SAPS at TAM 5.5

Read Alison's full lecture from TAM 5.5 and see the Ghost Hunters montage

Hi, my name is Alison Smith, and I'm the founder of Skeptical Analysis of the Paranormal Society. SAPS came together in July 2006, and when we first started, mainly focused on ghosts and ghost hunting in response to the television show "Ghost Hunters," which follows the lives of The Atlantic Paranormal Society. I wanted to focus on ghost hunting not only because they have the best toys, but also because it's an area where you can't just say 'Pssh, ghosts aren't real, that's just ridiculous.' You're presented with video evidence, and there's an opportunity to examine, re-create, and debunk.

I have a limited amount of time, but I did want to show a video montage of Ghost Hunters for those who haven't seen it.

The SAPS site started as a free Tripod site, with a template layout, a donated logo, and four members – all of whom were friends. Then something crazy happened – we struck a chord. And suddenly we had our own domain, a group of new members who were all experts in video, sound, and journalism, and we were getting thousands of hits a day.

When we ran an expose on TAPS' non-profit status, the numbers rose to hundreds of thousands of hits per day, and the Myspace blog about our activities was getting tens of thousands of reads, and lots of subscribers – including the members of TAPS. Every day, there were hundreds of new hate e-mails waiting for me when I signed on to the SAPS site – so many that I had to open a second e-mail account just to hold them all. I took it as a sign of our popularity.

But equally shocking was the number of e-mails supporting SAPS. We were contacted by sources close to the group, and given more stories about TAPS, the dynamic of the group, and fraud.

Since SAPS opened its doors, I've published five articles (three on ghost hunting), been a guest on radio shows and podcasts, and had the privilege of sitting on a debate panel with Dr. Michael Shermer.

I began an internship with the JREF in May of 2007, and now I process applications for the Million Dollar Challenge.

The subject of this TAM is Skepticism and Activism. It's about not just what one person can do, but what we can all do combined. Think about all the paranormal beliefs out there that make you angry. Think of the one that makes you the most passionate. Go out and start a free Tripod web site with nothing but a donated logo, a group of devoted friends, and the desire to spread truth.

Together, we can collect a lot of hate mail. But maybe, buried somewhere within it, are the people we can reach.