What is the TAPS Family and why does it matter?
Since 2006, our team has been the Oklahoma representative for the TAPS Family. The perception of what that means, and the reality of what that means to us are sometimes different things. We would like to take time to clarify these things in hope that we can lead people to a better understanding of the TAPS Family.
What TAPS Family is:
The TAPS Family is a network of teams who are designated to take cases on behalf of The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS.) Many people recognize the TAPS brand from the first edition of the show Ghost Hunters, which aired on the SyFy network from 2004 to 2016. While this is the most recognizable version of TAPS, it is important to note that the TAPS team itself has been around much longer than the reality television show. Founded by Jason Hawes, the TAPS team has always stood for quality investigations based upon examination of circumstances, discovering underlying non-paranormal explanations and, when that’s not possible, providing carefully gathered evidence to support client experiences. The teams within the TAPS family operate using this same methodology, and follow the TAPS policies, such as providing services to clients completely free. The teams are interviewed, reference checked, background checked, and put through a probationary period before they are considered a permanent part of the family. After that, the teams are required to update their team background checks annually and must continue to adhere to the TAPS methodology.
HOW are we involved?
Our team has been a member of the TAPS Family since 2006. In 2010, our team founder, Kristen, was named TAPS Family Manager. She, along with her friend and Co-Manager Marie Cuff-Johnston have had the distinct pleasure of overseeing the operation of that program in the years since. INsight team members Stephanie Birdwell and Jay Thomas are also members of the TAPS Family management staff. Due to the efforts of everyone involved, the family has grown, improved, and more importantly, has become very connected to each other. The teams in the program meet every summer to have an annual business meeting, a charity auction, and time to reconnect with each other. We’ve often said, those who arrive at this reunion as a stranger, will leave as family.
WHY are we involved?
Over the years, the teams in the TAPS Family have built very close friendships with each other, despite being separated by miles, or even oceans. We are truly a family. Additionally, our affiliation with TAPS allows us to reach out to peers globally for information, input and advice, a practice which can only benefit our clients by providing an entire network of people who are willing to help address their concerns. Imagine having literally hundreds of people you know and trust available at a moment’s notice to provide support! Yes, we are accused of seeking fame and fortune by affiliating ourselves with TAPS, and those accusations are baseless. In the years since 2006, our affiliation with TAPS has brought us neither of those things, but has instead provided us with great joy, great friendships, and abundant resources. We refuse to be ashamed of that and are proud to be affiliated with the teams in our family.
What about non-network teams?
We’ve said it a million times if we have said it once: There are an endless number of quality teams who operate in a very similar manner as our TAPS Family teams. We have never been of the mindset that we are any better than a team with similar practices outside of our network. We are always eager to meet with other investigators, to share experiences and exchange ideas! Please let us know when you would like to have coffee! We would love to meet!
In conclusion, yes, we’re deeply proud of our TAPS Family affiliation. This isn’t because we have any desire to become para-celebrities, or because we have aspirations of fame and fortune, but because we know from the inside how special the people inside this organization truly are.