Antietam Paranormal Society

There is only so much information you can gather from a potential client through phone calls and  emails, so it can be really important to do a pre-investigation walk through a week to a few days before the investigation itself. While it isn't always possible to schedule a walk through, it is a great way to be fully prepared the day of the investigation. If you can't do it in advance of the investigation day, use this guide on the day of to do a walk through when you arrive. As with every step and stage of the pre-investigation process make sure that you are only gathering information and not offering any type of conclusions for the client. While you may have a hunch of what may be happening it is easy for the client to misinterpret your communications or even for the case to switch directions when new information comes to light. During the walk through make sure you present yourself and your team in a professional manner, the client is looking to you for help and I am sure the

The spookiest time of the year is upon us and I am sure there are quite a few individuals interested going ghost hunting! If you have never ghost hunted or investigated the paranormal, you may not know there are a few things you can do to prepare before you head out to that haunted location and even a few things to know while you are there. We would love to share some of our knowledge to help new ghost hunters or investigators (and even share some things for those of you who may have a bit of experience)! Here is a list of things to consider before embarking on a spooky good time! 👻 DO NOT TRESPASS! If you are striking out on your own always get permission from the owner or an authorized representative before stepping foot on the property. Make sure that any 'host' of any events you purchase tickets for or pay money to attend, have the support of the owner or organization! FIND AN EVENT THAT IS EDUCATIONAL AND SAFE WITH A REPUTABLE TEAM! A great way to learn is to find a te

Are you having paranormal phenomena in your home or business? Are you wanting to find a team to investigate your property? It can be a huge leap when deciding to ask some strangers to enter your private space and to share the unusual experiences you may be having, but I created this blog specifically for you. Remember one thing, you are not alone. I have had many potential clients reach out with the age old "you are going to think I am crazy" but rest assured, we have heard it all before. This blog will give you the tools to decide what team will be the best fit for you and even how to approach your case. Each step, stage, question, and guideline on this list is there to keep you safe, assuage your fears, and potentially find you answers.  FINDING A TEAM TO INTERVIEW There are THOUSANDS of paranormal teams all over the globe, so it should be easy to Google teams in your area. Here are a few simple details to look for: *Find a team with a website that is transparent. They shar

"Reaching Beyond the Veil" is the first book I have ever purchased and read by April Slaughter. She recently posted on her social media that she had copies of this book and another "Disconnected From Death" of which she was selling signed. The latter I have not cracked open to read as of yet. I will start as the book starts by mentioning that the forward is written by Troy Taylor, who is probably at the top of my list of go-to authors when it comes to paranormal investigation. Troy gives April a glowing review and now that I have read her book, I wholeheartedly agree.  April has a way of writing that allows you to visualize every story and feel like you were there experiencing things with her. She begins the book by writing an introduction that reads like a disclaimer, "I'm not going to claim that every bump in the night has a supernatural origin. In fact, I believe the majority of them do not. However, when a legitimate phenomenon occurs, I think we should

When I started investigating the paranormal in 2008, I would have to say that for me it was just for fun. Three of us just wanted to go out to really cool haunted locations and experience the paranormal for ourselves. I am sure that is how a lot of people start out, but over time does it become something different for a few people? Almost like a calling? A hobby is usually defined as any enjoyable leisure activity that we engage in voluntarily and consistently when we are free from the demands of work or other responsibilities. Hobbyists that collect items, form fantasy sports teams, gamble, dance, craft, or write; are serious about their chosen hobby. Is paranormal investigation an enjoyable leisure activity? Personally, I don't think so. (It's time consuming and frustrating in most cases. Leisure, hah.) I have seen a lot of individuals and teams pop up over the years and to be honest the people that just want to experience something don't last as paranormal investigators.

I am going to start this particular blog with a bit of a warning, because this may not be your cup of tea. The opinions, thoughts, theories, and views in this blog have been developed by years of observation, experimentation, first hand accounts, and case studies. While you may not agree or even subscribe to the information within this blog, there are many that do agree and fully accept these philosophical theories. This blog is informational, however it should never replace the educated opinion of a medical professional. Please contact a medical professional if you are experiencing any mental or physical illness. SPIRIT ATTACHMENT If you have been interested in the paranormal for any length of time or you have watched paranormal television you are aware of the potential of spirit attachment. If you have seen one of the most popular and probably controversial paranormal television shows, you'd know that lead investigator is always getting possessed. But what if I told you that thro

You've just hung your shingle and you are ready to take on cases, but you don't know where to start. If you are reading this blog and you have never read any of my blogs, stop. Go to the main blog page and read the blogs that start with "The Paranormal Team Starter Checklist". There is information on how to get started, confidentiality and liability, sharing your team, finding and adding members, and important documents. I firmly believe that every team or individual that is taking on cases needs a good foundation and needs to be organized. Once you have gotten some field experience, your mission set, you have developed protocols, and you have put your team out there; you are ready to take on clients! (Disclaimer: Just because our "hobby" is considered a "hobby" doesn't mean you shouldn't take necessary protocols to protect yourself physically or legally. When you accept or take on a paranormal case, you are taking on the responsibility to

It is a truth universally acknowledged (in the paranormal) that if we had indisputable evidence of the paranormal, well it wouldn't be paranormal would it? The tug of the skeptic and the believer is probably never going to go away, but I find myself still wondering what words to use to both sides of the argument. They say the burden of proof is on the claimant, however that works both ways to say it exists or doesn't. I have personally been a paranormal investigator for over 15 years and in that time I have seen so many changes in the paranormal field and a lot of them in myself. I used to be grounded in logic and fact, this was what we were searching for wasn't it? Proof that spirits or ghosts, or the paranormal exist? Even if the proof was to myself, I find that over the years my purview of everything has shifted. While I still seek logic and facts, there is another facet to my research. In the early days if you had asked me I would have said that the things that go bump

One of the first unspoken rules with ghost hunting or paranormal investigation is to always obtain permission to access a property. This statement and ethical line brings up a host of other concerns about exploiting locations with purported paranormal activity. When it comes down to it, there are too many people who lack the moral obligation to obtain permission to access or explore these properties. If we look at the situation from a broader view to include others who have no interest in the paranormal, this isn't just an ethical line for a questionable field of study, trespassing on property is a criminal act. They don't see it as a passion for the study of paranormal phenomena, they see it as a nuisance and potentially harmful. The epidemic of accessing locations without gaining permission doesn't just involve the physical presence for paranormal investigation or ghost hunting, it also includes urban exploration and sharing these locations publicly for self-interest. Let

I have been the Case Manager of Antietam Paranormal Society since its conception in 2008. I was instrumental in creating the foundation of our team and all the protocols for case management (and pretty much all the other formal guidelines for the team). In the early days I scoured the internet and books for how to investigate the paranormal, how to document the paranormal and more. I had no idea what to look for or what to document in those days, so I just created a document for pretty much everything. I will say that some how to books on paranormal investigation had a section that included some of the documents recommended for a paranormal case file, Troy Taylors Ghost Hunter's Guidebook was probably the best, but in all things you have to adapt them to your particular cases. These are a few of the documents that are used the most on our team, but there are a ton of others. We have kept track of all of these variables since we started private investigations in 2009. I have adapted