Although some think that investigating the paranormal is a cool thing and would be a great to try for hobby, before you get involved in this feild remember one thing – its not what you see on TV. Yes – its going in to dark and cold places, but for hours on end and after the night of investigating there are hours and hours of footage and audio you need to go through.

Many imagine an investigator does the investigation then goes home thinking what an amazing amount of fun they had and thats it until the next case … it isnt gang – dont let what you see on TV fool you. There’s a lot things you must do before you even set foot into a dark so called scary place.

First is the PERMISSION. Make your choice of location, find out who is the owner or caretaker etc (you dont want to be arrested for tresspassing or breaking or entering) and seek permisison to be legally on the property to investigate.

Second RESEARCH the location,ie (history, events, alledged paranormal activity ). Is there enough information to state the location might in fact be haunted? Dont be fooled what you read or see on the TV – ask for your self from people who know the location well, not just hearsay or because it looks spooky.

Third is HEALTH AND SAFETY – make sure you know were you and other team members are at all times and know the location address etc if you need to leave in a hurry or if theres a medical emergency.

Fourth – BE PREPARED. When it comes to the investigation make sure you have a notebook, pen, torch, recorder and a camera. Nice and simple, plus these are tools you will logically need. You need to see (torch), you need to write down info such as times and readings etc (pen/paper) plus you need to record audio and video (camera/audio recorder). Dont let all the fancy gadgets fool you – they were not made for Investigating they are just being used for theories in the field. There is no concrete proof to explain paranormal activity but if you feel it can help for your own research use it.

What LeinsterParanormal come across in the field is people spending lots of money for equipment and havent got a clue how to use but that same equipment – but hey! It looks good as part of their kit. People end up using a peice of kit as a crutch on an investigation because it beeped or flashed etc – but that isnt evidence of the paranormal.

When it comes to helping people in their homes treat these cases with kid gloves. There are a lot of cases that can be explained but to a person that isnt ivolved in the field this can be very scary indeed and to them it can be a very trying experience. When investigating a private case please refrain from jumping straight in. Inexperienced teams tend to rush in because it looks good for them to do a private residence – but remember after all the cameras and team have left the building the person still has to live there.

The best thing to do is get the person to make a journal of events then when you check the journal it might make some sense of whats going on the persons home. LeinsterParanormal has had great success with this method. When we look at one of these journals it gives us an insight into the problem in many cases – cases have been solved using these notes as paranormal activity can ended up being heating timers or because next door used an appliance and triggered what the homeowner thought was paranormal activity.

Remember all what you say to a person in their home is completely private and if you do catch something before you put it out there make sure you have that persons permission and make sure what you caught is really unexplainable.

Certification is a pet peeve of ours. There are a lot of sites out there that use certificates to make them look good in the the eyes of a person who need help. We cant say this enough – there are no Certificate worth the paper it’s written on as far as Paranormal Reseach is concerned so if you come across a team or person saying they are Certified Paranormal Investigators, then go find yourself a pinch of salt as you’ll probably need to us it.

A lot of people also refer to themselves as Parapsychologists. Many people are, but again, this isn’t a qualification you find on a breakfast cereal packet. Check references and make sure the person concerned has in fact studied and is qualified as a Parapsychologist. There are a lot of sites that say they are certified in this part of the field because they did an online course – which though such courses may give people an insight into this end of the field, they dont replace a PHD and years of study. Usually these web courses give a certificate for a fee so dont be fooled. Awards you will see on sites are basically the same they are for show. Let’s face it, no one in the field has the right to give an award. Such things wont get you a cases – a good team and good protocol will.

I have given you a small and i hope somewhat indepth view on what to look out for in the field or Paranormal Research and hope it helps new teams and even the old ones. The Paranormal field is becoming huge world wide but make sure you know what you’re getting yourself in for. It isnt shits and giggles, and if you’re in it to be famous then go on the X factor or American idol.

After all the gadgets have become old and the new ones come arrive on the scene remember one thing:

The most important peice of kit you need is a level head

Cheers guys

Danny

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 19th, 2009 at 3:01 am and is filed under Articles from the IntarWeb, Leinster Paranormal Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.