect ghosts and then expel them. The ghosts are here in the form of ghost sims. To complete this task, click on the ground/floor and select “Search for Spirits”, after which one of two messages will appear:
- when the spirits are found...
- when there are no spirits in a given room...
Ghosts become visible - now you can either banish them or convince them to leave. In the first option, select the command “Expel with a ghost killer” - then your character will simply catch the ghost. In the second case, you need to raise the level of your relationship with the ghost, and then " Convince to leave"(It is quite enough to select the commands "Calm the ghost" and "Talk about real life" to achieve this). Then the ghost will simply disappear.
Invasion of evil ghosts– here, as in the previous task, the Sims are ghosts. But in this case there is no need to look for them, you just need to expel them. Ghosts also love to inhabit various everyday objects, so you will have to wait until they come out of the objects.
Note: After career level 10, the fee for exorcising ghosts from victims' homes will increase. So, for example, at first it will be $1240, then $1301, $1367 and up to $1507 - depending on advancement in level beyond achievements (golden work experience bar).
Types of perfumes
Spirits are primarily distinguished by age: young, old or ancient.
In addition, they differ in color:
- Blue- Kind
- White- friendly
- Yellow- frightened
- Green- jealous
- Orange- embittered
- Blue- Lost
- Red- wicked
Practice outside of work
1)
A character can have no more than three tasks daily. But what do you do all day before work?
Of course, you can develop your Sim's skills. Or you can walk around the city, look for spirits - as I wrote above, if found, they can also be expelled.
2) You can also calm the ghosts in the graves. To do this, you need to click on the grave and select “Calm the spirit” - then the character will talk to him, and the spirit will disappear (calm down).
3) In addition, from time to time you will be offered additional tasks - delivering ghosts to the theater, school or somewhere else. I advise you to agree, because this will bring profit. For example, for delivering perfume to a theater you will be paid from $500 to $1000, and maybe more. Typically, you need to deliver 5 spirits - that's how much a Sim needs to have in their luggage to complete the task.
About the awards
The saying “knowledge is power” is more than true when we encounter ghosts, poltergeists, or in rare cases, demons.
As a rule, things that are associated with the other world arouse horror and interest in us. There is rarely a person who would not like to communicate with a deceased person and ask him about things of interest. The ability to conduct a conversation with spirits who came from the other world existed long before the official word “spiritism” appeared.
At its core, spiritualism is an attempt to communicate with people who are not alive. In this case, they resort to certain techniques and rituals. An ordinary spiritualistic session is conducted by a medium, since he is able to feel vibrations from the world of dead people. But with special training, an ordinary person can also come into contact with the spirit.
Otherworld
All religions of the world agree that there is an afterlife.
Since ancient times, the living have always turned to people who have left this world. As a rule, this was resorted to in very difficult situations when no one could help. People tend to turn to heaven so that their departed relatives can hear them.
Often the ghosts of dead people appear on their own, without any challenge. There are many reports about this. Similar things happen in our time.
Novice researchers
The Rhine Educational Center, a school of parapsychology and a paranormal research institute, is an ideal place for aspiring researchers eager to learn about effective methods of communicating with ghosts.
The course offers an exploration of the basics of human biology, physics, and technology to help expand knowledge beyond plausible explanations for the strange physical phenomena a ghost hunter might encounter in everyday life.
Documenting Spirit Activity
Despite the fact that we live in a world of technological breakthroughs, ghost detectors have not yet been invented. But there are several types of techniques you can use to document spirit activity and record data. An electromagnetic field meter (EMF) is useful for measuring electromagnetic field fluctuations in the environment.
Theories about the paranormal field suggest that ghosts can manipulate it, causing an inexplicable increase in emf. Again, faulty wiring or cell phone interference can also affect the readings.
“You should be aware that the environment can render your technical equipment useless,” says Lloyd Auerbach, a parapsychology teacher at the Rhine Education Center. This is why it is important to examine and eliminate any external influences in the environment that may give you false readings. The scientist recommends buying an EMF meter, K2 Meter. You will also need a video camera to record the interview and ghost activity, preferably with night vision for filming in the dark.
Digital voice recorders will be very useful to capture voices. Although it is important to note that many paranormal experts do not agree on the legitimacy of EVP. Some skeptics have argued that the sounds could be nothing more than radio transmissions or the brain's tendency to create patterns of random sounds, while other researchers have claimed to be recording recordings of strange growls or human voices.
The smartphone is a great tool, but the phone has its limits. For the long term, it is best to invest in quality hardware.
“Ghost stories are nothing more than stories without witnesses. You can go into a haunted house and get a bunch of readings with your tools, but if you don't have the experience, you won't be able to put those readings together,” Auerbach says.
Location Research
Before planning a visit to a haunted house or building, try getting a crime report from your local police department to find out about any murders or suicides that have occurred nearby or on the property. Find out if the house was built on soil containing quartz or crystal, two elements that have the ability to imprint information.
You may think that ghosts or spirits are what make you worry, but the reality is that people can hurt you more than spirits.
When someone invites you to enter someone else's home, you don't know what to expect. You have to be careful and this is important because you shouldn't trust your instincts. If something worries you, then do not attempt to communicate with a ghost. Ideally, it is helpful to work with at least one partner.
Assemble a team of experts
Of course, you want your investigative team to be professionally trained, so it doesn't hurt to assemble a team of experienced professionals such as an engineer or electrician. Involving experts in your investigation can help you narrow down or rule out a logical explanation for a physical phenomenon.
A medium can also help in communicating with spirits or speed up the process of getting rid of a spirit. But you must be selective, as the number of pseudo-mediums outweighs the number of people with truly unique abilities.
Leave the uniform at home
“When you enter a home, you have to remember that most people want privacy,” Auerbach says. “Don’t wear an unusual suit.”
Mind your manners
Remember that you are a guest in someone's home, so be polite and considerate of other people's feelings and property, and show respect for the potential spirit.
Eliminate logical explanations
“I'm a situational skeptic,” Auerbach says. “I believe in ghosts and the paranormal, but I’m not convinced in every case until there’s hard evidence.”
You must eliminate plausible explanations in addition to the data you receive. In fact, most of these cases are nothing more than a leaking pipe or bad wiring.
One day, Douglas McMillan, founder of the paranormal investigative agency D. M. Paranormal" was called to someone's house because a frightened child who suffered from insomnia thought there was something scary under his bed. Using his trusty emf meter, McMillan was able to conclude that electricity was to blame.
“People always feel bad if they get close to an electromagnetic field,” says McMillan.
Meet the Ghost
As a paranormal investigator, you cannot be afraid of the unknown, especially when the possibility of meeting a spirit from the other world becomes your reality. If all your evidence and testimony leads you to an unreasonable conclusion, remain calm.
Often intelligent spirits are devoid of meanness. They may simply mourn their own death and move on to our world due to the fact that their mission on earth is not completed.
The best way to get rid of a ghost is to talk to him. “If you can remove personal details about the spirit from the conversation, there is a greater chance that it will respond to you,” says McMillan.
You can ask the spirits how old they are, or the age at which they left this world. When you ask these questions, it is best to audio record the conversation. As for an attack by an evil spirit or a confrontation with a demonic force, investigators say that this happens extremely rarely. In fact, you are more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by a ghost.
Ghostbuster career in The Sims 3: Career Expansion Pack
Ghostbuster
If your character is not afraid of all evil spirits, then the profession of a ghost hunter is created just for him! At work, he will have to catch spirits, drive them out (both peacefully and otherwise), look for ghosts and protect the peace of the city's residents. In addition, in various establishments, you may be asked to conduct research into paranormal activity. For additional income, a Sim can always hand over the caught spirits to a scientific institute, so to speak, for experiments.
In fact, the profession is very simple and does not contain any secrets. The only thing is that in order for a character to quickly move up the career ladder and perform his duties efficiently, he must have the following character traits:
Genius - this trait, as in many cases, is useful when increasing the logic skill. After all, who, if not a genius, can cope with difficult tasks?
Eccentric. You will only need this trait if you want the character's life goal to be related specifically to the profession of a ghost hunter.
And note that a Sim does not need to be brave at all in order to successfully complete their job. For some reason, ghostbusters are not afraid of poltergeists, even if they do not have the above-mentioned character trait.
1. Tarot expert
Don’t be surprised if at first others don’t consider your “profession” a serious matter. Ghost hunting is a challenging activity in which rigorous science meets mysticism. Perseverance and professionalism will help you earn a good reputation.
Salary: 280 Simoleons per week
Schedule: from 17:00 to 03:00, Monday to Friday
Work equipment: regular ghost killer
2. Ectoplasm Cleaner
Predicting the future is much more interesting than cleaning dirty ectoplasm canisters, but in paranormal matters there is a clear line between amateurs and real professionals, scientifically savvy hunters of the undead. You are following the right course.
Salary: 344 simoleons per week
Schedule:
3. Poltergeist Specialist
The floorboards creak in the attic, the pans rattle in the kitchen, the wind howls wildly outside the windows... And so on every night. The residents of the house are driven to despair. Drive out the naughty ghosts or at least convince the residents that there is nothing scary in all these sounds.
Salary: 400 Simoleons per week
Schedule: from 17:00 to 03:00, Monday to Friday
Working capabilities: convince residents of the safety of spirits
4. Spirit Whisperer
It’s one thing to hide in a cemetery, hoping to see a lost ghost, and quite another to go alone into dark buildings and come face to face with an evil poltergeist!
Salary: 520 Simoleons per week
Schedule: from 17:00 to 03:00, Monday to Friday
5. Staff occultist
Spirit detection technology has come a long way in the past few years, and you, the resident occultist, have been tasked with testing the experimental device, the Horror Meter. The device will allow you to accurately detect any ghost. Found - destroy!
Salary: 640 Simoleons per week
Schedule: from 17:00 to 03:00, Monday to Friday
Work equipment: new spirit detector and the ability to search for them
6. Ghost Catcher
By providing professional services to combat paranormal phenomena, you have earned the respect of the townspeople. Even the most stubborn skeptics believed that it was possible to get rid of the annoying undead. Good luck and success in your work, ghost catcher!
Salary: 840 Simoleons per week
Schedule: from 17:00 to 03:00, Monday to Friday
Work equipment:"Darkness 2" uniform
7. Psychic Detective
Some supernatural beings are particularly vicious in nature. They will stop at nothing to stop you from doing your job. But you, as a true psychic detective, will not spare yourself, track down these nasty ghouls and send them where they are supposed to go.
Salary: 1144 simoleons
Schedule: from 17:00 to 03:00, Monday to Friday
8. Medium
No amount of clever devices or modern technology will convince a lost spirit to melt away forever. Success in difficult cases is guaranteed only by your personal charm and classic persuasion techniques. And for other cases, you have the improved ghost killer.
Salary: 1480 Simoleons per week
Schedule: from 17:00 to 03:00, Monday to Friday
Work equipment: advanced ghost crusher
9. Eminent occultist
Few people (living) know more about ghost hunting than you do. Your keen mind, fierce courage, and attention to detail have made you the go-to expert on all things undead. You are now a world renowned paranormal expert.
Salary: 1840 Simoleons per week
Schedule: from 17:00 to 03:00, Monday to Friday
10. Paranormal Expert
You are the eradicator of poltergeists, the persecutor of banshees, the deliverer from evil! You not only free the town from terrifying monsters, but also save unclean souls (both living and dead) from suffering. You are a real hero!
Salary: 2480 Simoleons per week
Schedule: from 17:00 to 03:00, Monday to Friday
Reward: perfume detector
A creepy reward given for 15 captured spirits