|
|
Q&A With Troy Taylor
Recently I had the honor of chatting with ghost hunter and paranormal author Troy Taylor. I found it to be an interesting and thought provoking experience, and walked away with more knowledge than I came in with. A handful of his books include: Where the Dead Walk, The Haunting of America, Out Past the Campfire Light, Spirits of The Civil War, Season of the Witch, and The Ghost Hunter’s Guidebook. He is also the president of The American Ghost Society; a long established paranormal investigative group. * Links to the American Ghost Society and Troy Taylor’s books can be found on our “Links” Page. Tracey: The paranormal
community can learn about many different things, by reading your articles and books, and also by visiting your website. Can
you share with our readers what originally sparked your interest in the Paranormal? Troy Taylor: I have
been interested in the paranormal my entire life, for as long as I can remember. I wish that I could say that I saw a ghost
as a child but I didn’t. It was really just a series of odd experiences that led me to wonder about the unexplained,
combined with my interest in books. I ran across a book when I was about 12 about a writer who traveled all over the country
and looked for – and wrote about --- haunted places. I decided right then that this is what I wanted to do with my life.
I wanted to be a writer and well, you write what you know. And “what I know” is ghosts, I guess. Tracey: It
seems that the majority of your paranormal research and series takes place in the Midwest. Any reason for that? Troy Taylor: Actually, I have traveled all over the
country and have researched ghosts. I have been to most every state and have visited all of the so-called “most haunted”
places. In many cases, I have been lucky enough to do this in conjunction with televisions shows and such but many investigations
have been on my own. However, most of what I write about takes place in the Midwest because I love it --- especially Illinois
– so much. I was born and raised here and I guess it goes back to that “write what you know” thing. In this
case, I write about what I love the most too. Tracey: Have you ever had a paranormal experience? If
you have, would you mind sharing a brief account with our readers? Troy Taylor: Actually, I’ve had quite a
few paranormal experiences but most of them have not been very dramatic. I have written about them in a number of my books
because I like to present a first-hand approach to hunting ghosts in some of my titles. I have see things move in homes and
buildings, have heard things that cannot be explained and have had several experiences with hauntings associated with smells.
On two occasions in Gettysburg, I was with other people who experienced the same “phantom smells” without realizing
that anyone else had had the same experience. The most chilling experience that I had was when I was at the Waverly Hills Sanatorium
in Louisville and myself and another investigator actually saw the apparition of a man cross the hallway in front of us and
disappear. Now, that was exciting! Tracey: How cool is that?! What is your opinion on why Alton Illinois may be indisputably one
of the most haunted places in America? Troy Taylor: Let
me state that these are not my words –-- I have always referred to Alton as “one of” the most haunted small
towns in America. That’s not to say that it’s the most haunted place but I can say that there are many legitimate
hauntings there. I have put a lot of research into Alton and have uncovered a lot of things that no one else ever has. It’s
a great town and one that is literally haunted by it’s past. This is what makes the town so haunted --- the events of
the past. It’s a small place and there has been a lot of concentrated history here that includes the Civil War, the
Underground Railroad, violence, murder, floods, disasters and more. A haunting is history that leaves a little bit of the
past behind. Tracey: When you dedicate a whole book to one
paranormal event, how much time does it take you to do your research, before you feel comfortable putting the title to press? Troy Taylor: I have actually only done two books
that are all about one paranormal event. One of them “Season of the Witch” concerns the Bell Witch case and it’s
been a lifelong interest for me. I have done 2 editions of the book starting in 2000 with the first one and I thought it was
complete. It wasn’t --- and I’ll likely do another update before it’s all over. It’s a complex story.
Even
more complex is a book that I have coming out this summer on the St. Louis Exorcism case of 1949, which inspired the book
and film versions of “The Exorcist”. I researched this story for about 12 years before I put the story to paper.
It’s been a long time coming and a very weird tale. Tracey: Any tips for new
investigators just starting out? Troy Taylor: I try to encourage new investigators to try and not
get caught up in all of the fancy gadgets and gee-gaw’s that people think are so imperative for ghost hunting. Don’t
misunderstand, I’m all about using technology to gather evidence but that’s not what it’s all about. I spend
a lot of time in the “Ghost Hunter’s Guidebook” trying to convince people to rely on their own skills and
methods first, before they get all caught up in buying equipment. Tracey:
You have been on many investigations; would there be a favorite? Could you tell our readers why? Troy Taylor: I’ve
done hundreds of them and most are as boring as all get out, which is something that new people coming to the field don’t
understand. They see exciting things on TV and think that’s all about real life. It’s not. I guess my favorite
investigation would be one that did not turn out to be about ghosts. I have detailed the case in a couple of my books ---
the “Christine M. Case” --- and it involved a family who thought they had a ghost but it was actually a troubled
young girl at the root of it. We saw some amazing stuff in this case; heard things we could not explain; saw things move and
more. The best thing about it was that by getting this girl some help, the case resolved itself and had a “happy ending.”
That’s another thing that investigators forget about it --- we aren’t always supposed to be doing this for thrills,
we’re supposed to be helping the scared, nervous people at the heart of the case. Tracey:
What equipment do you prefer to use on investigations? Troy Taylor: I have probably
gotten the best results in cases by using just a notebook and pen and a good camera but I love all of the technology that
it’s involved too. I would love to have a thermal imaging camera but such things are a little tough to afford unless
you have a television network buying all of your equipment for you, if you know what I mean? There are basic lists of equipment
that everyone should have but I also like to add in good standard and digital cameras; Tri-Field meters; motion detectors;
and good audio and video recording devices. I have pages and pages of set-ups for investigations but there are many variations,
as long as you have some standards to follow and some basic rules. Tracey: Investigators
tend to use their own preferred camera equipment on an investigation. Some prefer non-digital
camera, some prefer digital. Which do you prefer for primary use in an investigation, and why? Troy Taylor:
I still like to use both because, since we don’t really know why paranormal energy is recorded on
film, I like to keep my options open. I used to speak out vehemently against digital cameras because many so-called “ghost
hunters” were using them incorrectly. In addition, the old digital cameras were really not up to the quality of standard
cameras. Since then, I have changed my stand on this ---- but only under certain conditions. A lot of that depends on the
camera, the number of mega pixels and more. There’s an in-depth article about this on my website but I just like to
urge people to keep all of their options open. Tracey: What’s the
best evidence that you have gotten to date and can you share a little bit about that with us? Troy Taylor:
The best evidence I ever uncovered had nothing to do with technology --- it was all about history. I had a woman who
reported a haunted house and she described the ghost that she was seeing to me. I started to research the history of the place
and found a photo of a previous owner who had committed suicide. I took this photo ---- along with several other men of the
same time period and from the same newspaper --- and showed it to the home owner. Out of the collection of photos, she immediately
picked out the suicidal former home owner. She had no information about or knowledge of who he was but she named him as the
ghost. In addition, I spoke to other former owners of the house, who also reported the ghost, and they also picked the man’s
face from the collection of photos. Historically speaking, I had just proved the house was haunted! Tracey:
Can you tell us a little bit about the American Ghost Society? Troy Taylor:
The American Ghost Society was started in 1996 as a national network of ghost hunters, authors and researchers. We
have about 600 members all over the country, an interactive mailing list and a national conference each year in June. We started
the group as a way for people to stay in touch with one another and assist with investigations, offer support, etc. We have
a lot of smaller local groups who act as our affiliates and representatives in their states and areas. We have a good core
group and then a lot of active members on top of that. The main thing that sets us apart is our longevity. We have lasted for
10 years because we stay away from the “fads” and “what’s hot” on TV and keep doing what we
do in the most authentic way possible. It’s been really satisfying to watch the group change and grow over the years
and I’m looking forward to seeing what we do in the future. Tracey: I
just couldn’t resist, who is your favorite author? Troy Taylor: I wish that I could
say that I had one favorite one but I have dozens (honestly!). I don’t read a lot of ghost books, unless it was written
by a friend of mine or is about something that I’m really interested in. I read a lot of history, I read a lot of books
on historical crime and I read a lot to just “escape”. Those are mostly novels but some of my favorite writers
include Max Allan Collins, Robert B. Parker, Jonathan Kellerman, Greg Iles, Michael Connelly, Douglas Preston and Lincoln
Child, Stephen King, John Connolly and many, many others. I have also been reading a lot of the Dan Brown / Da Vinci Code
knock-off books on religious conspiracies. I read all of the original stuff on that years ago and it’s fascinating. Tracey:
Finally, what is your favorite scary movie? Troy Taylor: Oh boy, same problem as with the
authors – too many to list and so many for different reasons. I love “The Exorcist” because I am so fascinated
with the original case and the movie is really scary. I’m always looking for ghost movies though and a few of my favorites
include: “The Sixth Sense”, “The Changeling”, “The Others” and “Stir of Echoes”
but one of the scariest movies that I have seen is “Session 9”. If you haven’t seen it yet, track it down,
it’s worth the search! In ending, Mr. Taylor,
I just want to thank you on behalf of the paranormal community, for your years of dedication, and your never ending quest
for answers where few people dare to tread. Your knowledge, experience, and advice, is unsurpassable. -Tracey H. |
|