by Alex Matsuo
You will also want to take some time to research if there is more than one company offering tours. There is a chance that each company has been contracted to have access to specific locations that might not be available to other groups. There was one ghost walk I went on that was okay, but then I found out that the other company next door gave you access to the inside of these historical buildings. I would have preferred the latter, but I didn't do my homework. This is especially prevalent for popular historical locations like Savannah, Gettysburg, New Orleans, and Williamsburg. Looking at reviews is key, as they will give you an impression of what each company is like and whether or not you want to give your business to them.
Ghost Walks
Ghost walks usually consist of walking tours that can range from one to two miles. They usually make some sort of loop to make it more convenient for ticket holders to find parking and get their bearings. If I'm visiting a new town and I want to get a feel of their paranormal history, I will do a short ghost walk. These usually last about an hour and can be very brief. The tour guide will typically tell you the ghost story at specific spots of the walk, but you won't have much time to check out the area. At the time of writing this book, the most recent ghost walk I did was at Colonial Williamsburg. It took about 90 minutes, and we walked all over the area. We didn't have a chance to stop anywhere for longer than the historical background and ghost stories of each location.
Keep in mind that these ghost walks are for entertainment purposes only. Many of the stories that are shared will come from secondhand stories and third parties that have been told dozens of times by the time they get to your tour guide. One of my biggest issues with ghost walks is that sometimes historical information is changed to fit a certain narrative.
If you have done research on the area and hear the tour guide sharing inaccurate information, you may be tempted to call them out. However, I caution against this. For one thing, tour guides for these companies are employees doing a job. They are not the decision-makers and typically don’t write the tours. The owners of the tour companies are usually seeking to provide good entertainment, not necessarily accurate historical information. For that, I think they would suggest hiring a historical guide. I think you’re better off having different expectations of ghost tours -- they can be really fun, and you can learn some of the local lore. For actual facts, I suggest you do your own research.
Ghost Tours
Ghost tours, in my experience, are more extensive ghost walks. These types of tours will get you inside a haunted building and you might even have some time to do a short little ghost hunt. Because the stops take a little longer, you should expect a tour to last about an hour longer than your regular ghost walk, or even more. The tour guide will usually be more helpful in getting a response from the resident spooks. This is where you will find the flashlight trick being used as well as being shown pictures of anomalous things of the area you're about to explore. This usually is effective in getting people's tensions up and they end up being a little scared. The goal of the ghost tour guide is all about creating that experience and atmosphere so people will get their money's worth.
Extreme Investigations
For someone who really wants to dive into the world of ghost hunting with both feet, you might find a lot of companies offering "extreme" ghost hunts, or some sort of investigation experience with similar names. These types of investigations are usually about 2-4 hours long, and you will have access to the company's collection of equipment. This also gives you access to a location for a longer period of time. I've found the guides to be as involved as you want them to be. If I choose to do an investigation this way, I usually tell the guide that I'm okay on my own and they will go and help the newer people. This is a good option if you don't want the commitment of booking a location for eight hours when you only want a few hours. There are other great companies out there like Ghost City Tours who will do all of the work for you in getting into some of the more popular spots in town. Often, booking with a company like Ghost City might be cheaper since they will have the insurance already taken care of. Plus, they will have their gadgets for people to use and you can get a feel for what you want in your own ghost hunting kit.
Paranormal Investigations
There are also paranormal teams that will get access to a location, and they want people to join in on the fun to help pay for the expenses. Some of the larger locations like Waverly Hills and Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum will charge a group around $1000 for a night of investigating and want a minimum of ten people. For someplace like the Battleship North Carolina, it's $75 per person at the time of this writing with a minimum of ten people as well. Not only is the cost a factor, but you might find yourself at these locations for at least four hours. Some places will even let you stay for eight or even 12 hours depending on what kind of arrangement you make with the location.
At the end of the day, I enjoy ghost tourism. I love finding local ghost walks and tours where I can just relax and not have to worry about other people. I also find that I learn a different side of history, even if it is incorrect. It just puts me back in a place where I have to do more historical research in order to verify what a tour guide said. If anything, it gives me an opportunity to confirm or debunk a local legend, which is something that I always enjoy doing, even if people do see me as a party pooper. But, if we focus so much on the stories that aren't real, then that will simply inhibit our ability to communicate with someone who is actually present and ready to talk.
CHAPTER sevenTeen: becoming a ghost hunter
After you've been on your ghost hunt, you've decided that this is something that you want to continue doing. That's fantastic! You're about to join a crazy family that is full of drama and love. That is the best way I can describe the community.
Start Researching
Being a paranormal investigator, ghost hunter, researcher, whatever you identify with, means that you'll be hitting the books from time to time. Even two famous brothers on a recent hit TV show were always doing research and hitting the books while fighting angels, demons, and monsters. If you don't know the background of a haunting, or even what entity may be residing there, you won't really know what to do, let alone know how to communicate with it.
Research is one of the most fundamental parts of being in the paranormal community. If you're a history buff or a genealogist, then you're already two steps ahead of most investigators. You have impeccable research knowledge that many will envy.
I have to look at the paranormal as a study in society. Just as we discussed earlier about the early ghost stories, we have to look at what was relevant at the time that the story took place.
When I study a haunting, I look at the different ghost stories surrounding the area and try to answer the following questions:
What was the political climate of the time?
How did people survive from day to day?
What did they eat?
What did they wear?
What did they believe in in terms of religion?
What major historical events took place at that time?
What books were published at the time?
Who were the celebrities at the time?
What was the biggest worry at the time?
This, of course, goes back to the extensive historical research that you'll likely do before you visit a location. Even if you have abilities, you can still have the research done by someone you trust so that someone with you can validate your experience.
If you're researching a location that you'll likely won't visit in the near future, you can look at the hauntings and get an understanding of why the stories exist and what it meant for the people who lived in that time period.
Also, research isn't only for the historical and societal aspects. When someone posts articles about extraordinary events like ghost sightings and such, you will want to research the background of the publication and author. Research the person behind the claim.
For ex
ample, when the infamous Dobby video came into existence, thousands, if not millions, were blindly sharing the video saying that it was a monster, a demon, and a plethora of other supernatural terms. But only a few actually sat down and broke down the video.
Kenny Biddle was able to debunk the video and tell you exactly how the video was made. He figured out that the creator of the Dobby video had a son who was just as skinny as the creature in the video. Plus, Kenny was able to recreate Dobby's head by wrapping a t-shirt around his ears. Another golden nugget that Kenny picked up was that the creator of the video claimed it was surveillance footage. But Kenny noticed that there was sound, which isn't typical of a lot of CCTV equipment. He also noticed that no part of the video had a date or time. Again, it doesn't fit the traditional format of surveillance footage because things like the inclusion of time and date are standard.
For me, this is all part of the paranormal community. You don't want to take anything at face value. Instead, you want to research and fact-check as much as you can. Even witness testimony can be unintentionally tainted, especially if they have a bias and already assume that their experience, or what they caught in the photo or video, is paranormal. When this happens, we have to step outside of that bias and look at the data from a non-judgmental perspective so that we can objectively investigate.
Find a Team
Another thing you will want to do is find a team to connect with. When I first started out in the paranormal, I shadowed a few times in Southern California and molded what APS would be from that. I took the best things I liked about those teams and implemented them on my own. I found that by observing how a team works and observing people on social media interacting with each other, I was able to get a feel for investigative techniques outside of what I saw on TV or the stupid things I did in high school because I was so eager to experience a ghost.
You don't necessarily have to join a team at all. Plenty of paranormal researchers work independently. If you want to join a team to learn the ropes, be honest about whether you're planning on sticking around the long term or if you just want to shadow the team to get an idea of what you want to do. Transparency is key when it comes to interacting with people doing field work. Most teams are busy maintaining basic functions, plus doing ghost hunts. Lend a helping hand wherever you can while learning. There are many who are more than happy to let you shadow them or even sit down for a meal while you let them pick their brains. What you shouldn't do is commit to joining a team, sign a contract, promise you'll be there, and then leave the team in the dust after you think you've collected all the experience you need. The paranormal community is large, but also small enough that you will want to maintain a positive reputation with people in the field.
If interacting with a team long term isn't for you, that is okay too! I do recommend having a network of folks from different backgrounds as part of your "paranormal circle." One of the things I've really had to nail down is networking. I have skeptics, scientists, psychologists, doctors, witches, audio technicians, photographers, cinematographers, graphic designers, mediums, and more in my network. Why? Because I don't know everything.
For example, if I'm looking at a photo someone sent me, and I don't know why only that one orb is appearing in the photo, I'm going to send it to my photographer friend. Same thing with anything regarding video or any other tech that I don't have the best handle on, let alone articulate how it all works. Sometimes, I need someone to explain things to me like I'm five years old. Keeping explanations at a high level as much as possible
Gather Equipment
As mentioned earlier, you really don't need any equipment to go ghost hunting. One of the first things I will ask someone when they want to pick my brain about equipment is, "Are you looking to collect data (or evidence), or are you looking to make a connection?" This is because your experience will be vastly different depending on what you choose to do.
You don't have to spend thousands of dollars on equipment. You can go as simple as bringing a pen and a notepad. It all comes down to your intention. But, having expensive equipment does not make anyone more qualified in ghost hunting than the person who doesn't have any tech at all.
I find many ghost hunters are stuck staring at a screen. Seldom do they look up. If they are looking for data, then this is completely fine. If they are also seeking some sort of communication while looking at the said screen, then there might be a problem. However, if the ghost hunter is not looking for the experience and only wants to analyze, then staring at a screen is validated. But, if they are staring at the screen and then try to say that there are no ghosts in a location because they didn't have the experience, then they need to reevaluate what they do on the field with real-life experience.
I recommend revisiting the Tech and 21st Century Gadgets to get a good idea of what you want to do equipment-wise.
Money Matters
In a perfect, we would be able to walk into a haunted place and be able to investigate it without paying any money. Also, equipment would fall from the sky and there would be no hits on our bank accounts. But we do not live in that perfect world. Of course, there is also the financial aspect to all of this. Locations need the money to keep going, and those building the tech have their own bills to pay and food to buy. Ghost hunting is one of the most expensive hobbies out there with little payoff. If you're going into this hoping that you'll be the next star of a ghost hunting show, or you can quit your job and make a living off of monetizing content, then you might want to keep your day job in your back pocket...just in case.
As stated before, you really don't have to spend a ton of money on equipment. However, getting access to some of the cooler paranormal places does cost money. Most investigations will average between $30-$100 per location. If there's a paranormal celebrity present, then you may have to double, or even triple, that price tag.
Also, many of these haunted locations may require a minimum headcount of five to ten people. Unless you want to book a location for $1,000 and be by yourself (not recommended for safety reasons), then you'll want to gather some folks you trust and help split that cost.
You can spend as much or as little money you want in this industry. While the current trends at the time this book was written are reflective of having as much equipment as possible, there are many who have had incredible experiences with just a notebook and pen in tow.
Experts in a Professional Hobby
I am hesitant to call anyone an expert in this field. This is an area where we have yet to determine what a ghost is, let alone how the mechanics of a haunting work. So, how can we have an expert in this field? We can have people who are knowledgeable from the research they've done and have come up with their own theories from their fieldwork. But can we call them experts? Until we have these things streamlined and fleshed out, I don't really call anyone an expert. Actually, the one person I think would be the closest to an expert would be Loyd Auerbach, who was one of the few to get a degree in parapsychology when the program existed.
Just like with experts, I'm also hesitant to call anyone a professional ghost hunter...unless they are being paid to go hunt ghosts. In this case, then the folks on TV are definitely professionals. However, if you're paying locations to go investigate, and you're not being paid a salary or even freelancing where there's a paycheck, in the end, you're not a professional ghost hunter. If you're leading a ghost hunting tour and making a profit, which turns into a paycheck, then I would say you're a professional.
This is why I'm very skeptical of teams consisted of volunteers calling themselves experts and professionals. Furthermore, saying they have decades of experience when they combine their years of investigating. Like, if you have a team of fifteen people who have about one year of experience each, the team is marketing themselves as having fifteen years of experience. It doesn't work that way. If you're new to the field, and your team is new, it is okay, to be honest.
Competition
As you may have caught on from abo
ve, sometimes interacting with other folks in the field can make you feel like you're participating in a contest. Competition is rampant in the field, especially among teams that have the same stomping grounds. There is a fine line between collaboration and competition. For me, I was able to network and make connections with other folks in the paranormal field thanks to hosting a radio show. I was able to focus my energy on someone else and use my platform to promote them and have the opportunity to celebrate what that person was doing in the paranormal field.
Of course, you could also do everything right in the field and someone will have an issue with it. My best advice, which even I have a hard time following, is don't play the game. Just keep doing what you're doing, and the hard work you put in will eventually pay off.
Finding the Balance
As with any hobby or passion that we all possess, sometimes finding that balance between the paranormal and "normal life" can be quite troublesome. I've found that if you go too far deep into the paranormal rabbit hole, you might lose a part of yourself and who you are until you claw your way back up. I can only speak from personal experience from running a team and dedicating nearly every waking moment I had towards my paranormal work. Eventually, I got so burnt out that I nearly ended my paranormal career prematurely and wanted out. Of course, some of the people who were benefiting from that hard work weren't happy that I wanted to tap out. If you find yourself on a team, or in a position where you're spinning all of the plates, don't be afraid to take a break, or hand a spinning plate off to a trusted team member or friend in the paranormal field.