Paranormal Investigations

What exactly is a paranormal investigation? Paranormal investigations or “ghost hunting” as some may call is a process of seeking out and investigating locations that are allegedly haunted by ghosts. A paranormal investigation team y will attempt to seek and collect evidence that supports a haunting in a location with a variety of equipment. Some equipment that may be used by a paranormal investigation team are the following: the EMF meter; digital thermometer; handheld and static digital video cameras, such as thermo graphic (or infrared) and night vision; digital audio recorder; and computers.
Each piece of equipment used in a paranormal investigation play a crucial part to the gathering of evidence. The EMF meter is used to detect possibly unexplained fluctuations in electromagnetic fields. It is said that spirits disrupt this field in such a way that you can tell one is present by higher than normal readings with this meter. Digital recorders are also very useful in helping catch EVP(electronic voice phenomenon.) Electronic voice phenomenon is the recordings of voice or voice-like sounds that are not audible to the human ear. In the paranormal world EVPs are believed to be the voices of the dead trying to speak to us. A third crucial piece of equipment during an investigation is a camera or a video camera. Both are used to catch evidence that the human eye may not see during an investigation. Digital thermometers are used to capture dramatic changes in temperature. When a ghost is present it is believed that a drastic drop in temperature will occur. Lastly computers are important to an investigation because evidence such as pictures, videos, and EVPs can be uploaded to it to find evidence that may have not been seen at the haunted location.

Now that we know what a paranormal investigation is and a little about the equipment used, we can learn about the steps in an paranormal investigation. In an investigation first decide who will work each piece of equipment and divide into teams if necessary. Once you enter the site, ask for a blessing or protection for the duration of the investigation. Now walk around the area to get a feel of the surroundings. You can begin setting up equipment such as tripods, cameras, and motion detectors. Make note of any area that will give false photos or readings. Then begin to start getting photographs and recordings. Be sure to note anything unusual that happens, especially meter and temperature readings, visual sightings and strange sounds. Also make notes of any feelings or emotions you feel that may be odd or out of place. When you choose a spot make sure to rotate to different spots to be able to gather more possible evidence. When you are done have everyone meet in one spot and ask the human spirits here not to follow you home and to remain here. Tell the others they must remain here in the name of God. It can save you problems down the road, and doesn’t hurt doing it. After the group leaves an investigation they usually meet to analyze evidence and compare experiences they had in each spot of the location.

What Is A Ghost?

Before anyone can start investigating for ghosts, one must know what a ghost is and the different types. Let's start with the basic description. Merriam-Webster defines a ghost as "a disembodied soul; the soul of a dead person believed to be an inhabitant of the unseen world or to appear to the living in bodily likeness". This is a pretty basic, but self-explanatory description. There is so much more to a ghost than that though.



People pass on at different times, ages and ways. Many leave this world knowing exactly how they are going to go, whether it be am illness or just old age creeping in. These people normally do not become the ghosts that we know. They have had their time for closure, and are normally at peace with the world before they die. There they can go to their rightful place and their sould be a rest. Unfortunately, the world is not always as kind to everyone. Many people go to quickly. Therfore, they don't realize they are dead. Some may realize they have died, but didn't have the time for closure that some do. This is an unfortunate occurance that can lead to hauntings.



Just as ghosts are, hauntings have their different forms. The two different types of hauntings are residual and intelligent. Although they can produce the same evidence, they are vastly different. A residual haunting is something that occurs normally, maybe not everyday, but can occur at a certain time of the day or night. Think of this type of haunting as a tape recorder playing the same senario over and over again. The ghosts don't realize they are dead. They are going about their business as they would if they were still alive in their time period. They never harm or interact. Many occurances that can happen are footsteps and door shutting and opening.

Intelligent hauntings are just what they seem. The ghost are able to interact with the living. They can communicate and make the living aware that they are there. This is where you can get your best evidence. While doing EVP sessions, which I'll discuss at a later time, you can ask a question and they will anser you with a response that is appropriate to what you just asked. If they have enough energy to do so, they can appear by themselves or even on command. They can move and hide things, touch you, talk to you and even make you feel their emotions. In places of great tragedy, they can make you feel the sadness or anger they felt at the time and even to this day.



Ghosts are nothing to be labeled and defined as something simple and basic, they are far from that. What you have to remember is that they were alive and human just like you and me. They still can feel the sadness, despair or anger they felt in this world. Or they can go about their way as if nothing in the world has changed at all. You'll need to keep these things in mind when you go out and start investigating. This will help with your capturing of evidence and helping to prove that their is a world beyond ours filled with people just like you and me.