Antietam Paranormal Society

I don't know about others but when I am searching for a paranormal team, I really want to see comprehensive information about them. Whether you simply use your social media or you have a website there are a few things you should share so that others can get to know you. Where are you located? When searching for a paranormal team, it is extremely important to include where you are located or your service area. Not everyone is willing to share their exact location in this day and age so a good compromise is to share the area of which you are willing to travel in or cover. Our team is located in Hagerstown, Maryland and we will do investigations up to an hour from Hagerstown. This mainly applies to private residences or locations where we are called in to do an investigation. What is your mission? Not everyone has the same goals or even does the same things. We currently do not take new private residence cases on and we have a limited coverage area. It is nice to know whether the team...

There are so many things to consider when you start a paranormal team that it can be difficult to determine what comes first. I will always tell you that before you can even consider starting a team or even attempting to take on clients; you need to do your homework with some reading, networking, researching, and some field experience. No one wants to have a paranormal investigator attempt to help that is scared, unknowledgeable, or could make their situation worse. When you decide to take on clients your priority should always be safety and confidentiality. Here's where I bring up the hated idea of standards and protocols. Every legitimate organization or individual that provides a service has a set protocol to maintain a standard to create a trusted and safe relationship with their client. There is no difference with paranormal investigators or teams. As you are providing a service to a client who may or may not be willing to share the details of the case, you should always have ...

The Case For Ghosts: An Objective Look at the Paranormal by J. Allan Danelek To quote Mr. Danelek "...this book is not another collection of anecdotal stories that seem to so predominate the bookshelves nowadays, nor is it another "how to" book on ghost hunting......this material is more theoretical in nature; my perspective being that of a curious outsider looking not for another good ghost story, but as one hoping to understand the phenomena of ghosts in a broader context.  In effect, this is not a book about things that happened, but why they might happen and what it all means when they do."  This really explains the authors reason for writing and the summary of the book itself. But am I going to leave it at that? No way! I purchased this book at Borders (oh how I miss you!) on a whim. It was one of those shopping trips when I really wanted a new para-read and this was one that I grabbed. What an AWESOME delight it was! Once finished I emailed Mr. J. Allan Dane...

It is a Saturday night at your favorite historic location and it's been hours with no responses. What now? Paranormal investigating and ghost hunting can be difficult if the spirits aren't interested or just aren't finding "connection". There are a few things that we have used through the years that have helped us get things moving. USE HISTORICAL INFORMATION Having a basic historical write up on the location with legitimate documentation can be extremely valuable when you are doing your sessions. One of our first steps in the paranormal case is to validate the information given to us by the client. They may state that someone hung themselves in the attic, but until we have proof it is just a story with no documentation to prove it. So jumping in with this information without documentation could be chasing your tail or you could create a tulpa. We usually do a basic timeline of property owners by searching deeds, surface level genealogy on the owners, and details ...

In 2009 we (Antietam Paranormal Society) got the first private residence case in Frederick County, Maryland. There were three individuals that lived in the small home; the Father, the Mother, and their teenager. One of the first incidents involved the Mother on a regular day. She would often stay in bed long after everyone left for work and this day was no different. She awoke because she heard their front door open and close, then footsteps walking across the downstairs. Calling out to whom she thought was her husband because of the sound of the footfalls, she asked if he had forgotten something. Her questions were left unanswered as the quiet of the house started to alarm her. Who was it? A burglar? She arose and called out again only to be met with silence. Upon dressing and checking the house, she found that the front door was locked and there was no one in the home. That night she asked if anyone had come back in, maybe she missed them leaving again, and no one had re-entered the ...

  Through the years I have had many people approach me about how to start their own paranormal team. I have had a lot of individuals join our team for the purpose of being mentored and growing to the level that they decide to start their own team. I will preface this entire educational post by saying that having a paranormal investigation and research team is time consuming. It's hours upon hours of research, planning, and review. It's working with people who don't always have the client's or the team's best interest at heart. It's a lot of money and sleepless nights. It's about facing your fears and unlearning things you always thought you understood. But above all it can be dangerous and a huge liability. Make sure that you understand that it is not "As Seen On TV". When you accept a paranormal case the client is looking to you for answers, they after all still live and work in the environment you are helping them with, so be sure you are prepare...

 The stately yellow brick building that stands the tests of time in historic Middletown, Maryland was built somewhere in the early 1800s and used for various purposes including a tavern and stable. Over the years the structure saw many expansions however in 1905, Dr. Austin Algernon Lamar purchased the property to house his family and his sanitarium. Dr. Lamar expanded the location in 1906 to include a surgery, recovery, waiting room, visitation room, exam room, and reception. Newspapers reported that Lamar's Sanitarium was one of the best and most modernly equipped institutions in the state of Maryland. The surgery which is still intact today, has white marble tile with a sloped floor to a central drain. On the west side of the building there is a door that was used for patients that entered into a waiting/ reception area. Off this reception area there is an exam room which is much the same except for a bathroom that was added. The downstairs also included a family visitation area...

The first publication of this tome written by Arthur Ellison is dated 1988 and as such definitely doesn't include the pseudo-scientific equipment or hazy scientific method that many current authors include. It is a clear cut description of experiments, definitions, experiences, and hypothesis. Arthur Ellison could be coined as a pioneer in paranormal (psychical) research, as he was the President and Vice President of the British Society for Psychical Research for several years. The inside cover says it best "Through hypnosis, meditation, and psychic development, the author has over the years probed his subjects' unconscious minds, as well as his own, and has examined many people's experiences with mediums and mystics. Guided by the criterion that facts come first, scientific theory second, Ellison investigates numerous extraordinary occurrences and experiments to see what may be learned from them."* After reading the book I did a little research on Arthur Ellison...

When getting started as a paranormal investigator or a ghost hunter you may think that it's just a fun hobby looking for things that go bump in the night. Little do you know that there are things that lurk in the darkness that could pose a safety threat. Over the years I created a little "safety cheat sheet" for the new and even the seasoned investigator.  USE COMMON SENSE There are things that you can do to make sure that you are safe, use your common sense. If the location looks unsavory or potentially hazardous, leave. If you feel unsafe because of a client or another investigator, leave. Take the    appropriate equipment and precautions that are sensible. Avoid areas that are possibly health hazards or safety concerns. Don't try to be a super hero, it isn't worth it. ALWAYS GET PERMISSION It may be exciting to find new and undiscovered locations to check out for your ghost hunting or paranormal investigations, but you should always gain written permission to a...

In the spring of 2008 three friends sat around a computer with a gleam in their eye and a palpable excitement. Mulling over the name that little did we know would carry us through 15 years of paranormal research.  Jeremy, Ryan, and myself were best friends. Our children grew up together and remain friends to this day. We had lasagna night on Thursdays and we hung out many of the weekends. We met at an amateur rodeo in Williamsport, Maryland in 2001. Jeremy was a bullfighter and Ryan was a rider. In those days we chatted about a lot of things but one of the interests that we all had in common was the paranormal.  In the early days we had MTV's Fear, which was a series that strapped a camera to a person's chest and sent them out alone in a dark, haunted location. I would have to say the match struck at this point lighting a mediocre fascination into a full blown flame. A few years later we were introduced to Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures. While Ghost Adventures was edgy and...