4. How do you feel the Blair Witch Project has impacted your field? Have you
experienced more business since it came out? What do you feel about the
legend personally?
JPW: From my perspective, The Blair Witch Project hasn�t significantly impacted the field at all. In my mind, The Blair Witch Project wasn�t about paranormal investigation�it was about some kids going into the woods looking for spooks and disappearing. What I do is extremely different. The movie has increased the media�s openness to using paranormal subjects for programming. However, I hope an intelligent person realizes the difference between entertainment and a valid quest for knowledge.
The amount of interest we receive has always been high. It hasn�t increased or decreased since the release of the film. The �legend� of the Blair Witch seemed to be somewhat based on the Bell Witch episode in Adams, Tennessee. The Bell Witch case is one of the most horrifying ones I know. If they�d stuck a little closer to that actual legend (if I�m correct), the film might have been better. I thought the strongest point about Blair Witch was their effort to fake a documentary. The actors, and those who designed the shoots, did a fantastic job.
5. What is your group philosophy?
JPW: We are all explorers, and we believe part of mankind�s purpose is to learn. By standing at the very fringe of science, delving into those areas so remote that some believe they don�t even exist, we are experiencing science in it�s rawest form. Extreme �paranormal events� are rare, and of course, with rarity comes value. Therefore, experiencing the things we do is inherently valuable. Generally, we believe that growth in knowledge is a good thing�that mankind will receive enlightenment from new information. In that sense, we�re optimists, hoping that learning will lead to wisdom.
Whether or not there is an �afterlife,� the mere possibility that there COULD BE an �afterlife� affects how we live �this� life. Therefore, information about the human fate resounds through all stages of the human experience. The implications of studying the human fate are astounding.
Or, as L.E.M.U.R. researcher Casey Fox says in his online profile, we just �wanna know what goes bump in the night.�
6. Is there anything else you would like the public to know about your group
or the field in general?
JPW: L.E.M.U.R. is a group of scientists. We delve into research so new, ground-breaking, and provocative that we have to literally �invent� some methods of investigation. However, we�re not sensationalists�we do a good, thorough job, and find accurate results. If there�s nothing going on, we�ll tell you. Or if the place is �burning� with activity, we�ll tell you. Either way, we deal in the truth. Eventually, the truth bubbles to the surface�L.E.M.U.R. is just trying to stir the waters.
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