Getting Ready to GHOST HUNT

First things first, you'll need to find a haunted location. Whether you know of a local haunted location or you use one provided, its best to start by gaining permission to enter said location. After permission has been granted you should head to the location with your team and all your ghost hunting equipment, which should at least include, two-way communication devices, flashlights and pens and paper. If your a little more advanced you may also wish to bring digital\35MM cameras, EMF detectors, Digital Thermometers, Audio Recording devices, and possibly DVR equipment. And never forget to bring the most important thing of all, patience. Ghost hunting can be very tedious, but remember that your trying to catch evidence of a ghost and you should never be lax in your endeavor.

Know your location:

Start by doing a complete walk through before starting the investigation, taking notes along the way to keep track of the reported claims in certain parts of the site. Explore every room. If the location is large, you should try to video tape the walk through. You'll be able to review the tape in detail and become more familiar with your surroundings. After the initial walk through is complete, start setting up a base of operations. Your choice of area should clearly have the lowest level of ghost activity.

Setting up:

Before setting up the equipment it is a good idea to reflect on the notes that were taken earlier. This will ensure that you are only placing the audio\video equipment in the reported hotspots throughout the location. Make sure all wires and cords are taped down and kept out of the way. Try not to touch or remove anything in the location, you should leave the natural environment alone. If there are reports of furniture or objects that move, carefully place a piece of tape next to these objects. If the objects happen to move you'll have a marker to judge and measure the exact distance. It is also important to take note in which direction the object is moving.

The investigation:

Always keep track of everyone participating in the investigation. Never allow anyone to wander alone. The group should be divided into groups of two or four depending on the size of the group and one person needs to stay behind to monitor the investigation and safety of the group. Everyone involved needs to have two-way communication devises, pen and paper, and flashlights without exception. If you or your group are performing an advanced investigation, start by sweeping the area with your EMF detectors, and temperature readings should be taken at the same place and time by your team mate. If there are no noticeable EMF distortion or temperature fluctuations begin an EVP session. All dialogue should be directed at the alleged entity. You should also keep monitoring temperature changes and EMF spikes during the session. If you are not satisfied with the readings but are convinced there's an unearthly presence nearby, take more photos. Always log every event that seems out of the ordinary, doors that lock, electrical problems, chandlers swaying, strange lights, etc... Video tape everything for proof. Remember not all entities can communicate in a way we think they ought to. It is your job as a ghost hunter to examine every possibility on an investigation.

Ghost hunting research:

Begin researching the history of the location. Your first source of information is your client, you should find out as much history about the location as possible. With older locations it is probable that the client will not know the full history of the location. In these cases public records and\or local historical societies can be quite helpful in finding information. Allow yourself enough time to deal with these city\state agencies to cut through the red tape. Local public libraries are also a great source of local public history, they should have newspapers and other documents dating as far back as the early days of the area.

Searching thought newspapers can help you identify any traumatic event in the locations history. If anyone has ever died at the location, whether naturally or otherwise, the local newspaper should have a record of it. Once you've found out who occupied the location during the time frame the supposed entity is from you can check birth, marriage, and death records at most county court houses to try to identify the entity.