The Paranormal Team Starter Checklist: Confidentiality and Liability

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 a protocol for how you handle their information or data. In the same consideration, when approaching a paranormal case it is a priority to make sure that the client, the investigators, and the location are safe. Here are a few protocols and documents you can create:

CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS

The default of every investigation should be keeping every detail of every case confidential or undisclosed. That means that the client names, addresses, associates, photographs, videos, audio, and any other identifying information will remain confidential; indefinitely. When we created documents for our cases, we created a Confidentiality Agreement for the investigators and members to adhere to when they joined the team or were privy to confidential information. It meant that whether we took a case or not, the sensitive information that was entrusted to the entire team would be kept confidential for an indefinite period of time. You can also have all team members sign NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements) when they join the team or about specific cases if needed. The other document we created, and we have utilized for many years, is a Confidentiality Agreement for the client to fill out and approve. I will say up front we do not ask the client to let us share, we created this form for their comfort to understand that they make the decision about what can go outside our team. We NEVER share client names with anyone outside of our team. In the case of private residences we never share client names, addresses, exterior photographs and videos, or anything that may identify the client or the exact location of the home. We have been given permission to share audio, video, and photographs of the interior of the home that do not identify them in any way. The client agreement sites several articles for them to say whether they do or do not allow data or information to be released. It includes property names, addresses, owners, landmarks, research, audio, video and photographs of the interior or exterior (addendums can be submitted to approve or deny specific areas with a signature post case analysis), and the date(s) of the investigation or open ended agreement for all investigations. All data that is shared must be approved by the client if they have not given full approval to release data and this is due to them possibly changing their stance based on the client review. NOTE: Even live streaming the location and the investigation requires permission and authorization to release. If there is doubt about whether you should share something, ask and get written permission.

LIABILITY WAIVERS AND INSURANCE

I honestly don't think a lot of people really consider the liability they are assuming when they enter a property to do an investigation or ghost hunt. Some locations require you to have insurance in order to enter or they will charge an extra fee just in case you don't have insurance. Our team utilizes liability waivers for most of our investigations which have been approved by insurance companies and lawyers. When our members or investigators join our team they are required to sign a Liability Waiver for all events that fall under the umbrella of a "Antietam Paranormal Society" event (investigations, Adopt-A-Highway, meetings, urban exploration, etc.) For investigations we also have a waiver that we will require to be signed by the investigators/ members if it is a first time or the only investigation (private residences, etc), these are for the purpose of giving the client a document showing their agreement to such a liability waiver. Each of these two documents put the liability on the shoulders of the investigator or member, if or when something happens to them. (NOTE: Because our team participates with Maryland State Highway Administrations Adopt-A-Highway program, the members of Antietam Paranormal Society are required to do training every 6 months and sign a liability waiver that is provided by the state. So technically our team has 3 waivers for each investigator.) The last waiver we have for investigations is the clients Liability Waiver and Hold Harmless Agreement. This form covers any and all potential accident or injury to the investigator, member, client, location, and other property. If the client is on our investigation; we have disclaimers and language in the waiver/ agreement that covers any illness, accident, or injury they sustain from the investigation. After all spirits are a little unpredictable. Some locations will again require you to obtain insurance for their location and it can be relatively easy to contact your insurance company for short term insurance to cover your team. While I can't speak for everyone else's insurance costs, I do know having full insurance year round for your team can be $600-2000 per year depending on a few things like number of people involved, indoors or outdoors, potential value of the property, hours the event will last, and the cost of the equipment that will be used. If your team is serious about research you can also look into forming a limited liability company, especially if you are doing events that accept money. Just to be safe, you should definitely at least have documents that are signed and witnessed to allow you permission to be there and waivers to cover everyone. (NOTE: Make sure that you include in your team protocols to not touch or alter anything in the location. Regardless of what it is, always be respectful to the location and leave it better than when you arrived. If you wish to utilize an object or item from the location for your session, ask permission. Respect the client and respect the location.)

I am sure there are things I have forgotten here but this is the most comprehensive write up I have done on Confidentiality and Liability. Too many people get into this for the thrills and chills, but they never consider the potential of what could go wrong. Having a high standard and a strict protocol for these two important topics will engender a good reputation for you and your team.

Rebecca Boyer

Co-Founder/ Case Manager

Antietam Paranormal Society