Phil Whyman's Paranormal Investigation | Ghost Hunting Tips

RESEARCH
Most paranormal investigators follow a guideline for every investigation, and this rarely changes. At the forefront of any investigation is research. Finding out the history of a location can help in uncovering information for why a supposed haunting may be occurring. It is also useful if you can find witnesses to give you details of the alleged paranormal activity, when such activity took place and how long the activity/sighting took place.
You may also want to find out from the witness if they were on medication at the time of the experience, if they had been drinking alcohol the night before/on the day of the experience, what their religious beliefs are and whether or not they believed in the paranormal prior to the experience.

STATE OF MIND
It is vitally important that you try to maintain a rational approach to any investigation. Do not jump to conclusions thinking every slight noise (footsteps, bangs etc) or light anomaly captured on camera/recorder is paranormal activity. It is necessary to eliminate all possible natural/accidental causes before you can even begin to think of something being paranormal in origin.

EQUIPMENT
Perhaps the best piece of equipment you can rely on is you. The human body is quite a sensitive tool when conducting a paranormal investigation, so long as you remember not to let your imagination run away with you:

HEARD A NOISE? – Check it out
SAW SOMETHING? – Check it out
FELT SOMETHING? – Check it out

REMEMBER, our senses are heightened under certain conditions (in the dark for instance) and the quietest noise or the slightest light can appear differently to how they would under normal conditions.
Make Notes
Make sure you take notes during your investigation. These help immensely when writing up reports, as you can easily see what (if anything) happened, where it happened and at what time.

Other Recommended Equipment

Torch (+spare batteries)
Camera (digital or 35mm film camera)
Notepad and pencils
Audio recorder (digital or analogue)
Walkie-talkies
EMF Meters : Although groups do use EMF meters, it is very important to remember that this particular piece of equipment is only scientifically proven to detect fluctuations in Electro Magnetic Fields...Like other equipment often used, it is NOT a proven ghost detecting device (although strange things do seemingly occur, we still don’t know if ghosts or spirits exist or not, so the use of such devices and their data must be scrutinised closely).

VIGILS
I recommend that you have no less than two people conducting vigils. This is not only for safety reasons, but also for a point of corroborating any possible experiences. Keep conversations to a whisper and movement to a minimum so as not to disturb others holding vigils.
If you or any member of your team makes a noise that is likely to have been heard by others in another vigil area, use the walkie-talkie to notify said groups so they do not inadvertently mistake your noises for possible activity.

EXPERIMENTS
There are certain experiments that are recommended during investigations, so long as they can be controlled (locked off from outside interference).
Trigger objects (or ‘controls’) are used to try and get interaction from whatever is supposedly haunting a location. These are more often than not small items (like coins) placed onto a piece of white paper and then drawn around. It is important to place them on a flat, sturdy surface.
To be certain of nobody tampering with the objects, a video camera can be positioned to film it (make sure you get a wide enough shot and get all of the experiment and immediate surroundings in view). Be aware of vibratory effects (heavy traffic, heavy footsteps etc) which can accidentally cause movement of the objects. I would be more interested in an object having moved a significant distance as opposed to mere millimetres.

So, go out and get spooked and be rational..!

Phil Whyman

For more information read

Phil Whyman's Dead Haunted: Paranormal Encounters and Investigations