Do you need a Paranormal Investigator?

When is it time to contact a paranormal investigator? Do you think it is possible you are experiencing a ghost, haunting or poltergeist? Maybe you just want a verification of your ghost situation and you are satisfied that you and the entity can co-exist or maybe you want help in identifying and eliminating a bothersome spirit or spirits in your home.

Paranormal investigators do not get rid of spirits. What they do is try to capture evidence of paranormal activity. They may be able to refer you to someone who can perform a cleansing on your house such as a psychic.

The first thing you need to do is eliminate the possibility that any of the weird stuff you are experiencing is not just mice or the effects of something that needs repair. Check for loose windows or door hinges. Check electrical wires and light bulbs. Eliminate the possibility of the need for plumbing repairs. Check for drafts. Conduct a thorough check of your home before you decide to involve a paranormal investigator.

What you can do in the meantime is do some research on the history of the house and surrounding property. Did any traumatic events ever happen in the past that might account for your experiences in the present? Did anyone whoever lived there think the place was haunted? Sometimes neighbours can have relevant information to share.

Record your experiences including the time and place of the events. Try to find a pattern for the phenomena. If there are other witnesses to the paranormal activity, record what is happening with them or get them to record their own experiences. This will all be helpful in case you do decide to contact a paranormal investigator.

If a paranormal investigator team decides that your situation deserves further investigation, they may or may not be able to record any evidence at all when they do bring their equipment. They try to find evidence using paranormal investigators equipment such as electromagnetic field detectors, cameras, tape recorders and the use of control items. After preliminary interviews, they will conduct a stakeout or stakeouts with their equipment hoping to get evidence. You will receive a final report at the end of the investigation.

If evidence is found of paranormal activity in your home, it is up to you to decide what to do next. Do you live with the ghost, move or try to get rid of the ghost? Every case is unique in the type of paranormal activity that occurs and what the involved person or persons do about it.

Your first Interview with a Paranormal Investigator

 If you have decided you want the services of a paranormal investigator team, you should look for local investigators. You want them to be local if possible because it is more convenient and less expensive for them to conduct interviews and do the actual investigation with equipment. Most investigators will investigate for free up to a point. They are just as interested in gathering hard evidence for their files as you are in finding out what is going on in your home. Costs may be discussed or a free will donation may be asked for to cover the costs of travel, use of the equipment and their final report on your case.

You can find paranormal investigators through the newspaper, word of mouth, books and through the internet. After you have found a paranormal investigator team you are comfortable working with, the first thing that will happen is a preliminary interview. During this interview, the investigator is trying to get as much detail as possible without asking any leading questions. So, prepare a little bit so you don not forget any details. From this interview, the paranormal investigator will decide if there is a need for a paranormal investigation.

You will be asked basic information such as your name, address, if there are other occupants and their ages and religious beliefs. Ages of people are important because it is believed that age factors in poltergeist cases. Your religious beliefs are important because it can shed light on how to help you in your situation. You will also be asked if anyone is stressed out because negative feelings may strengthen the paranormal experience.

As for the paranormal phenomena, you will be asked when it started, where the paranormal event happened, the time of the event and whether there are any other witnesses to the phenomena. You will also be asked about the use of drugs, alcohol and hallucinogens. The information gathered will determine whether it could be a ghost, ghosts, a haunting or a poltergeist that you are experiencing. Remember that ghosts may be recognizable and try to communicate, the re-enactment of a past event is a haunting and that poltergeists are noisy spirits. Sometimes all three events can occur in one place though finding paranormal activity is rare.

You will be asked whether any other paranormal investigators have been involved in the case. If so, the new team may be able to gain important information about the case from them. If a priest or other religious or spiritual person has cleansed or blessed the house, tell the paranormal investigator. Say whether or not the ritual stopped or lessened the paranormal activity.

You will be asked if you want the entity to leave. Maybe you just want it verified that you have a ghost. You will be asked if anyone has ever played with an Ouija board, held seances, did automatic writing or performed rites of black magic. If someone has done any of these things, they could have invited an evil or negative spirit into the house. These types of spirits can be stubborn when you try to remove them.

If it is determined that a paranormal investigation is in order, then after this first interview, the paranormal investigator who conducted the interview will now contact the other members of the investigation team. You will be contacted and asked to approve or appoint a day to begin the paranormal investigation.

 

Preliminary Investigation by the Paranormal Investigation Team

You have contacted a paranormal investigation team and after their first interview with you it is decided that further investigation is needed. The first house call from the paranormal investigation team is made official with an appointed day and time. What is going to happen next is on that day, the team will come over with more questions. It is desired to rule out any causes other than paranormal for the reported activity by inspecting your house.

The only member of the paranormal team to know what you are experiencing is the person with whom you contacted for the investigation. The other members are not told the details of the possible paranormal activity so that any information that is gathered that day is not influenced by any of your previous information.

If the paranormal investigation team has ruled out any natural causes and still thinks that you could be experiencing true paranormal phenomena, another date will be set up to do an actual investigation with the entire team and their equipment. Any plans will be discussed with you and must have your approval before the team moves forward with any action. If you agree with further paranormal investigation, you will be asked to keep a journal of paranormal activity if you are not already doing so. The team may also have more questions for you.

The next step is for the paranormal investigation team to conduct their own independent research into any relevant information that may shed light on the case. The type of information that is researched includes the history of the property and building, previous tenants and their experiences at the site and/or the possibility of any past traumatic deaths or accidents at the place.

When the team has gathered as much information as possible on the property, they could contact a psychic if necessary or there might not be any need for a psychic. If the person decides they can live with the paranormal phenomena. The client has to agree on the use of a psychic with the paranormal team. The psychic may be called in if the client indicates they want the entity to leave. The psychic may do a cleansing ritual if it is agreed upon and is approved by the client.
 

The Actual Paranormal Investigation at Your Home

On the day of the investigation with equipment, the investigators will come over and set up. There is to be strictly no smoking or drinking among the investigators. The client's journal is read by the team leader to see what has been happening. The rest of the investigators may still not know what phenomena the client is reporting as a control. This is to ensure that any information from the client does not influence the investigative work.

There will be a walking tour through the house with equipment that can pick up subtle changes in the atmosphere. Equipment used can include a tape recorder, camera, electromagnetic field detector and control objects. A control object may be a wind chime placed in an area free of drafts and away from where anyone can touch it. Another control object may be a coin that is circled and placed on a piece of paper that is checked later to see if it has been moved. Another control object is to put flour on any hot spot so it can later be checked for footprints or hand prints.

Any phenomenon is recorded. After this initial sweep with the equipment, another interview with the client is held. Here is where all of the investigators finally find out what the client says about the phenomena. The team and the client/s discuss their experiences.

Now, another run through with the equipment is made, this time at targeted locations agreed upon by the team and the client. This is the stakeout portion of the paranormal investigation.

The hot spot stakeouts can last a few hours or even overnight. Cameras or video cameras will be aimed at certain locations. Later on, the pictures are compared and enhanced with the computer. The investigators are looking for any evidence to show up. The cameras will be set up so that one camera has film that can detect the infrared spectrum and the other camera has regular film that only records the visible and UV spectrums. The film is later analysed for any difference that could indicate paranormal phenomena.

Audio and video recordings are examined for any paranormal phenomena. It could be that no evidence has been captured. In the case of paranormal phenomena that seems to be real, some investigators feel that conditions may not have been right for activity or for some reason the entity was just not able to materialize.

Just because the entity does not show up on any of the recordings does not mean the phenomena does not exist. In some cases, investigators feel that the entity knows the investigators are there to help and the entity may not show up because their call for help has already been heard. For whatever reason a ghost decides not to show up, it can be a frustrating time for the client. Conditions that can affect recordings of entities seem to be barometric and these elements include the earth's geomagnetic field, weather, pressure, temperature and humidity.

Images are enhanced with the computer by cropping and enlarging the images and working with contrast, brightness and grey scales to achieve clarity if anything unusual is found. The audio and video tapes are analysed too. The electromagnetic field detectors are checked for any activity.

The investigators may ask for a few more visits so a better understanding of the situation is possible. If you want the entity to leave, the paranormal investigators may be able to refer you to people who can help you.

After the investigation is over, a final report is prepared for the client. Some time after the final report, a client may be contacted to see if there has been any more paranormal activity. If any new phenomenon is reported, another investigation may be set up and the process started over again.