Dave Galvan, Interview by Michelle M. Pillow
Dave Galvan, Interview
Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com
Founder of the Paranormal League of America (PLA), Dave Galvan, has been studying the paranormal since an unseen hand threw a book at him back in 2002. Since day one he's been enthusiastically devouring all he can on the field, and furthering his knowledge in pursuit of the truth. Since starting PLA, he's focused on investigating the paranormal in Oregon where he's "battled a demon at the Oregon Coast, faced laughing ghosts in Central Oregon, chased obscure energy signals in a house in Portland, was stalked by a full figured apparition at a local cemetery and sat in the mud while waiting for the ghost of an Native American chief."
Dave recently released his first book, Paranormal League of America Presents: Researching America's Most Haunted Locations; A Paranormal History, which details the top twenty haunted locations in the US. It can be purchased on Amazon.com.
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Q: What inspired you to write your latest book, Paranormal League of America Presents: Researching America's Haunted Locations?
Dave:To be honest, I was getting tired of all those 'Most Haunted Places in America' lists that you see in every newspaper every Halloween. These lists are written by young journalists moving up the ladder who just get their ideas off the internet. This is similar to me writing a book about heart surgery. I know nothing about heart surgery, why should I write anything about it? It goes the same way with ghost hunting. Why should someone who has never hunted ghosts be writing about the subject? It seems to me that someone who actually has experience in the field should be the one who writes these lists
Q: What is the Paranormal League of America?
Dave: The PLA is a ghost hunting/paranormal group I co-founded in 2008
Q: Do you believe in the supernatural? Or are you a skeptic?
Dave: I walk the fine line between both. What we perceive as the supernatural is all around us all the time. However, just because someone experiences something doesn't mean it belongs in that category.
Q: Which of the locations/stories in your book are your favorites? Can you tempt us with the highlights?
Dave:There are a number of places that I found fascinating. I think the 'Old Slave shack on Hickory Hill' really piqued my interest. Here is a place where slavery was illegal, and the owner of the location was running a reverse underground railroad kidnapping humans and selling them into slavery. It is a very sad story that I hadn't heard about until I did some research in to it. When one reads up on stories like this, one realizes there are so many stories that people didn't hear about in history class.
Q: The book is dedicated to your wife. Is ghost hunting a family affair?
Dave:Not at all. My wife is a supporter of what I do, but is the ultimate skeptic. I consider myself fortunate that I married someone who supports me in such a way that I am able to take time away from my family life to research these things.
Q: Why do you think readers, and society in general, are fascinated by the paranormal?
Dave:It's the great unknown! Humans are basically explorers, if we are not trying to find answers to what we don't know, they why would we bother living our lives.
Q: What are your favorite paranormal shows, movies and books?
Dave: Karen Frazier's book, Avalanche of Spirits: The Ghosts of Wellington, is a fantastic read. I must admit I enjoy reading about anything local to me, like Jefferson Davis' The Haunted Tour Guide to the Pacific Northwest. There are haunted locations all around us, so I do enjoy reading about the ones closest to me. A great book is Will Storr vrs. The Supernatural.
Q: If given the chance to decide, would you become a ghost?
Dave:Of course!! First place I would haunt would be the Playboy Mansion!!!!
Q: How would you react if you came face to face with a full bodied apparition?
Dave:I have seen one, and what I did was freeze in my tracks, drop my jaw and stand there for about 15 minutes.
Q: What does the future hold for your writing?
Dave: I am currently working on my second book, Paranormal league of America Presents: Satan and Demons; A History of the Modern Exorcism, which I hope to have completed by April.
Q: What are your thoughts on the use of sensitives in the field?
Dave: I do believe that there are people who have an ability that I don't. On the other hand, I do believe there is a scientific theory and mathematical formula for everything in the Universe. We may not know that formula as of now, but we will. Until then, we call it 'supernatural' and 'paranormal'.
Thank you, Dave, for joining us.
To learn more about Dave, PLA, or his book, please visit him on the web at www.paranormalleagueofamerica.org. Interview by Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com
