Exclusive Interview With Barry Fitzgerald From ‘Ghost Hunters International’

If you’re a fan of SyFy’s Ghost Hunters International then there’s no doubt you enjoy watching Barry Fitzgerald, one of the shows lead investigators. He’s obviously passionate about what he does and has a very thoughtful yet straight forward approach to the paranormal and life in general. Barry took time out of his busy schedule to talk with me about his new book, several new projects on the horizon and the state of paranormal research.

You just put out a new book, The Complete Approach, with fellow GHI member Dustin Pari. Why was this important for you to share with everyone? Why did you choose to co-author with Dustin?

Dustin and I share a wonderful fellowship whilst we travel and there are times during travel that we would have a lot of time to talk. It was during one of these times during a night over in a Chateau down in the Bordeaux region in the south of France that the skeletal form of the book took life. For us both is was of great importance to try and unify in some way fringe science with metaphysics.  A growing split had been growing between both camps of thought and from our view point we could see great similarities between both sets of research and we wanted to produce a piece of work that showed these similarities.

So The Complete Approach was born, although don’t be fooled by the title this is not a complete answer book to all things paranormal, rather it’s a book to promote a unified approach to paranormal research as we believe science will not supply us all the answers we require and likewise neither will metaphysics. The book draws in a lot of experiences both Dustin and I had during our years as researchers and the paths taken to show the fascinating connections and the understanding of the accounts from a scientific standpoint. New technology and thought processes are discussed in the book and readers will clearly see a drive to develop this further.

You also published a successful book about your photography called Journeys. Do you feel your photography portrays more of your true personality?

Journeys came to fruition due to the weight of emails from fans stating they wanted to see a book about my photography. They had been seeing samples of this on my MySpace pages and so the book was published with Lulu and sold via Amazon.com.

I use the photography as an escape and a way I can link back to the world and its quiet spaces. I enjoy peace and hunt for those quiet places that pass by so fast in any one day, especially working on a popular TV show. In those moments I liked to capture them with the camera and share them with the fans and I hope the readers of Journeys also found those quiet times as they flick through the publication. It certainly was not designed as something to quickly pass the time, rather its purpose was a meditation aid to promote the ability to step out of the ever increasing rat race.

I hear you have a few other titles in the works. Any news to share with our readers? Do you aim to take your writing in any particular direction?

Yes there are multiple works in progress, The Influence book looks at the darker side of the paranormal world. It’s a book that examines and makes us question our own thoughts and actions. It’s a startling insight into the negative influences and how they can affect us on an emotional, mental and physical level and of course how to reverse it. Starting with a series of experiments back in Ireland it follows the research path to all corners of the earth uncovering a trail leading back to these entities, this one I’m noting as a shocking read and will be available early next year.

The Darkening Shades of Light is my last photography book which follows on from Journeys and explores the beauty found around us both in daylight and the remarkable hues of night. I was very surprised when the night shots started rolling in were I saw the tremendous colors which even after allowing my eyes to adapt to the night I was still missing with my human eyes. This publication is a little more controversial than my last works but issues which I think raising good and thoughtful points.

Dustin and I have started to work on our next written project which we are looking at a hopeful release in February 2010 and is again a book which takes the research further and filters the information into one source.

Finally I’m in the process of writing a screen play for the big screen and it is a wonderful and tragic piece which will make everyone on this earth stop and think, that’s all I can say about it for now.

How has the growing popularity of paranormal research helped the field overall?

To be honest I really don’t think it is helping the serious research over all. The same pieces of equipment are being repackaged in different boxes and sold to the unsuspecting paranormal groups and up and coming researchers and I find it increasingly difficult to pull the research forward because of old theories and belief systems. That is one reason The Complete Approach was written to jolt start the field to move forward, but not just with I think, but with what I have seen and why it happens. More fact than fiction which has been holding the field back.

As a seasoned paranormal investigator, what advice do you have for the newbies out there?

Ha ha read my books.

What has been the most unsettling paranormal experience you’ve had, that has not been shown on Ghost Hunters International?

I was involved in a case where a child had been murdered and over the course of the 20 years she had been reportedly seen by various witnesses. I remember her going missing back in 1981, it was quite the story and she was the same age as I was in that year, but when I visited the site she made herself known to us and appeared in front of several witnesses. I wrote a section about it in one of my journals called ‘Silent Screams’, never before had I been involved in a case where the spirit screamed yet no one could hear her, it’s a funny old world as I have been involved in many since. Sadly the case has remained open and no one was convicted, I believed she knew who it was and we needed her to give us the name of the killer. I asked a leading UK EVP specialist to help and low and behold she gave us a name, but the reluctance of the police force stopped any further development and all our investigations were halted immediately. She is still there and the killer is still free.

What has been the most rewarding experience about working with the GHI team? Are there more benefits to working with a group vs. going solo?

The most rewarding thing for me has been making the wonderful links and establishing networks around this wonderful planet. Meeting people from different continents and obtaining their perspective on paranormal phenomena that they are their people experience helps me to understand this field even more. We can get bogged down if we don’t leave the comfort of our own back yard and believe there is nothing else, but in truth there is another world waiting to be discovered and by piecing that jigsaw together we are continually building a stronger picture of that we are looking at. But I can’t help but wonder, once we open that door……..can we close it if we need to?

What do you say to all the non-believers out there?

Nothing, it really doesn’t matter what I say.

Image: Amazon