Ghost Hunting 101 (Part 2):

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Ghost Hunting 101 (Part 2)

Preparing for an Indoor Investigation.

* Every investigator or team should keep a log of events/times. Everything needs to be logged, no matter how trivial. You sneeze, log it in. Every sound needs to be accounted for so you can separate the earthly sounds from the paranormal sounds.

* Before the investigation begins, all team members should take a walk through the entire location. Someone should be assigned to map the location. If it is a house, draw a rough floor plan and note air vents, heaters, electrical appliances, fuse boxes, computers, appliances, TVs, stereo equipment. Mark down room temperatures in all the corners and in the middle of every room, Take EMF reading in the corners and middle of every room as well. Take a few photos in each room. Now you have a natural baseline reading of the house to compare against readings taken during the investigation.

* Remember to encourage the team to record feelings or observations.

* Having completed the pre investigation preparations, the best investigation environment will be created by turning off the power for the whole house, eleminating live electricity from having a bearing on the equipment. If that isn't possible, turn off all the lights and unplug as many appliances as you can.

* Now you are ready to begin. Remember to stay open-minded throughout, and make no conclusions until you review all of your findings after the investigation is complete. Try to limit your conversations with other investigators about your experiences and findings until after the investigation. Until after all the final reports are finished is even better. If unknown to one another, three people on three different teams experienced the same things in the same rooms, your findings and the investigation's findings have much more credibility.

Where to Begin Your Ghost Hunting.

Whether you are new at it or a seasoned investigator, these are some readily accessible places where you can ghost hunt or investigate. You should not limit yourself to only obvious places, spirits can be anywhere. At all times: Be adventurous. Be courteous. Be safe.

* Cemeteries - The age of the cemetery doesn't matter but the older it is, the more time it has had to accumulate restless spirits. Why cemeteries? Well there are theories such as they are portals to the other side or that some spirits are drawn to their former bodies.

* Schools - Schools and former sites of schools may have the build up of psychic energies and imprints of all the highly emotional events that have transpired there.

* Theaters - The actors have run the gambit of human emotions inside the walls of a theater plus many have interesting hauntings attached to them.

* Battlefields - These are great locations. Many violent deaths in one area will often hold some spirits and psychic energy.

* Churches - There is a long history worshippers returning to the church at which they worshipped. They may be looking for the salvation they were promised and cannot find.

* Hotels/Motels/Boarding houses - Many dark dealings and highly emotional events take place in these rooms.

* Historic Locations - Many historic buildings, because of their age, have had more time to have spirits attach to them. These buildings and areas are often open to the public and can give you a easy place to start. Many even have known histories of hauntings. You may be able to gain access after hours by speaking with the caretakers.

Cameras.

* For 35mm cameras ; Open your film and load your camera after walking around the location for about 20 minutes first.

* For 35mm cameras ; Use at least 400 speed 35 mm film. 400 and 800 speeds work the best. Black and White film also works well.

* For 35mm cameras ; If you are an experienced photographer, you may want to try infrared film which also has had excellent results in the past.

* Make sure you note any other lights in the area so when you view your developed pictures you will not think a street light is an orb.

* Make sure you clean your camera's lens regularly.

* No smoking at the location, this can appear like mist on the photos so you don't want to contaminate your evidence.

* Watch for dust or dirt being stirred up in the area you are photographing. They can give false positive pictures.

* All long hair should be tied back or under a hat, again this is to eliminate any false positive pictures and to give the skeptics less ammunition.

* Remove or tie up any camera straps so you don't take a picture of that, it looks like a vortex when photographed.

* Don't bother with your cameras viewfinder. Hold the camera out in front of you and aim at the area you want to take a picture of. Many newer digital cameras do not even come with view finders. This also helps in cold weather by keeping your camera away from your breath.

* Watch for reflective surfaces and make notes of them. The flash reflected off shiny surfaces such as windows, high gloss painted walls, polished tombstones, etc. can look light an orb or other anomaly. Make note of street lights and any other light source that may appear on the film.

* Let fellow investigators know when you are taking a photo so you don't get double flashes, and anyone using a night scope can look away. If you think you have a double flash photo or any other false positive, log the picture number so you can exclude that photo from the batch when they are developed. Night scope operators can get eye damage if they are looking at a flash through the scope - this is important.

* In cold weather be conscious of your breath so you don't photograph it. I will look like ectoplasm mist. If you think you may have, log that picture number and discard it when you develop the pictures.

* Many people like to ask the spirit if they can take their picture. It can't hurt.

* Take pictures anywhere and everywhere. If you feel some thing or someone that another investigator feels, take a picture. If you think you saw something, take a picture. Take photos whenever you get a positive readings on any piece of equipment.

* Sometimes you will see an orb, mist or sparkles in your flash or others flashes, take more pictures right there, you may be near a spirit.

* You may only get about 1- 2 pictures for every 50 you take, that's about the average, so don't get discouraged. We have been at active paranormal sites where we didn't get any.

* Don't pay for fancy developing , you can get them developed anywhere. Just let them developers know to process and print every photo. We use the local discount stores photo service.

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