The Paranormal Team Starter Checklist

 

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 prepared for the responsibility. Every investigator should have some field experience under their belt before taking on a case.

FIND A MENTOR AND NETWORK

First and foremost if you are a budding investigator, I recommend finding someone you trust to mentor you. It could be joining a team, being part of a study, or just going to public events to meet people who have similar goals as you. Meeting others in the paranormal field lets you know what you don't want to be and want you do want to be. It allows you to learn what feels right and what feels wrong. If you want to learn or get some experience under your belt, join a paranormal team or network with teams that have seasoned experience. Beware that some teams and individuals may appear like a good option on the surface but in reality they may be something you want to avoid. (NOTE: Be transparent about your goals. If you plan to start your own team and you join one to learn, let them know. It can cause tension and potentially the team can gatekeep their information if you are sneaky. I understand that you may have the same goals for your paranormal research, however a lot of teams have spent many years

READ, RESEARCH, TAKE NOTES

I recommend reading a lot of books regarding the paranormal (Especially from the pioneers of the field or people who stand above; like Hans Holzer, Alan Gauld, J.B. Rhine, Camille Flammarion, William Roll, Lloyd Auerbach, Troy Taylor, Arthur Ellison, and Benjamin Radford, to name a few.). Don't use television as your guide. There are plenty of people that will tell you that these are not reality and should not be viewed as such. Trust them. Read over other paranormal teams websites to get a feel for what they do and expect out of their investigations. Find articles and blogs. Somewhere in the middle of all the information you find will be where you need to be. Listen to their guidance but don't let it limit you. ALWAYS, ALWAYS read things that do not align with your own personal belief. If you do not understand both sides of an argument, you cannot really form a good argument.

SET A GOAL

Do you want to do private residences? Would you prefer to just do pay-to-play locations? Do you want to do only historic locations that are undiscovered? Do you want to do cleansings? Are you only using psychics? What type of equipment are you using? I created the goals for Antietam Paranormal Society the first year we began investigating and I have upheld them all these years. If you understand what you want to do as a team or as an individual, you will have a better idea of how to structure your team and your investigations. There are teams out there that simply meet up occasionally to do pay-to-play locations, some teams have no structure and choose just a video documentation approach to post on social media, some teams are hardcore and investigate all year, some are serious researchers, and some just ghost hunt in cemeteries. Only you can decide what your goals are and what your dedication level can be.

BYLAWS

Every organized team or group should have a group structure and bylaws. Setting a precedent of what is expected is very important. If you are starting a team find people you trust that will do investigations honestly. People who have similar goals or objectives. Make sure they don't have criminal records, that their references or background is legitimate, and that they have the cognitive ability to do adequate research. These will all impact your reputation and your reputation is what eventually will carry word of mouth referrals. Bylaws should include basic rules of attendance, membership criteria, fees, and anything you can possibly think of that could cause issue in a team dynamic. Are you going to have membership dues? Leave of absences? Resignation rules? Probationary periods? Will each member be assigned an administrative task? Are there review requirements or paperwork they have to do? All of these things create that precedence. If they know when they join, there are no surprises, it's all in one place for reference. (NOTE: When I created our membership handbook, I reviewed a lot of other teams bylaws. Ours includes membership criteria, group structure, investigation protocols, training guides, Adopt-A-Highway rules, liability and confidentiality information, and more.)

STANDARDS AND PROTOCOLS

Create or form a standard and protocols for how your team operates. Delegate tasks and administrative duties for the group. Make sure that everything you do is done with integrity. Don't cut corners or miss documenting things that are important for validating experiences/ data. If you share your findings in a public forum expect critical reviews. Not everyone is nice and most of them don't believe anything that is shared, so making sure that you have dotted your i's and crossed your t's will allow your integrity to shine through. Having a basic standard means that you uphold basic common sense protocols that everyone uses for investigations (tagging audio, taking notes, tracking times, keeping documentation of variables, etc). DISCLAIMER: Everyone understands that no one is an expert, however if you keep track of things you have the ability to document, it gives you the ability to validate any potential paranormal activity. If you do not document variables that you can track, you run the risk of all of your "evidence" being contaminated by things that can be explained that you don't remember later on. As I said before, when you share your data in a public forum be prepared for others to explain your data, especially if they have experience with the location or equipment used. By documenting these things you are creating a high standard for all of your data collection.

FIND MEMBERS

This is the tricky part! As I have mentioned before not everyone has your best interests at heart and sometimes instead of being an inspirational hobby, it can end in dramatic and heartbreaking situations. Be careful who you invite into your sphere. Create an application for potential members to apply and review them carefully. Do background checks to make sure they do not have any limiting criminal record. We have had convicted sex offenders and those who have committed theft apply, we will not take them on our team. Who you have on your team directly reflects on the team itself. Clients are trying to be more comfortable in their home, make sure that you and your members make them comfortable. Do interviews in the investigation setting and out of it, chatting with someone in a normal interview setting may be completely different than seeing them on an investigation. Make sure when they join that they are aware of the bylaws, structure, and membership criteria. Make sure they sign any liability waivers, confidentiality agreements, and documents that say they are aware of the bylaws as they are at that time.

CREATE DOCUMENTS

Not everyone is interested in formal documents but I personally love being able to open a case file and see every little detail in black and white. We have documents for clients and members for confidentiality and liability. We have case documents that track weather, EMF, temperature, team movement, moon phase/ age, where cameras and recorders are set (and who set them), variables, experiences, and more. We have emergency forms for our investigators just in case they have an illness or injury that prevents them from communicating their history. We have checklists and more. Can it be overkill? Sometimes, but when I go back to a case that we investigated 10 years ago; I know who was there, what equipment we used, what issues we had, and more. It's invaluable.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

The worst part of investigating the paranormal is public relations. Social media, websites, creating business cards, branding your team, designing team gear to wear, and emails. You will be inundated at times with questions, requests, and more. Find a happy spot because in this day and age there is a lot of issues with interacting with the public. Everyone has an opinion because they watch TV. People will ask you for autographs, it still boggles my mind (we aren't on any shows, nor will we be). A lot of people are argumentative and hateful on social media, make sure you are prepared. Having a website gives a lot of class to your team; you are able to put all of your information on there for people to contact you, apply to be a member, past investigations, reviews, your mission or goal, resources for potential clients or enthusiasts, and more. If you are going to share your team in a public forum make sure that you include where you are located and your service area.

BE READY

Be ready for anything. When you become involved in the paranormal it can touch every aspect of your life. Expect it to shake things up. Spiritual views may change, your attitude may change, and your relationships may change. Be aware when things are getting a little too intense and understand that you need to lighten the load or take a hard look at what is going on. Being in charge of passionate paranormal investigators is one of the hardest aspects of my time as a Founder/ Case Manager. I feel like I've done more of a psychological experiment than anything else. Try to have fun but TAKE IT SERIOUS. Live Facebooks, dramatic fights on social media, TV spots, frauds, and a whole lot of ego; may try to derail you. Keep your head up and focus on your goals.

Rebecca Boyer

Co-Founder/ Case Manager

Antietam Paranormal Society