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Paranormal
Investigation : Preparation, Method & Equipment |
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| We
like many of you want to believe but need to see it and
do it for ourselves. Having read numerous articles on
paranormal investigations and taken part in a few this
has been written to prepare you for a paranormal investigation.
We were lucky to join Phil Whyman & Dead Haunted Nights
team on our first investigation and had the baptism of
fire learning on the job as you may say. This contains
information gleaned from many reputable sources and they
are duly credited. |
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| Research
& Interview |
When
investigating a haunted location as part of your preparation
try to collate as much information as you can. This can
be via research on the web, books and via interviewing
people who are associated with the location or who have
experienced something. My personal belief is mediums should
never be briefed on the location, but the investigator
should know as much as he or she can.
When researching a location make notes, get copies of
the material or if on the web print it out so you can
refer to it later. When interviewing again make notes
or even better record the interview so again you can refer
to it later. |
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| Preparing
for A Paranormal Investigation |
| When
possible visit the location in the clear light of day.
Knowledge of the layout is always beneficial. Draw or
obtain a ground plan of the location, this will enable
you to plan the vigil better by knowing in advance how
to split up your group etc. Mark on the plan sources of
drafts, natural sources of electromagnetic fields (EMFs),
temperature readings in each room and area in case of
natural cold spots and even mark up creaking doors and
floorboards, this enables you to dismiss natural ocurrances
from possible paranormal ones. This technique of preparation
is known as Base Line Testing. |
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| Paranormal
Investigation Equipment |
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NotePad
or Dictaphone
To record the events of the vigil. Make note of times
you start each part of the investigation and anything
that is picked up on. I would also recommend make a note
of start and end times on your camcorder and start and
end point of photographs from the counters This is useful
later if two areas are similar you have a reference point
to identify the time and exact location. |
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Digital
Camera
With the introduction of digital cameras there is much
discussion of Orbs, something
that couldn’t be caught on a film camera. To catch
these orbs or other light anomolies and analyse them later
use the highest mega-pixel setting on the camera. This
allows you to be able to zoom in on anything caught on
camera. Dust and water droplets, as well as flies and spiders can often be mistaken as such
and it is only when you zoom in you find your orb or anomaly
actually has legs or wings! ( See the Orb Zone Theory. )
Good advice is to use a camera that focuses and shoots
as quickly as possible. Some cheaper models can be quite
slow and you need to capture anything you see as quickly
as possible.
On a recent investigation it was also found that the use
of a polarising or UV filter that protects the lens of
SLR cameras is not recommended |
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Camcorder
A night vision (Low LUX) camcorder can be used to record
vigils in the dark and also to act to record personal
feelings when solo. The cost of these has greatly reduced
allowing the novice to be able to afford DVD or memory
card based models. |
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Digital
Thermometer
These are now relatively cheap and are essential to obtain
temperature changes quickly. More advance models are laser
thermometers, they give you temperature of where you point
the laser, thus are very use for taking fast readings
of different areas without moving. |
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EMF
Meters
There is heavy research that suggests there is a connection
between the paranormal activity and changes in electro
magnetic fields. These fields are all around us and
these are higher near electrical equipment, cables and
power outlets. This is why when you carried out you baseline
tests you recorded natural sources of EMFs. The EMF meter
comes in various guises using LEDs and meters, some with
fixed settings, the dearer models with differents ranges
etc.. The criteria for such a meter is that it picks up
changes between 2 to 6 mG, the recognised readings for
paranormal activity. |
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Walkie
Talkies and Remote Listening Devices (Baby Monitors)
These are two fold one they allow members of your group
to communicate. Secondly they allow you to listen to anything
that may be occurring in a room currently unoccupied. |
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Motion
Detectors
These are two part devices that emit an infrared beam
between each device, when the beam is broken an audible
alarm sounds. These are useful to ensure no-one enters
a locked off area. Another use is to detect if a spirit
bases through the beam, Phil Whyman, a high respected
paranormal investigator, however pointed out recently
if a manifestation is transparent will it break the beam
? |
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Tape
Recorder & MP3 Recorders.
These are used for recording possible EVPs. Electronic
voice phenomena (EVP)' are "spirit voices"
that are said to manifest themselves on audio recordings.
It is a widely used technique to set up a recording device
when conducting a séance to see if anything is
picked up that is not heard audibly.
The most important thing to remember when analysis your recordings is if you hear something be sure to get others opinions on what you have recorded. NEVER share your view on what you think you can make of the recording, i.e. create suggestion. If you all think you hear the same without conferring, then the result is positive. |
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| What
to Look For |
Outward
Manifestations.
These
are often in the forms of noises (crying, growls, whispers
etc) and knocks, smells, light anomolies and orbs and
moving objects.
Sudden changes in temperature and ‘cold spots’
are good scentific evidence that something is abnormal.The
feeling of being touched is probably one of the most
alarming things, but for other members of the group
and sceptics, there is obviously no evidence of this
is purely relying of trust. However injuries (scratches
and brusies) are not uncommon and provide more tangible
evidence.
Actual
manifestation
In
the form of a haze or spirit form is the most positive
evidence you can get. This can be transparent or solid
in form, may not be complete or even on the same ground
level as yourself. |
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| Three
Types Of Haunting |
When investigating there are three types of haunting you
may well encounter
Active
Hauntings
These traditional hauntings involve the prescence or
a sentient spirit.
Imprint
Hauntings
These are where an imprint has been left behind and
what you encounter is a ‘playback’ of an
event that took place, more often than not of a violent
or emotional event. The theory behind this is the because
the event was traumatic the persons energy was ‘burned’
into the environment. Poltergeist
This type of haunting involves throwing objects, movement
of larger objects and/or disturbing noises rather than
actually being visible. (The word poltergeist is in
fact German for noisy ghost.) Poltergeist activity is
actually triggered, normally by one person who created
the connection, and research has shown that often this
is a child. Also the activity may stop as suddenly as
it starts. It should be noted when investigating that
this is regarded as the most dangerous type of haunting
to be involved with and many feel it is connected with
demonic forces. Caution should be taken if you attempt
to communicate with it
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| Analysis |
| Once
you have conducted an investigation the investigator should
always be rationional and open minded with his analysis;
was there something there, what was it and why was it
here. Here you see the importance of researching a location
first. |
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Explaination
Of Terms |
| EMFs
| Orbs | EVPs
| Ouija Boards | Seances
| Moon Phases | Geomagnetic
Fields |
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References
Harry Price | Phil Whyman
| Thomas Cooney | Jason
Karl |
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