This week Eric, Lon and Sean welcome Paranormal Investigator, and Author Brian Parsons to the program.

Brian D. Parsons was born in Indiana in 1973 and moved to northeast Ohio before his first birthday. Growing up his parents told him that ghosts, monsters, and other strange things did not exist; they did this not to brainwash him, but to help him sleep at night. He grew up watching "In Search of" with Leonard Nimoy which began to open his mind to the what-ifs that exist in our world.

In early 1996 he was attending college when a couple of friends asked him for help in learning how to write better research papers. He and another friend suggested writing about a subject they really liked and they would critique it. A few others did the same as well and when the group met and began to peer review the papers one drew more attention than the others on sports and dating; it was about UFOs. One of the guys in the group was a UFO nut who decided to write about UFO sightings. As the group began to talk about UFOs other subjects, such as urban legends and local folklore, came up. A few days later he was at work and brought up a particular local urban legend. He found it interesting how many different people heard the same distinct things about this location and the stories that went with it.

Brian decided to investigate the location, he went to the local library and researched the property and those involved with it during the time of the story. During his research he stumbled upon Parapsychology and Psychical Research; terms he heard in Psychology class that meant nothing more than pseudoscience to his teacher. Investigating further he was interested to realize that there were many people investigating ghosts today and that despite finding enough evidence to prove the local urban legend wrong, he was inspired to investigate ghosts and related phenomena further.

In the fall of 1996, he and a group of friends formed a paranormal investigation team after weeks of learning about phenomena through reading and other resources (the internet wasn't a big help back then!). They started out as many teams did back then by investigating cemeteries, abandoned buildings, and researched and investigated urban legends. While they had no official name they had spent plenty of time discussing it; one suggestion by Brian was in response to many of the groups with acronyms that existed was Ohio Paranormal Investigation Network (O.P.I.N.). The name was based on his dream of helping to network not only groups, but professionals in other areas of interest to help grow the field and help those in need. It was also in the fall of 1996 that they began getting client cases through word of mouth. During one case the homeowner, the father of a friend of one of the investigators, asked who was in charge and if the group had a name. Everyone began to look around the room and Brian began to notice everyone staring at him. He had become the official leader of the group; and his group name was adopted as well. In early 1997 the group split, while one continued to investigate cemeteries, buildings, and other structures, the other continued to help clients and carried the O.P.I.N. banner.

The first group website was on the free Geocities website (site no longer exists) and was a one page advertisement for the group. During this time other members had their own O.P.I.N. websites using the original logo in an effort to gather client cases. In 2000, the group moved to Angelfire where it resided until 2007 when the decision was finally made to acquire a unique URL.

In 2000, during some downtime in investigations, Brian decided to pursue a spot with the Mutual UFO Network as a Field Investigator. He worked briefly with the organization and still conducts his own investigations into related phenomena. Brian has worked with the Sasquatch Research Initiative (now defunct) and currently with the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society investigating Bigfoot and big cat sighting claims.

Brian has authored four books on the subject of paranormal group operation, including his unique "E4" Method designed for client-centered cases. His fifth book, Handbook for the Amateur Cryptozoologist, digs into the world of hidden or unknown animals. He presents a balanced look at the history and mystery behind these creatures as well as methodologies into investigating them. He has worked with the ParaNexus Anomalous Research Association for several years and served as the Research Director, Treasurer, and sat on the Board of Directors until the corporation voted to dissolve in December of 2011. He remained a member and served as the Anomalous News Coordinator until 2014 when he was named Executive Director of ParaNexus in an effort to revitalize the organization. Brian also hosts the Paranormal News Insider segment of the Grand Dark Conspiracy podcast which airs Monday nights at 10 P.M. eastern on the Shark Radio Network.

Brian has appeared on numerous internet radio shows, paranormal conferences and conventions, as well as his own events where he speaks on a variety of paranormal and anomalous subjects (see the contact/media page for details). He has a PhD from the Institute of Metaphysical Humanistic Science in Metaphysical Science and is currently working on his bachelor's degree in Environmental Science. Brian is a member of the National Association of Environmental Professionals as a student. He is also an ordained minister and is a state licensed wedding officiant in the state of Ohio. Brian lives in northeast Ohio with his wife Amy and their dog Sasha.

Read more at http://briandparsons.com/bio.html#Xiw1deLDxrZhuikw.99

http://briandparsons.com/