On a recent business trip to St Louis Missouri I was able to check off a couple places from my bucket list. St Louis was an amazing city and I would recommend to anyone to visit there. The first stop was the infamous Exorcist house. This is the house that was part of the original exorcism story that inspired the book and movie. This was the home of the possessed boy's aunt. The actual exorcism, as I understand it, took place in a catholic hospital not far away. Still it was worth a stop. The next stop was the Lemp Mansion. What a beautiful building. We did do a ghost walk that night of the surrounding neighborhood and the Lemp Brewery. We were even able to go into the basement where the sealed entrance is to the Cherokee Caves. There was a distinct difference in energy down there. If you are ever out that way look up the St Louis Paranormal Research Society. They run several tours and they do an amazing job with the history and they have some great photographic pieces of evidence. Their website is www.seeaghost.com. We also ate lunch at the Lemp Mansion on the following Friday. The inside is as amazing as the outside. The food was delicious and the service was excellent. They also do their own public investigations there but I wasn't in town long enough to make it to one.
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What an amazing place. Gettysburg did not disappoint. I did not do any investigations on this trip because I wanted to soak in the history and energy of the place and boy what an energy it had. Even though you are taught in school about how many lives where lost over the course of those few days, it does not fully sink in until you visit there. We visited the National Cemetery where Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg address. I am not ashamed to admit that I got a little emotional. Looking around at all of the stones marked only with a number or the word unknown certainly puts things in perspective. The amount of men that gave their lives, on both sides, to preserve their way of life or to stand up for their beliefs is astonishing, and then to not even be recognized for their sacrifice, is emotional at best. There is a heaviness of sadness and grief that hangs in the air across most of the land there. You can feel it, especially once you step on the battlefield. That's not to say that Gettysburg is a depressing place, its quite the opposite, bustling and vibrant, but underneath it all you can still feel the grief of loss. We only spent a couple days there and I learned quickly that it was not nearly enough time to see everything. The museum and battlefield alone will take you all day. While there we stayed at the historic Baladerry Inn, which was built in 1812. It served as a field hospital during the civil war, as many large houses in the area did. I was fortunate enough to stay in the original section of the house right above the dinning room that was used as the operation room during the war. Our room was right beside of the Primrose room which is said to be the most haunted room there. Claims include that of a soldier that occasionally sits or lays on the bed, especially next to the female guests. We also visited places in town such as the Jennie Wade house and the David Wills house. Both of which where amazing. There was also a great store called the Gettysburg Ghost Exchange. The person that was working there that day, I think he was the owner, was so nice and knowledgeable of all of the equipment. I ended up purchasing a REM pod and SB-7 box from him. He took the time to explain it to me and demonstrate it for me as well. He also recommended the best ghost tours in town. A word of caution, there are some legitimate public ghost hunts available there and there are some that are merely tourist traps. Do your research before you spend the money or stop by the Gettysburg Ghost Exchange and talk to the guy in there. He will lead you in the right direction. I can see Gettysburg as a place that I will return to time and time again. I can't wait for the next visit and a chance to actually do some paranormal research.
I have been trained in this field for 7 years now, but those of you who know me know I've been a researcher of it for far longer than that. I grew up in a house that I believe was haunted and my research of the paranormal really started back then, which is now 30 years ago. In that time I've seen quite the evolution of this field. We went from not being able to speak of our experiences, to it becoming a conversation starter and mainstream media. The first few years after I really started doing investigations of various places, there seemed to be a collective curiosity, a need to understand and learn. It felt as if we were all there for the same purpose, the same common goal. We all had some sort of experience and we were all just trying to make sense of it and it was as much about bonding and support as it was finding answers. It saddens me to see what this field is becoming. Groups no longer work together for a common cause and instead they are competing against each other. It has become more about thrill seekers searching for an experience and less about finding the reasons for the experience. We now have public investigations, that, for a price, they will take you into a reportedly haunted place as a large group, tell you scary stories and say that every time a light blinks that it must be a spirit. I've been on some of theses public investigations that fell nothing shy of a three ring circus. It amazes me and saddens me at the same time. People seem to have lost sight of the fact that these "spirits" where real people with real lives and should be treated with the same respect as you would treat anyone else. They should, under no circumstance, be treated as side shows. Ghost hunting is big business now and like everything else in this world, the almighty dollar has blinded the people whom I think started out with good intentions, but lost their morals somewhere along the way. Now I'm not saying all public ghost hunts are bad. There are still a small group of people out there who are doing amazing things. They are using the money raised to save historic buildings and landmarks or give back to charities. I've found that most of these organizations are sincere in what they are doing, because most of them haven't lost sight of why they are doing it.
I enjoying traveling to different places and I tend to look up the haunted history of every place that I go. It is inevitable that you will find at least one public ghost walk or public ghost hunt in just about every major tourist city in the U.S.. This is where I seem to find the most problems. I don't have too much of a problem with ghost walks, these are theatrical by nature and you know they are purely for entertainment purposes. You are simply walking around a historic district while being told the history of the place. The only problem I have with some of them is that they don't always get the history correct. Sometimes it borders on made up. Other than that, they can be quite fascinating and fun to walk around at night in a safe environment. What I am starting to see more and more of are so called paranormal groups who have decided they either no longer want to work their day jobs or they need a side job and this looks like a good way to make a few bucks. Now, done properly and with good intentions, there is nothing wrong with that, but what I have seen is anything but good intentions. They are opening up ghost hunting businesses, where you can come and buy tickets and go on an investigation with them, they'll even provide the equipment for you to use. A lot of times they will have either bought a historic "haunted" house or they will partner with a "haunted" location so that they are the only team allowed to investigate. If you are looking for excitement and entertainment then these are the places for you. If you are looking for ghost, these are not the places to find them. What I found is that these are the groups that only care about how much money they can make. I have been to about 5 of these events across 4 different states and they are all the same. There are generally so many people there that there is no way you would catch any evidence even if there was any and in all cases most of the participants where allowed to consume alcohol. This is another soap box that I won't get up on right now, but it creates a dangerous situation for everyone involved. Remember, most of these buildings are abandoned, without electricity and they all have several floors with dark narrow staircases. That's just one of many scenarios of danger that would require you to be alert, not intoxicated. In every one of the places I went to, on these types of hunts, there were at least two intoxicated individuals and in one case there where four. In one instance we were on the fourth floor of an abandoned warehouse where we were only allowed to stand to one side because the other side had collapsed to the floor beneath us. Two of the intoxicated individuals kept stumbling over to the collapsed side and saying they forgot they couldn't go over there. Not only could they have plunged to their deaths, they could have taken us with them if the whole floor collapsed. Keep in mind when you go on these hunts, they all make you sign a waiver of liability. So you waive your right to sue due to their or someone else's negligence. There were actually four intoxicated people on that tour and it was like trying to herd cats just moving room to room and floor to floor. It was not enjoyable to anyone. The guides that were supposed to be taking care of things where making it worse. The one guy was thoroughly enjoying the drunk girls rubbing all over him and so he didn't bother to do anything about it. Then there is the blatant misuse of the equipment. I have watched time after time, guides manipulating the equipment to go off because it was getting too boring. To the unsuspecting person you would never know, but for someone who knows how the meters work it's easy to spot. I even called them out on it a time or two and usually I get a condescending "oh, you must be part of a team". Although I am disappointed by what things seem to becoming, I will continue to go on public hunts because I do not believe in trespassing and it is the only way to get your foot into the door of some of these places. I do, however, want to send a word of caution to anyone interested in doing a true investigation. They have become few and far between and unfortunately this circus act seems to be becoming the norm. It is unfortunate that the evolution of this field could become "for entertainment purposes only". True, investigating can be boring, it is after all mostly sitting in an empty room talking to something you can't see or hear just hoping for a response. I understand that we are in an era where most people's only exposure to the paranormal is through a television show. Most of the excitement you see on TV is the best compilation of 3 days worth of footage edited down to 30 minutes of show. So naturally, when all you are ever exposed to is what you see on television, then you think all investigations should be that way and conducted in the manner of whoever's group you are watching. So we have come to a place in time where patience no longer exists and if people aren't fed stories and see flashing lights, then they don't think they've gotten their money's worth and they won't return. If you have ever had a true experience then you know that is doesn't happen on cue. It usually happens when you least expect it and at the most random times and as soon as you think you are going to "catch" it, it disappears. There are no guarantees that you will have any kind of experience in any of these places, but when you go in large groups of unruly people, your chances just dropped from slim to none. Find a reputable place that is well organized and has clear rules of conduct. Find out where the proceeds are going and make sure they are going to a good cause. Find a place where the people are volunteers and they are doing it because of their passion for the field or place. Those will be your best bets for a good experience. I will continue to give public hunts a try in hopes that this trend is a fleeting one and it was just a few bad apples and not the whole bunch. So far the three major places that I can honestly recommend as good apples are St. Albans in Radford Va, Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston WVa and Belle Grove Plantaion in King George Va. This is a trip that I waited 14 years to make. I have been a fan of the show Ghost Hunters from the very beginning and in 2004 they did a somewhat controversial episode from Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. I was trained by the TAPS Academy so this place held a special place in my heart. I even bought the hat that said "Dude Run" (which I was going to bring and take a picture with but I forgot to pack it). Several other shows have also done investigations there and found many more bits of evidence. Finally I got to go there on June 28, 2018. I did not do an investigation because I was only in Philly for a few hours, so I did the historical tour. This place is massive and absolutely amazing, and if you ever get the chance to go I would highly recommend it. It takes about 2 hours to get through the whole place and that was moving at a pretty good pace. If you took your time and really spent time at each exhibit it could easily take 3-4 hours. I can only imagine what it would be like at night to be in there. I do plan on making another trip to Philadelphia and possibly doing an investigation.
Lizzie Borden took an ax, gave her mother 40 wacks.... Well you know the rest. The Lizzie Borden house was amazing. Our tour guide was Sue who was recently featured on Kindred Spirits. She was extremely knowledgeable of the history of not only the house, but of the trial and the town itself. They actually just filmed that episode a couple moths before we where there. This place is just amazing. The stories of the criminal investigation alone will draw you in and the mystery of the unsolved murders, but the energy in this place is just electric. My personal experience was the strongest in the attic bedroom that used to be the maids old room. While up there I got extremely dizzy and nauseous and it stayed with me for the rest of the tour. It wasn't until I stepped outside that it went away. Later in the gift shop I learned that if the house is going to affect you it will more than likely do so in that room. I would love to go back and actually spend a night or two there.
This fall I fulfilled a 10 year dream of going to Salem, Mass, also know as the Witch City and the filming location of one of my favorite films Hocus Pocus. I decided that if you were going to do the spookiest town, then you should do it at the spookiest time of the year, so I decided to go the weekend before Halloween. Salem does Halloween right. They have a month long celebration called Halloween Happenings that all culminate on Halloween night. If you don't like crowds this time is not for you. It is swarming with people around that time of the year. If you want to enjoy Salem when it's quiet go any other time besides the month of October. With that being said there where a lot of things I did not get to do. I did not tour any of the museums but one. I did however, get to go into all of the witch shops, which were amazing. If you are a Harry Potter fan, you must go and see Wynott's Wands. It is set up to look exactly like Olivander's and yes you get to choose a wand. They have hundreds of wands that are hand made right there. All of the witch shops such as Crow Haven Corner, Hex, Omen and of course the shop of Salem's most famous witch Lori Cabot, Enchanted, were amazing but the best by far was The Coven's Cottage. It looks as if you stepped into a actual witch's cottage. I was in love with that store. As if that wasn't enough Salem is home to some of the countries oldest cemeteries. One of which even has a person that was on the Mayflower buried there. There is so much history there that I encourage any history buff to visit. There is also a lot of death. Unfortunately the witch trials was not the first blood shed that took place on that land. Some go so far as to say that the land was cursed by the original natives and it was that curse that sparked the trials. There was bloodshed a plenty before the trials ever began with the maritime history. There is an energy in the land that you can feel when you step on it. There is no mistaking that spirits walk there, you can feel them all around. Although I am unsure of my linage in connection to the witch trials, something felt like coming home to me. Especially in the weeks leading up to the trip, I had an almost overwhelming sense of going home. Now keep in mind I was born and raised in southern Virginia and that's as far north as I have ever traveled, but I just couldn't shake the sense that I was going back to where I belonged, back home. The feeling escaped me once I got there, I believe because of the overwhelming amount of people. There were so many people there that you had to stand in line just to walk down the street. It was trying, at best, for highly sensitive empath to handle. I would like to go back when its not so busy and explore that feeling a little further. Until then the Witch City will leave and indullable mark on my memory and my heart.
I wasn't really sure what I wanted to title this, one either etiquette or organization. I went with the latter but perhaps I should have just called it pet peeves. If you are organizing an event, for goodness sake, ORGANIZE it. I work a desk job for a highly regulated office and industry, my job hinges on organization. Perhaps that's why its a pet peeve of mine. I have been to some very well organized events, St Albans I'm giving you props here. You knew what was going on, when it was going on and where it was going on. Then there are the not so organized ones. The ones that you are all but certain a couple of people just sat down one night and said lets have an event and invite a lot of people but just go with the flow. It reminds me of the quote by Andy Hunt "only dead fish go with the flow". Not only is that frustrating for the attendees but its frustrating for the vendors and volunteers as well. I went to an event where the disorganization started at the door and ran rampant from there. The ticket person didn't know how to take my cash. It was cash, you just put it in the "cash box" and give me a ticket. It took him five minutes to figure that out while I stood there and waited. Once inside there were supposed to be guest speakers, however, there was no schedule, no list of events posted anywhere, online or off. When I asked one of the volunteers, they had no idea and sent me to someone else. I asked three different people and no one knew. I could clearly see the rooms that were equipped with chairs and projectors, but no one knew who was using them or when. There where tours offered, however, each time I showed up at the spot where they were to start, no one was there. I never did see anyone on a tour, probably because there was never a tour guide. Later I learned that the "tour guide" was one of the people I frequently saw walking around socializing. There was also supposed to be several groups and vendors present but only three showed up. More than likely because they didn't know where to be and at what time to be there. This is only one example of many event that I've been to that seemed to be put on at the last minute by very inexperienced people. Surely there had to be one organized person in your circle of friends that you could enlist the help of. I've been to events that where supposed to start at one time and end at another, only to start and hour late and end two hours early and never actually hit all the hot spots. That's very frustrating especially when you paid for the time and didn't get the full experience. At least the other example was free, so I got what I paid for on that one. Alcohol: under no circumstance should alcohol be involved, and especially when it comes to the people who are in charge of the event. Yes I've actually been to events where the "organizers" where knocking on a good buzz before we even got there and out of control by the end of it. Alcohol should never be involved period when it comes to investigating. How are you going to be taken seriously by anyone when you're three sheets to the wind yourself. We already have to deal with skeptics that call us crazy, we don't need to give them ammunition. While we are on pet peeves, oh my goddess, FLASHLIGHTS. These things annoy the piss out of me sometimes. It takes anywhere from 30 - 45 minutes for your eyes to acclimate to the darkness initially. If someone shines a light in your eyes it take 3 - 4 minutes to get your vision back. Now imagine if that happened walking down a flight of stairs in an old building or stumbling over tree trunks in a forest. Its not pleasant or safe. Please Please Please if you are leading a group, have a quick discussion on how to use a flashlight. Most people don't use them very often and don't understand the etiquette. You do not point it up and in someone's eyes, please turn it off when you get to where you are going, and if someone says I think I see something don't turn it on and whip it around. I have been blinded so many times by flashlights and it can be very dangerous. One night we where in a forest that was reported to have children haunting it. We where getting some great activity and EVPs. I was staring off into the woods and I thought I saw a small child peaking out from behind a tree. I stared for a while then whispered to my friend "do you see anything behind that tree", the lady behind me swung around with her flashlight and turned it on and said where. Well of course whatever was there disappeared. Think about it, if apparitions appear in the form of shadows or mist, what happens when you shine a light on them. We use IR lights for a reason. Cell phones are the other thing. The backlight on those things are amazingly bright in the pitch black dark. I have been on public investigations where someone decided to use the voice recorder on their cell phone, but instead of just turning it on and letting it roll, they had to sit there and stare at it the whole time just waiting to see a blip show up, and each time it timed out and dimmed down they would bring it back up. It was like a dying strobe light. It drove my eyes nuts. There is no way they could have seen where they were going. Then there are the people who just don't want to be there so they play games on their phone all night with the volume up. Yes, I know some people use fancy little aps on their phones to investigate and there is nothing wrong with that, but if you are sitting in a small room with 15 other people, have some courtesy and be aware of how bright your backlight is. You CAN adjust it. Another subject that gets me, seeking fame. So many people out there just want to be on TV. Yes we all watch the same shows, me included, but what most people fail to recognize is that those people aren't rich. I've met just about all of them, from all of the shows, you know what they all have in common? A job, they all still work a job. They all struggle just like we do. They are passionate about what they believe and that passion is what got them recognized, not some amateur video their friend produced of them doing an investigation. They certainly didn't get there by acting like they where smarter or better than anyone else. We are all discovering this together, we need to work together and push this field forward instead of competing with each other over it. There is no room in research for drama.
Today I'd like to talk about paranormal conventions or Paracons. If you ever have a chance to go to one of these, go. They are the best places for information sharing. I have been to several and I love every one of them. You meet the most amazing people and everyone, from home town celebrity to TV star, are always so friendly. Besides the great networking, newbies and veterans of the field, can learn so many new things. This is the place where I feel the most at home, surrounded by hundreds of like minded people. Knowing that nothing is too strange or out there for any of them, most of them will look at you with a knowing look and an experience all their own to share. It really is an amazing community to be a part of. I would say my best advice for anyone who is interested in the paranormal or investigations is to find as many conventions as possible and go to them all. You will learn invaluable information at them. Also, if they offer an investigation of a place as well, jump on it. You will learn more by investigating with seasoned professionals than you ever will from books, the internet or TV. These are golden opportunities to learn from people who have been there, done that and probably have some really great stories to tell you about it. I'll give you a few tips I've picked up along the way. Tip 1, wear whatever you want. I know that doesn't seem like a tip but I work a normal 8-5 office job and I really get anxiety over what to wear sometimes. I think of myself as a closet goth. I love ravens, owls and moons but they tend to frown upon me wearing those things to the office (believe me I've tried). So I tend to forget sometimes that all the wonderful spooky things that I've pushed to the back of my closet or jewelry box can be dusted off for occasions such as this. I have also showed up in full on Tommy Hilfiger and Sperrys and no one cares. Seriously these people have seen some shit, so if you manage to find an outfit that makes them look twice at you then you've really accomplished something so don't sweat it, wear what feels right. As a side tip, if you really just want to blend in, then a black tee shirt is all you need to do the job. Tip 2, bring money if you can. All of those fabulous speakers have fabulous booths full of things you will wish you had money for. Buy the books, buy the readings, buy the handmade stuff. Most of the speakers are there voluntarily and this is how they pay for their gas and room, so support small business and shop the booths. Plus a lot of those books have a ton of more great advice and information in them. Tip 3, bring a friend or even better bring someone who has never done this before or a skeptic. Watch as their eyes and mind open to the possibilities. I love taking people that have never investigated or just barely know what the paranormal is. They start off kind of bored and with arms crossed but as the day goes on you can actually see their mind open to other possibilities and now you've bonded on a whole new level. If you can't find a friend go anyway, there are a ton of friendly people there and you just may leave with a new friend for next time. Tip 4, pay attention to the schedule. If a convention starts at 10 AM and you have a 4 hour drive, check to see who is speaking at that time. Unless its noted that you must be there on time, you don't have to be there at 10 if the first person you want to hear starts at 12. Trust me by 7 or 8 that evening you will thank me for not having to get up at the ass crack of dawn when you didn't need to. Tip 5, if it requires an overnight stay check out the other haunts of the area. Most times there are several locations that are haunted in that area, go check those out too, or check out the local attractions. I always Google an area before I go there to see what else is around. There's nothing worse than coming back from a trip and someone says you should have checked out the awesome theme park that was there or the oldest mansion in the world that was just up the street. Do your research and check out what else the town has to offer. I love antique shopping, so I find an antique store in every town that I go to and that has become my souvenir shopping. Tip 6, bring food and water. Most of the conventions are held at old historic buildings or outside where air conditioning and electricity are not available. Sometimes there are vendors selling snacks and drinks but I like to come prepared just in case, plus it saves money for those fabulous things at those fabulous booths. Tip 7, bring a notebook and take lots of notes. Trust me, by the time you get home and 6 lectures later, you have forgotten what you heard in the first one. Those are my tips for now. Go, enjoy and make new friends.
In my previous blog I talked about not going into an investigation guns blazing. In this one I'm going to try to go over a few of the preliminary steps you should take before going into a haunted house. I am by no means an expert on this but I have shadowed many groups on investigations and gotten a chance to see what does and doesn't work. I have also found some of my own techniques that do and do not work. I am simply sharing my opinion here and I encourage you to form your own opinion based off of your experiences. Paranormal investigation is not an exact science, there are several things we can all agree upon and several things we do not, but none of us are right or wrong. First things first, if you are investigation a place of residence for the occupants then there are specific procedures that should take place. If you are going on a fun hunt then most of those procedures are not necessary. I will concentrate on a residential investigation. First what you want to do is sit down with the occupants and get their stories and their experiences. You can either record this on your digital recorder or write them down (a pad and pencil are your best friend). I encourage each of my members to keep an open mind but at the same time check for holes in the story and check to see if it makes sense to you or if there is some other psychological explanation for the occurrences. One of the things I always tell people is that the dead don't scare me, the living do. I will say that 95% of the people I meet are genuine, but oh that other 5%. Some people have simply watched too many movies or too much television and every bump, scratch, or moan is paranormal, when in reality its just the pipes, mice, or the wind. This brings me to the second thing, enter with a healthy skepticism. Not everything is paranormal but if you go in there thinking that it is, you are going to scare yourself and the occupants half to death. If you hear a noise try to find out where its coming from. Do a walk around of the property, are there trees against the house, are there drafty windows, do you see any signs of where rodents could have gotten in, do the pipes look stable, is there faulty wiring. I'm telling you from experience, shady contractors do some shady things and you don't know how many of them worked on your 100+ year old house before you bought it. Check for an explanation of everything that they person tells you, when you are left with no explanation, then investigate it as if it where paranormal. Next take base line readings of everything, inside and out. What is the ambient temperature, identify electrical objects that give off high EMF, trace how far out from that object the EMF field goes. Check relative humidity, find out the moon phase, is the wind blowing, is it raining all of these things make a difference. Ask the occupants if they remember the weather on the nights that things happened. Have them keep a journal and record all of these things to help find an explanation. Keep a pen and pad with you at all times and write down every little variance that seems significant, and some that don't. Research, Research, Research. Go to the town records hall and find out all you can about the property. Trace the property records back to previous owners. Once you have the previous owners names trace those by to birth, marriage, and death certificates. Go through old library news paper files and see if you can find any news stories on these people. Talk to previous occupants and ask them if they had any experiences. The more research you can do the validation it will give any evidence that you find. The next one, and this is the most important, ground and center yourself and put up a spiritual wall of protection before you ever step a foot into the dwelling. Which ever religion you belong to or believe in, find a prayer or ritual for protection and use it. If you are going to bless the dwelling or the occupants be sure to ask them what their beliefs are and respect them. Also as a preliminary exercise you will want to double check all of your equipment and batteries. Spirits drain batteries quickly so keep spares on hand. Keep in mind too, that some batteries, even brand new ones, are faulty. Extreme heat and extreme cold will also drain batteries quicker than normal so document your temperatures regularly. If you experience battery drain, replace the batteries and see if it happens again. If an entity has learned it can drain your batteries then it will continue to do so. So, if it happens again and again then you have something. If it doesn't happen again then chances are you had faulty batteries or the external circumstances caused them to drain prematurely (remember not everything is paranormal). One trick I learned from another group was to always take a group photo just before investigating. They did this and when they kept getting strange shadow people in their photos they where able to match that shadow back up to one of their members by matching what they where wearing (in this case it was a distinctive hat). Remember to always look for an explanation and recreate scenes over an over again, this helps you to find the true nature of the problem and validates the evidence that you have left that has no explanation. These are by no means all of the preliminary steps that should be taken, and I am sure I have left out a few but they are a good start. As you can see these things take time and you may spend one entire day just on preliminaries, but it will be worth the effort in the end. Now as far as a fun hunt goes the only thing you really need to do is to make sure you are protected spiritually and that your equipment is working properly. Keep extra batteries and never go alone. Besides the spiritual possibilities, if you go alone you could slip and fall or badly injure yourself and cell phones have a nasty way of not working when we need them most. If you are alone then you have no way to get help and a bad situation could turn worse quickly. So always at least stay in pairs or with in yelling distance.
Today's rants and ravings is going to be about going in guns blazing. It's one of my pet peeves really. In today's TV industry there are several shows dedicated to paranormal investigation. I love them all, but they are far from accurate. Yes, there are true elements to them, but they are embellished for entertainment as well. What you don't see on television are all of the procedures that should be done before hand. I met with Ghost Hunter's Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson at a convention a few years back and one of the points they tried to get across was; that what you see on the show is basically the thirty minute highlight reel from three to four days of all night investigations. Ghost don't work on cue. Many of today's would be investigators think that all you have to do is grab a digital recorder, a camera or camcorder, and maybe a mel meter and just run into a building and start asking questions. That's really not how it works and can be quite dangerous. Yes investigating can have it's exciting moments but for the most part you are just sitting in a dark room for hours talking to yourself. They also don't show all of the precautions that should be taken ahead of time and the pre-investigation check lists that should be done. There are tons of things that must be done before even entering the building. This is where I usually lose most people. They don't want to sit for hours and fill out paperwork or do base line readings, they want to get to the exciting stuff. Oh and don't even mention the research, you'll see more eyes roll back into heads than at a zombie convention. The point is there are procedures to be followed and if you want your evidence to have a shred of validation, you will follow the procedures. I will get into the step by step process in a later post. Now there are things that I call fun hunts. Fun hunts are when you are investigating an old building or historic sight (with permission of course) just for the fun of it. This is the time to experiment with new equipment or use new techniques and when there isn't as much preparation needed. Although if you are testing new equipment or techniques I would suggest keeping notes to help back your theory. But, these are the haunts that the evidence that is gathered, will only serve as validation for you or your team, not something you would present to others and especially not something you would present to the owner or current resident. These are the hunts that you can go into somewhat guns blazing and it not be that big of a deal. Just remember that at all times make sure you have spiritually protected yourself (that's another thing they don't show you on TV, but I promise you they all do it). Sometimes people get so excited to go in and get started that they forget, if there is something in there, it can and it will attach itself to you. You must put up the walls to keep it at a safe distance. Some of the strongest mediums have been taken over by something and could not shake it. Imagine if you walked into something like that, something that an experienced spiritual psychic medium with plenty of knowledge couldn't even overcome. Especially if you are new to the field with little knowledge of things, if you walk into a situation where there is something strong that is beyond your comprehension or ability to fight then you have just opened up a can of worms that you can not close. That can of worms will then take over your life and cause some serious damage all because you wanted to have a little fun.
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AuthorLead investigator for Archivees
September 2018
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