Standards and Protocols for Field Investigations
Below is a set of standards and protocols for conducting field investigations based on
experience and common sense. These standards and protocols establish a baseline to judge
photos obtained by eliminating the common errors of most beginners. These Standards &
Protocols provide guidelines that ensure professionalism. These Standards and Protocols
are followed by the Yuma Spirit Hunters and We encourage you to follow them and to so
indicate when you send us your photos.
Smoking tobacco products during an investigation is permitted only in a pre dieginated
area .
No alcohol before, during or after an investigation if remaining on site.
No Ouija boards or seances during or after an investigation if on site.
Always conduct your investigations in a professional manner.
Respect posted property, ask permission and do not trespass.
Do not take photographs during adverse weather conditions.
Adverse weather conditions is rain, mist, fog, snow, windy/dusty conditions.
Do not take photos from moving vehicles on dusty roads.
Do not take photos while walking on dusty roads.
Remove all dust, spots, fingerprints from camera lens.
Remove or wear the camera strap so it does not hang loose.
Avoid shooting into the Sun, windows or mirrors this can result in lens flare.
Avoid shooting with flash at any other reflective or shinny surfaces.
Keep fingers away from the lens of the camera.
Keep long hair away from the lens of the camera.
Avoid shooting when foreign objects are floating near camera.
No running or horse play in cemeteries or historical sites.
Show reverence and respect in cemeteries, battlefields, etc.
Always use fresh audio tapes for EVP recordings.
Compare anomalous prints with negatives for confirmation.
Flash is only good for 7 to 9 feet from camera so focus on that range.
Positive Mental Attitude is very important for all investigations.
Skeptical minds will generate negative energy during an investigation.
Misconceptions About Ghosts and Haunting
Everyone in every culture has their own beliefs concerning the afterlife. Some flat
out refuse to believe while other cultures accept it with open arms and in some cases
honor spirits of the dead. None of these beliefs are wrong, but there are some common
misunderstandings with people who believe in ghosts, here are just a few.
(1) All ghosts are evil. This is becoming less common as people
are starting to realize that most spirits they see are not hurting them in any way.
This theory may have come about because people feared the afterlife, it startled them and
scared them to see and hear things they weren't expecting. They connected fear with
evil because why would something good scare them. In reality, it is rare to come across an
evil spirit. Usually ghosts do not mean to scare anyone. They just want
someone to notice them. Some ghosts do not even know that you exist they are in their own
realm and you just happened to be lucky enough to see a glimpse of their world.
(2) Ouija boards are a great connection to the afterlife. The common
misconception about this is without proper training from a medium or a psychic you could
be sending out an open invitation to the spirit world and you don't know what may answer.
(3) Seances are a great way to contact loved ones who have passed on.
Again you are asking for trouble without the proper training or assistance of a
psychic or medium. You are asking spirits to come into your home and prove
themselves to you. Again you never know who or what may answer.
(4) Reading, studying, and believing in spirits will make my home haunted.
Learning about the supernatural might make you more open and sensitive to ghosts
that were always around but it doesn't attract them. It just opens
up a part of your mind that you have inadvertently had closed off. It opens it to
accept the things that you may have ignored or refused in the past.
(5) Only old houses or houses that have seen death can be haunted.
People, places, items and areas can all attract spirits. If a person loved
something in life they can come back to it in death.
(6)A house isn't haunted if I can't see a ghost. Some people
believe that ghosts are all around us and it is up to them to make themselves known.
This can be in several different ways such as noises, smells, items
disappearing or moving on their own accord and apparitions, one or a combination of many
may occur with a haunting. These are a few of the common misunderstandings of ghosts and
hauntings . I am sure there are several more. One thing to remember always is to
check out any and all natural causes before jumping to supernatural ones.
Theories on Ghosts
Hauntings and Apparitions
We find that most ghosts fall into two main categories.....Hauntings and Poltergeists.
The first type an actual haunting, sometimes known as an apparition or spirit are usually
always seen in the same location...a house or in a particular area of a house, or a
certain spot or area somewhere. Sometimes they are reported as being solid or life like,
transparent, or just a fleeting glimpse out of the corner of the eye or a ball of light
known as an Orb.
Phantoms or Phantasmic figures are usually human in form, but can sometimes be that of
animals or inanimate objects. Almost 1/4 of the ghost sightings are reported to be that of
a Phantasm which ranges from Books, clothes, animals that simply appear and disappear.
The second type of ghostly sighting falls under the category of a "Poltergeist."
The word poltergeist is a German word which means "Noisy Spirit." While the
occurrences may be the same as with a common haunting the poltergeist is not a haunting at
all it is however a transfer of energy from a very living human host. The poltergeist
activity unlike a haunting will always center around one person. In other words it will
only happen when one particular person is present.
Residual Hauntings
This type of haunting occurs when a memory of a certain action is imprinted on its
surroundings and is replayed time after time like a recording. There have been many
documented cases of residual haunting such as hearing foot steps going up stairs at the
same time every night.
Doubles
This is a rare ghostlike occurrence that happens. An apparition of a living person is seen
in one location......when the actual person is absolutely known to be somewhere else at
the time.
Crisis Apparitions and Message Spirits
The crisis apparition or the message spirit is an apparition that has been seen by people
who are far away from the scene of the death of a person or a loved one. It is said that
it is the departing soul of the friend or loved one that wishes to relay a message or say
good-bye to the friend or family member....who is totally unaware of the death. It usually
appears only once...so therefore is not considered a true haunting. Once they have
concluded whatever it was they needed to get done, they leave and are never seen again.
Earthbound Spirits
Earthbound spirits are spirits that for whatever reasons...remain behind. Some reasons for
this may be they haven't yet realized that they have died, or just wish to continue living
as they were, earthly possessions can keep a ghost earthbound, as can addictions or
whatever else the spirit held dear to it. These types of ghosts are probably totally
unaware that you or I exist and are seen repeating the same actions over and over again.
They usually make no attempts at communicating with living beings and continue along as if
all were normal.
Definitions
Ghost Hunt - going to a place were there have been no sightings of ghosts
and trying to catch some on film (video and photos), sounds, eyewitness, etc. (graveyards
are the number one place to start, churches, schools and older buildings too)
Ghost Investigation - going to are reported haunted place and recording
data (video, photos, audio, temperatures), notes, interviews and other evidence to
prove/disprove the haunting and to assist the owners and educating them on what is going
on and their options.
What you may Encounter:
There are generally 3 types of spirits you may encounter.
1. Was a human at one time and it has remained on this level for some reason. It may not
know it's dead, may be held here by unfinished business, guilt, someone grieving. etc.
These spirits are like the person was when they were alive, so they could be good or bad,
just like the living, but not normally dangerous.
2. Is known as residual haunting which is just a playback of a past event. This is just
like watching a video from the past playing over and over. This type of haunting as a rule
happens at the same time and the same place without exception.
3. The other type of spirit you may encounter is actually not a spirit at all known as
poltergeist this spirit is actually a transfer of energy from a human source. Although the
things happening in the environment may be the same as a haunting. The Poltergeist
activity only happens when one person is present in the environment.
General Tips
This is information you need to consider before you go out on the ghost hunt:
Check out the area in daylight so you are familiar with the area.
Look for dangerous places and obstacles that you will not be able to see in the dark.
Look for no trespassing signs. Make sure you are not trespassing. If you are on private
property you are risking getting a ticket or arrested in some areas. You can get
permission from many owners and or caretakers. We will often notify the local Police that
we will be in a grave yard "taking pictures" so they are aware of our presence.
If you are asked to leave do so immediately, you will not win this argument and you make
other investigators look bad if you make a scene.
Make sure you bring you ID. (drivers license, etc.) so if you are questioned by the police
you can prove who you are.
Never go alone. This is just common sense. If you get hurt, who will get help?
Anytime can produce results. Photos have historically been better in the dark but don't
let that discourage you from taking them during the day.
Find out all you can about the history of the locale. Newspapers, town historians, the
Internet and books can be helpful finding folklore or hard facts about the site. The books
and web pages dealing with this type of inf. is enormous.
What to Bring The Basics:
* Camera - Nothing fancy with at least 400 speed film. 800 speed film
seems to get the best results over all and black and white is also something good to try.
We have seen results from everything from Polaroid's to digital cameras Any type of film
will work you do not have to buy the most expensive to get results. When you develop them
you don't need to go to a camera shop, the local drug store or department store is fine.
Let them know you want all the pictures developed so that you get the pictures that they
might think are bad ones. These "bad ones" are normally your best ectoplasm mist
photos.
* Flashlight w/ spare batteries - a common sense item. Remember to bring
spare batteries for everything. Due to spirit activity, batteries often run down very fast
and you don't want to miss anything because of dead batteries.
* Notebook w/ pens and pencils- you need to write and log in everything
that happens. If you don't then you really don't have much research information.
An example of this is one investigator gets an EMF reading that's high and never writes it
down. Another investigator takes a picture of the same area but is not aware of the
reading and gets an anomalous image. Without that EMF reading the picture may be good
evidence, but with a report noting the reading, the picture greatly increases in evidence
value. Many investigators use a pocket tape recorder in stead and that is fine, just make
sure you have spare batteries and tapes.
*Jackets or weather appropriate clothes - if you are cold you are not at
your best and your observation skill could suffer, pretty common sense. * Watch - so you
can log in the times of events and your arrival and departure.
Advanced and Optional
* Video camera (optional tripod) - This can be used for video taping in
lighted or day light conditions only unless you have a camcorder that has a low lux
setting (the ability to record in low light) or the new night vision type which can record
in the dark. The camcorder with the night vision is great for this type of work.
* Tape recorder w/ external microphone - You do not have to use an
external microphone when recording EVPs (ghosts voices). However if you rely on the
internal microphone you will also be recording the internal gears and motors and this will
make any EVP captured very hard to hear. As a rule EVP is recorded very close to static
level of the tape and is very faint. We have found that any tape will do we have used high
bias tapes and have had no better results than with normal bias tapes.
* EMF Detector - These meters read the electromagnetic fields in an area.
It is a common theory that spirits disrupt this field in such a way that you can tell one
is present by higher than normal readings with this meter. There are many types and price
ranges. You need to be aware of the natural readings in an area or building before you
assume that your reading a ghosts presence. Make sure that you know where power lines,
electrical line, major appliances and electronics are before you begin your readings with
this useful and easy to use tool. You can try using a compass in place of this, the needle
compass would move or shake when something was interfering with electromagnetic field the
compass relies on the work properly.
* Night Scope - This tool may be useful in viewing some spirit activity
and many groups, including mine, have reported some success with them. They are pricey and
a good one can run into the 1000s of dollars. * Cellular phone - if you have one it can
come in handy in case of an emergency. *
* Motion Detectors - these can be used to sense movements by often unseen
forces or spirits. You can get battery operated ones for about 20 dollars and they are
great for inside but I have seen them used successfully outdoors as well, just watch the
placement. you don't want a tree branch setting it off.
* Thermometer or Thermal Scanner - You can use a digital thermometer that
you can get for 25-50 dollars or spend a few hundred to get a point and shoot thermal
scanner. All of these are good for detecting cold spots that are often found in haunted
places.
* Hand Held Radios - Or Walkie Talkies are very useful in a large outdoor
area and a building with groups spread out in various rooms. They could be great in
emergency situations or just to rotate groups. Be sure to be aware they could interfere
with your EVP recording though.
Step by Step Procedures
Here's a condensed version the most popular procedures for conducting outdoor ghost hunts:
1. Have everyone meet near the location and decide who will work each piece of equipment
and divide into teams if necessary. Pick a person or leader that will talk to anyone who
comes in contact with the group (i.e. Police, Reporters, etc.)
2. Enter the site and either privately or as a group ask for blessing or protection for
the duration of the hunt. I do encourage everyone to take the 10 seconds this takes and do
this. What can it hurt? It's better to be safe than sorry. Many experienced groups believe
that there are evil spirits in many areas such as cemeteries and by saying a 10 second
prayer you can safely go about your business without worrying about them. An experienced
demonologist will tell you that by doing this in the name of God or whatever good deity
you worship, you will keep any non human spirits at bay since they have to leave you alone
when told so in this manner. You will not provoke an attack by doing this and I say it's
just as simple as saying your prayers at night.
3. Walk around the area to get a feel for the surroundings and allow the spirits to get a
feel for you. Do this for about 20 minutes. Log in your start time and weather conditions
and any other relevant information. You can also begin to set up any stationary equipment
like camera on tripods or motion detectors. Make note of any areas that may cause you to
get false readings or false positive pictures.
4. Now go out there and get some pictures and recordings. Be sure to know anything unusual
that happens especially meter and temperature readings, visual sightings and strange
sounds. Also make notes of any feelings, emotions you feel that may be odd or out of place
, Be aware of scents and smells that you may experience Spirits often use scents or
different smells to get our attention. . You can compare notes after the hunt and look for
similarities in readings and feeling in certain areas or at certain times.
5. Whether you stake out a spot or you walk around try to give everyone the opportunity to
try everything and be everywhere. This keeps every one fresh and at attention. Rotate a
few times during the investigation.
6. When you are done have everyone meet in one spot and ask the human spirits here not to
follow you home and to remain here. Tell the others they must remain here in the name of
God (or other good deities). Again this takes 4 seconds, it's simple and it can save you
some problems down the road. If we are wrong about these prayers at the beginning and end
of the hunt and they are not necessary then you wasted 14 seconds of your time. If we are
right about them, you saved yourself from allot of problems and grief.
Additional steps for a house or building ghost hunt/investigation
* Every investigator or team should keep a log of events/times -- everything needs to be
logged, not matter how trivial. You sneeze, log it in, it may have sounded like something
else to another member elsewhere in the building.
* All members and clients if possible, walk through the location. One members map location
noting: air vents, heater, electrical appliances, fuse boxes, computer, etc. Mark down the
temperatures in the rooms and any EMF reading you get during this walk through. One member
take 5-10 test photos during the walk through. Do not discuss the details of the case
during this walk through.
* Any witnesses that have not been interviewed before should be interviewed by 1-2
investigators and taped/video if it's ok with the witness. The other members should walk
around the location and record any feelings or observations. Only the interviewers will
know the location of events and sightings.
* Make no conclusions. Share no conclusions or opinions with the witnesses or owners until
all the reports, photos and tapes are reviewed. You need to see the evidence and correlate
it before you can give an educated opinion.
Taking Pictures
* Use at least 400 speed 35 mm film. 400 and 800 speeds work the best. 1000 speed film
develops too grainy and I would avoid using it although many investigators do have success
with it. Black and White film also works well.
* Make sure you note any other lights in the area so when you view your developed pictures
you will not think a street light is an orb.
* Make sure you clean your camera's lens regularly.
* no smoking at the location, this can appear like mist on the photos so you don't want to
contaminate your evidence.
* Watch for dust or dirt being stirred up in the area you are photographing. They can give
false positive pictures.
* All long hair should be tied back or under a hat, again this is to eliminate any false
positive pictures and to give the skeptics less ammunition.
* Remove or tie up any camera straps so you don't take a picture of that, it looks like a
vortex when photographed.
* Watch for reflective surfaces and make notes of them. The flash reflected off shiny
surfaces such as windows, polished tombstones, etc. can look light an orb or other
anomaly.
* Let fellow investigators know when you are taking a photo so that you don't get double
flashes and the night scope operators can look away. If you think you have a double flash
photo or any other false positive, log the picture number so you can exclude that photo
from the batch when they are developed. Night scope operators can get eye damage if they
are looking at a flash through the scope so this is important.
* In cold weather be conscious of your breath so you don't photograph that, it'll look
like ectoplasm mist. If you think you may have, log that picture number and discard it
when you develop the pictures.
* Many people like to ask the spirit if they can take their picture, it can't hurt.
* Take pictures anywhere and everywhere. If you feel some thing or someone else does, take
a picture. Did you think you saw something, take a picture.
* You may only get about 1- 2 pictures for every 50 you take, that's about the average, so
don't get discouraged. I've been at sites where I didn't get any and others where 30% of
the ones we took were positive.
* Don't pay for fancy developing, you can get them developed anywhere. Just let them
developers know to process and print every photo. I use the local discount stores photo
service.
Digital Photography
Why digital works.
Today's modern 3 to 6 mega pixel cameras are equal to the film cameras for prints up to
the 11x14-inch prints. Critics claim that the 16x20 poster size prints lack resolution, so
how many people makes 16x20 inch posters when they take their film in for developing and
printing?
The CCD array on many Digital Cameras are Infrared (IR) Sensitive! This is why all of the
Sony "Nightshot" Camcorders use these exact same CCD arrays. A film camera is
not IR sensitive and was not designed to pull from the IR spectrum, so Digital is more
designed for this research than film. This is also why people report more "orbs"
with digital than film. Orbs are Infrared.
With a digital you are able to preview your pictures this becomes another valuable tool
when ghost hunting if you are able to see at the time that you have captured a possible
anomaly on film you are able to look more closely at the environment. By the same token it
lets you work an area more if you see an anomaly in the preview.
Add to this cost savings on a common investigation it is not unheard of to take around 300
to 400 photos out of these photos we may get 3 or 4 positive anomalies photo's out of
these 3 or 4 photos we will be able to debunk at least ½ of them to normal reasoning.
(dust, light flair etc.)
Video Recording
We always try to set the camcorder on a tripod for recording. This eliminates the
"Blair Witch Project" syndrome that is often experience, walking with a
camcorder creates a jumpy picture that makes people seasick to watch. . If you capture
anything, the frames are not stable and your anomaly bounces around too much to be
observed in detail.
Set your camcorder on the tripod and just let it run. Let the spirits come to you instead
of you chasing them. I use a personal strobe light from Radio Shack to attach to the
tripod. It seems that the strobe attracts the spirits, perhaps coming to find out why a
strobe light is on. It also helps you to keep track of where your camera is at when
working an area such as a large cemetery after dark.
I like to record with the Sony Night Shot camcorder because it can record in total
darkness.
Focus on something near by and always change from automatic focus to manual focus, else
your camcorder will lose lock and the image will become blurry and go out of focus.
If your camcorder does not have an IR light or Night Shot feature, try using your video
light. Focus on something in the background that is illuminated by the video light. Now
let the camcorder simply run. Wait until something comes into your video light and it will
be recorded.
Beginners who have older camcorders may use a flash light to provide the light to record
with. Mount the flashlight on your tripod pointed at a nearby object. Point your camcorder
at this object and wait until the spirits come within the light and they will be captured
on video.
Remember each video has to be watched you cannot fast forward through it and expect to see
any thing. If I am viewing video and think I see something such as an orb I write down the
counter number than back up and frame by frame the video to see what it is. There have
been many times that I have seen an "zip" through on the tape but when I framed
by framed the tape I have found it to be an insect of some sort with light reflecting off
the body or wings. You will also want to turn up the volume on the video to enable you to
listen for EVP that may have been captured.
Audio Recording
Any recorder or tape will work for EVP we use both micro cassette and normal size cassette
recorders it is recommended that one use an external microphone to reduce internal tape
recorder noise from the motors and gears.
* I prefer not to use OX or Voice Activated recorders as the EVP is so close to the white
noise levels (static levels) normally canceled out by a tape recorder that I believe this
type of recorder misses many evp's that could otherwise be picked up
* I have also found that digital recorders while they seem to work well have some
background noise that can be mis- conceived as EVP.
*We have the recorders running when we enter or walk into an area, most times I have the
recorder running as we drive up to an area, it seems that arrival time produces the best
EVP.
* You can set up stationary recorders and just let them run or you can walk around with
them. During audio recording, you can ask questions whether general ones or one specific
to a certain spirit. You can find a few ideas of question on or near the gravestones (i.e.
how did you die, ask who left flowers, etc.) I myself have had great success without
asking questions as well it seems the spirits will interject them selves into your
conversation.
* Make sure you view or listen to the whole tape. EVPs are usually not heard at the time
of recording but are heard only after the tape is reviewed.
* If during the recording you hear any normal sounds as well as unexplained ones (dogs
barking, cars, etc.) Make a quick note on the tape.This way you can tell what a sound is
that wasn't heard by you at the time but is now on the tape. When I am recording I also
make it a point to give the time every ½ hour or so this gives you some reference to time
when reviewing the tape.
.
Where to Look
These are some places you can start your ghost hunting at. These are suggestions and you
should not limit yourself to just these, spirits can be anywhere. Don't let the age of a
building or area fool you. The house I lived in for 29 years which had ghostly activity in
for 26 years is only 70 years old but it is built on land that was settled and lived on in
1685. Also, remember, do not trespass.
* Cemeteries - The age of the cemetery doesn't matter but the older it is, the more time
it has had to accumulate restless spirits. Why cemeteries? Well there are theories such as
they are portals to the other side or that some spirits are drawn to their former bodies.
* Schools - Schools and former sites of schools may have the build up of psychic energies
and imprints of all the highly emotional events that have transpired there.
* Theaters - The actors have run the gambit of human emotions inside the walls of a
theater plus many have interesting haunting attached to them.
* Battlefields - These are great locations simply because of their nature. Many violent
deaths in one area will always hold some spirits and psychic energy there.
* Churches - There is a long history of the faithful returning to the church they
worshipped at. They may be looking for the salvation they were promised and cannot find.
* Hotels/Motels/Boarding houses - Many dark dealing and highly emotional events take
places in these rooms.
* Historic Locations - Many historic buildings, because of their age, have had more time
to have spirits attach to it. These buildings are often open the public and can give you
an easy place to start. Many even have known histories of haunting.
Final Notes
Keep in mind that many of the people who will request an investigation will want to be
comforted, educated and they may even want the spirits to leave. Whatever your approach or
beliefs, be prepared for this and if you are not willing or cannot help the people in the
way they would like, at least provide them with names of people who may help them. Also
try to educate them so they understand what is occurring. After explaining what is
happening to a witness, many will no longer be frightened or as concerned and you will
have done them a great service. If you are a person or group that does offer more
assistance through psychics, spirit rescues, etc. remember that the well being and the
feelings of the living come first.