Jason Hawes Speaks Out: The State of the Paranormal Community and Why It Matters
“This field is fascinating enough on its own — it doesn't need manufactured controversy to make it interesting. We owe it to the people who come to us for help to keep this work honest, no matter what.”
— Jason Hawes
Every so often, you have to step back from the investigations and talk about what's really going on — not just in haunted locations, but in the community we've all built together. There's been a lot happening lately, and I felt it was time to sit down, have an honest conversation, and address some things head-on. If you care about the future of paranormal research, this is a conversation you need to be part of.
I've been doing this for a long time. Since the early days of TAPS, my entire mission has been to approach the paranormal with integrity — to walk into a location as a skeptic first, to try every possible natural explanation before I ever consider something might be genuinely unexplained. That approach hasn't always made me the most popular person in certain circles, but it's kept the work honest. And right now, honesty is exactly what this community needs.
Lately, I've been watching things unfold across the paranormal world that genuinely concern me. There's drama being stirred up by people who seem more interested in building personal brands than in doing serious research. There's misinformation spreading, there are personalities clashing in very public ways, and frankly, it's drowning out the real work that dedicated investigators are doing every single day. I'm not going to sit quietly and let the noise overshadow what this field is actually about. The paranormal community has always had its share of disagreements — that's natural when you're dealing with a subject this complex — but there's a difference between healthy debate and manufactured chaos designed to get clicks and followers.
Here's what I want people to remember: this isn't about fame. It was never supposed to be about fame. When I founded TAPS, the goal was simple — help people who were experiencing things they couldn't explain, and do it with compassion and scientific rigor. Every time I walk into a location, I'm looking for the rational explanation first. Faulty wiring, drafts, infrasound, explainable structural issues — these things account for a significant portion of what people report as paranormal activity. I owe it to the people who reach out to us to be thorough, to be honest, and to never sensationalize their experiences for the sake of entertainment. That standard should apply to everyone operating in this space.
I decided to go live and talk about all of this directly with you — the community — because you deserve transparency. Not a produced, polished statement, but a real conversation. The people who have supported TAPS and Ghost Hunters over the years are the reason this work has been able to continue, and I won't take that for granted. If we're going to push paranormal research forward, if we're going to be taken seriously by the broader scientific community and the people who come to us for help, then we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard. We have to call out the drama for what it is, recommit to the methodology that makes this work meaningful, and remember why we started doing this in the first place. The paranormal is fascinating enough on its own — it doesn't need manufactured controversy to make it interesting.
The paranormal community is at a crossroads, and the direction it goes depends on the choices investigators and enthusiasts make right now. My verdict on the current state of things is simple: we can do better, and we have to. If you're in this for the right reasons, I'll see you out there — doing the work, asking the hard questions, and keeping it honest.