Joining a Ghost Group; Notes from H.R.

by Robin M. Strom-Mackey

It’s officially fall this week. The kids are starting back to school and the stores are displaying Halloween decorations. We’re putting away our summer pursuits and beginning to think about other things, like…ghosts and haunted houses.  This is the season when the SPCA stops adopting out black cats (I got mine in the spring).  It’s the Christmas season for paranormal investigators, and the season when I become deluged with applications from would be ghost hunters.  I usually get at least one a week, most of whom a mismatch to what my group is actually looking for in the way of applicants.  So if you’ve found that you’ve got a spooky itch to join a paranormal group this season, please read this article first.

 

Joining a Ghost Hunting Group; Notes from HR

The first group I joined I filled out the online application and then hovered over the SEND button. I think I filled out the application three times, on three successive nights. I asked myself repeatedly, “do I have the time for this commitment? Can I actually fulfill the tasks they’ll ask me to do? Am I really committed? When I actually hit the send button I still had a gulp moment when I thought to myself “What did I just do?” And then I waited, and waited, and waited without hearing back.  I got no word at all that my application had gotten received let alone accepted. So then I emailed the director, and I emailed him again. Then I wrote and laid out a plan as to how I could produce a weekly podcast for the group. I was a broadcaster and a broadcast instructor and I figured that a podcast would go a long way toward promoting the group and thus my skillset was unique and valuable. In other words I laid out for the director just what it was I could do for them.  It wasn’t long before I heard back.

 Fast forward ten years, and now I’m a director of my own group. And I have to admit one of the worst parts of the job is finding and recruiting new members.  There’s no lack of applicants.  There are roughly twice as many people seeking membership in my group as requests for actual investigations. However, I’m often left scratching my head at the strange applications I receive.  So I’d like to propose that if you’re serious about submitting an application for membership with a paranormal investigation group – any group mind you – that you think of it in the same way as you would if you were applying for a job. Follow These Steps:

 1.      Do Some Soul Searching – Do you Really Want to be a Paranormal Investigator?

I got on the phone recently with a potential applicant. It was a name and number supplied by one of the members of the group. Supposedly this gentleman was very interested in applying for membership but I just had to give him a call.  I was looking to fill a couple of positions on the group and looking to schedule some interviews to do that, so I eventually called the man in question, despite the fact that we do have an application process.

  “Oh, hello,” he said, “thank you for calling.  I went to your website to fill out your application but I couldn’t figure it out.” 

 “O.K.” I conceded, wondering just how difficult it could possibly be to fill out an online application, but playing along. “Would you like me to send you an application?” I asked.

  “Oh, yes,” he said.  While grabbing a pen and paper to take the man’s information I asked off hand, “Why do you think you want to join a paranormal group?”

 “Oh,” he stalled, “I don’t really know if I do want to join a group. I was just thinking about coming out and seeing if I’m interested in that sort of stuff.”

 The interview process was finished at this point. Not only could the gentleman not be bothered to go through the simple procedure of filling out an online application, but he didn’t even know if he was actually interested in being in a paranormal research group.  Apparently he was looking for some cheap entertainment and hoping I would be kind enough to provide it for him for free.

 2.     If You’re Not Sure, Try This First: Paranormal Entertainment

 If you would like to experience the paranormal to see if you are interested in the subject there is a whole tourist industry available to you.  I strongly suggest you try one of these venues first.  There are haunted hotels, haunted tours and even ghost hunts for the avid novice.  In my own state there are ghost hunts at the local Civil War era fort every Halloween season and walking tours in our historic downtowns.  Halloween is the season of all seasons for those interested in all things ghostly, but historic locations such as Gettysburg for instance, don’t limit themselves to just one month a year.   If you want to experience your own thrill, it’s available to you for the price of admission. Book a stay and talk a walk and find out for yourself if the paranormal is something you’re interested in pursuing.  For the vast majority of people who have an interest in the paranormal this will be enough to scratch the itch.

3.     If You’re Still Interested: Research the Organization

Any Human Resources person can tell you that if you apply for a job, and especially if granted the ability to interview for the position it’s important to know something about the organization.  What type of an organization is it, and do your interests and skills fit the mix? Every group website I know has some type of mission statement. Usually short, and to the point, they spell out quickly the group’s methodology.

On our homepage it reads:

DPRG is dedicated to using scientific methods to collect empirical evidence to either support or refute paranormal activity at a location.  Knowledge is power, and it’s empowering for people to know whether they are experiencing something with a natural explanation or something in the paranormal realm….Being scientifically bound, DPRG does not perform house cleansings, blessings or smudging. We do not, “send things into the light.”  However, we can offer suggestions or issue referrals should the situation warrant.

The first sentence is the give me. Using scientific methods means that we use equipment (most of it some type of electronic recording or measurement system) and documentation to collect evidence, and that we try to find natural and rational explanations first. We don’t hold séances or wander around a location talking about our feelings. We don’t assume a location haunted, simply because someone has told us it is.

And when applicants fill out an applications telling me they want to ghost hunt because they want to know how to perform exorcisms and help “the lost souls go into the light” it’s obvious to me that they haven’t read the mission statement.

I actually got one application from a self-proclaimed psychic who explained that I should consider her for membership because she’d been born with a caul over her face (an old superstition - people born with part of the birth sac over their face were destined to have psychic abilities).  I was profoundly perplexed as to how she felt this in line with scientific methodology.

4.     Ask not what the Group Can do for You: What do You have to Offer?

As a director of a group do bear in mind that we have a few things to do besides peruse applications.  Aside from setting up investigations, performing investigations, reviewing evidence, and presenting evidence (as well as work full-time etc.) there are also group maintenance issues, marketing tasks, meetings to set up… in other words we’re busy people.  I knew one director that likened the task of running a group to having a second full-time job. So if you’re seriously thinking about applying for a ghost hunting group I have a few tips for you; do’s and don’ts from someone who actually looks at the applications and calls potential members.

Remember my story at the beginning of the article. I wrote to the director and explained what I could offer him.  I receive far too many applications curtailing what I can do for the applicant. What skills, what expertise or what knowledge do you bring to the mix? Like any job application, we’re looking for skill sets. Do you have knowledge of electronic equipment? Do you mind pouring through dusty documents in search of the history of a property? Do you have the time to sit through the mind-numbing process of watching six hours of video of an empty room?  Are you a social-media aficionado? Do you have experience with home construction and are able to explain to us if the banging in the walls is due to the heating pipes or plumbing system?  These are things we can use, and need desperately.

 5.     Know the Grind: Be Realistic

 Most would-be ghost hunters burn out within the first year.  You should know the grind right up front.  Investigations are usually exceedingly boring – you’re usually in an abandoned building to all hours of the night talking to the walls with nothing happening.  You’re tired and bored, and you’ve got to break down all the equipment and ride home in the dark.

 And then when you get home you’ve got hours of video and audio to go through.  It is literally mind-numbing work listening to hours of audio or video. You can’t miss a moment for fear of missing something and yet…there’s so much to peruse. 

 Simple Math

 Case in point, we have a 4-camera surveillance system that we run at investigations. If we do a 2-hour investigation with all 4 cameras running that is 8 hours of video that needs to be watched; with 8 hours of audio that needs to be listened to and evaluated. Then I usually run 2 handheld cameras, and my team member also has a small handheld camera as well. So that’s an additional 6 hours of video.  For a two hour investigation that equals 22 hours of butt-busting review.  Add in any photos or other documentation that we might have to peruse, and then consider in that those hours of painstaking boredom may yield absolutely no useable results.  It’s really no wonder most team members don’t make it past the first year.  In truth, it usually takes my team 1 ½ - 2 months to fully sort through all the evidence.

 6.     Consider Logistics

 I recently got an application from a would-be team member that lived in Wilmington and didn’t drive or own a car. Needless to say it was a short application process.   I operate down-state, in Dover, yet most of my applicants are upstate. There’s an hour to a 1 ½ hour distance between us.  That means if we rap an investigation up at 1am, those investigators still have an hour to 1 ½ hours of travel time in the dark and the dead of night to go home. I dutifully warn every applicant about this, and yet I always get arguments.  Know where your group operates and assess, honestly, whether you have transportation to get you there.  If not, find a group that operates in your area and apply to them.

 7.     Psychics: Everyone Knows One

 I get more applicants claiming to be psychics than from any other group.  My group is more liberal than most groups in that we actually bring on some members who claim to be psychic.  However, we still require our members, even the psychic ones, to buy the necessary equipment and pull their weight in evidence review.  Someone who proclaims to be psychic may or may not have those abilities.  It takes careful testing to determine if a person’s abilities are genuinely telepathic, and I find that most who claim this talent are resistant to testing. Overtime, I’ve realized that I don’t really care. What I need most are people that pull their weight, suspend judgement, consider rational explanations and act like good teammates. What I don’t need are the notoriety seekers, the rock star wannabes, who want to make my group their spring-board to fame.

One further note about psychics, while I listen to what my psychic members tell me, I don't present anything to a client unless I have strong evidence to back up their claims.  For example, on a recent investigation I had an audio recording of one of our investigators claiming that she had felt a chill.  A few seconds later the other investigator reported a .2 jump on the EMF gauge they were using. And then a few seconds after that the recorder captures an apparent EVP - another voice saying something that neither had heard at the time.  Now that's a neat little package of events that I can present to a client.

 The Application that Wasn’t

 I’ve seen groups that require applicants to jump through incredible hoops to join.  One group in particular required members to be at weekly Tuesday night meetings that started at 10pm and ended at 1am or some such nonsense. Others that require elaborate disclosure requirements, meaning that any and all recordings you make on your equipment becomes their property, under pain of death undoubtedly.  Still others have elaborate hierarchal positions of power, with each position given its own fancy name.  You would be astounded how people will fight over a meaningless title as if their very existence depended on it.

 I’ve realized as I’ve gotten older that simple is usually better. So I make my applicants fill out an application.  This simple procedure usually tells me volumes. It tells me what information they are willing to share and unwilling to share.  In the case of the gentleman who couldn’t figure out how to fill out an application, it told me he’d probably be lost with the electronic equipment. Then there was the guy who filled out an application but left me no address, phone number or email. Not only was I confused as to how to get back to him, but I had to wonder, where's the trust? 

 

I very often get these strident email messages that say something like, “hey, I want to join your group. Lot’s of experience. Here’s my number.”  I email them back with the link to the application form and I never hear from them again. Case closed.  If you can’t fill out a simple application what else will you be unable to do? Again, what I really need in an applicant are people that pull their weight, suspend judgement, consider rational explanations and act like good teammates.  You should also have an analytical mind, a tolerance for minutiae and an iron butt. 

Ghost Hunting 101: Conducting the Session

Teachable Moment

By Robin M. Strom-Mackey

 

When I started with my first group there was very little training.  We all just kind of bungled around in the dark and tried to pick up tips and tricks from one another. I learned my favorite thermometer technique from one of the directors (two brothers) who I realize in retrospect, were more knowledgeable in investigating than training.  I really wanted someone to tell me how to do it properly, but learned most of what I know in self-study, research and trial and error.  Listening to the audio from the last investigation, I realized that our team still needs to address some very fundamental issues.  A session the team did recently became the perfect teachable moment, a recorded segment to dissect and discuss.

Honestly, a lot of what good investigators do is just common sense – once you think about it. However, you’ve got to run your finger over the microphone a couple of times before you stop causing yourself sudden deafness while  wearing headphones (did it) and not claim someone whispering “flash” is actually an EVP instead of someone taking a photo and announcing it quietly to the team members (also me).  In other words, we learn from the mistakes, and therein lies the teachable moment.

This article is intended to be interactive with links to the soundbites discussed throughout the article.  If the links do not work for whatever reason, all the soundbites with their associated file names are available on SoundCloud.com - search under Delaware Paranormal Research Group https://soundcloud.com/delaware-paranormal-research-group

Evidence Contamination

Let me start by saying one of the biggest obstacles in investigations is obtaining access to a building with little or no outside contamination.  I once went on an investigation to a house whose owners had decided they’d use the opportunity to throw a party – a boo-irthday, as the female homeowner called it, complete with birthday cake and snacks. Children and adults waltzed into and out of the house at will, and ran around the yard with cameras taking flash photographs.  I’m quite sure that at one point I was literally frothing at the mouth.

In a best-case scenario the team would set up the command station outside the building, allowing only 1 team of two or three individuals into a building at a time.  Some investigators will set up recording equipment and environmental monitoring equipment and then vacate the property entirely, at least for a portion of the investigation. I read an account by one investigator that was so determined to catch the “company ghost” on video that he set up surveillance cameras and ran them all night, every night, with a feed at his home,  while no one was in the building. He ran the experiment for a month or so  until he finally caught the apparition on film.  That’s blasted determination. (Lesson one; have patience grasshopper.)

The investigation

So in the situation I’m writing about the team was honored to have the entire building to ourselves for as long as we desired.  It being winter, we were forced to setup the surveillance monitor/command station in one room of the house, with one person left behind to monitor cameras while the two other investigators were performing a session.  All in all, aside from the outside neighborhood noise, we had a fairly pristine environment. 

Two investigators, M. and R., did a session together while I stayed behind at the command post and monitored cameras. Below is an audio segment of the session.

Soundbite 1: Triad of Doom

https://soundcloud.com/delaware-paranormal-research-group/triachy-of-doom

The team was excited to be collecting evidence, so excited that I don't think they considered the contamination situation they were creating for themselves..   There are at least three areas of contamination in this scenario a veritable chaotic cacophony (I can't resist an opportunity for alliteration, please forgive).

First, the person setting up the audio recorder, not wanting to place it on the dusty floor (understandable) placed it instead on a window sill. The unfortunate part is that the audio recorder picked up street noises (dogs barking, people talking, cars and motor cycles driving by, etc. etc.) Sadly, we can’t really be sure what might be actual paranormal activity and what is contamination.

Soundbite 2: EVP or Contamination

https://soundcloud.com/delaware-paranormal-research-group/evp-or-contamination

A better alternative would be to set the audio recorder somewhere in the center of the room, perhaps on a box. An even better idea would be to set the recorder up on a box somewhere in front of the surveillance camera.  Entities have been known to move or manipulate objects.  If it’s on a window sill no one can see what might be happening to the machine.  Also most investigators insist that you not use the recorder inboard mic, but mic the recorder with an external mic, as many of the cheaper recorders produce a lot of machine noise that further distorts sounds.

The Toys We Love

Second, there is a ghost box running, performing its endless amount of white noise, which is basically what the device is designed to do, as it scans the radio waves in the area. Honestly, I have to admit, I don’t have a lot of faith in this piece of equipment.  I think anything that purposely scans radio frequencies (i.e. radio stations) is prone to produce false positives by its very design.  





The author on an investigation using her dousing rods.

Now, I use dousing rods during investigations, though I know many investigators don’t approve of their use. I like to think of it as ghost hunting for those with ADD. The rods give me something to do with my hands during long hours of talking to empty rooms.  I do feel they help me find hot spots, which I can then probe with more reliable pieces of equipment. For example the rods may be active in an area, so I move in an EMF detector and voice recorder or snap off some photos… But I never go to a client or homeowner and tell them I think a place is haunted or not because of what the rods told me.  So, while I understand wanting to experiment with the Ghost Box, I wouldn’t call its burblings reliable evidence.  For that to happen it would have to be shockingly clear, like a ghost saying, “Hey, I’m a ghost and I’m talking to you through this device. Believe it B^%#!.” So while I understand wanting to experiment with such a device, I wouldn’t suggest using it for long sessions and consider it as collecting reliable evidence.

 

Soundbite 3: Workmen Clear As Day

https://soundcloud.com/delaware-paranormal-research-group/sb7-workmen-clear-as-day-01-18-04

 

Third, one of the team members decides to play music loudly, and for a really long time. The entire music/ghost box/EMF session goes on for over 30 minutes.  And during this time one of the members decides to attempt to dance with the entity while holding onto an EMF detector.  Now, here’s one of those teachable moments, the idea of playing music is a good one.   Trigger objects such as a toy car or doll, old coins from the time when the building was erected, revelry calls on a battle field, and music of a certain era, any of these might help to fuel paranormal activity. 

However, the playing of the trigger object shouldn't become the focus of the session.  If you’re going to play music at an investigation, choose a segment of a song, or one whole song and then go quiet. We use these objects as a starter to the paranormal conversation, not the conversation itself.  Do realize that the sound you’re broadcasting might be destroying your evidence. After the song is over, shut down and go quiet. Scan the room with eyes and ears to see if your trigger has caused any reaction. 

 t may not be a good idea to "dance" with a spirit while holding an EMF meter either, and here is why.  Holding this instrument and moving it vigorously around the room can cause false positives as you inadvertently move close to and then away from electrical sources.  Honestly, we need to reconsider our absolute faith in these devices.  They were designed to detect either natural electromagnetic fields that the Earth produces or man-made electromagnetic fields such as our toaster uses.  The Trifield Gauss meter which is a natural EMF detector is actually so sensitive it can detect thunderstorms several miles away.  

Remember, one stray EMF spike does not a ghostly encounter prove.  During set-up the EMF meters should be used to determine areas in a room which are giving off EMF so as to avoid putting meters in locations that will give off readings. Then during a session it’s a better practice to set the meter down in a location away from these sources and invite something to interact with the meter. If necessary, an investigator can hold a meter in their hand and slowly sweep an area for hot spots.  Also keep in mind your other senses, if you’re staring constantly at the EMF meter in the center of the room, you’ll possibly miss the dark shadow moving on its own down the stairs.  It’s a tool, but it’s not the only tool in the arsenal.

The Spirit Arrives

When the team finally did go quiet, things got really interesting!

EMF Soundbite4: EMF Conversation 12-15

https://soundcloud.com/delaware-paranormal-research-group/smyrna-house-emf-conversation-12-15

I almost feel like this spirit may have been jumping up and down trying to get some attention.  The detector is going off quite consistently. This is the perfect opportunity for a yes/no question and response session.  For example, M. asks, “Do you have a favorite color?”  M. notes she sees the color red.  R. says she thinks yellow, but that’s because it’s her favorite color.  Neither ever ask the spirit.

This is how the question/response might have gone. The team members come up with their color choices and then one of the team members puts it to the spirit, “Is your favorite color red?”  Wait 10 to 15 seconds for a response. Then ask, “Is your favorite color yellow?”  Wait 10-15 seconds for a response.   If a response is noted, it’s always a good idea to ask for confirmation, such as, “We think you said your favorite color is red. If that’s true can you make the meter go off again?”  If you get no response to either red or yellow try other colors like blue or purple. 

Joni Mayhan, author of Ghost Voices also suggests designating someone as session leader (Mayhan, 2015).  This person would designate who would be asking the questions for a period of time.  When that person had asked their questions they would "pass" the questioning to the next person.  This system would alleviate the problem of team members talking over one another.  During the controlled Q and A, she also suggests team members find a place to sit down, as people standing will inadvertently make shuffling noises and other sounds which might during review be interpreted as being of a paranormal nature. It's a good idea to also put the EMF detector down also, often a few feet away from investigators, lest a spirit be disinclined to come too close.  If there is an extra voice recorder or other type of sensing device it can be placed next to, or near, the detector.   Now you've hedged your bets. If you get an EMF spike that's one small piece of evidence. Get an EMF spike and an EVP that's two pieces of evidence. Get an EMF spike, an EVP and note a temperature fluctuation or a change in barometric pressure, now you've got 3 sources of evidence and your case is stronger yet.

Some topics during a session will elicit a greater response, probably because it’s a subject that’s important to the entity.  In this Q and A the members got a quick and vehement response on the subject of her fine Sunday clothes, but no response to the question of hats. 

The engaged investigator will follow the Sunday clothes line of inquiry, as it appears to be of interest to the entity.   And if you are a self-proclaimed medium, please remember; even the very best sensitives are only accurate around 50% of the time, according to Parapsychologist and author Vince Wilson (Wilson, 2012).  An impression, feeling or sensation is only that unless it’s tested and verified.  M. said she visualized red, but she never seeks confirmation that her visualization is correct. 

The clothing questions were on the surface fairly shallow questions.  When the team gets to the question about who else might be in the building – now I’m on the edge of my seat…and the team drops the subject almost immediately.  ¡Ay, caramba! This portion of the session might have gone something like this…

”Is there another entity that lives in the basement?” Wait 10-15 seconds.

“Is it male?” Wait 10-15 seconds.

“Is it female?” Wait 10-15 seconds.

“Did she or he live here?” Wait 10-15 seconds.

“Is she/he hiding in the basement?” Wait 10-15 seconds.

“Is she/he angry?” Wait 10-15 seconds.

“Is she/he confused? Wait 10-15 seconds.

“Lost?” Wait 10-15 seconds.

“Sad?”

“Does she/he ever come up from the basement?” Wait 10-15 seconds.

“Is that the shadow figure that the workmen reported seeing?” Wait 10-15 seconds.

“Let me confirm that there is a male that is living in the basement because he’s hiding from someone.” Wait 10-15 seconds.

Oh, and also, make sure to entreat the entity to also speak into the recorder by saying their name, tell you the year etc. 

I think you get the point. When you’ve got an entity actively engaged, you need to dig, dig, and dig. Rack your brain for questions. Have the patience and persistence to really communicate.  And ride that pony till it bucks ya! In other words don’t stop the session and walk away until you’re sure you’re not getting any more responses.  Remember Minerva's words in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, "If you're going to understand the living you have to commune with the Dead (Berendt, 1994)."  By all means, please commune.

Teachable Moment Positive

On the positive side one of my members had the brilliant idea of comparing sounds in the building.  She found a segment of audio recorded in a room where the investigators were present and banging on a wall. Then she found the same segment on another recorder that was actually stationed in the attic of the building.  She edited both segments so the team could compare the sounds, i.e. figure out what banging on the walls in the bedroom sounded like when recorded in the attic.  In this way the team had a much better idea of what sounds were made by the team, and which sounds might actually be paranormal.  I intend to work this into our setup protocol in the future.  During set-up when we’re taking readings we’ll also bang on walls and stomp on floors and walk up and down the stairs meanwhile verbally tagging the audio as to our movements and then compare the sounds during evidence review, contrasting them to any sounds that don’t appear to fit.  Now that's good investigating.  

Soundbite 5 and6: Renne short audio knocking, and,  Renne knock attic audio

So here is R. knocking in the room.
https://soundcloud.com/delaware-paranormal-research-group/renne-short-audio-knocking

And this is what the same knock sounded like on the other side of the building in the attic.
https://soundcloud.com/delaware-paranormal-research-group/renne-knock-1-19-44-atticaudio-comparesoundlevel

 

Resources

Mayhan, Joni (2015) Ghost Voices.  Available on Amazon.com

Wilson, Vince (2012). Ultimate Ghost Tech; The Science, History and Technology of Ghost Hunting.  Cosmic Pantheon Press. cosmicpantheonpress.com

 

 

 

 

The Hartly, DE Investigation

By Shawn Hank

My first investigation with Delaware Paranormal Research Group occurred at a residence in Hartly, Delaware in February, 2015. I came with a flashlight and digital camera.  I arrived half an hour early, and spoke with both homeowners.  The husband, a skeptic, did have a few interesting stories to tell. Some of his experiences included having heard a piano playing three notes in rapid succession. And after an initial investigation, the couple found that the drawers of a dresser were pulled out barring their entrance into their infant son’s bedroom.  When they finally got into the room they found the boy  tightly wrapped in a receiving blanket.

My first investigation proceeded without influence from the homeowner’s perceptions. My approach was to take photographs randomly during certain questions that were asked or repeated; and to observe, which is quite familiar to me because I have a degree in Chemistry; and I am working on a Master’s in Accounting.

The Investigation Begins

The members included Robin, Gene and myself. We started upstairs in the “Man Cave” and art studio. Gene monitored and recorded temperatures. Robin asked the questions. I took pictures with my new digital camera. The second room was a storage room across from the baby’s room. Nothing out of the ordinary occurred, although Robin’s dowsing rods  appeared to cross several times in response to Robin’s requests. The third room was the daughter’s room. Robin continued using the rods, and was getting responses to some of the questions she asked by prompting the rods to be crossed. It is in this room where I experienced a brush on my pant leg.

The investigation continued to the living room and furnace area. Robin was filming at this point. Gene continued monitoring temperatures. Nothing out of the ordinary seemed to occur until Robin was near the furnace. She started receiving EMF readings from one particular wooden post and no readings from the other posts. It was around this time frame where the digital camera I used captured what looks like a mist taking some sort of form. The mist was not present in any other photograph.

 

My analytical side allowed my participation to be unbiased even though I had heard the owners’ personal experiences. The mist taking form remains unexplained. Robin captured two EVP’s. Gene did not capture unexplained differences in temperature, but verified the EMF readings on the wooden post near the furnace. A scientist like an investigator wants to deal with tangible evidence. However, the evidence collected appears to go beyond the current scope of science, logic and math. My personal experience prompts me to state that there is a realm that remains invisible to all of us, yet can choose to interact with us, or not. I feel that unbridled interaction with this realm can be potentially detrimental. Anyone or thing that will attempt to harm a baby has the ability to inflict harm on adults as well. Though my first investigation went well, the evidence captured is not conclusive or definitive. The scientist in me wants everything to be beyond a reasonable doubt. The accountant in me wants the phenomena to fit nice in charts, graphs and tables. However, maybe the best evidence is that which is randomly captured in an environment unknown to us in the course of our time in that environment. It will be this kind of evidence that will support and substantiate further investigations into the unknown.

“We dance round in a ring and suppose, but the secret sits in the middle and knows.” (Robert Frost)

Part II - How to Run a Ghost Hunting Group: Interview with P.R.G. Founder & Director Jennifer Lauer

By Robin M. Strom-Mackey

“The only two people that should know what is going on are the people that were on that pre-investigation; any of the weird things. The investigators that are going in are going in blind. Yes. We feel that’s the best way to go, because then there are no pre-conceived notions…”

 Jennifer Lauer is the Founder  and Director of the Paranormal Research Group, (P.R.G.) [formerly the Southern Wisconsin Paranormal Research Group.] The organization recently expanded to include Pennsylvania as well as Wisconsin. In this interview Lauer shares some very thoughtful information about how she founded and continues to run this very successful paranormal investigation group. If you’re thinking about starting a paranormal group or revising group protocols, this is a must read article. Lauer has also co-written two books and is a frequent public speaker on the topic of paranormal investigation.

Robin: Can you tell me about how your group does an investigation from the screening of possible clients to the actual investigation?

Jennifer:  When someone is interested in having us come out and check out their place they’ll either call or send an email and they’ll say I’ve got some stuff going on and I’m really interested in talking about it or having someone come out and do something.

The first thing we do is send out a question set.  It’s an extremely long questionnaire.  It’s something like 150 to 200 questions and it has a variety of different questions that will help us to get a better understanding of what they are experiencing. It also has a couple of different areas in it that allows for some psychological testing, just so we know that we’re not sending our people into an unstable environment.  They’re actual tests that are taken out of psychological texts. And we can score them. It’s really more for our protection than anything else. I don’t want to send anyone into a dangerous environment. So this allows us to screen an applicant and make sure that it is a safe environment in which to send our investigators.

After they send us back the questionnaire, we look at it to kind of get a feel for what they might have going on, what they might be experiencing. And then we set up a pre-investigation which is just two of our investigators going out to the location, sitting down with the people, talking to them and getting a feel for the area where things are happening. We’ll have them take us on a tour of the location, show us where things were happening, tell us who was experiencing them and who was involved.

We also videotape the whole session.  That way we can take it back to the group when we have a meeting, and we can say, “This was happening here, and they can see it.” We also do background readings with either our D.E.A.D. system or with just hand-held equipment just to see if there is a natural reason for that experience in that location at that time.

We also look at, which a lot of groups don’t, if the homeowner says that when they lie in bed they see something across the hall walking down the stairway. What most groups will do is  go to that stairway and they’ll investigate that. What we do is we go to the bed and try to find out if anything is happening in that area that has a natural explanation as to why that person might have hallucinated something. A lot of times a clock radio sitting next to the headboard can really scramble your brain waves because there’s are a lot of electro-magnetic fields coming out of those things. If you’ve ever checked them, you can get 50 milligaus coming off those things and your brainwaves can actually get scrambled. And if your brain neurons aren’t firing properly you can start to see shadows; a variety of different things can affect the human brain.  Those are the types of things that we want to look at.

What we do after the pre-investigation is we go back to the team. We explain what happened and give an overall concept of what is going on. If we have EVP we will listen to it or we give it to Cindy. If we think there is a good chance that something is going on here we’ll go ahead and set up a full investigation which, depending upon the size of the house will determine how many investigators we will take. We don’t want to take too many because then our equipment will pick up their natural electro-magnetic fields. We want to stay as small a team as possible; I think that’s really key.

Then we’ll talk to the homeowners again. We have them take the entire team on a tour of the house so that everyone knows where the areas are, except we won’t have them explain anything about what is going on. The only two people that should know what is going on are the people that were on that pre-investigation; any of the weird things. The investigators that are going in are going in blind. Yes. We feel that’s the best way to go because then there are no pre-conceived notions or anything like that.

Then we’ll do the investigation. We do them in a variety of ways. We may take a couple of investigators and set them off with a couple of hand-held sweeps of the environment. They’ll sweep for ions, radiation and EMF in different rooms. And then they’ll record them. Then we’ll have somebody else setting up the video equipment. And we’ll have somebody else setting up the D.E.A.D. equipment. Another person will get everything together – whatever else needs to be done at that time. Once everything is set up we’ll all get together and do an EVP session in one of the areas where something is going on. Then we’ll also do controlled sessions  in rooms where there aren’t reported happenings. That way we have a control.

We pretty much do investigations in layers. First we do sweeps, then an EVP session and then throughout the night we’ll maybe do a lights-out quiet time, an observation time depending on what’s been going on.  We’ll do another set of sweeps later on. We’ll run the D.E.A.D. system in different areas to see what we can pick up.  We may have several EVP sessions throughout the night.

And then, when we’re done, I have every one of the investigators fill out a little report sheet that they have.  Actually they’re supposed to be filling that out throughout the night, any experiences, anything they noticed that was odd or strange. And they turn in that with any readings they have for the ions. For example if they’re doing an ion sweep in the bathroom they have to record that, and they have to turn that in at the end of the night with the investigation notes. That way the Lead Investigator can write the report. 

Then we take all of the equipment back and the data is analyzed through the D.E.A.D. system to look for any correlations with any EVP that might be caught. So Dave will do the analysis of the D.E.A.D. system, Cindy will do the analysis of the EVP, someone else may watch the video.

Actually I just stopped that because I’ve had people watch hundreds of hours of video and seeing nothing. So what we’ve decided to do now, is  if we notice anything on any of the recorders or the data, we will go back to that time, because everything is date-time stamped. We can go back to the video at that time, just to make sure that anything natural happened that might be caught on video – like a child ran by at the time. We could understand that, because everything is date-time stamped.  Dave or Cindy may say, “Well, I noticed something at this date and at this time.” Then they can compare notes and we’ll look at the equipment readings at that time, the hand-held sweep information, we can see if everything jives or looks strange. Then we can create the report from that.

And we’ve got all the sheets from all the investigators so that we can look at that and correlate that time with everything.  And everything is put into a full report. If EVP is collected we put that on a CD. We go to the owner and we do the reveal. We’ll sit down at the table and we’ll go over the whole report with them. We’ll explain what we found, what we experienced.   If we caught any EVP we will play the disk and have them listen to it. They’ll keep that as well as the report. And there’s always a conclusion at the end of the report of what we believe may be happening.

We always tell them that client care is one of our biggest concerns. If things continue and you’re worried about it, please get back in touch with us – especially if we didn’t find anything. Because they spend 24 hours a day there, seven days a week, 365 days a year. And we’re there for one brief four to six hour session.  A lot of times we don’t collect everything. You can’t be at the right place at the right time all the time. So we make sure they know that, “Unfortunately we didn’t catch anything at this time. But we don’t think you’re crazy.”

The people who have had these experiences, there has to be something that’s creating these experiences, whether that be a ghost or whether that be something natural in the field that you are seeing. Client care is really important, and we want them to know that we’re here for them…So often they say, “Oh, I’m not crazy. That’s all I wanted to know! I knew I wasn’t crazy and now I have proof.” A lot of times that alone makes everything better for them.

We don’t have a lot of clients that say, “I have to leave my house.” More often we have people that just want to be assured that they’re not crazy. They say, “You’ve collected that evidence. You’ve shown me that I’m not crazy. That makes them happy.”

Robin: So you’re saying that the majority of people you deal with just want assurance that they now know what is going on and they’re not insane?

I would say that 80% of the people that call us just want to make sure that they’re not seeing something and that they’re not crazy.

Robin:  There is a contingent out there, however, that’s scared to death. You’ve met the client group out there that’s scared to death? How do you deal with the scared ones?

Jennifer: Sure. There was one [client] in particular that had called us. They called us at night time and we had to drop everything and get a team and go out there. It was a case of RSPK which is Recurrent, Spontaneous Psycho-kinesis (the current term for poltergeist activity). The popular theory behind poltergeist activity being that there is a human agent that is affecting the environment with their minds.

It had to do with a young female. And after we did an investigation and told her that’s what we felt that the case was,  we explained that the activity was probably coming from her. We explained how the brain works and how the brain functions and how that can happen, and that it’s a natural cause. We explained that it’s been studied under lab conditions and how it has been reproduced and that it’s not a “crazy-person” thing but that it happens more frequently than people understand or recognize. She didn’t want to believe it; she wanted to believe something else. However, after we brought that from her sub-conscious into her conscious by making her aware of it, it stopped.

So a lot of times making someone aware of the fact that it could be them, if it’s P.K. [psycho-kinesis] it will definitely stop it. That happens a lot. A lot of times we’ll hear, “well, I don’t know what you did but it’s gone now.”  Well, we didn’t do anything, we didn’t do anything. Just the fact that we were there and you thought that we were doing something, brought the issue that you were facing in your subconscious to your conscious…It’s the, “O.K., someone is here now and they’re going to take care of me. I’m going to be safe and everything is going to be O.K.” And then in fact, everything is O.K., because the issue is resolved in their  mind. Especially if it’s P.K.; because P.K. is done in their mind. So just by making them aware of it, it solves a lot of them.

Robin: Well, we always wonder if we’re going to come across the truly dangerous investigation. Has your group ever experienced anything…I hate to use the word demonic, but have you ever experienced anything of a questionable nature? Or that was a little frightening for you, perhaps?

Jennifer: Not really. I think there was one time in Milwaukee that I got scratched and that Heather got scratched too. But, to be perfectly honest, I don’t think it had to do with anything. There was a huge pulse in the electro-magnetic field of the home. I was sitting on the floor and where I got scratched was very level to an outlet.  And I think it could have been ball lightning coming out of that outlet, and it burned my arm coming down. I think that’s pretty much what it was.

I couldn’t tell you for sure, but the area and the circumstance that I was in, watching it on the D.E.A.D. system; we could tell that it was really erratic. So, I’m going to go with the natural explanation because there was no other possible rational explanation for that. But, other than that, when we go into an investigation, it’s a job and we don’t let our emotions get the better of us. And when something happens we’re more likely to say, “All right! Come on let’s do this [laughs].”

I think we use our minds a little more for…patterns. We’re always looking for patterns. Our mindset is a little bit different, we don’t go based off of emotions, or based off our perception, because we have so much equipment.  We can ask, “Oh, hey, did something happen? I felt something.” And you can see in the environment [using our sensors] whether something did change. So if something did change, and I felt something, then I can say wow [laughs] I’m pretty good! I’m able to detect the changes in the electromagnetic field. So that’s the way we look at things. We’re more fascinated than scared. Fear comes from the unknown. Because of what we know about the field we’re less involved and less scared. We bring more research and science into it.

Robin: Are there any specialized pieces of equipment that your group uses that maybe others don’t?

Jennifer: Yeah, we have a Fluxgate  Magnetometer. It is about $15,000 if you’re going to buy it.  It’s very expensive, but it’s very detailed. It’s an electromagnetic field detector, but it collects 400 samples a second. So it gives us a great range of what is going on. I mean you can walk around with those Dr. Gauss and if you happen to get a really big signal you might pick it up.  This thing can detect changes within the whole house. It’s just so sensitive that if anything happens it’s going to detect it.  You can vary the bit rate if you desire. You can set it for one sample per second if you want or up to 400, which is just amazing.

It takes a lot of space on your computer to do it [laughs] but it gives you a really great look at the environment, especially the electromagnetic in the room, because that can just cause havoc.  It can create mood swings in people. What it does is it interrupts your natural brain flow or pattern, the electricity in your brain.  And when that happens you experience things.

Robin: I imagine a lot of groups would love to have a $15,000 detector but...

Jennifer: Well, we’ve been doing this for so long that we just collect as we go.

Robin: So do you charge dues from your members?

Jennifer: We do.

Robin: Do you charge fees for your services?

Jennifer: No. We charge membership one time, and one time only. We’ve got people who have been here for six or seven years that have never paid but once. The website does say we charge a yearly membership. But I tell people if you stay active in the group I’ll never charge you again.  However, if you don’t stay active for over half a year, even if you’re an Associate member, we will drop you out.

 If you stay active in the group you can stay a member for life. However, if you don’t stay active then step aside and let someone else take your spot and be active. I don’t want 600 members who aren’t active.  It just doesn’t make sense.  So they lose their membership. If they want to rejoin again they can. But if you just remain active you would never have to pay again.  It’s an incentive for the people to just stay active.

Robin: How do you screen potential members?

Jennifer: I really don’t. I think everyone has great in them…bad in them. But that’s one of the reasons I charge people to join; because people put more into something that they’re putting their money into.  If they’re a complete nutcase [laughs] we’ll eventually find out. But we’ve got a lot of nutcases in the group that are really good people.  We’ve had a couple of issues where people are just out of their mind, weird, strange, kind of scary…I refund money. I just say, “I don’t think this is the right place for you.”  But I don’t deny anybody. I don’t want it to be like they feel they have to perform in order to be in this group.  I don’t want that. If you want to be in active in this group then we want you.

Robin: So for you it’s more about willingness than credentials.

Jennifer: Yes, but right now we don’t have open membership for onsite members. We’re at our limit for investigators. But it’s still a great opportunity to get involved as an Associate member.  And it’s a great opportunity for us too, to get to know them before we put them in a situation that could be dangerous – for us too.  Before we take someone into an investigation we want to know how they’ll act. So it gives us an opportunity to get to know them before they become an investigator, before we move them up to that place.

We also do full training sessions. We have a manual, not the actual book that you saw, but an actual manual. It’s a members’ manual that is about this thick. And we sit down for a whole day and we train them on every piece of equipment, every theory, everything that we have. So that they’re well informed before we go out on any investigation.

Robin: So we all have our favorite stories, our favorite paranormal experience. So what is yours? What really set your heart racing?

Jennifer: I did have one. It was before I got into the paranormal field. I was 21. I was living with my mom. I was trying to save my money because I was getting married.  My fiancé lived in the house with us.  We lived in the house where my grandparents had lived their entire married life. My grandfather had died in the front room of a heart attack as my brother watched.  It was back in 1977.

My fiancé and I were staying in the room where my grandparents had [lived].  It was in the front of the house. It was the most beautiful room, all the light from outside would come in at night. It was just a very warm and inviting room.

At the time I was working a second-shift job and I wouldn’t get home until around 11 o’clock at night. When I got home my fiancé was already sleeping in bed and my mom in bed too. She was in a bedroom that was way down the hall. 

When you get home late you can’t always go to bed right away.  So I sat up and watched TV for maybe an hour or two.  It was maybe around 1 o’clock when I decided to go to bed. So, I went in and got ready for bed, my fiancé at the other side of the bed. I laid down, and within 2 seconds I felt this breath on my ear. I could hear it. It was whispering so quick and so wispy that I could hear it, but I couldn’t understand what it was saying. \ I could feel it, its hot breath on my ear. And, of course I froze. I thought, “what the… what the heck was that?” But the really weird part was that I could feel the breath on my ear. So I panicked. I pulled the pillow up over my head. I was 21 at the time [laughs], but I was panicked!  And all of a sudden it happened again. It was like the pillow wasn’t even there. I could feel the breath on my ear and I could hear the whispering. And I passed out. I don’t know if it was from fear or what it was. But I don’t remember anything after that.

Of course I never told anyone about it. It was freaking me out.  And three months later, I was talking to my mom about something, and she said I have something to tell you. You’re into that paranormal stuff, and I’ve got to tell you this. I had this really weird thing happen to me last night.”  She was in her bedroom and had the same, exact thing happen with the whispering in the ear. And she described it exactly as I did. I had not told her. But then I did - that I had had the same experience.  It’s never happened since and I can’t explain it. It really got me wondering what it could have been.

Resources

Auerbach, Loyd (2005) A Paranormal Casebook: Ghost Hunting in the New Millennium. Atriad Press LLC. Dallas, TX.

Auerbach, Loyd (1986) ESP, Hauntings and Poltergeists: A Parapsychologist’s Handbook. Warner Books. NY, NY.

Fluxgate Magnetometer http://beta.globalspec.com/search/products?query_2=flux-gate%20magnetometer&comp=4934&pg=0&pageSize=10&show=undefined measures the strength and direction of magnetic fields.

Lauer, J., Schumacher D. (2007) Investigating the Haunted: Ghost Hunting Taken to the Next Level. Xlibris Corporation. Additional Copies of the Book can be ordered at Orders@Xlibris.com

PRG.’s website (2012) www.http://paranormalresearchgroup.com/