"What is a ghost and do they exist?": this question is a very easy one to answer, with "UNKNOWN" being the appropriate response. There is no definitive scientific evidence available at this present day to prove that ghosts, using the definition "spirits of the dead" actually exist. Anyone telling you anything different is simply misinformed.

Just because there is no proof that the Spirits of the Dead are among us does not in turn prove that the various phenomena associated with 'ghosts' do not exist. There are well documented cases of phenomena such as dramatic cold spots, full apparitions being spotted, strange shadows flitting around rooms and phantom footsteps crossing halls, all recorded for thousands of years. The aim of the OWNE Research Group is to investigate the phenomena belonging to alleged hauntings in an attempt to discover what the cause of these wide-ranging unusul occurrances may be, not as many still think, to prove life after death. In effect, the Group investigates the physical environment surrounding the alleged hauntings. After all, while no-one can deny that odd happenings do occur, there are more times than not simple natural explanations for the majority of cases that simply do not require a paranormal explanation.

When Otherworld North East was initially formed in 2003, the aim of the team was to investigate ghostly phenomena throughout the North East of England using the resources and knowledge available to the team at the time. Naturally, as the years have progressed, methodologies and viewpoints have changed dramatically.

The Otherworld North East Research Team as it now stands has abandoned the use of all 'spiritual' techniques during investigations. This ruling has been in place for a year now, and so far seems to be working very well. We do not use mediums, seances or dowsing of any kind during field investigations, instead relying on environmental element recording devices, CCTV and remote sound recording as well as simply common sense and an educated knowledge of the Group's surroundings.

As well as field investigations into alleged hauntings, the Group also take part in experiments and research projects probing into the heart of many of the paranormal communities' accepted beliefs. While we do not use mediums as a tool in our investigations, we have no objections at all to investigating and testing an an alleged medium: this is what the Speaking to the Dead Project is all about. We are also compiling 4 years worth of data examining the 'dowsing' method when it comes to investigations. The results are proving interesting, but will come as a disappointment to many spiritually-inclined investigators. We also look into the accepted practices used during investigations, such as the use of EMF Meters, EVP and photography.

The OWNE Research Team do not use alleged mediums and psychics on our investigations like most other paranormal groups. So why not? Ultimately, in the field of serious research, taking a self-professed medium to a location proves nothing and provides no useful data. If you want names associated with the past of your location, then a historical survey should be used, not a self-alleged medium. In reality, if a medium 'picks up' on names during an investigation which then pan out during the historical search, then that person could easily have read the information beforehand. If on the other hand then name wasn't in the historical record then it has no value as evidence anyway. Despite what most leading groups say, trust is not an accepted scientific path. For those wanting to read more on this debate, there is an interesting topic in the OWNE Forums that demonstrate the divide quite nicely: Do mediums have a place on paranormal investigations?