New at ghost hunting and would like some tips.

My son and i are new at ghost hunting and would like some tips. We are also new to many other paranormal forums. We are only interested in ghosts/spirits. We are not in favor with cryptozoology or aliens. We've been ghost hunting at friends houses. We are good friends with John Gray who wrote and directed the show "Ghost Whisperer". He let us go to his house which is supposedly haunted. We did not catch anything but hope to go back again.

We took the time to go on a TAPS/Darkness Radio paranormal Trip to Eastern State Pen. and we believe that we caught something. To hear the EVP look at the evidence section.

Well it depends. What type of equipment etc. are you using? Are you just looking for practical advice?

p.s.-Glad you found this forum! WELCOME

We use a camera with an external source of IR that attaches to the camera. We use a digital voice recorder, K2 meters with switches, EMF detectors, photography and a device that reads temp. with a probe.

Welcome, Kevyvk!

Ah, well that, for the most part, is all the standard paranormal investigation equipment. That's very interesting that you are friends with John Gray. I was a big fan of that show, though I haven't seen it in awhile.

I'm a bit slppey at the moment to be giving any advice or sharing knowledge, so I appologize. I will get back to you on that though soon. Perhaps in the mean time, others will have more to offer.

Probably the best advice is to not let your imagination run wild. For instance most of our group made it down to Waverly for a multi group investigation. Some of the teams went along with the popular belief that Waverly was haunted. Their opinion was based on popular belief rather than their personal experience and data. As a result every little sound they heard was a ghost. We had some better range IR cameras so during the evidence review we found plenty of racoons! Needless to say that most of the experiences that people had were the result of wildlife.

Yeah, that's a good point, Donn. A lot of people, in fact (unfortunately) the majority of investigators do get carried away and let their immaginations run wild.

Here are some other things I can suggest. You may have already heard of some of these, but they are all good for any investigator to know:

• Don't whisper. Whether you're doing EVP work or simply just recording on your camcorder, don't whisper. Often times, you won't be able to make out what you or others are saying, so when you play your equipment back, you may mistake it for something paranormal. (Also, this ties in with not talking constantly. If you are trying to pick up voices or a noise, talking will only interfere with that.)
  
• Be professional. Many times, people involved in ghost hunting think it's necessary or cool to use corny little pieces of ghost and graveyard clipart on their webpages or constantly proclaim they have "feelings" everywhere they go, or even so much to dress as if they are goth. Clients and the general public prefer the exact opposite. In order to be taken seriously, you have to realize you are doing them a service, and those people want to be able to take comfort in knowing that you know what you're doing and you aren't just doing this for thrills, but rather you do care about them and their family/business/etc.
  
• Don't smoke while on an investigation. So many people do smoke and can't wait till afterwards, yet their smoke will be picked up on film and appear to be a ghostly anomaly.
  
• Enter each investigation objectively. Try not to form any conclusions about the place beforehand. If you go in thinking, "This place has to be haunted," or, "There's no way this place is haunted," then you already have a pre-conceived notion of it, and it will affect your investigation and the way you handle things.
  
• Most importantly, look for evidence everywhere, and question everything.
  
  

Thanks a lot for your advice. I am not a fan of orbs or mediums, i'm only scientific. I will take all fo your advice ([GHoST].Jeanette and Donn_DPS) and use it for my next investigation.

It's always great to have contacts with people who investigate the same way.

So how is it going?