Basic Ghost Hunting Equipment

But there are a few other things any team needs to have or do prior to an investigation.

Permission

Always call prior to an investigation. With permission a team can feel safe and secure in investigating. Going onto another’s property at all, or after hours (such as businesses and churches) is trespassing and people can be persecuted to the full extent of the law. A trespassing charge will result in jail time, a fine and will ruin the accreditation of a team.

Identification: Simple ID cards can be printed off the computer with a picture of each team member. Not only does this identify yourself to local law enforcement or to the owners of the property but it also lends validity to the organization.

A team: No, not the “A-Team” from 80’s television, but a team of investigators. No one should investigate alone and if it all possible, no one should go off by themselves when investigating. This is not like Scooby-Doo where Velma always went off alone and Shaggy’s companion was a dog. Stick together. Remember what you were told as a child “there’s safety in numbers.” If more than one set of eyes saw the same thing, it also validates claims of activities.

Spare batteries: Flashlights and equipment are a “given” in paranormal investigation, however, spare batteries are often forgotten about. It is a common belief that paranormal activity can deplete the energy in batteries, or if you haven’t changed them from the last investigation they could die of natural causes. Some people bring a candle or lighter to check for drafts or to aid in seeing if a flashlight’s batteries go dead. However, be very careful…you don’t want to add arson to your trespassing charge.

Establish a Home Base: a vehicle or a room of the building can be “home base” for equipment. On TV shows they have the finances to support cameras being set up throughout the building or grounds and a team can sit back in home base and watch the monitors. However, most teams cannot do this, but a home base is still essential in case team members do get separated there needs to be a home base to meet at rather than walk around aimlessly. Extraneous equipment can also be stored and retrieved as needed.

A “Paranormal Log Book”: or, a pen and tablet in Laymen’s terms. Record times and events such as: “1:00 a.m. smelled the scent of roses in the “blue room.’” These entries can be coordinated with others entries and other evidence to further validate claims. Not everyone is going to have a camera crew following them that can be referred back to for places and times. Entries for where you are monitoring for movement can also be made such as: masking tape around porcelain doll, bedroom #1 for easy retrieval of the tape and to remember where you are monitoring movement. Colored pencils are also useful for drawing diagrams of rooms or buildings and noting where paranormal activity occurred.