Setting the Record Straight: Jason Hawes on Paranormal Community Drama, Integrity, and What's Really Going On

Every so often, you have to step back from the investigations and talk about what's actually happening in the world around them. The paranormal community is something I've dedicated decades of my life to building, protecting, and pushing toward credibility — and right now, there are some things that need to be said. If you've been paying attention lately, you already know something's been brewing.

I've been doing this a long time. Since the early days of TAPS, my entire philosophy has been built on one foundation: you go in trying to disprove the haunting first. You rule out every rational, explainable cause before you ever point to something paranormal. That approach kept us honest. It kept the community honest. And frankly, it's the reason people trusted us. So when I see what's been happening lately — the drama, the misinformation, the people who seem more interested in followers and feuds than in actual investigation — it genuinely bothers me. Not just personally, but for the sake of every serious researcher out there doing the real work.

The paranormal community has always had its share of personalities, and that's fine. Different approaches, different methods, different beliefs — that's what makes this field interesting. But there's a difference between healthy debate and the kind of manufactured drama that's been circulating recently. I've watched people weaponize this community for clout, spread things that are outright false, and drag others through the mud in ways that have nothing to do with the paranormal and everything to do with ego. I'm not going to sit quietly on the sidelines and watch that happen without saying something. That's not who I am, and it's not what TAPS was ever about.

What we built with TAPS was never about being famous or being the loudest voice in the room. It was about giving people answers. Homeowners who were scared, families who didn't know what was happening in their own homes, communities with locations that had been labeled haunted for generations — those were the people we were there to serve. We brought in equipment, we documented everything methodically, we looked for every possible natural explanation, and only when we'd exhausted those options did we consider something might be unexplained. That standard still matters to me. It matters more now than ever, because the noise around this field has gotten so loud that the signal — the real, credible work — risks getting buried.

I wanted to get on and just talk openly tonight because I think that's what this moment calls for. Not a polished statement, not a carefully managed response — just an honest conversation about where we are as a community and where I think we need to go. There are people in this space doing incredible, legitimate work. There are investigators out there taking this seriously, applying real methodology, and contributing something meaningful to our understanding of the unexplained. Those are the people I want to lift up and stand beside. And there are others who are using the paranormal as a backdrop for something that has nothing to do with investigation at all. I think it's time we all got honest about the difference. The community deserves that clarity, and quite frankly, so do the people who turn to us for answers.

I've never been someone who backs down from a hard conversation, and I'm not about to start now. The paranormal field has real potential to be taken seriously — but only if the people in it hold themselves to a higher standard. Tonight was about starting that conversation, and I hope you'll keep having it with me.