Since
its founding in 1972 the International Society for Paranormal
Research, or ISPR, has continually impacted the science of Parapsychology
and pioneered field research.
Dismissing the mindset and practices of those in scientific
and academic circles and associations of the early 1970s, ISPR
founding Parapsychologist, Dr. Larry Montz, was the first field
Parapsychologist to take studies of Psi abilities (psychic abilities)
out of a controlled environment (lab) and create varying levels
of clairvoyant testing in the field on a daily basis. Other
field Parapsychologists still work and conduct paranormal investigations
on a part time basis.
Montz was the first Parapsychologist to employ the same personnel
with enhanced Psi abilities (including clairvoyance, clairaudience,
clairgustus, RV or remote viewing, psychometry, energy manipulation,
physical mediumship, empathy, telepathy, etc.) and create the
'Team' concept by combining both scientific and clairvoyant
methodologies. This led Montz to develop Enhanced Field Parapsychology
or EFP. Decades later, results continue to prove that the professional
ISPR Team, utilizing the original team model, has maintained
a 95% accuracy rate in field investigations, both paranormal
and criminal.
In the early 1990's, a six-year ISPR Research Study of paranormal
activities in and around the city of New Orleans and the state
of Louisiana, was undertaken. But the challenge of testing various
Clairvoyants in the field was already won. This led Montz to
push the envelope further - prove that people, who were not
labeled as psychics, would demonstrate Psi abilities when placed
in haunted environments. Under the name of Hauntings Today,
Montz designed another first by the creation and implementation
of ISPR Ghost Expeditions.
For the general public, Ghost Expeditions provided the first-ever-paranormal
event in which a person could choose to participate. Ghost Expeditions
participants could garner hands-on experience in actual and
documented paranormal field research pertaining to ghosts and
hauntings inside actively haunted properties. For the ISPR,
Ghost Expeditions allowed the achievement of two primary objectives
never before attempted prior by any individual or organization:
- A continuous long-term field study
of multiple haunted locations
- The study of Psi Abilities of general
public participants as involuntarily applied in the field
without prior briefing which is considered a non-controlled
control.
Ghost Expeditions opened for operation
in the French Quarter of New Orleans in October 1994 and continued
through November 1, 1997. By the end of 1996, Ghost Expeditions
garnered the international attention of the mass media in
print, radio and television and in turn, established Montz
in the mass media as a pioneering authority in field Parapsychology
worldwide.
Ghost Expeditions were offered in three different levels.
The first was open to all. The second was a more sophisticated
hands-on investigation of a haunted property. And the third,
the Overnight Ghost Expedition, allowed paranormal enthusiasts
to spend an entire night in a haunted property.
Some of the most popular Ghost Expedition sites came from
ISPR investigations including the Supreme Court Building,
Le Petit Theater, the Bourbon Orleans Hotel, the Omni Royal
Orleans Hotel, Bacco's Restaurant, the Chart House, Café Beignet,
Maxwell's Jazz Cabaret (now One Eyed Jacks), The Williams
Research Center, the Napoleon House, The Pharmacy Museum,
O'Flaherty's Irish Pub, the Andrew Jackson Hotel, the Pontalbla
Buildings, the Jackson Square Cathedral, the Cabildo, the
Presbytere, Royal Café, Antoine's, N'awlin's Cookery, Dauphine
Orleans Hotel, the Ashley House, Crescent City Books, and
many more.
Since 1997, ISPR's Ghost Expeditions continued mass media
coverage around the world and became a sought after prize
for a wide variety of promotions. Ghost Expeditions became
Grand Prizes for promotions with MGM, the foreign release
of the X-Files Movie, Bizarre Magazine,
Sony Pictures Sweepstakes and the list goes on. At the same
time, with rotating destinations of New Orleans, Los Angeles
and England, Ghost Expeditions became annual prize packages
for network game shows like Wheel of Fortune,
Jeopardy! and Hollywood Squares.
Beginning in New Orleans and continuing in Hollywood, Ghost
Expeditions enjoyed the participation of literally hundreds
of television writers, producers, directors, studio and network
executives. Ghost Expeditions was the inspiration for a variety
of television series including FEAR on MTV,
World's Scariest Places on FOX Family then ABC
Family and Europe's smash hit, Most Haunted,
starring ISPR investigator Derek Acorah.
After concluding the ISPR six-year research study in New Orleans,
the ISPR withdrew the citywide respected Ghost Expeditions
from the French Quarter. As a result, over fifteen Big Easy
ghost tours developed to fill the void, with most tour operators
claiming to be ghost hunters and paranormal experts - all
enjoying the New Orleans haunted status made known internationally
through media attention bestowed on Ghost Expeditions and
the ISPR.
In 1997, the ISPR began offering a more sophisticated series
of Ghost Expeditions in Los Angeles, utilizing the formerly
haunted Vogue Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, just two blocks
east of Hollywood and Highland and the world-famous Grauman's
Chinese Theater.
The extensive international multi-media coverage on Dr. Montz,
the ISPR and Ghost Expeditions is credited for the birth of
a new pop phenomenon - literally hundreds of internet-based
ghost clubs, ghost hunters and group ghost hunts, worldwide.
In December of 2001, after black mold developed inside the
property, the ISPR concluded its four-year study of the actively
haunted Vogue Theatre and the ISPR Team subsequently cleared
the property of its seven documented resident entities.
In 1999, the ISPR became one of the first parapsychological
organizations to create and produce documentaries. The first
two documentary efforts, created and produced by Montz and
producing partner Daena Smoller in association with Dotted
Line Entertainment, set a new standard and format for paranormal
programming that followed. ISPR Investigates Ghosts
of England (1999 Telly Award Winner) and ISPR
Investigates Ghosts of Belgrave Hall (recipient of
the 2002 Hollywood Screamfest International Film Festival's
Best Horror Documentary Award), are used as additional teaching
tools in universities around the world including UCLA, USC
and the University of Edinburgh. These documentaries are now
sold around the world in a variety of languages and are literally,
the ghost hunting 'Bible" for amateur and proffesional
ghost hunters.
Hollywood Celebrities are drawn to the paranormal and the
ISPR's list of celebrity clients and celebrities who have
participated in Ghost Expeditions and patronized the formerly
haunted Vogue, is lengthy and includes such luminaries as:
Anne Rice, Comedy Store owner Mitzi Shore, Producer/Director
Bob Zmuda, ABC Television and NBC Studios, Scott Baio, Karen
Black, Jim Belushi, Brandon Brooks, Delta Burke, Drew Carey,
Robbi Chong, Sara Downing, Crystal Gayle, Miriam Gonzales,
Tobe Hooper, Leila Kenzle, Lindsay Mckeon, Miller Lite Models,
Steve Monroe, Matthew Perry, Brittany Petros, Amanda Plummer,
Ricky Ratchman, Rachel Roth, Helen Shaver, Jeremy Sisto, Priscilla
Taylor, James Van Praagh, Aaron Van Wagner and John J. York.
After several years of requests from the tourism and hospitality
industries in New Orleans, the ISPR re-implemented Ghost Expeditions
in the city in October of 2004. Unlike its predecessor, the
new ISPR Ghost Expeditions were conducted outside of the French
Quarter and exclusively inside non-commercial properties.
Within weeks of it's re-opening in New Orleans, Ghost Expeditions
reached sell-out status continuously and was heralded as the
"IT" paranormal thing to do in Louisiana until
Hurricane Katrina in August, 2005.
THE MEDIA SAYS...
PLAY 411 - A Directory of Entertainment Resources for the
Film & Video Industry
"Expect the unexplained when you participate in this fun, educational
"archeological dig" [Ghost Expeditions] created and developed
by a Parapsychologist exclusively for the ISPR"
LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL
"L.A.'s Own Ghostbuster...the first parapsychologist to include
professional clairvoyants in his [Montz] investigations."
LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL
"Clairvoyance has gone cyber for the International Society for
Paranormal Research…conducting a search for two clairvoyant
team investigators by posting a 20-photograph Psi Test on ISPR.Net"
HOLLYWOOD INSIDER Magazine
"Dr. Larry Montz is the internationally respected parapsychologist
and founder of the ISPR."
PREMIERE Magazine
"...spectre-sleuthing organization, the International Society
for Paranormal Research...now conducts Ghost Expeditions [Vogue
Theatre Hollywood]"
PREMIERE Magazine
"In Ghost, they kiss you. In Beetlejuice, they make you sing.
But what do ghosts really do? We asked this of Parapsychologist
Dr. Larry Montz and ISPR Investigator Daena Smoller"
SOAP OPERA DIGEST
"As The World Turns and Days of Our Lives have featured haunted
occurrences for weeks. Digest summoned up 28-year veteran Parapsychologist
Dr. Larry Montz of the International Society for Paranormal
Research to see if these stories have a ghost of a chance"
TUCSON LIFESTYLE Magazine
"A haunting we will go - Ghost Expeditions gives the paranormally
curious a chance to investigate otherworldly happenings..."
LIVE! Magazine
"...the skeptic is forced to doubt his skepticism..."
WAVE
"...Montz is the kind of ghost hunter who succeeds where many
others have failed - namely in seeking out and understanding
ghosts"
CAST & CREW Magazine
"Because of his professional training and vast experience with
paranormal phenomena, Montz is the exclusive source to identify
haunted properties..."
InStyle Celebrity + Lifestyle Magazine
Dr. Larry Montz, an L.A. Parapsychologist, and his team at the
International Society for Paranormal Research determines if
a place is haunted, the number of ghosts, their names, how they
died and their "issues."
ESSENCE Magazine
"Experience the Supernatural..."
NEW ORLEANS TIMES-PICAYUNE
"Montz moved to Los Angeles where he has become a press phenomena
as a Celebrity Parapsychologist and Hollywood Ghost Buster."
LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS
"...go on a Ghost Expedition and participate in a paranormal
investigation"
THE OXFORD AMERICAN Magazine
"It is not easy being a parapsychologist, at least a legitimate
one, in New Orleans. He (Montz) wants nothing more than to document,
with irrefutable scientific evidence, the existence of ghosts..."
LOS ANGELES NEW TIMES
"Be forewarned; it's not simply anyone who can participate in
a Ghost Expedition and there's more to qualifying than merely
being taller than the outstretched arm of a wooden clown...
To ensure maximum scientific credibility, ISPR employs video
cameras, cameras, recorders, thermometers, barometers... data
sheets and magnetometers"
ELLE Magazine
"Paranormal enthusiasts take note: The International Society
For Paranormal Research (ISPR) offers Ghost Expeditions in Los
Angeles"
TRIBE Magazine
"Who ya gonna call? How about Larry Montz?"
BIZARRE Magazine
"Thanks to the International Society For Paranormal Research
(ISPR) you can have the chance to experience..."
TWA AMBASSADOR In-Flight Magazine
"...only (ISPR) Ghost Expeditions gives people a chance to participate
in ongoing research into the paranormal."
TRAVEL WEEKLY Trade Publication
"What makes Ghost Expeditions (GE) different…is its feel of
authenticity…scoffers can get the sarcasm scared out of them"
LOS ANGELES TIMES
"Since the International Society For Paranormal Research arrived
in town with Ghost Expeditions, spooks have sparked a citywide
sensation..."
NEW ORLEANS Magazine
"Montz is New Orleans' bona fide ghostbuster..."
SCHIFFER PUBLISHING
"ISPR, founded by Dr. Larry Montz, Ph.D., in 1972, is an internationally
renowned organization devoted to the study of ghosts and the
paranormal."
WHITFORD PRESS
"Based on a six-year scientific study by the International Society
for Paranormal Research (ISPR), this book separates facts from
folklore and local legends, taking the reader on a fascinating
trip…"
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Magazine
"Dr. Larry Montz, is America's only full-time Parapsychologist
and 27-year expert in the field of paranormal research"
LOUISIANA LIFE Magazine
"My search for a haunted house in northern Louisiana led directly
to Dr. Larry Montz, a veteran Parapsychologist of 30 years and
the most recognized and respected expert in his field worldwide"
NEW ORLEANS CITY BUSINESS
"In addition to paranormal investigations, ISPR investigates
homicides and missing persons cases for law enforcement agencies"
IN FOCUS Magazine
"In 1997, Parapsychologist Larry Montz, founder of the Los Angeles-based
International Society for Paranormal Research (ISPR), opened
Ghost Expeditions at the Vogue. The curious flooded the site,
hoping to catch a glimpse of supernatural activity"
COOL PLACES IN CALIFORNIA
"Participate in a Ghost Expedition and discover and analyze
paranormal phenomena"
TERRY WICKHAM'S MOVIE REVIEWS
"What was amazing to witness was the ISPR team work and uncover
details that prove to be true and accurate. It will make your
hair stand up and make you believe in ghosts" |
ISPR founding Parapsychologist Dr. Larry
Montz, began his earliest 1970s paranormal field investigations
in New Orleans' Cities of the Dead
Hollywood Hills: ISPR Investigations
attract international media attention for its field investigations
New 2004 ISPR Ghost Expedition logo
Authored by Montz and Smoller of the
ISPR, ISPR Investigates The Ghosts of New Orleans is the premiere
self-guided tour of New Orleans' haunted history and paranormal
activities in and around the French Quarter
Since 1997, Hollywood Squares has favored
ISPR Ghost Expeditions in England as Secret Square Prizes,
while most Wheel of Fortune Ghost Expedition Wheel Prizes,
featured GEs in New Orleans
For four years, participants thrilled
at the paranormal activities due to the seven resident entities
inside the formerly haunted Vogue Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.
The 800-seat, two story movie theater from 1936 was cleared
of it's resident entities by the ISPR in December of 2001
Sites Investigated by the ISPR in 1999,
featured in two award-winning documentaries, became favorite
sites for ghost hunters in England.
ISPR Parapsychologist Dr. Larry Montz
sends the Surreal Life Celebrities (VH1) on a Ghost Expedition
through a haunted hospital in L.A. L-R: Brigette Neilson,
Flavor Flav, Ryan Starr, Dr. Montz, Jordan Knight, Charo and
Dave Coulier.
General Hospital's John J. York joins
Dr. Montz and ISPR's Shawn Roop for an informal investigative
walk-through of NBC Studios in Burbank
E! Entertainment's Gossip Show host
and producer get their fill of paranormal activity inside
ISPR's Hollywood Ghost Expedition site - the Vogue Theatre
Actress Delta Burke experiences the
paranormal on an ISPR Ghost Expeditions
It's a daytime Ghost Expedition for
actor Drew Carey
Psychic Medium James Van Praggh and
friend participate in a daytime Ghost Expedition
Poltergeist: The Legacy star Helen Shaver
with ISPR's Daena Smoller after a private tour of the Hollywood
Ghost Expedition site
Poltergeist: The Legacy star Robbi Chong
joins ISPR's Daena Smoller and the winners of the MGM Sweepstakes
Grand Prize - an Overnight ISPR Ghost Expedition in New Orleans
In any language, Ghost Expeditions is
the original and sophisticated Paranormal Thing-To-Do
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