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Ghost Hunting 101

Fun or Serious?

 Ghost Hunt - roaming around  a graveyard, an abandoned house, or an old mental hospital, you get the idea, at night, trying to see a ghost, while trying not to be scared.    

Ghost Investigation - a comprehensive and methodical process involving specialized equipment and devices that are used to collect data and to find evidence of ghosts and spirits.  The goal is to prove the existence of the paranormal ... and trying to see a ghost, while trying not be scared.

Some Procedural Steps.

1. When all of your group have met at the location, decide who will work each piece of equipment, and divide into teams if you have more than four or five people.  Pick a person as a liaison to talk to anyone who comes in contact with the group (Police, Reporters, etc.)
                                                                            
2. Enter the site and either privately or as a group ask for blessing or protection for the duration of the hunt.  You can use this time to put yourself in a positive frame of mind.  It does not have to be a religious ceremony.  Just a few moments to quiet the mind and to show respect to the spirits.  If your are intending to investigate a demonic haunting, Do Not try it until you have referenced one or more books that warn you of the dangers and instruct you on the correct methods of dealing with evil paranormal entities. That said, many experienced groups believe there are evil spirits, as well as benign, in the world and wouldn't be caught dead using the same tactics from one to the other.  Or enter an allegedly evil area without saying a blessing and making their intention known that they come in The Name of God and intend to do them away.
                                                                                                                                         

3.  Walk around the area to get a feel for the surroundings and allow the spirits to get a feel for you.   Do this for about 20 minutes.  Log in your start time and weather conditions and any other relevant information in your notebook.   You should also begin to set up any stationary equipment like cameras on tripods, video equipment, and motion detectors.  Make note of areas that you feel are the most likely to reveal the paranormal.  And the least likely.  In your notebook, write down why.  Make notes about the layout of the cemetery, the terrain, the condition of the gravestones, areas that contain broken headstones, areas that seem a little foreboding.  Make a plan on what equipment you will use over the course of the investigation, when and why before you begin.  While a vital aspect of paranormal investigation is being open to anything and allowing for everything, a rough but flexible investigation plan will give you a sense of process, rather than free-for-all. 
                                                           
4.  Now it is time to begin the investigation.  Using your rough plan, your insights and observations, you can begin.  You have decided to walk the grounds taking EMF and temperature readings, first.  Slowly, you make your way around visiting and taking readings of all areas a few times, noting your findings in your notebook.  If you get some mysterious EMF readings, here is where you begin to actually investigate rather than canvas.  You may have found a ghost.  You will want to remember this area for some EVP work in this area. 
 
As you go along, take pictures, often randomly.  In those areas where you received unusual EMF readings, begin using your voice recorder for some EVP work. Note anything unusual that happens ... meter readings, visual sightings, and strange sounds.  Note any feelings or emotions you feel that may be odd or out ofplace. 
                                                  
5.  Whether you stake out a spot or you walk around, try to give everyone the opportunity to try everything and be everywhere on a rotating basis.  Not only is it fair that everyone has the same opportunities, the findings can be better authenticated or debunked using evidence from several people combingthrough the same areas.                  

6.  When you are done have everyone meet in one spot.  Thank the spirits for receiving you.  Ask, in The Name of God, for them not to follow you home.  This takes about ten seconds, unless you want to draw the blessing out for one reason or another.  Always remember to treat spirits respectfully.  If you insult them, you never know what kind of paranormal mess you will get yourself into. 

The Most Common Paranormal Encounters:

Spirits - There are generally two types of spirits. One was a human at one time and has remained in the physical world for a reason. It may have died suddenly and violently and does not know it is dead.  It may feel it has unfinished business. It may have died plagued by excessive guilt. It may have been murdered and seeks resolution or vengeance. This is the type of spirit you will encounter 90% of the time. 

You can also witness a residual haunting, which is an energetic playback of something very important to a spirit when it was human. It is almost always the energetic repeat of one specific event. The lady that walks out of the same wall for years and years. The form at the top of the stairs that always disappears in the same way. These spirits are like watching an energetic video of someone (now dead) from the past playing over and over.

 

General Tips.

  • Check out the area in daylight so you are familiar with the area.   Look for dangerous places and obstacles that you will not be able to see in the dark.
     
  • Look for No Trespassing signs.  If you are on private property you are risking getting a ticket or arrested in some areas.  You can get permission from many owners and or caretakers.   We will often notify the local Police that we will be in a grave yard "taking pictures" so they are aware of our presence.  If you are asked to leave do so immediately, you will not win this argument and you make other investigators look bad if you make a scene.
     
  • Make sure you bring you ID. (drivers license, etc.) so if you are questioned by the police you can prove who you are.
     
  • Never go alone.  This is just common sense.  If you get hurt, or scared to death, who will get help?
     
  • The best times are from 9pm to 6am.  These are the psychic hours, but anytime can produce results.  Photos have historically been better in the dark but don't let that discourage you from taking them during the day. 
     
  • Find out all you can about the history of the locale.  Newspapers, town historians, WWW and books can be helpful finding folklore or hard facts about the site.  The books and web pages dealing with this type of info is enormous.  We have a haunted places listing here with over 1000 places listed.

    • What to Bring.

    The Basics:

    * 35mm Camera - Nothing fancy with at least 400 speed film. 800 speed film is good at night. Test your cameras flash strength to see which film speed works best for you. Even disposable 35mm cameras have gotten good results. If you are a more experienced photographer, you may want to try infrared film. Instant cameras, we have seen OK results from Polaroids. We suggest you experiment with the different cameras and their different formats by taking shoots of the same subjects and comparing the results. Most 35mm film will do but Fuji and Kodak lead the field. When you drop off your 35mm film for developing, make sure you let them know that you want them to develop the role 'as-is.' The "bad ones" with streaks and shapes of light that film developers tend to discard are very often the captured images of spirits.

    * Digital Camera - Regardless of what you've heard, digital cameras are great tools for ghost researchers. Once upon a time, they had their limitations and problems but that is no longer the case. The photo quality is excellent. There is no film to develop. Memory cards allow you to store thousands of pictures. And you can your send your images directly into your computer for editing, distribution, posting.

    * Flashlight & Spare Batteries - Need we say more? There are hundreds of different kinds of flashlights. Find something small and powerful rather than big and powerful. Have at least one flashlight with a red lens to help preserve your night vision. At some point, your batteries will run out of juice in the middle of an investigation. Or, you may find your batteries drained by spirits needing all the available energy around it to manifest. We often have with us a case just for spare batteries. * First Aid Kit - Just in case. It is very easy to become injured in the dark.

    * Notebook, Pens and Pencils - Keeping a detailed log of your experiences, observations and feelings serves many purposes. The most obvious, you will have a comprehensive record of your participation in the investigation. You will not forget the details of key findings or important information that you have tried to committ to memory. And you will be able to comprehensively compare notes with other researchers when your are compiling the investigation's findings. A detailed investigation report greatly increases accurcy, and credibility.

    * Jackets or Weather Appropriate Clothes - Quite simpy, if you are cold and shivering or hot and light-headed, you will not be at your best, and your investigation skills could suffer.

    * Watches - You need to record the time of experiences and findings throughout the investigation.

    * Video Cameras - Unlike still cameras, camcorders can document the entire investigation. And provide constant visual and audio surveillance for review and observation. The video cameras we use are equipped with infrared capability. Some Sony camcorders are equipped with infrared NightShot features that enable you to video tape in complete darkness. And see beyond what the human eye can see. You can use stationary camcorders on tripods or walk around with them.

    * Tape Recorders - Mini-tape or traditional tape voice recorders are without a doubt one of the most important pieces of equipment you should have in your investigators' toolbox. Audio recorders are used for many different purposes throughout an investigation ... for interviewing the clients, surveilancs of the site, recording the investigation, capturing video of a paranormal occurrence and EVPs. External hand-held microphones produce clear sound, which means clearer playback.

    * Digital Audio Recorders - Digital Camcorders are invaluable. You get everything you get from microcassette records, plus an account of the entire investigation, from the initial client interview to survelliance of the property to conducting the investigation to critiquing it when it is over. Everything is documented. Experiences and evidence are preserved. Evidence can be presented to the client visually.

    * EMF Detector - The Electromagnetic Field Detector, also known as an EMF, is the modern day ghost researcher's tracking device of choice. With this instrument, it is possible to locate and track energy sources. It will detect fluctuations in electromagnetic fields. It is believed that since spirits are electromagnetic energy, they can change the electromagnetic energy in an area when they try to manifest into the physical. EMF detectors can also pick up electrical devices and electrical wiring in walls. Preventing false positive readings is one reason why it is imperative to turn off the power for the entire house. Any electrical or electromagnetic field will present higher than normal readings. When using the EMF as a tracking device look for fluctuations of 2.0 to 7.0, this is the usual range for paranormal activity. Anything higher or lower is normally a reading of appliances, fuse boxes, electrical wiring in old homes.

    * Cellular Phone - Due to it being a disruption as well as a source of cellular energy that can interfere with EMF readings, it is best to either turn it off and only use it important reasons, or leave in the car.

    * Compass - Due to the magnetic properties of a small hand-held compass, it can be used as an impromptu EMF meter. When the needle spins erratically or will not provide a precise heading, it may have detected a spirit's electromagnetic field.

    * Candles & Oil Lamps - With the power off, flashlights are good tools with which to make your way around in the dark. As stationary light sources, a camping lantern that runs on lamp oil and candles avoid electricity issues. With any open flame, use extreme caution.

    * Motion and Thermal Detectors - An option you can use to monitor rooms and areas while you are in other parts of the house, motion dectectors detect movement of any kind. Thermal detectors can read paranormal energy sources. Placement is key. They work outdoors as well.

    * Thermometer or Thermal Scanner - A spirit or ghost can change the temperature of areas in a room, and often the whole room. In order to manifest into the physical, the spirit must draw on any available energy (including your batteries.) Energy is heat and heat drawn out of something produces cold. A particularly powerful spirit can raise the temperature. Always carry either a traditional outside thermometer or an infrared non contact thermometer.

    * Hand-Held Radios - Walkie Talkies keep everyone connected when the group is spread out over large outdoor areas or inside buildings.

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