How to Go on an Amature Ghost Hunt

America has entered an age where "ghost hunting" is a common and enjoyable hobby. Not that the subject has not been discussed and studied in the past, but with the advancement in science and technology in the modern age it is much easier to have an amateur ghost hunt, with some solid evidence to show off. But before embarking on such a task you need to have the right equipment for the job. Here is a list of basic equipment and advice for a ghost hunt!

Your basic equipment would be a simple notebook and pencil to write down everything that happens on an investigation including when and where it happens, coupled with open minds (which is the most important tool in any ghost hunter's kit). Many "ghost hunters" fall into the same trap that they accuse skeptics of: making up their minds ahead of time that ghosts do or do not exist. That tends to prejudice their interpretations of evidence that they might detect. Ideally, a team would just follow the trail of evidence wherever it might lead them, like a detective investigating a possible crime. A good example of investigation notes and summaries can be found at 1. http://www.historicghost.com/OurInvestigations.html

Flashlights with extra batteries are a must if you'll be investigating in the dark. A piece of red cellophane held over the lens with a rubber band will allow the flashlight to provide light to see by without affecting your normal night vision. Extra light sources such as candles (and matches) or, better, those chemical "glow sticks" that you can buy cheaply in most sporting-goods stores, are handy in emergencies in case all of your flashlight batteries go dead or the bulbs burn out.

A camera or two, digital or film style, is handy to give you something to remember your investigation by if nothing else. It's not an absolute must-have though. If you want one but can't afford it, you might be able to pick up a cheap film camera at a thrift store. Be sure you get one that they still make the film for, as well as batteries if it requires them. Most photo processing labs, including the one at the drug store, can convert film pictures to digital format on a CD for you. If you use a film camera be sure to tell the lab people that you want copies of all pictures. Otherwise they might throw out ones that they think are bad (which just might have paranormal evidence on them).

If you want a tape recorder to keep audio notes of the investigation and/or try for anomalous voice recordings (EVP) you should be able to find one at a drug store's electronic section for under US$30. If you're really on a tight budget you can probably pick up a used one at a garage sale or thrift store for $5 to $10. If you go that route be sure to bring a blank tape with you to test the recorder and make sure it works. Try to find one with an external microphone: otherwise you'll need to go buy one and it may cost more than you paid or the second-hand recorder. If it doesn't have a shoulder strap you can probably jury-rig one out of something, or find a pouch of some sort that you can carry it in (the thrift store probably has something that will work).

A compass comes in handy for orienting yourself as to directions. Again, a cheap but serviceable one can be picked up at a sporting goods store for a few bucks.

At least one team member should have an accurate watch for noting the time.

One ghost hunter recommends Altiod breath mints as an investigation tool! His idea is that, should anyone encounter anything weird or frightening, the presence of a strong taste of peppermint or cinnamon in the mouth helps to keep that person slightly grounded and less likely to get carried away in the moment or panic or anything. It provides a tactile link to the world as we know it, an assurance that the person isn't "going crazy" and hallucinating, etc.

Creature comforts & safety: it's a good idea to have a basic first-aid kit. Even a packet of band-aids and some antiseptic for minor cuts or scrapes as a minimum is recommended. You can probably just swipe these from your home medicine cabinet. If one of your team owns a cell phone (mobile), have them bring it along with a freshly-charged battery. Have them turn it off to preserve that charge. It's just in case someone gets seriously injured and you need to call for an ambulance, or if the locals start shooting at you or something and you need to call the police.

Everyone should have eaten dinner (or supper) before the investigation, but having some snacks and a thermos of strong coffee or at least bottles of drinking water is a good idea. Don't drink so much that you have to go to the bathroom, though- you don't want to be urinating in the cemetery.

One thing that's really nice to have, and is almost essential if you plan to try to attract "customers" to invite you to investigate their haunted houses, is a web site. This is where you'll introduce yourselves to the world and (by posting your investigation reports online) show how much experience you have and what your methods are. You can use a free (advertisement-based) web host such as Geocities, Yahoo or (my personal favorite) Bravenet. These allow you to establish a web presence without having to outlay any actual money. All it takes is the time and know-how to set up a site and add content, and most of these free hosts have "wizards" that will guide you through the process. One thing: try to avoid setting up a site that looks "spooky". You're not there to share scary Halloween stories, you're there to attract "business". You want to come across as being serious investigators, so pick a theme that looks more businesslike.

Your biggest expenses are going to be batteries including spares, film and blank audio tapes if you use a camera and/or tape recorder, and gasoline to drive to sites. All of the rest of the ghost hunting gear that you hear about such as EVP meters, night vision, and digital thermometers fall into the "nice to have" category. They let you gather a variety of other evidence and you'll probably want them later if you decide to get serious about paranormal investigations, but you don't need them for starting out.

Let's do a walk through of your first "virtual" investigation so you can see what I'm talking about. Let's say you plan to visit the old Jonesville Cemetery. It's privately owned but is open to the public during daylight hours (there are a few houses nearby, so vandalism hasn't been a problem there which might otherwise cause them to close the cemetery to everyone who doesn't have relatives buried there). Jonesville Cemetery is about 30 acres in size- not huge, but large enough that it will take several visits to explore the entire thing.

Your team meets at the cemetery on a Saturday afternoon. You walk around and familiarize yourself with the place, where the roads and paths are, monuments that are distinctive enough to serve as landmarks, any possible danger zones such as soft ground, holes, or grass-covered headstones that someone might trip over. You write down notes about these things and their locations. Any team members that have psychic abilities or are "sensitive" note any impressions that they pick up on, and where in the cemetery these occur, without discussing the details of these impressions with the other team members.

You decide on a "game plan" for your investigation: when you want to do it, where you'll meet, what parts of the cemetery you plan to cover during that one investigation, and how long you'll be in each part. Your psychic offers suggestions about where to concentrate on, without saying why he or she suggests this (so as to not prejudice the other investigators). You decide that you'd like to come back the following Saturday at 10PM and spend around three hours in the corner of the cemetery that's nearest the entrance gate. You scope out an escape route on the off chance that something happens that makes you want to vacate the premises in a hurry (be it paranormal or otherwise, such as a stray mean dog or a belligerent human) and make sure everyone is aware of it.

During the following week you contact the cemetery's owners, explain who you are and what you would like to do, and what you will not be doing (i.e. hanging out having a few beers while waiting to see a ghost). You offer to meet with the owner in person and give them a signed waiver stating that you won't sue them if someone on your team should get hurt, etc. In this hypothetical case let's say that the owner says that's not necessary and he gives you verbal permission to enter the cemetery the following Saturday night.

Early Saturday evening you look up (on the web) and write down the local weather conditions, along with the current moon phase, solar activity and geomagnetic conditions. You also telephone the local police in the jurisdiction of the cemetery's location, using their non-emergency phone number, and inform them that you'll be in the cemetery with permission and will be using flashlights, taking photos, etc. This is in case one of the neighbors sees your lights and calls the cops on you- the cops are less likely to show up with an attitude (if they show up at all) if you've told them ahead of time. Anything you can do to improve your relationship with the local authorities helps.

Your team shows up near the main gate between 9:30 and 10PM. Everyone checks their gear to make sure they haven't forgotten anything. You assign one person to take notes, another one to take pictures (if you have a camera), and decide who carries the tape recorder (if you have one). You enter the cemetery and begin your investigation. With only two or three people in your team as you mentioned, and lacking any radio communications between you, you decide to stick together and no one go wandering off alone.

Whenever anyone sees, hears or feels anything, explainable or not, this should be noted down along with the time and location (noting the name on a nearby headstone will do. If there isn't a headstone nearby get out your compass and note that you're approximately 50 feet from the gate in the northwest corner, or whatever.) Anything that seems odd should be looked into with an aim to seeing if there are any possible natural explanations. For instance, if someone photographs "orbs" note whether there might be dust, tree pollen or small insects that might account for them. If you're tape-recording your session you should mention out loud whenever you hear a sound, such as a dog barking or a nearby resident shouting at their kids. You stick roughly to your plan, altering it if and when results obtained merit doing so. You wrap up your investigation at around 1AM and leave.

After the investigation it's always a nice idea to meet up somewhere for coffee and a doughnut or something. You can then go over your notes with the other team members, and any psychics that you may have can then share their impressions with the others. If you did encounter anything strange during the investigation it's nice to be able to sit somewhere in normal surroundings and bright lights to talk about it. That helps your team to "ground" themselves, as well as simply unwind. At this time you might want to call the police again (non-emergency phone number) to tell them that you've finished.

One ghost hunter recommends that, upon returning home after an investigation, you take a hot shower or bath. This acts as a symbolic (as well as real) cleansing as well as helping you to relax tired muscles after having been out in the cold half the night and helps you to sleep.

As soon as possible after the investigation, write up a summary of the investigation. Type up all your notes and save them on your computer. Later, you can add things like your photos or copies of the tape recording, if any. Meet with your team (in person, by email, or whatever) and discuss the investigation. Decide on your conclusions based solely upon the evidence you gathered. Decide if a return investigation is warranted. As soon as you have the time, add the investigation results to your website.

During the following week you contact the cemetery owners again and say thank you for allowing you to investigate there after hours. This extra bit of courtesy will be helpful should you wish to ask permission later to do further investigations.

Your total cash outlay for this investigation (and most items such as cameras etc. can of course be reused over and over) shouldn't be more than $US75. You can probably even borrow a camera and tape recorder for this first investigation, so all you'll need to buy are fresh tapes, film and batteries. Like I mentioned at the beginning you can even skip all technical gadgets and just take written notes to start out with. You can probably get by with around $20 per investigation.
Have fun, and be safe!