We had given hours upon hours of detailed interviews telling our story and about the many events, we have lived through concerning our haunting. One would think that would be enough for anyone to get the full picture of our experience. But what happens and where does that material go from there?
There are writers who review the taped interviews and try to write the script to tell the story. I imagine that it is would be difficult for them to follow the story from front to back, especially if it is told out of sequence, told through multiple interviews and individuals, or if people are referenced in different ways throughout the different interviews. I pose this possibility because the staff from the most recent television depiction of our story contacted us several times in an attempt to clarify some information they were having difficulty with. With so much of this correspondence, we thought they had everything they would need to insure a great representation.
Now once the writer is done it moves on to actually producing the visual portion. Here you have actors and directors who once again have their own vision of what is to be represented. One also has to take into consideration the budget of any given production, the period of which they have to work in, the level of experience the staff and crew have as well as the equipment available to them to represent certain aspects of the story.
It is here I believe that most concessions to the story are made, and to which no one truly realizes, how the changes affect the facts or representation of the story in whole. For example, in the most recent televised show, Tony’s two bothers were rolled into one character, and the first scratches Tony received were in the house not outside.
I am sure that there are other concessions that are made for legal reason as well. For instance, Peter James was credited with multiple investigations to our house and bringing in teams of investigators to help. There was neither mention of the television show Sightings nor the fact that they had been the group who had been to the house multiple times. It was misleading, to say the least because it was the television show that brought in different individuals to give them more informed perspective of the paranormal aspect. This I am assuming was the result of legalities between the two shows.
In effect, these seemingly little changes misrepresent the facts and leave many viewers confused. There are many we have shared our story with; co-workers, friends, family and members of the paranormal community. It is frustrating when they come to us and say, “you didn’t say that happened”, or “I thought you said it was this”. It ultimately leaves us in a bad light, and often makes us look like liars. It is no wonder that there are so many tall tales and stories being told about this haunting.
Now you may ask at this point, why we have not we requested to be more involved in the production process or to view the final production before it airs. We have. The problem here is that the production teams do not want to be directed; they have always had that role and it’s surely a hard role to give up. No one is comfortable giving up their power, especially to those whom they know nothing about. I’m sure they would view us as outsiders who have no concept of what is entailed in the creative end of things and that we would slow down the creative process or otherwise be a cog in the smooth running system they are so used to working within. Not to mention the fact that we would have to take substantial time off work to be on location and additional expenses would ensue to meet our needs and put us up somewhere during this time.
The simple fact is that unless we have complete creative control and are integral in the production, the public will never have a true view from the perspective of our experiences. It will always be at the mercy of unmanageable factors; colored by the views, perception and interpretation of others, and rely on the staff ability, as well as budget and equipment restraints of the production entity.
Therefore, we have come to the resolved that factual representation or knowledge available to the public will be only be obtained in the few online forums that Tony, I and a few knowledgeable others frequent, our own website or a book written by us or on our behalf. This statement will of course lead some to believe that we are trying to corner the market or are otherwise hording information for our gain. This is far from the truth because we have, on multiple occasions, tried to get the information out to those who want it via these other avenues at no gain to us. The results however have been disastrous to say the least.
In addition, while on the subject of gains, I would lastly like to dispel any concept that Tony and I, the owner of Sallie’s house or any other paranormal group have attained great things being involved with this haunting. Nothing could be further from the truth. The owner cannot or will not rent the house and is encumbered with the continued expense of its upkeep.
Furthermore, Tony and I, being by nature private individuals, have been plastered all over the television almost monthly for the last 10 years. Although I have never really mind strangers approaching me and asking questions, Tony finds this very difficult and it has ultimately become a disruption in our lives. Then there are those that approach us with such disbelief that we are often put on the defensive, and although it has never been our place to make anyone believe our story, we are often put on the spot to do just that.
With that said, it is our hope that people take the time to understand what it is like being in a position such as ours, or in the those in the position of representing us and the stories of others. I know of several individuals who have also been where we are, and their views are very similar; the media representation, whether intentional or not, always colors the truth. To say the least, it is discouraging and you would not believe how amazingly frustrating we are left feeling.