Right before Christmas, Buell appeared to acknowledge that his life is out of control and that he has become a liability to the Paranormal Research Society, the organization that he created many, many years ago. Long story short, he stepped down and let somebody else run things.
The earlier this month, Buell announced that he is working on a webinar. Then yesterday, he made a long announcement about other projects that he wants to get involved with, seemingly planning to step back into the spotlight and asking for permission from his fans:
Dear friends,What do you think, folks? Should Ryan Buell step back into the spotlight? Or should he wait at least until his criminal case is resolved?
I have a slight dilemma. For quite a few months now, I've taken a step back from public life entirely. Prior to that, I was around in a limited capacity. It's no secret that I've had some personal struggles over the past few years, and although I am not yet ready to discuss them, I will be shortly.
This message, for example, deals with one issue. It's about me returning to the fold, so to speak. But therein lies the problem. I have been afraid to do any work as a result of my own disappointment in my actions. Many of my friends, decent people, have encouraged me to return to work in order to not only do what I was meant to do, but also as a means to right some wrongs. To clean up our house, so to speak.
For example, I promised Webinar students of my PRS 126 History and Intro To Demonology class that I would re teach it. That was a promise made two years ago. Maybe longer. I'm proud to say I'm nearly finished in preparing the course and have pre-taped all the webinars. It's going to happen. Those who signed up for the course before will be able to attend for free. This is thanks largely to PRS’ interim Director and her administration.
With that said, I'm going to try to return to doing a few things I've been resistant or hesitant to do. I've accepted two speaking appearance requests. One is a convention in NYC. I think it's important to show that postponement of events and appearances is a thing of the past. And the only way to do that is to take on a few. We are planning to address the postponed 2014 Canada and US tours shortly. The team is doing their best to help me on all fronts.
When it comes to Twitch, a pet project of mine, something I did as a hobby while recovering from surgery and saw grow into a weekly gig, I plan to return to it. Now, as Director for one of the worlds major paranormal societies, you'd think Twitch would be a low priority. True, we aren't saving the world but it allows me to get to know some of the fans and I truly have fun. Last year I lost my drive and stumbled with keeping Paranormal Twitch up and running. We got behind in sending out prize raffles and for that I’m sorry. None of these outstanding raffles were purchased by fans.. They are simply giveaways. We bought the dvds and books and offered them up every show as a way to say thank you to those tuning in. With Paranormal Twitch, what we offer is content. It's fair to say it's entertainment. We offer a good time where we interact with fans and play some spooky games. I certainly hope people don't watch Paranormal Twitch solely for the chance to win giveaways, but we are in the process of making good on those past promises, too.
I bring this up because, as I stated above, I'd like to return to Paranormal Twitch. The fears I've had in my head are people shouting, “what about my raffle?” and “why are you doing this when you should be focusing on X?” Maybe these fears are unfounded, but I care about Twitch. I remember looking forward to Twitch nights every week. And as a bonus, I got to bring my friends on. It's not an official PRS project ( it does operate under The PRS Bureau, which is owned by PRS). That's probably why it's fun. It's a side gig where I get to be me. Not investigator Ryan. Just me playing games and having a good time.
Income-wise, the goal for Paranormal Twitch was to help fund PRS projects. Because of Paranormal Twitch we were able to fund a few web projects and even offer an exclusive event (Camp Paranormal 3) where we only wanted a handful of attendees to come to make it more intimate. We will accept “donations” on Twitch, which is a way of showing your support.
A few months ago, as some of you may know, my mother asked my fans not to financially support some of my endeavors. My mother’s heart is in the right place. She, concerned for her son, took matters into her own hands and put it out into the public. I was physically unable to respond during that time period, and I do not believe negative actions should result in positive rewards. But I do believe in teamwork to achieve progress and to achieve that goal we all need to be a part of this conversation. That said, I believe in my heart that I need to step back out and try. Because I believe in PRS as many of you do. I say to my mother and to all of you that I plan to tread carefully when it comes to launching projects, events or anything that brings in money. I know a lot of you will be watching closely. As will my mother. It is there where I am most confident you will all see the heart that I am placing behind my actions. If I am disingenuous, then time will reveal that very quickly. I suspect some of you do not feel I/we are deserving of any chances. I respect that. I am still going to try to get back out there and do my best. I hope, if I am successful, it will make all of you proud.
Right now, these are just words. But I want to at least address some of this as I move forward. Because when I sit down to do Paranormal Twitch, I want to give it my all. It will take a bit of time to show our clean-up efforts. If you don't want to support us right now, I understand. I hope in time we can earn some of that faith back.
Yeah, I'm aware that many people are putting me down right now. Even old friends. It hurts. I recognize many of you are hurt. I hope I can help heal the hurt that I have caused and feel myself. It will be tough and I think reluctantly about my future stumbles. I have focused too much on the possibility of failure. But over the months, the overwhelming letters of encouragement to get back up and move forward has given me the strength to do just that. Your perseverance in showing me you still have faith has moved me in ways I cannot express just yet. Thank you for encouraging me to get back up.