Paranormal Ambush Smackdown, Part 2

By Kirby Robinson

Continued from: 

Paranormal Ambush Smackdown, Part 1

 Dispelling the deceptions of George Lopez, Chip Coffey, and Andrea Perron.

This Monday we'll finish the preliminaries, so that we can start breaking the show down in detail next week. The reader can learn what was really going on. First, some issues and questions I must raise.

1 ~ Was Bishop James Long set up? Yes, that appears to be the case.

Why was Bishop Long brought into this mess? In the past, I'd been on his show as a guest host of a weekly segment. I had no reason to question the Bishop's conduct, motives, or character. One of the former Eye on the Paranormal bloggers mentioned his name in a harsh manner. When it was pointed out, the reference was removed, and the blogger is no longer with us.

After a phone conversation with Bishop Long, I learned what happened. On the Monday night of the ambush interview, Bishop was spending a peaceful night at home reading Thomas Aquinas. He was contacted by someone who told him that I said that Andrew Calder was never an ordained minister.

I challenge anyone to listen to the ambush interview and find where I made such a statement. They said that I claimed that Andrew Calder was never ordained by the CEEC, which is false as he was [more on that later]. Bishop Long knew Andrew Calder and that made him a little upset--which it should have. However, I didn't say that Andrew Calder wasn’t ordained.

Why was this done? It seems very clear to me, and I'm going blind, that there was an ulterior motive on someone's part to get Bishop Long to call in so it turned into a three on one attack.

Who was behind this? George Lopez? Chip Coffey? Andrea Perron? Or someone on Lopez's staff? We're unsure, but we can say shame on the person/persons who did that. Bishop Long is a very kind person who carries the weight of his church and his calling to deal with the demonic. Bishop Long shouldn't have been put into this situation.

Since we're addressing the Andrew Calder situation let me summarize it.

Andrew Calder was a man of God who was an ordained minister just not with the Episcopal Church of America. They are based in New York City. Here is a link:  http://www.episcopalchurch.org/

He had been ordained by the CEEC, which stands for the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches.

This organization is part of The Convergence Movement. Their views are: "Standing within the Celtic and Anglican traditions, the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches was created by a convergence of the great historical expressions of faith and practice: the Evangelical, Charismatic, liturgical, and sacramental traditions. The fundamental principles defining inclusion in the Communion are detailed in the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1886." Read more about it here: http://www.theceec.org

Father Calder chose to appear on the fake reality show Paranormal State on an early segment called "The Devil in Syracuse" where he was given the title Episcopal Priest. The CEEC has told their clergy not to use the title.

The CEEC contacted Go Go Luckey Productions, Paranormal State's production company, and ask them to remove the credit. The credit remained. The CEEC contacted Calder and advised him not to do the show anymore.

In July, 2008, he got involved in the infamous "I Am Six" case. The same credit was misused, and that resulted in some problems. If you want to learn the whole story, it's in the book Never Mock God: An UnauthorizedInvestigation into Paranormal State's 'I Am Six' Case.

Calder was ordained again by a different organization. That is a far different story than that of me stating that Calder was never ordained.

2 ~ The Norma Sutcliffe video. Watch it yourself and make an informed decision. Yes, it's just over an hour long, and you will need some time to read the articles and documents that are presented. If you have any investigational skills, this video should be something you want to see. 

http://eyeontheparanormal.blogspot.com/2014/04/special-edition-conjuring-exclusive.html

Why not let the public decide for themselves? 

3 ~ Has Andrea Perron admitted her book might not be true?

I was surprised to see a message from a literature professor who offered some advice on this situation. They suggested that I go to Amazon and note the categories that Perron has her books listed in.

Biography is defined as the story of a person's life written by another person. A memoir can be defined as a story about an event or series of events that the author has personal knowledge about.

A biography should be 100% true. A memoir may or may not be. Here are some very famous fake memoirs: http://listverse.com/2010/03/06/top-10-infamous-fake-memoirs/

Memoirs are pulled from the author's memories and tend to be influenced over time by many outside factors.

http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/guest-post/when-is-lying-in-memoir-acceptable-3-key-issues

So we ask is the book emotionally true vs. factually true? We'll ask this question again as the many parts of the blog unfold.

In next week's Paranormal Ambush Smackdown,  we'll break down the interview and explain how the radio show host and his guests lied, twisted the facts,  and made false claims.

Keep current and follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/eyeonparanormal

EARN EXTRA MONEY! If you have a website, forum or blog you can set up an Amazon Associates Affiliate Program link and sell the Kindle version of our books. "Is the Long Island Medium the Real Deal?" [Now in Paperback!], "Never Mock God: An Unauthorized Investigation into Paranormal State's 'I Am Six' Case" [also in paperback!], "Investigating Paranormal State," "Paranormal State Exposed" and "Paranormal Teachings: The Best of Shedding Some Light" and earn money. You can also sell other books and products that Amazon offers. Here's the link: https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/

What Does Mother's Day Mean to You?

By Pastor Stephen Piersall

I am confident most of you may have plans to buy flowers, go out to eat, etc. I'm certain husbands with children will have plans for the kids to have a special day all lined up from breakfast in bed, flowers, or a list of coupons that Mom can use whenever she wanted. In fact, my favorite sport NASCAR does not race on Mother’s Day, but the night before they have the race and many pre-race festivities honoring the Moms of the NASCAR teams.

Did anyone think to “take” Mom to church? Hmmmm!

Many know the story of Mary as the mother of our LORD Jesus Christ. Did you know that they did not use last names until many years later but the few who did before so would have used their last name as their occupation? In the case of Jesus “Christ” was his designation.

Let’s verify that
:
The term Christ is a title; it is the New Testament equivalent of the Old Testament term Messiah and means anointed one.

1. Jesus is the Christ, Matthew 16:16, "And Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."

2. Acts 5:42, "And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ."

3. Jesus called himself the Christ, John 4:25-26, "The woman *said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us." 26 Jesus *said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

4. The Christ was born Matthew 1:16, "and to Jacob was born Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ." See also Matt. 2:4; Luke 2:11.

Speaking for my wife and myself, we both have witnessed the deterioration and seen our Mother’s die. Feelings we experienced: painful, helplessness, heartbroken, crying, anger, guilt, etc. All we have our memories to fall back on. What if the roles were reversed, and they had to watch us get tortured? Devastating!

Imagine the pain Mary went through when Jesus her son, our LORD was crucified? Immeasurable agony after having the joy, she must have had been watching him be born and growing into not only a man, but the son of God.

Life is short, and I write this today in celebrating Mother’s Day. They have made a very significant impact in our lives. Do not let that go to waste; this may be their last Mother’s Day, and do not let yourself go through the guilt and agony if that were to happen.

Make this Mother’s Day the best you can. If you have the chance to do something special, I say go-for-it and make the day full of joy and happiness. You don’t have to spend tons of money as I know for a fact that even the card we made as kids with paper, pencil and crayons meant to them more than any store bought gift could.

--

May God shine his light through you †
Pastor Stephen Piersall
God's Preservation Ministry Soul Care
gpmsc.org/
http://www.facebook.com/GodsPreservationMinistry
networkedblogs.com/blog/soul-care

The Four Horseman of The Apocalypse

Hello my para beauties! I trust you had a great day and are in good health. This is a subject I've been asked to explain to the best of my knowledge. This is from the book of Revelations. The book of Revelations can be very intimidating. But we know who wins in the end.

The first Horseman is the rider of a white horse, carries a bow, and wears a crown. He is described as a conqueror. For this reason, he is sometimes interpreted as the Antichrist or as a false world leader. This Horseman is also sometimes called Pestilence.

The second Horseman is astride a red horse and carries a sword. He is associated with war and slaughter, and the Bible attributes to him the power to take away peace and to make men kill each other.

The third Horseman rides a black horse and carries scales. This Horseman, popularly called Famine, is thought to represent not only scarcity of food, but also the strict rationing or unfair allocation of goods and the exploitation of the poor.

The last of the Four Horsemen, Death, rides a "pale horse" of a sickly hue and is followed by Hades, or Hell.

The nature of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is hotly debated by theologians and Christians, but they are almost universally fascinating, regardless or perhaps because of their mystery. They were popular subjects for art during the medieval period and the Renaissance, and references to them continue to crop up in popular culture in our own day and age. Whether or not Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death are the correct interpretations of the Biblical Four Horsemen -- which will likely remain in debate for the foreseeable future -- it is safe to assume that that is what they represent in a cultural or literary context.

In many opinions The book of Revelation in the Bible is real and does not need one to read the hidden truths. When it says Jesus Christ is coming back again it means Jesus Christ is coming back again. When it says the Horsemen it means exactly that.

Since Christ is the One opening these seals and revealing what will happen in this world prior to His return, is there anywhere else in the Bible that He discloses these events? In fact, He did so shortly before His death in a section known as the Olivet Prophecy (given on the Mount of Olives), recorded in the Gospels of Matthew (chapter 24), Mark (chapter 13) and Luke (chapter 21) Seeing what Christ said in this prophecy helps us identify what each of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse represents.

In Matthew 24:3 Christ’s disciples asked, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” In the comparison chart below, notice how Christ’s answer lines up exactly with what He gave years later in the book of Revelation through the apostle John.

Notice the enormous effect of these first four seals (horsemen) in Revelation 6:8: “And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.” This indicates that the first four seals will ultimately result in a death toll of one-fourth the earth’s population. This summary statement also adds something else that will contribute to the death toll—beasts of the earth, which kill as carriers of pestilence and as ravenous predators.

The first four seals are clearly already open in our day now, and the four horsemen of the Apocalypse have been riding through the years, taking their toll on populations. But many other prophecies in the Bible show that their destruction will multiply greatly as the next seal—the fifth seal or Great Tribulation—is about to open. Christ reveals that this world is about to undergo great devastation due to the rebellion of humanity against our Creator.

May God Help us All.

Written By Jennifer L. Auld

Clearing Up Demonic Confusion

By Kirby Robinson

I received a lengthy comment on a blog about Theresa Caputo and her show, and felt a need to respond in a way that is both public and answers many of the same questions/comments I continue to receive about Theresa and psychics/mediums in general.

The following comment was written by "dg" on this post:

http://eyeontheparanormal.blogspot.com/2013/05/issue-118-case-against-theresa-caputo.html

eyeontheparanormal , in response to many of your replies to people's comments. i do not think that Teresa Caputo is fake or real, as like in the majority of how i live my life, i believe it when i see it with my own 2 eyes. i just find it amusing how you continue to dismiss the idea of people talking to spirits or people feeling the presence of spirits but yet you not only believe in demons but have actually assisted in Exorcisms. arent demons and spirits essentially the same, just one is good and one is evil? how come for you just because the bible says that once someone dies and goes to heaven, that is it? but yet when someone bad dies and goes to hell it's normal for them to come back to "haunt" people? i don't get the logic there. jesus himself died and rose from the dead, yes he was jesus, but ultimately did he not start out as a human being that people could see, and hear and touch? you talk about the bible so much and how people should follow it pretty much word for word, then why do most people, christians included break almost every commandment? i have a feeling after reading your comments that you must be anti gay too, because it says in the bible that the homosexuals pretty much should not exist, let alone be able to be married. it might only be my opinion but i think that is the best thing that was not followed, that slowly but surely many more states are coming forward allowing same sex marriages, because while too many people are spewing hate against people like mediums or people who can see spirits, letting same sex marriages happen is showing how much they have suffered and have had to wait the longest to do the one thing that EVERYONE in the world should really be concerned with and that is LOVE.

Question #1- Are demons and spirits the same thing?

Demons are the foot soldiers to Lucifer/the devil/Satan. They have never been human beings. No matter how vile a person is in life they don't become a demon in the afterlife. Humans who die and reject God go to hell and suffer the pain of damnation inflicted by demons. They get no pass for past evil deeds for demons hate humans.

Where do demons come from? Depending on who you ask, you'll learn that the angels who fell with Lucifer became demons after the fall. Others will say that the offspring of the giants in Genesis 6 became demons after death. Finally, some will say that Lilith, the first wife of Adam, rejected God and was cursed by God—thus became the mother of all demons.

As to spirits, those don't stay around here on earth. When we die our last breath on earth becomes our next breath in either heaven or hell. We don't see a white light or a tunnel that leads us to heaven as that's new age fallacy. From the Christian perspective, we are on earth and as soon as we die, we are in heaven. On the other hand, if we don't measure up, then the alternative is that we are on earth, we die, and we end up in hell.

Not to say that we might be able to reach loved ones from time to time, usually when there is a great need. But our new home is in either heaven or hell.

Question #2 - Do the dead in hell come back and haunt us? Nope. Demons often will wear the mask of someone who died and went to hell, making us think that it is the person. They can be quite convincing, as they might even sound like them, and demons know many details of various events, character traits, etc. No one should ever mistake a demon as dumb, because they aren't. What demons lack is love and compassion.

Question #3 - Do I hate mediums or those who can see spirits?

When someone speaks out against so-called mediums, I hope they don't hate them. Love the sinner hate the sin. It's when people say we shouldn't judge them. We are not judging the person -- but the sin they take part in.

Both the Old and New Testament indicate that God is concerned about people who speak to the dead. Why? The dead know nothing new, for they are dead. The old gospel song that said "this world is not my home I'm just passing through." is so rich in truth. Our time on earth is limited but our afterlife with God is forever. In heaven, we worship and praise Him. We don't come back here and talk to the likes of Theresa Caputo. If your loved one is saved there is no doubt they are whole and happy on the other side.

Yes, Jesus died and three days later, He rose from the dead to fulfill His promise that by His grace and death He paid the price for us.

Whatever question we may have, whatever problem seems insurmountable…do we think a mortal psychic or a medium can answer or offer consolation better than what God offers?

Keep current and follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/eyeonparanormal

EARN EXTRA MONEY! If you have a website, forum or blog you can set up an Amazon Associates Affiliate Program link and sell the Kindle version of our books. "Is the Long Island Medium the Real Deal?" [Now in Paperback!], "Never Mock God: An Unauthorized Investigation into Paranormal State's 'I Am Six' Case" [also in paperback!], "Investigating Paranormal State," "Paranormal State Exposed" and "Paranormal Teachings: The Best of Shedding Some Light" and earn money. You can also sell other books and products that Amazon offers. Here's the link: https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/

Is All Paranormal Activity Demonic? Yes...and No!

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

"Are they (angels) not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?" (Hebrews 1:14)

"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." (Hebrews 13:2)

What do I mean (and NOT mean) when I say virtually all paranormal activity is demonic? I remind you that this is a blog and not a technical philosophy paper in which I meticulously clarify every comment I make. After writing nearly 200 blogs on the bible and the paranormal, the body of my writing makes this distinction clear, but I want to do so in a concise fashion.

Until the last century or so, when theology went berserk, the classical position of historical Christianity from the church fathers onwards, has been what some have dubbed the "simplistic" view....all paranormal activity is demonic.

However, there are good reasons for clarification--angelic activity and broader parapsychology issues--force us to use more precision. If we wish to communicate effectively, then we need to stop periodically and clarify the terms we use and assumptions we hold. Frankly, there are many who find my position to be simplistic or even harmful, so I want to make very clear what I mean.

Ideally, it would be helpful to distinguish between paranormal activity and supernatural activity--the former referring to psychic phenomena that is not easily explainable (e.g. Dream analysis, NDE, deja vu, and so on) and "supernatural" referring to activity caused by God, angles, or demons. However, I wrestled with this when writing my book--most folks would not know what I meant if I said, "Virtually all supernatural phenomena is demonic." I am using 'paranormal', not as parapsychologists would define it, but as the millions of folks in the street understand it, and as it is presented in so many TV shows. To confuse things further, what some may say is simply unexplainable, I MAY differ and call it demonic--it all depends upon the situation and the phenomenon.

I write as one who has been in the trenches on several dozen demonic cases and have emotional scars, and not as a detached theologian or academic parapsychologist.. I will come back to this, but it is the (and this is crucial) weirdness and evil encountered in/with innumerable people, homes, businesses, and properties that I am referring to when I speak of "paranormal activity as being demonic." That is a partial clarification, but let me clarify further. What of angels? Don't they act in supernatural/paranormal way, so how can you call it demonic"?

1. Angels. How do you fit angelic activity in this summary statement, since they are capable of interacting with our world every bit as much as fallen angels? Let me explain. From the first text quoted above (Hebrews 1:14), we have a general job description for angels. They are referred to as "ministering spirits" whose calling it is to serve Christians (those who will inherit salvation). To say that angels are "ministering spirits" (leitourgika pneumata) who have been sent here to SERVE US (diakonian...same root we get "deacon' from) is both astonishing and comforting. This is important to remind ourselves of. They minister to us...they serve us....that is why they are here! How? The text does not spell it out, and that is probably intentional because there are so many ways that this ministry of theirs can be expressed. My guess is that most of their protection of us goes unnoticed by us, but there is also a plethora of anecdotal evidence of angelic intervention in times of crisis. I am confident some you reading this have had experiences in which you scratched your head afterwards and wondered if you had had an angelic encounter.. So, when there is real angelic activity, the recipients are invariably some human/s who are being served or ministered to in some way; they are helping us. Serving and ministering are generally, by their nature, non-extraordinary or sensationalistic. They do not like to bring attention to themselves....and all the glory goes clearly to the Lord. Fallen angels are polar opposites....

Remember what I said above re the popular understanding of paranormal activity--it centers around some odd, bizarre or even frightening activity, that usually does not contain the element of helping us. To put it another way, ANGELS DO NOT DO HOME WEIRDNESS....(though they may make their presence known) Make sense? Almost by definition, the kind of cases that necessitate assistance, and find their way to TV, are usually not going to be angels quietly assisting us in some way. TV gravitates to the sensational, which angels tend to avoid. Though I hasten to add that some of their serving interventions can be extraordinary.

One last comment here, just because a spirit seems to be helping a person, does not automatically discount demonic deception. For them, the end does justify the means, and if they can gain a families trust via a "good" deed, then they are not beneath using this to destroy them at a later time. "Angels of light" remember? That is why we must always be discerning (1 John 4:1ff)

The second text from Hebrews is a fascinating comment re how common angelic encounters are! Obviously from this text, the writer is speaking of angels when they take on human form, and were visiting people. It makes sense..we know fallen angels can/do mimic people (usually deceased but not always), but their intent is always God-dishonoring and deception meant to harm us. Angles do not visit us to bring attention to themselves, but to serve us, IN SOME WAY.....which can be as diverse as the stars in the universe! But they are expert mimickers of human appearance....without the element of dark deception.

Angels delight in serving us; that is their primary job description. However, they do not bring attention to themselves. Back to what I said earlier--when I refer to "paranormal activity", I am referring to it in its generally understood usage, and not its technical definition. More specifically, when most people think of paranormal activity, they have in mind the weirdness or evil they have encountered in their home or business...or the same they have seen on TV or movie theatre. So, when I say that virtually all paranormal activity is demonic, it is demonic home invasion I am usually referring to. Again,, ANGELS DO NOT DO HOME INVASIONS OR HOME WEIRDNESS....or any activity that might instill fear or confusion (footsteps, bangs, and so on)

In addition, I find it unnecessary and harmful to attribute to deceased human beings, assistance or citings doing that what angels are supposed to do.

Suppose there is a family travelling on a remote stretch of mountain road.. Their car swerves and careens over the guard rail. Everyone is injured to some extent, but only the father dies. However, trapped out of sight, is the wreckage in which mom and two children are unable to extricate themselves. Suppose,a Highway Patrol man, who has been alerted to the missing family, sees what appears to be the dad waving his hands for the officer to stop..The officer stops....but the "dad" is not on the road--vanished! The officer looks over the guard rail, and discovers the wreckage. Was it dad, or an angel, appearing as dad? Or perhaps a demon, with  an ulterior motive...?

Do we not see that this is EXACTLY the type activity that falls within the job description of angels?! It is not a peripheral activity in assisting that family--it is the primary reason they have been sent here. "ministering spirits sent to serve..." And that family certainly fits the bill.

Granted that is an extreme case, but I am concerned about ways that we are allowing demons (in the guise of deceased humans) in the back door, by finding exceptional circumstances which allegedly allow for deceased human visitation. The dad has entered his rest in heaven, and is not going to come here--that is the perogative of the angelic, not humans. "But that is deceptive Mark!" Really? Unless we are prepared to call the angelic activity mentioned in Hebrews 13:2 as ungodly deception--which we may not do--then angels mimicking humans (even deceased family members) in emergencies is GOOD. If you think about it, mimicking the "dad" was a wise angelic strategy--especially if the family has been missing, and the High Way Patrol (which has prior knowledge of the mans appearance) will know to be looking for him and the entire family.

Put another way, if demons take on the appearance of deceased humans to cause harm, then it only makes sense that angels will do the same to serve or help us--it is at the core of their job description....certainly consistent with it--to minister to us through serving.

2. Parapsychology--did Adam and Eve have some psychic powers in the Garden, that were lost, dimished, or even outlawed after the Fall? I do not know....and nobody knows for sure. However, I am inclined to say yes. However you answer that question, it is an area fraught with peril. Regardless, there is simply too much evidence to dismiss some of what is "paranormal" in the more technical sense. Some of the NDE's experience is real. Yes, some seems to be demonic...but not all. We must be careful to not demonize a phenomenon that is sometimes vitiated by the demonic. What of the psychic "connection" between twins? Some of you have had vivid dreams of the future....visions even. I know that visions of Jesus have been instrumental in the conversion of many Muslims. This dream phenomenon illustrates the need for discernment, as some are clearly supernatural, while others are simply inexplicable.

Parapsychology is a broad field, which often overlaps that which originates from God or the demonic. Studying parapsychology from professional parapsychologists can be dangerous because they routinely immerse themselves in study of things God abominates.

I am not attributing all which is inexplicable to the demonic. I am not attributing all which is paranormal (narrowly defined) as demonic. Space prohibits me from discussing in greater detail the various phenomena that is "paranormal" (above normal), but not supernatural. On numerous occasions I have mentioned the amazing sensitivity many folks have to the supernatural realm--a lot of these folks are earnest Christians. It baffles me, but I don't condemn it. We must not demonize everything we do not understand. I know that some folks think I do that, including not a few believers. Be that as it may, here is an instance where I am trying to walk a tight-rope.

What I am convinced is clearly demonic is any/all paranormal activity as it is popularly defined and understood. While I have a passion for academic parapsychology, I have a greater passion to communicate effectively in warning folks of supernatural evil.

Examples of demonic "paranormal activity" would include--shadow figures, apparitions, apportation/deportation of car keys,indoor rain, footsteps and bangs which have no natural explanation (again, angels do NOT do home weirdness), scratches....ANY POLTERGEIST ACTIVITY, as it is popularly defined, (stuff moving) is demonic. Hope that helps...or clear as mud!

"Seeing Ghosts through God's Eyes" (also in a Kindle edition)...please consider purchasing my book which uses science, logic, and the bible to analyze the true source of power behind paranormal activity.

Positive Paranormal Kids Camp

By Chris Baricko

I will say it is nice that I can report more positive things related to the paranormal. 

A group is doing a paranormal camp for kids in Schuylkill Haven PA. I chatted with them to get what they were offering and I was happy to hear what they said. They will teach kids from ages 10-17 about the paranormal. How to investigate and how to respect others property.

The $150.00 covers for the kids. They will receive the following:

1-Tee shirt

2-Drinks and snacks everyday

3-Trip to Gettysburg

4-Get to eat at General Picketts

5-Transportation to Gettysburg

6-They will be recording the kids' moments and each kid will get a copy.

7-Do an investigation

This is by no means a money making plan. It is to what I fully support teaching kids about the paranormal but in a fun way. If you're close to the area I would suggest it's a great day camp for your kids. Here are some photos think how happy your kids will be if they get to go. 

Issue 154 – Conversations with the Dead Scandal

By Kirby Robinson

Paranormal Ambush Smackdown ~ Every Monday

Stop by every Monday this summer for a PAS as we expose the lies and deceptions of some of the leading so-called para-celebrities. Below is our first issue about the Conjuring chaos.

http://eyeontheparanormal.blogspot.com/2014/05/paranormal-ambush-smackdown-part-1.html

Conversations with the Dead Scandal

"Thank God we can't tell the future, we would never get out of bed."  August: Osage County

Life has an odd way of bringing you back to the beginning of your journey.

We began investigating Ryan Buell and his team, the Paranormal Research Society, [PRS], back in 2008. We uncovered numerous deceptions that they perpetrated. We were able to write four books documenting their trickery. Yet like any successful con artist, they continue to deceive people.

Did the 2011 cancellation of their reality TV show Paranormal State bring them to stop? No, they just changed their focus. It was no longer about ratings, faking evidence, or leaving their clients hanging after the cameras stopped rolling. Now they had other places along Para-Celebrity Boulevard to explore. And here's what they did.

They learned that their fans, some brain dead, some not, would part freely with their money to be in the presence of Ryan, Sergey, Eilfie and anyone connected with PRS. Such money making schemes included field trips, paranormal investigations, and webinars. For the dedicated fan base there was even membership to some "organization" called The Bureau. Those fees ranged from $100 to $1,000. However, Ryan and his team quickly learned that you really didn't have to live up to those promises by actually having the events. You could spend the money on whatever you wanted from fast cars to fast men or women, depending on your taste, to drugs, booze, travel, etc. Those involved in the scam knew that you had to refund the money only if you cancelled the event. So, instead of cancelling, the event went into postponed indefinitely status. If you did give a refund, you made it as difficult as possible. Should anyone go public with complaints against Ryan and his team, you send your B#$%Hs after them to slander their name.

Here are a few examples:

~ The Lizzie Borden home was to be the site of a PRS field trip that never took place. What many don't know, and it's been confirmed, is that someone did call the Borden home about hosting an event there. However, no one bothered to make a deposit! But such little things like that never kept them from selling tickets for their events. One woman flew in for the Lizzie Borden Lockdown event and ended up sleeping in the attic.

~ Field Trip 15, aptly titled The End, was to be hosted in Orlando Florida. Then it was moved 300 miles north to Savannah, Georgia.

~ Webinars have been postponed so many times that people have never been able to complete them.

Now we come to the Conversations with the Dead tour that was supposed to take place in April, yet PRS cancelled it.

Next week we'll hear from the voices of those left holding their worthless tickets.

But don't just take my word for it. Let’s see what's been posted on Ripoff Report. http://www.ripoffreport.com/

Here are some of the reports that have been filed.

1 http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Paranormal-Research-Society/internet/Paranormal-Research-Society-PRS-Ryan-Buell-Sold-tickets-rescheduled-events-didnt-ref-1141212

DON'T SIGN UP FOR AN EVENT. I was a huge fan of the show, drove to Atlanta to meet them on a PRS new season tour, got there and no was around and waited for about an hour for them to come back from eating with Chip Coffee. I signed up the last PRS field trip 15, I did the downpayment plan, paid for a plane ticket and within a few weeks of the event I wrote them to them asking how I can pay the payments, there was just the first payment.

I got no response then a week before the even since every email about where to go, I had no idea it was even being held at I cancelled my flight and just 3 days before the event I got an email saying I had to pay the full balance. I said forget about it and wanted a refund, they said they couldn't, eventbrite said they wouldn't either so I waited a year and put the amount towards a paranormal photography webnair. As what I expected the first class was pushed back a week then the next class was pushed back a few months then the last class never happened.

I've come to believe the problems are at the top, I contacted everyone, no response. My questions where deleted from facebook. I'm lucky I was able to use the airplane money on a different trip but I lost all faith in PRS. I deleted their shows from TiVo, very sad as they were my favorite show but they showed no respect to the people paying. They have to have hundreds of thousands of dollars from just a few events I saw cancelled, no telling how much money they have. I'm afraid to buy anything from them espically events.

Anyways this is my first ripoff report ever, I just wanted to share my experience. I was a huge fan and now I don't trust anything they say or do. I've heard rumors of drug abuse, I know Ryan deals with cancer but there is better ways of paying those bills then ripping people off. An actual fundraiser would be a great way to do it. I know people with cancer and I think Ryan has used it as an excuse to keep people's money. I own my own business, I would have to refund people's money, they should too if they don't show up and provide what people are paying for. 

2http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/PRS-University/Raleigh-North-Carolina/PRS-University-Ryan-Buell-Sergy-Poberezhn-Took-funds-for-classes-never-completed-cl-1134223

 signed up for the Demonolgy class to be given by Ryan Buell. We made it through two classes. Ryan kept cancelling due to illness. Being patient and awaiting a new start up date. Broken promises came every month from him. Msny of us waited. Then we began seeing tour dates and new ventures, travels, vacations etc. We all began to write asking when the classes were resuming. No answers. Some did get really rude responses. Meanwhile, there have been two sets of classes that never resumed. We are talking many students with payments totallying over $35,000.00 plus. This does not include those that paid for memberships that varied from 100.00 to 1000.00 per membership! They were to get set merchandise, calls from the crew pf PRS. This never happened. The tours that never completed and never refunded. We were all promised merchandise for signing up, never got it. Their are several that bought the movie CD, many never got that either. So we are talking thousands of dollars.

We have written emails, sent facebook messages. We have sent messages via twitter, reponded on threads he bagan. Still no response. After several attempts, many are so frustrated. He has exchanged a lot of money. In the policey for sign up it states no refunds. So he has stood behind this policey. SO anyone can offer anything online and state no refund and get away with taking thousands of dollars without any back lash? This is fraud! When one enters into an agreement and takes the money for a set service. This is  contract. If they void the contract and not deliver what was written, doesnt this void the no refund policey? It should! They did not fulfill their end of the bargain. I will not take any of his classes at this point. I am disgusted with his treatment towards all of us. Last year I would have been happy to pick up the classes again. Now , I have no desire. 

3http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Paranormal-Research-Society-LLC/Raleigh-North-Carolina-27612/Paranormal-Research-Society-LLC-The-Bureau-Ryan-Buell-Sergey-Poberezhny-Defrauds-custome-991071

 Ryan Buell is the director of Paranormal Research Society (hereafter referenced as PRS) and for 5 seasons he had a show on A&E TV called Paranormal State.  It's been off the air for about a year.  He makes money now by scheduling, selling tickets to, and sometimes having events people pay to attend. In this capacity, he has proven himself to be a thief and a liar, defrauding ticketholders of thousands of dollars and costing them even more in travel fares and hotel expenses they have paid for events he has cancelled at the last minute.

Field Trip 15 The End Orlando, Florida


    On 9/14/12, my daughter bought a ticket for PRS Field Trip 15 - The End, an event which was to be held 9/27/12 - 9/30/12 in Orlando. She paid $308.49 (including the $8.49 service charge from the online booking site, Eventbrite).

     Since the site did not show much information on where to go for registration or where to stay, my daughter thought the information would be provided either on the ticket or in an email once she purchased the ticket.  It was not.  I tried Facebook messaging Ryan and emailing them.  I was not getting a quick response and we needed to plan where we were going to stay.  I had seen one of the events was supposed to be at the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando. I called the Hard Rock Hotel and was told that although other ticketholders had been calling and asking about the event, they knew nothing about it.  I then got a Facebook message back from Ryan's Facebook account from someone named Cereza who told me that some of the events and speakers were to be at the Hard Rock Hotel. I wrote a Facebook message back to Ryan's account letting them know I'd called the Hotel but the hotel staff said they had not heard of the event other than through ticketholders. 

On 9/23/12, my daughter got an email stating they were moving the event to the Castle Holiday Inn.

We booked a room at the Castle Holiday Inn in Orlando where PRS stated they would hold part of the event. We arrived at the hotel on 9/27/12 and checked in. However, the hotel staff told us that the event had been cancelled. We stayed the one night and the hotel let us cancel the rest of the reservation.  My daughters additional expenses amounted to the 1 hour of travel to the hotel, the one night hotel stay, and 2 days off from work.  My daughter was lucky as we lived close by.  Others were not so fortunate, having arrived by plane from places like Oklahoma and Illinois and Ontario, Canada and having to stay at their hotels until their planes departed, their trips were far more costly.

When we got into the hotel room, it had Wifi, so my daughter checked her email and found the assistant director to PRS, Sergey Poberezhny, had sent her an email 9/26/12, one day prior to Field Trip 15,  aborting the event due to illness. I felt uncomfortable about it after reading it because it did not sound like a professional email from a reputable business.  Sergey asked ticketholders to keep what he said private about the cancellation of this event.  Red flags were going up with that. The email had gone to my daughters spam mail since she had not had a previous email from him, so she had not seen it.  We had written emails to PRS after Sergey had written this email, but before we had seen it attempting still to get more information on the event, but they had not responded.  

My daughter immediately called her credit card company and let them know that the event had been cancelled and the charge should be refunded and she was disputing it. She also let them know that we would only be spending the one night at the Castle Hotel. She then sent a reply to Sergey's email and told him she wanted the cost of her ticket refunded. We left the hotel on Friday, 9/28/12.

When he cancelled the event, Sergey asked ticketholders to give him until Friday to respond. When he did not respond, my daughter sent emails to Sergey and PRS asking if her credit card had been credited the $308.49 for the cost of the ticket.

On 10/2/12, she received an email from Eventbrite, the company that took the order for her ticket.  The email said that her refund had been processed by Paypal and to allow up to 4 business days for the refund to appear on her account.  This was followed on the same date, 10/2/12, by an email from Sergey asking for her patience as they work to process our request for a refund.   On Monday, 10/8/12 at 9:40pm, she received an email from PRS stating they had received her request for a refund. They asked her to respond with the type of ticket she purchased and afterward allow 3-5 business days for her request to be processed. This confused her since Eventbrite had already sent an email on 10/2/12 stating they had refunded her the cost of her ticket.  This was the last nonautomated email my daughter received from PRS or staff concerning her refund. From this point forward, they have failed to respond to any emails my daughter or I have sent them.

 On Tuesday, 10/9/12 at 7:35am, my daughter responded to PRS by email that she had the $300 ticket, the total (with the service charge) was $308.49. She told them about the Eventbrite email stating they were going to issue the refund and told them there had been no refund to her credit card yet.

Because my daughter had received the email from Eventbrite stating her refund was being processed, she was not too concerned at that point. As it came time for her bill to be due at the end of October, she called her credit card company and they told her there had been no refund to her credit card. She sent emails to PRS and their staff starting 10/22/12 to the 11/16/12 and they failed to respond. They also failed to respond to Facebook messages and posts. We tried to contact them by phone or mail, but they had no legitimate business address or phone number posted on their sales material or their website.  We sent emails requesting business contact information and again, absolutely no response. PRS is listed as active LLC in Pennsylvania online records.  Their business address is listed as 507 Marjorie Mae St, State College, PA 16803, Centre County. However, a prior unhappy customer sent the police to that address who found they had moved from there years before without updating their address with the Pennsylvania State Corporations Bureau, the address where they are supposed to accept process service.  The PRS website states that they had moved from State College to Raleigh, NC.  They have also started operating under the name, PRS,LLC, The Bureau, or sometimes just The Bureau and collecting annual membership fees to be part of The Bureau.    However, I could find no business listing under North Carolina Corporations Bureau.  The Pennsylvania Corporations still shows the PRS, LLC as active.

Monday, 10/22/12, my daughter mailed her credit card company copies of the documentation they requested showing the transactions and events. She also sent an email to PRS letting them know she had sent the documentation to her credit card company disputing the charge.

Friday, 11/2/12, over a month after the event, PRS still had not refunded her money or credited her credit card. She sent a demand for an explanation as to why PRS has not refunded the $308.49 price of her ticket to Sergey and to PRS.

 The last time PRS responded to her was 10/8/12.  After that time there have been many more emails that she sent to them and they would not acknowledge them. We attempted to find a legitimate business address and business phone number for them but there was none on their sales information or their website, nor would they respond to email and Facebook messages and posts for this information.

Camp Paranormal New Hope Camp, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Since they were advertising a new event, Camp Paranormal, in North Carolina in March 2013 at New Hope Camp and selling tickets for it through Eventbrite, I figured PRS would have to give the New Hope Camp their business address and phone number so I called the camp. The woman at the camp said that PRS had been there the prior weekend for an event and that they had bounced the check for that service. She said that PRS had not booked any event there in March 2013. I sent an email to the woman with the website showing their camp was being advertised for the March 2013 PRS event.  The woman from the camp wrote back that they contacted PRS and told PRS they had to stop using the New Hope Camp information until they signed a contract. The woman at the camp gave me the North Carolina address for PRS: Paranormal Research Society - Ryan Buell, Director, 4820 Smith Creek Parkway, #105, Raleigh, NC 27612.  PRS continued selling tickets to this event through Eventbrite, even though they had not booked the advertised location.

At this point, my daughter filed a complaint at the PA Better Business Bureau as the PRS is listed as an active LLC in PA. The Better Business Bureau listed PRS as believed to be out of business.  Joyce, the woman handling the complaint, told me that PRS had 4 previous complaints and that he failed to answer any of them. She suggested that we file a complaint with the Attorney General immediately.  Ryan also failed to answer our complaint.  By continuing to show PRS as out of business, the Better Business Bureau does not display the rating for the PRS, which is a disservice to people still being defrauded by this company which is very obviously still in business.

     Ryan had moved PRS to Raleigh, NC this year so we filed a complaint with the NC Attorney General online. Their phone number is 919-716-6400 and they are located in Raleigh.  To file an online complaint or for more information, this is their website: http://www.ncdoj.gov/complaint.aspx. 


Lizzie Borden Lockdown

 Having not booked the Hard Rock Hotel for Field Trip 15, and now being told that they had not booked the New Hope Camp for the upcoming Camp Paranormal,  and because of their continued silence in response to the many emails and messages that we sent, I began to do an internet investigation of PRS business practices and found that in November 2011, PRS had sold tickets for a Lizzie Borden Lockdown at the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast in Fall River, MA. I found several posts on line even into May 2012 of people complaining that Ryan had cancelled the event and they still had not gotten refunds 6 months later.

I called the owner of the bed and breakfast, LeeAnn, at 508-675-7333. LeeAnn told me that PRS had called her and discussed the event with her, but when told that they would have to leave a deposit to hold the rooms, they said he would get back to LeeAnn. She said as the time grew near, PRS had not called her back so she tried to contact them, but they would not respond. She said that finally she had to take reservations. She said they never did call her but the date of the event a woman flew in from out of town for the event not knowing PRS had cancelled it. The woman was stranded there until her plane departed. Lee Ann said she felt so bad for the expense that the woman had made to get there that she let her stay free in an empty room on the 3rd floor until her plane departed.

I was told by one of the Lizzie Borden ticketholders that Ryan had told them he would rebook the event in March, but he never did. I was told he told the ticketholders that LeeAnn had double booked the hotel when in fact he had never booked it at all. I asked LeeAnn if PRS had attempted to book again in 2012 and she said after that one time, she did not hear from them again. I told her that I had heard Ryan said that she had double booked the site and she said it was not true.

The woman whose post I read on Ryan's Facebook who still had not gotten her refund from this Nov. 2011 event in May 2012 got back to me and told me she still had not received a refund.  I have been in contact with three other people who said they still have not received their Lizzie Borden refunds and have heard of a fourth who said she did not get her refund, either.

 I am in contact with other members of Field Trip 15. They, too, asked for and were told they would receive refunds for their tickets and they never did. As with me, PRS is ignoring their emails.

My daughter realized she was dealing with a company and with people who were defrauding their customers.  She filed a complaint with the FBI Cyber Crime Site on their online website at: http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx

Since Ryan has moved his PRS to Raleigh, North Carolina, I contacted ABC investigative news team there.  They agreed to look into the business practices of PRS. 

Since I am not an investigative reporter and I have found out as much as I have about PRS through public sources, I would think from September 2012 to January 2013 that one of these agencies could have made more progress with the resources they have available to them to help put PRS out of business, charge the officers of PRS with the crimes of theft and fraud they have committed, and start moving them through the criminal justice system toward the ultimate outcome of restitution for the victims for travel expenses and ticket costs and prison time for fraud and theft.

 My daughter did get her $308.49, but not through a refund by PRS.  She got the funds back through a charge back by her credit card company due to her disputing the charge.  PRS never refunded the money as they have not refunded the money to the many others who have lost thousands of dollars in airfare, hotels, and costs of tickets. Two women came to Orlando for the field trip from Oklahoma and spent $2500 each and as one said got nothing for it. Another woman flew in from Ontario Canada and had $1500 expenses and as of the first of the year was still waiting for her refund.  A young girl and her parents came from Illinois and are out $900 just for the tickets alone.  A woman in Massachusetts is out over $600 for her 2 tickets to the Lizzie Borden Lockdown.  And on it goes.

Eventbrite and Paypal

      Both Eventbrite and Paypal were contacted very shortly after we discovered that PRS was refusing to refund my daughters money for this cancelled event.  Paypal flat out refused to even talk to either her or me.   Eventbrite took down all the information above and sent an email saying they had started a investigation into the PRS fraud allegations.  Since Eventbrite sold the tickets for these events, there is really no one in a better position to do a fraud investigation. They have all the names and the emails of people who purchased the tickets.  They can still find my daughter by her email address.  As I told them, all they would have to do is contact the rosters of the Field Trip 15 and Lizzie Borden Lockdown and ask each of them if they had gotten a refund or had accepted a credit for these events.  I told them they should also check to see if there is even going to be a Camp Paranormal since one of the people who purchased a ticket has now gone on Ryans Facebook account complaining that she cant get a refund or even access credit for her cancelled Camp funds.  Since Eventbrite was still selling extensions for this Camp event and taking payments on time for it, I told them they should really check to see if the event had been cancelled and told them again that the New Hope Camp was still saying PRS had not booked their site for the March 2013 event as PRS had advertised.

I was assured early on by Eventbrites customer service staff that they did not want companies who defrauded their customers using their services and those types of companies were removed.  To date, Eventbrite still is selling tickets for PRS.  I called and spoke to one of their supervisors in customer service, told her I was filing this Rip Off Report, and gave her a chance to make a comment.  She said the fraud unit would send me an email that same day.  They did not.  If they are not part of the solution, as in this case, they are definitely part of the problem.  And knowing the problem, they continue to assist PRS allowing them to defraud even more people by continuing to sell their services.  I would never purchase another ticket from Eventbrite for the lack of service and support they gave my daughter and for continuing to do business with a company who is stealing money from their customers. 

I am grateful I do not use Paypal since most of the people who have not been able to get chargebacks are people who paid through their Paypal accounts.  When I spoke to the Federal Consumer Agency, I was told that the banks and the charge card companies are regulated by the banking commission and each state has their own banking commission.  I was told if you dispute the charge and the credit card company or bank will not work with you, that you can then file a complaint against them with your state's banking commission.  I was told this makes it easier to get a chargeback and get your funds returned.  However, those using Paypal have told me that even though they have filed complaints, Paypal refused to give them a chargeback.

I am pleased to see that the Rip Off Report is read by lawyers, media, and law enforcement and would welcome contact from anyone who would like to assist the victims of PRS and bring PRS to justice.  I do have the documentation, the emails, the Facebook messages, the screenshots, and contact with some of the other victims of PRS.  Also, if you are a financial victim of PRS, some of the victims have formed a group and have information on some steps you can take.

I wish someone had written a Rip Off Report before my daughter had purchased her ticket as I would have found it and she would not have purchased the ticket.   It will, however, be the last chance PRS and Ryan Buell have to steal from her.  I had attempted contacting Ryan Buell, director, and Sergey, assistant director, of PRS in every means possible.  I sent emails, Facebook messages, and mail to their PO Box, I posted on their Facebook sites until they banned me from posting, and I posted on their PRS Forum until they banned me from entering that site.  Ryan Buell has responded to our complaints in a recent open message to his PRS Forum, so I know he is very aware of this issue, and yet he still will not refund his customers their money.

 I am grateful that the Rip Off Report allows a forum so that others can see the truth that Ryan is trying so hard to hide.  I am grateful he is unable to control the content. 

May this post serve as a warning to prevent future financial victims of PRS and may it serve as a catalyst to the criminal justice system to come to the aid of the victims and to punish these criminal offenders.  Both my daughter and I will be more than happy to provide legal statements and testify against them in Court, which is the only public appearance we have any desire to see Ryan Buell at. 

  

Next week, part two of this shameful story.

Read more about Ryan and his con games. Here are some books:

http://www.amazon.com/Kirby-Robinson/e/B004OKFI5Y/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

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