We all make mistakes now and then. It does not matter if you are going out on your first paranormal investigation or your 100th. We all have made a mistake while out on an investigation at one time or another. Some of us are willing to admit our mistakes, while others may not be so eager. By sharing the common mistakes with others, we are able to help newcomers prevent making the same mistakes we did when we first started out.
Here is a list of common mistakes made by ghost hunters during paranormal investigations.
Believing Too Much
There is such a thing as believing in paranormal activity too much. You must conduct your investigation as a skeptic and use scientific methods. Create a theory about the type of activity you can expect at the location and find ways to prove or disprove such activity. You can believe in ghosts all you want, but during an investigation you must find proof and not rely on your beliefs.
Not Believing Enough
On the other side of the coin, ghost hunters can sometimes not believe enough in paranormal existence. It can be a big mistake to not believe enough (even the tiniest amount) and continually say there is no such thing as ghosts. Being a skeptic is a good thing, but if you whole-heartedly do not believe, you will make up reasons why something is not paranormal.
False Proof of Paranormal Activity
There are many things ghost hunters use in an attempt to prove there is paranormal activity at a location. For example, the use of mediums or psychics cannot be used to prove such activity exists. There is no way to document what they see, feel or hear, other than simply taking their word for it. A ghost hunter once told me that “You cannot prove the paranormal by using the paranormal.”
Also, EVPs, or electronic voice phenomenon, cannot solely be used to prove a place is inhabited by a paranormal entity. You must have other scientific evidence to back up your recordings, such as temperature drops, activity you can see and so on.
Not Knowing Equipment
You will have a hard time collecting evidence if you do not understand how your equipment works. Take the time to learn how to use EMF detectors, which setting to use on the cameras and all of the other equipment you will be taking on the investigation with you. It may be necessary to conduct test runs, using the equipment and practicing capturing evidence as a team.
It is also important to know which piece of equipment should be used for each type of evidence collecting. For example you would not use an EMF detector to record temperature drops or a still camera to capture EVPs. Do not laugh about that. There are many amateur and experienced ghost hunters I have encountered who do not know how to properly use an EMF detector or digital thermometer.
Evidence Review
It is important that you are not the only one seeing and reviewing the evidence collected during an investigation. If you feel something may be evidence of the paranormal have at least one other (I prefer to have two!) look at what you are seeing. However, do not tell them what you say. Let them decide for themselves what the evidence tells.
Happy Haunting!!
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