Introduction to Ghost Investigating
How to Investigate a Haunted Building
You may be wondering where you can find ghosts. You may be surprised to learn that there are haunted locations in your own state, even in your own town, just waiting for you to investigate them.
How to Find a Haunted Location
There are many ways to find the ghosts. If you're going to be a paranormal investigator, you'll need to be resourceful, ask a lot of questions, and take many notes. The best way to find a haunted location is to ask around your town. Start with the older buildings, if your town has a historical society or commission, contact them and ask if they've heard of any haunted places in town. Ask people who work in your local library -- those folks are always up on local history and lore. And be sure to ask your friends, grandparents, and parents for leads. Once you have some ideas on buildings that may be haunted, it's time to do an investigation.
Equipment You'll Need
You can get started with an equipment list as simple as a notebook and a pen. But if you have a camera, you should also bring that, and an audio recording device with a microphone is also a great item to have with you because you can use it to record your interviews with people.
Here's a list of items you may want to consider obtaining as you get more serious about paranormal investigations:
- Notebooks
- Pens
- Audio Recorder (the smaller the better because it will be easier to carry)
- Camera (either digital or film)
- Flashlight (you may be going into some dark corners)
- Extra Batteries
- Video Camera
- Digital Thermometer
- Electromagnetic Field Meter
How to Get Started
Your first step is to contact the owners of a building and ask permission to come in for a tour. Never ever ever ever ever ever ever go into a location without permission -- this is called trespassing and you can be arrested for it. You should also get your parents' permission before beginning an investigation. Ask at least one parent to come along because you may very well need an assistant -- someone to carry your equipment, give you a ride to a remote location, or be another set of eyes and ears while you do your work.
When you speak with the owners of a building, let them know you're a paranormal investigator and you would like to come in and document some of the ghostly legends of the location. If they say no, don't get too upset. There are many other locations that will let you come in -- look for old restaurants, museums, and historic buildings.
