|
|
| Before
the hunt Locations You have to decide where you want to investigate. Most people start with cemeteries. Most people are dead a whole week before they are buried. Cemeteries are a place of rest. Why bother those who are resting? Playhouses are good. Actors are constantly letting go of a lot of raw emotion on stage, and if you've ever been involved with the theater, you know that it's in your blood a VERY hard thing to get out of your system. I'm thinking that that idea still applies after death. Public libraries, and historical buildings are good too.
Just because a place looks old and beat up, doesn't mean that it's haunted. It could just mean that the people that own it are slobs. Don't waste your time. You'll want to get as much information about a location as you can before you attempt an investigation or a hunt. Go to the library. Ask questions and hear peoples stories. If your research tells you that nothing interesting happened there, whats the point? Never go alone This should be self explanatory. There's safety in numbers. Even if you're just interviewing people or getting permission in person, it's always best to have a friend with you. It's not just about having someone there to call 911 if you fall and hurt yourself. Like I said, there are a lot of deranged people that WILL take advantage of someone by themselves. Inspect The Location During daylight hours, you'll want to get a look at the place that you'll be investigating. There may be hazards that you can trip over in the dark and get hurt, so seeing these things in the day will help you later. Also, you may want to take the time to map out the location. You may decide to take an EMF(electromagnetic field) meter so you can map out energy fields as well. Look for power lines, wires or other things. Another good reason to map it out is so you can decide where to set up your equipment, and make a game plan with your team. Be prepared Have your teams phone numbers, and maps of the area if it's a place that you can get lost. Also, you want to make sure that you bring enough supplies to last you the night. Bring more than enough. There are many things that are used on a hunt that go away as you use them. These things include, batteries, video, and audio cassette tapes, computer discs, and munchies. (Never litter your wrappers.) Spray Dookie For your own sake, for EVERYONES sake, go to the bathroom, and handle your bid-ness BEFORE going on an investigation. For the most part, there are no facilities in the field, and you're gonna have to hold it for a LONG time. That is, unless you want to risk clogging the clients toilet with a watermelon, and messing up their bathroom, not to mention stinking up the investigation. The Investigation
No Drugs Or Alcohol In the picture, above, you should see smoke that looks like a possible ghost. Drugs, smoke, and ghost hunting do not mix. This should be a no-brainer. Wait, it is. If you use drugs or alcohol on an investigation then you have no brain. Take Notes Always have a watch (Synchronized with your teams watches) and a pen and paper handy. Take notes on EVERYTHING! If something happens, you'll want to note the time and what went down. If a crazy alien thought popped into your head for no reason like, 'I hate my toenail', WRITE IT DOWN! Imagine if you write down, "12:20AM, I hate my toenail" and another member of your team on the other side of the location writes, "12:20AM, I hate my toenail", that'd be pretty freakin' trippy. Attitude You're going to see on a lot of other sites that you're supposed to remain serious while investigating or on a hunt. It's just my opinion, but I believe this to be bad advice. You gotta be yourself in all that you do. If that means being serious, then so be it. If you are the type to crack a joke and keep a smile, then you need to do that. Ask yourself this question. If you were a disembodied spirit, who would YOU rather have contact with, the person with the serious scowl on his face, or someone who appears to be enjoying themselves? Also, in the same vein, stay professional. Its ok to be scared. It's another thing to run away screaming. If you're the type that gets easily startled, and you scream loudly like those idiot girls on Most Haunted, then you have no business in the field. False Positives Remove Camera Straps People tend to take close up pictures of their camera straps, and think that they're vortexes. Don't do that. Reflective Surfaces It's important to check for any type of surface that can reflect light back at you. If you're filming, using flash photography, or even illuminating things with an invisible infrared light, it WILL reflect back into any lens you're using, and it WILL ruin your evidence. Get something to cover that shiny stuff up.
If the temperature is cold, when you breathe, you can see it, and it looks like 'ghostly mist' on video or still image. Be VERY careful when investigating in the cold. Fog or Precipitation Don't bother trying to capture any sort of visual evidence in the fog, rain, snow, hail, or if it's raining frogs. You'll just be wasting your time, and making yourself look like a fool. Of course you're going to have anomalies on your 'evidence', but under no circumstances can you claim that it's paranormal. Stenches Bug spray, perfume, cologne, and other types of stenches will confuse other investigators. Sitting and playing the 'fart game' will make other investigators angry. I'm sure you've heard of the 'phantom smell' phenomenon, where people just smell something like roses for no reason. If you're wearing a stench of some type, or farting, 'phantom smells' are thrown out the window. Don't wear them, and control your flatulence. Special thanks to a couple of people from our message board, Red who also happens to be a member of our team, and DruidCat. They both helped out with some good ideas for the list. |
 |
 |