Are mediums neccessary !

Do you think that it is neccessary to have a medium or physic on board when carrying out an investigation. Do you think that a medium ends up driving the invo and people pay them too much attention, and maybe make others in the group, who may be sensitive or have a mediums ability to keep quiet for fear of being made to look wrong or silly in front of the "professional".

That's a good question and I think T.A.P.S have proven that it isn't necessary to have a Medium present. Going back to the invo Mags and I did at Hyde Town Hall, we had a sensitive called Kate that led our group but other than giving us protection and asking a few questions she basically took a back seat and let the rest of us see if we could pick anything up. There was a professional Medium that joined us half way through the night and she basically took over, correcting and arguing the toss and basically trying to get everyone to think she was right. There were a couple of sensitives in our group other than Kate, who were picking things up but as soon as this Medium joined us they didn't say a word. This Medium had most of the group eating out of the palm of her hand. So maybe too much attention is paid to certain Mediums, especially ones that want centre stage and everything their own way but there are some good ones out there, it just a case of finding them. And no I don't think they are necessary on a invo but they can come up with good information, the only problem with that is that they could have researched the venue before hand and you won't know till afterwards whether they were spot on or making it all up.

Good question Dan and Sarah fab answer is more or less what I was going to say even thow I have not been on an invo yet so dont really know what I am talking about but yes TAPS has shown that you do not need a medium at a Invo and I can see how in lots of ways one being there would not help for all the reasons Sarah said in her post. Any medium worth his or her salt would know that different peps or mediums can come up with different stuff look at MH when they would have on guest mediums many a time what they came up with was different from the main medium and no I am not just talking about Derek lots of times mediums could be picking up information to do with peps at the invo of family members that have passed etc maybe the best thing would be to have a medium at the end of an invo to do a walk around with the whole group and give what they find then it can be cross checked with all the information that was picked up by the group maybe I will change my mind after going on an invo but I know I much prefer TAPS to MH I liked MH in the early days when they would sit and listen for stuff as I think sometimes you can be rushing around trying to do to much and miss lots that are going on around you.

here here
i think we do alot better without them,my very first invest i was petrified and zoe who dont care i never let go of her hand all night,we went to craig y nos castle south wales,the bloke doing it was a right plonker by the middle the night i was really enjoying it and wishing things to happen hooked now although still get a little spooked as there like to touch me and that freaks me out. i was touched in st brivals aswell and was standing next to an empty wardrobe at the time.(sorry i added this bit in so my story goes all over place now)
me and zoe have worked together and funny things always used to happen with us(we used to work in a nursing home)we had many strange things happen.anyway sorry going off course again...
we seem to bounce off each other i dont know if spirit sence we know we can see and hear them so make a beeline for us or what but when we go on invests we pick up alot and as you said when you try to tell them they either ignore you or say your wrong,we tend to wander away from them if can and do our own.we have been along with a few groups and the mediums are know it alls that dont actually know it lol!! in rhymeny i was telling the group what i saw flashbakcs wot i thought there etc and the medium was standing next to me she then said "o yer i can see that". rubbish(she was the worse one ever and she was scared cause we caught her protecting herself but actually telling them to keep away,)she wouldnt stay their the night she was terrified lmao!!

Hi i am new to your forum but wish to make a comment on your "Are mediums required" question. The investigations you have attended are all led by mediums who give time for free, the charity makes the money not the medium, quite rightly!
All mediums are willing to answer any queries you have and it is ideal to speak to them on an investigation. Please dont come away with the idea it us who wish to hold court in the invest. We are willing to allow guests to try to make contact but programmes such as Most Haunted have led spectators to believe it all happens so quickly. Much of MH ends up on the cutting room floor because the spirit world contacts when it feels it is neccessary not on demand.
Please next time you attend an investigation speak tot he medium we are just normal people with a special skill but one that everyone has but not everyone is yet attuned too.

Deb

hi
not all the invests i have been on are for charity i have been on many with other groups and as an investigator myself,i have found a couple the mediums have been very good and helpful.but i also found that i have given more information on the places and picked up more than the medium at one invest she was actually just repeating what i said was there and what had happened.
i have had many experiences since i was 7 and i have the ability to see,hear and feel things,i have visitation dreams and pass the messages to the person they are meant for,so i am not just another person wandering around and being dragged into SOME mediums who indeed do try and put on a show. i know that spirit doesent prefrom when we want them to.

As i tried to say earlier medium do not put on a show ,they do their best to provide any information passed onto them. What a difficult position they find themselves in, what they see or hear isnt always passed onto others but try as they might the guests do not believe what they are told. It is a difficult situation to be in. Looking at mediums throughout the years they have always had a difficult time with sceptical people, which is fine as people are entitled to their own opinion.
But to say a medium takes over the investigation is wrong because surely they have been invited to pick up on things that others cannot. If however others are present who know better surely they should speak up and we would be delighted as we are only collecting information from the spirit world to take us forward. Many times we have had prrof that what we are doing and saying is correct. Please look at our website on ghosttoursuk for further information, for example the photograph and recorded messages.

Deb

I said the medium took over because that's what she did, she was very pushy and insisted she was right, she wasn't interested in what others were picking up so as I've said they stayed quiet. A few people were very interested in history and were trying to find out a timeline, what ever was picked up, she argued about and told them they were wrong. I was interested in what they were trying to say but every time I asked a question about a historical fact, the medium said one thing and didn't like it when she was corrected. Because she was arguing with everything that came out or was spoken about it put people off speaking up. Granted not all mediums are like that and they do have a hard job, I'm not disputing that and programmes like MH haven't done them any favours, if anything it's made mediums jobs harder. I know full well that spirit doesn't perform "on demand" and I'm not saying that they do. It's good that the mediums gave their time for free as it should be. I do believe that some people have a special gift and they use this gift to bring comfort to people who have lost family, friends, pets etc or to find out the history and events of a location, but to tell me that it was wrong to say a medium took over an invo is also wrong. Granted the invo I spoke about in an earlier post was my first so I had nothing to compare it too and yes I guess programmes like MH have quiet possibly made me jaded, but surely the role of the medium is too listen to others and try to confirm what is being said and not argue the toss. Although I enjoyed the invo and left wanting to do more I also left feeling that perhaps having a medium on an invo is not always a good thing.

One my first investigation, which was with another group, I ran a team, (not my choice) and in my team I did not have a medium, there were two other teams both which had mediums with them. We had just as much or as little experience or evidence picked up as the others.
This was at Derby Gaol.
I have also been on two very large investigations, where there have been mediums present but not as team members. TBF they did not take over, in fact I did alot of calling out, and other members in the groups, were saying what they felt or were experiencing. A gentleman approached me and asked me if I was a medium which I told him I wasn't, he told me that he was a healer/medium and that what people had been picking up at that time had been correct.
Now I was standing next to this man in a circle and his hand holding mine felt really hot. Just before this happened I had complained of feeling as if someone was pushing my back, the only way I can describe it was as if someone was trying to push into me. I said that I was trying to stop this with protection and it was then I noticed the man's hand getting hotter.

Now I have been on investigations with and without mediums, and can say there are good and bad points in all.
I went on one investigation where some information came out during the investigation, but found out the mediums had walked around the village churchyard the day before. On doing this the next morning, I noticed most of the names that had been picked up during the investigation. I don't think for one moment either of the ladies present on that investigation faked anything because I had some interesting experiences myself on that investigation, but because they may have noticed and remembered the names no matter how innocently, for me that meant the findings of the night before could be tainted which was a shame.
By the shame token, I don't like being told too much about a location I am going to investigate for the same reason.

If I am on an investigation, and I have never met the medium before and they come out with personal information for anyone present, well to me that is just as good as getting information about the location. Especially if they have never met the person the information is for.

What I am trying to say, like everything, there are pros and cons. Sometimes I thing it would be a good idea for someone to do an investigation location just a medium and possibly two others to either take notes or film, then the group do the investigation, without the medium whilst being filmed, and then a joint one with the medium and the group to see what is picked up on all three investigations. It would I feel make interesting data gathering if nothing else, especially if the medium team and other team do not compare notes.

I have been to two phantomfest investigations where they swear any one who has previously investigated there not to say anything. The ones I have been on have been over two nights and if you are staying the second night they ask you not to listen or attend the nights round up so it cannot affect your next nights investigation. Which I think is a good practise.

weldone both i agree with mags and what sarah said.
as i said in my post i have been on invetss with and without mediums,and im sorry but they do tend to take over and think they know everything(not all i may add but most)
a medium we were with at pembroke castle was not bad he told me personal things that i knew were true and he was quite helpful on a one to one basis but soon as we had the group round he changed as if he had got to put on a show,id rather go on an invest and find out myself and within the group.then we know non of it has been read up on or planned.
you may not like my views but there you go.
I dont read up on any info before an invest.

Well people who know me will tell you, I am an honest person and I say what I think. I don't believe in painting a rosy picture in order to save someone's feelings. If I've got something to say, I'll say it and if anybody doesn't like it tough! But I respect other peoples opinions, even if they are different to mine. When someone asks me for my opinion on something, I will give an honest reply of how I see it. Whether it is right or wrong is not the issue as people's perception of things differ enormously. I do not expect to be told that my opinion is wrong because that is the way I personally see it!! :no:

judging from the replies, i would say that the general opinion here is that they arent neccessary, although a good one is definately considered an asset to an invo. The trick is not allowing them to take over, which is where i think it is best to find one that you trust and as a group or individual treat them as another piece of your invo kit ( tin hat just going on).Used in conjunction with your other methods of investigation, they can be usefull to build up an overall picture of what is going on, but shouldnt neccessarily be taken as the most important person or method that you have.

Here here, well said.

Dan, as much as I believe in mediums, because I have in the past had personal validation by some mediums. I do believe that information supplied during an investigation should be verified by facts. But I would try and do that if anyone gave 'information' during an investigation.
If I went on an investigation and there was a medium I would not mind at all, neither would I mind if I went on an investigaiton if there wasn't a medium.
As we know, sometimes the mediums may get no information at all. That is not their fault, neither is it the fact of any location, so no-one should 'blame' a medium if this happens. So I suppose in all honesty, it would not matter to me, because I have been on investigations and those around me have experienced something and this has been verified too.

Hi I know this has been on here for some time, but as I'm new to the group, I just had to post a reply. The answer is yes and no, If the investigation is run correctly by this I mean someone who knows what they are doing, then no they are not needed, however if the group is run by someone who loves their own glory then yes.
Having been a medium for some years now, I joined a paranormal group in Middlesex, it started out fine, but then I found that the person running it was checking out the place on the net first so she could come up with things on the night. She would also insult spirits, something I feel is wrong, and when she was doing this a member of the circle passed out for no known reason, another time during a table tipping members of the circle began feeling ill, and almost passing out, this led to 3 or 4 being led from the room, if I and another medium had not been present I don’t know what would have happened, but I for one had to work hard to put things right. So I feel it’s good to have one there, but they must be part of the team, and not try and take over. If you are going on an investigation I suggest that you find out to what extent the medium is there. I have also found that some people like the lady I have talked about don’t like when someone else has spirit contact, so do you want the medium to tell you someone is there or not.

James

Hi James great post and dont worry if the posts are old its always fab to here a different point of view which we welcome on here as it makes for great discussion.

I think you raise some great points. The trouble is like you say there are some good and bad mediums out there and the ones who are in it for there own glory or get annoyed when others get spirit contact are not working for spirit or the good of mankind etc. I also have to agree with you about how some invo's are conducted i.e. it makes me very sad when peps think its ok to start being disrespectfull to the dead etc and or treating it like a good night out and not even thinking of protecting themselves or the medium giving good protection etc.

It was a good job that you were there at this invo or otherwise like you say goodness knows what would have happened. I also think that on an invo if spirit comes threw to a medium with a message for someone at the invo then it should be given and not blocked because its not location based etc. I personally would love to be given a message so yes I would want to be told on an invo or otherwise if there was a message and I think most peps would.