As many people in my circle know, I have been spending a very long time editing, revising and updating the haunted houses book. This is a very big book so it has taken me a long time to go through it. I was working on it every day until I became ill and was hospitalized, then unfortunately, I lost two years of being able to work on it during my recovery. However, after I was fully recovered and able to write again, I got back to work on it.
I have been back to work on it ever since. And I am so glad I took up this task to edit and revise the original book!
During the time I have been working on it, I have noticed A LOT of mistakes. This particular task of revising and editing the book has also required me to do a lot of fact-checking, as well as digging through historical records. (Yes, I am keeping track of my sources!) Unfortunately, the original source we got a majority of our information from did not do any fact-checking of their own. Therefore, a lot of that information was either flawed or based on urban legends. (I am trying to avoid including urban legends in this book!)
That said, I have had to rewrite MANY passages in this book. Finding out that our original source of information was flawed has indeed been alarming. I want to notify them about this, since other visitors to their site might believe that information, too. I also want to see if they can use my own work for that information after the book comes out. (I know the owner of the site, so maybe he will be agreeable to this.)
But what I have also noticed are claims about certain haunted houses which I cannot find anywhere in my own research. One of the houses written about in this book, for example, was said to have been investigated by Ed and Lorraine Warren. I would not be surprised if this is true, since the house is located in Connecticut, but I could not find proof of this at all anywhere in my research. Therefore, I did not include that factoid in the revised passage written about that house.
What I try to do with this work is stick to the facts. I report only on my findings, not on urban legends or what some people say about a certain haunted house. I only want to report the facts and set records straight.
The paranormal field is rife with hype, urban legends and exaggerated claims. I happen to take the paranormal seriously, approaching it with an open and curious mind without being influenced by urban legends or hyperbole. That is the same approach I wish to take with this book. I want this book to tell the truth and not some fiction thought up by someone looking for publicity. If I do find proof of certain claims surrounding a haunted house, I will include it. Otherwise, it’s just a claim that can’t really be backed up, so it gets cut.
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