SEEKING SPIRITS by Jason Hawes & Grant Wilson & Michael Jan Friedman

Author:Jason Hawes & Grant Wilson & Michael Jan Friedman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 2009-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

Ghost Hunter’s Manual: Advance Research

There’s no debate among paranormal investigators that research is part of the job. For some of us, who like nothing better than rolling up our sleeves and delving into dusty old books and microfiche, it may be the best part of the job. The question, when it comes to research, isn’t whether to do it. It’s when.

If you’re simply hunkering down in an old graveyard with your camera and a recording device, looking for ghostly images and EVPs, you need to do some research in advance. Otherwise, you won’t know where to go or when to do so. But if you are involved in a full-fledged investigation, in which clients are depending on you for help, you need to do your research after the fact.

People always ask us why we don’t research a place before we embark on an investigation. The reason is that we try to be as scientific as possible. If we have preconceived notions about a place, it will skew the way we approach it—not to mention our experiences there.

When you visit a venue, whether it’s a house or anything else, you want to start off with a clean slate. You don’t want to let the stories about the place poke holes in your objectivity. For instance, if you read that a little girl was killed in the home a hundred years earlier, you’ll have that little girl in the back of your mind as you proceed with your investigation. Every time something happens, whether it’s a knocking sound or the appearance of a suspicious shadow, you’ll be tempted to say it’s caused by the spirit of the little girl.

You may even overlook legitimate paranormal events because your mind is focused elsewhere. For example, if you know a man died in a certain closet you’ll probably concentrate your investigation on that closet and be less vigilant when it comes to the rest of the home. But if your efforts are untainted by prior knowledge, you may find that another room is way more active than the closet you read about.

Rather than learning too much about a place beforehand, log every event and observation in the course of your investigation for later study. Be as thorough as possible. Then, after you’ve collected your data, you can research the history of the venue and compare your notes with whatever you find.

Not only has your data-gathering been free of undue influences, but you also get the satisfaction of seeing your observations and theories line up with established fact. This is a good way to measure your capabilities as an investigator. If what you’ve found aligns with your research, you’re on the right track.

Clearly, it’s better to embark on an investigation with an open mind. However, there is one bit of research you may want to do before arriving at a client’s home. You may want to know something about that person, without prying too much. Then you can more reliably determine if the problem is what’s taking place in the person’s home or what’s taking place in his or her head.

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