So You Want To Be A Ghost Hunter? Part II-Private Residential Haunts

Many ghost hunter groups offer their services to private home owners and I'm part of one of those groups. Personally, I would not recommend it.

But, if you decide to put your services out there for residential haunts, you need to be beware : live people can be scarier than spirits.

I'm not trying to be rude, I'm being truthful. Many of our clients who claim to see ghosts or worse, have a demon living with them, admit to us later that they are bi-polar or have other mental issues. Most of the families we have visited are dysfunctional with lots of conflict and stress, the living conditions poor, and/or the people are eager for some sort of attention.

In my opinion, all these movies and TV shows are just throwing fuel on over-active imaginations.

Ok, before you slam me for implying that all people who see ghosts are crazier than a bull moose with brainworm, let me just clarify my thoughts for you. First of all, I don't think that at all, I'm just relating my experiences of individuals we have visited. Our services are free, so this invites any kook to call us. Unfortunately, we do get a lot of kooks.

Secondly, I have known many perfectly sane people who have had ghost encounters. My grandmother, for instance. She was sharp as a whip all her life and wasn't prone to delusional visions. Also, many of my friends have their own ghost stories, and most of my friends aren't crazy. (Yes, I said most, okay?)

Obviously, even if you think the situation is bogus, you should go into the situation with an open mind and compassion. Most of these people are truly scared and a simple reassurance from you can set their mind at ease.

Here are a few safety rules when dealing with clients:

• Do an extensive phone interview. After listening to their problem, if you don't feel comfortable, say you are very sorry, you are unable to help them at this time. Be polite but firm. Don't make lame excuses or say you'll get back to them next week. Chances are, if you are wishy-washy, they won't get the hint and will continue to call you.
• If you decide their situtation worth investigating, ask them what times are convenient. DO NOT SET A TIME WITH THEM YET. Tell them you will get back to them asap.
• Contact the members of your group and ask them what times are good for them. NEVER GO TO A INVESTIGATION ALONE. You need at least 2 people on an investigation, but 3 or more is best.
• As soon as you have a group who is interested in going, contact the client and tell them what times and days you can be there.

VERY IMPORTANT: Try to set up a time when the client's home is quiet and doesn't have a lot of people there. Tell the client you need the chaos and noise level kept at a minimum, so you can get good EVPS and detect and debunk strange noises and phenomena. Obviously, it's very difficult to have a good investigation when there are lots of people coming and going, or tons of kids running around all over the house.

Unfortunately, everyone seems to ignore this request! I've been to investigations where there were 6 or 7 people already in the house, half of them didn't live there, and I swear, they were yelling and stomping around the whole time like a pack of angry elephants. This was after the client assured us that it would be only her and her friend in the house that evening.

This is one of the many reasons I don't like doing residential haunts; people don't listen!

Obviously, you shouldn't go into an investigation completely blind. Getting all the information gives you some insight into what might be causing the hauntings, and help you determine whether or not it's paranormal; if it is paranormal, what could be causing the activity.

1. Who lives there? Is it one person seeing all the activity or several?
2. What are the ages of the residents? Children and adolescents are particularly susceptible to paranormal activity. However, they are also susceptible to what goes on TV and movies and have good imaginations, so be careful.
3. What is the activity? How often and when?
4. Is it "residual" activity (happens over and over again in the same pattern) or is it "intelligent" activity (seems to respond and interact with the residents)
5. What is the history of the home and/or the area itself (i.e. age of home, former owners, history of deaths)? This information can help us pinpoint the activity.
6. Any recent traumatic activity or turmoil in the lives of the family? A death in the family? Anniversary of a death? Any recent renovations in the house? All of these factors can cause activity.

Be Respectful

• While conducting the investigation, be respectful of their home and the occupants inside. Ask what rooms you can investigate, don't assume.
• Don't touch their things or go into their cabinets or drawers.
• Maintain a poker face; even you if thinking they are a little off their rockers, don't laugh at them, imply that they are crazy, or make faces. Always listen politely and be sympathetic.

Be Thorough

• Take as many pictures, video, and EVPs as you can. Try to concentrate on the areas they have seen the most activity
• Review the results with a fine toothed comb. Try to debunk anomalies before you jump to conclusions. Compile all the information from the group and have everyone give their conclusions.

Be Honest

• Present the evidence to the client. From the evidence, if you believe the house isn't haunted, tell them so.
• If you do think it's haunted or could be haunted, maybe do a follow up investigation. Or ask if they want their house blessed or cleansed. (Many ghost hunting groups can do this).

Again, I wouldn't recommend offering your services for residential haunts. But if you insist, just remember to be safe, respectful, thorough, and honest.

Happy Hauntings!