AUTHOR: Aisling
DATE: 12:52
-----
BODY:
<div style="clear:both;"></div>Every year, around May, Hollow Hill experiences changes as some of our volunteers graduate from college and move to other cities.  This year was no exception, and it's a bigger change than in the past.

Rather than go through this year after year, it's time for us to make some changes.  We've talked about our options, which included turning Hollow Hill over to someone else with a more stable professional team, or just leaving the site online without updates. 

We're not happy with either of those ideas.

After about ten years online, it's time to reinvent Hollow Hill and take it in bigger, more interesting directions.   We want it to stand out in the crowd.

We're proud of Hollow Hill because we conduct serious research.  If we can find the documented history of a ghost or its location, we report it whether it supports the "ghost stories" (even our own) or not.

Few other ghost researchers know how to uncover this information.  Most prefer to focus on folklore, whether or not it has any basis in fact.

We were the first to show the effects of various natural phenomena on photos, creating false orbs and vortex images.   Ours were among the first photos showing the effects of humidity, rain, sprinklers, hair, and camera straps in "ghost photos."  We continue to conduct experiments to rule out natural explanations for the orbs and other anomalies in our photos at haunted sites.

With those as our assets, we're considering different projects and directions for Hollow Hill, and we want to include our readers in this.

We want to continue our podcasts.  We also want to launch the mobile database of haunted places.  And, we're eager to publish our free, online magazine on a regular basis.

We'll be asking for your ideas and advice.  We'll also be asking for help in various departments at Hollow Hill.   With over 80,000 unique visitors to Hollow Hill's website each month, there's a huge audience that can participate in our activities.

But, at least until early July, things may seem quiet at Hollow Hill.  That's partly because we're conducting research in New England in May, and in England during June.   It's also because we're brainstorming ideas, while saying goodbye to staff who are moving to new locations for new jobs.<div style="clear:both; padding-bottom:0.25em"></div>
--------