Building a Paranormal Case File
INTERVIEW
One of the first steps of any paranormal case is to interview the client. Clients in the past have approached us to request an investigation, we have been referred cases by other teams or associates, and then there are the cold calls our team initiates to investigate certain locations. No matter how we get the case; we will ask certain questions of the clients, representatives, or associates that have experienced paranormal phenomena in the location. We have a basic list of questions that we ask first and then we build any additional questions from the answers the interviewee may give. The first and most important question is to determine what their goals are for your team and what they want to see happen.
WALK THROUGH
A walk through of the location is always done prior to the investigation however sometimes we do not have access to the location until the night of, so we do the walk through before we begin set up. During my walk through I usually like to run a digital voice recorder so that I have the information as part of the interview process if I ask any questions. We take pictures in a lot of cases if time allows for posterity of the location and to note any security risks or safety hazards. A few times through the years we have decided to forego doing an investigation due to issues with the location or the client, make sure you pay attention to everything.
PLANNING
I am a planner and as such I always attempt to create a detailed plan for the investigation that includes all the information that the investigators or members need. Date, time, location address, parking information, camera placement, recorder placement, investigator roster, session teams, location notes, delegation of duties, and more. I firmly believe that having a plan with necessary contingencies makes a more successful and efficient investigation. Not having a plan can create chaos and sometimes it creates too many roosters in the hen house. Additionally the plan should reflect the information that you have already documented during the interview and walk through.
CLIENT AND INVESTIGATOR DOCUMENTS
Before setting foot into the location for the purpose of investigation (this can be done during the walk through prior to the investigation night) we require the investigators and the client to fill out and submit liability waivers. The investigators forms are for the understanding that they are responsible for any injuries or damages. The client forms are for giving us permission to be there in the first place and to agree that they are not responsible for us and we are not responsible for their injuries. We have formal confidentiality agreements for the investigator that prevent any information from being released indefinitely (this agreement is to keep all information, discussions, or details of anything pertaining to Antietam Paranormal Society and its cases confidential). The client confidentiality agreement is for the client to determine whether they allow for information to be released. We never release any information unless we are given written permission to do so.
INVESTIGATION DOCUMENTATION
A key component to having a successful and clean investigation, is to document everything. During the investigation we document baseline readings frequently prior to sessions, note weather data through out the night (time, temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed/ gusts, and weather conditions), the moon phase/ age/ illumination, camera placement, recorder placement, investigator who placed equipment, equipment operators, equipment settings, movement of investigators/ pets/ others, ambient sounds, location outline, pictures for posterity, and more.
THE INVESTIGATION
During the investigation we are actively collecting video, audio, and other data. Whether we are writing it down, recording it digitally, or observing other types of equipment; we are always using critical thinking. The investigation is where the protocols of paranormal investigation only exist to make sure that you are gathering clean data, objectively. Experiencing or collecting paranormal phenomena is not an easy task (or we'd all have some great evidence) so there are methods and techniques that are used that aren't necessarily going to give you exact information. This is where our qualitative methods of research come into play. We use our observational skills in an attempt to understand experiences, concepts, and theories. Our equipment while helpful can be detrimental to our studies because it can generate false positives which could make our investigation a more subjective experience. This is why we always educate others to learn their equipment and its faults. If you are going to use any equipment, it is best to have a second or third device that will validate each other. A trifecta if you will.
HISTORICAL AND GEOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Generating a report or file on historical or geological research can be done post investigation as long as you are able to access the location more than once. If you are only able to investigate the location once, I recommend separating the roster in two teams before the investigation. One team will help with research and will be able to utilize the information to ask targeted questions during their sessions. The other team will go in blind. This can also apply to paranormal experiences and hotspots. One team can be completely blind and one can have all the details. The idea is to prevent preconceived notions in regards to the paranormal case. History can be obtained all over the internet but in this case you can't just use Google. Utilize land records online or at the local court house, contact the historical society, view land plats, trace deeds, use websites like Findagrave.com or ancestry.com to search people associated with the property, and check out newspaper archives. Geology can be found using various local websites that have information on waterways, caves, rock formations, etc. All of this information could be part of the conclusion for your paranormal case. Just be sure you don't fit things to what you want the outcome to be.
DATA REVIEW AND ANALYSIS
By the end of all of the above, you will have a lot of information. You should review all of the audio and video. Plug in the different data from equipment that you have gathered. I honestly use a timeline approach and put each detail at the time it occurred (one protocol we use is to have one device that we read the time from, it's usually the DVR). This will allow you to catalogue experiences, audio, video, data, equipment responses, and more into one document that can give you a lot of insight into what was happening through out the night. You would be amazed at how often we debunk our own potential data and also we find correlating evidence that there is some paranormal phenomena.
CREATE A CONCLUSION
I think the worst part of the paranormal case is to create a conclusion. In a lot of cases we can't form a solid educated opinion after just one investigation. You may think that it is easy, but in reality it can be extremely difficult and often subjective to form a conclusion too early. There are many criteria that form each label of paranormal phenomena, however we don't approach our cases to say they are haunted or are residual... We approach the case with an objective view on what step we need to take next to make sure the client is happy and comfortable. This brings in the clients goals and what they hope to see. Did they want to know who it was? Did they want validation? If you achieved the clients goals then you have succeeded in your paranormal case.
WHAT NEXT?
This is the big question. What if you didn't achieve the goal of the client? Rinse. Lather. Repeat. Keep doing investigations in a way that incorporates new findings over time. What if the client wants spirits removed or to stop? One thing I know for sure is that they never really go away. The best choice for a client is to either make peace with the spirits that are in their home by setting boundaries or they need to work on their own shortcomings that may exacerbate the energy in the home (which is creating the phenomena). Finish up renovations, remove items that are causing the issues, work on emotional issues, determine if there is some extrasensory perception involved and do work to control that energy, or in the end they may have to have a spiritual representative do some cleansing or energy work. There are many ways to help the energy in the location and the best choice is to start with the living.
These detailed items for the paranormal case file may not all be tangible documents or files on a computer, but they are important details to a successful investigation. The case file doesn't just encompass one investigation, it covers every investigation you do for that location and others. The information contained here carries over in every investigation you will do. Over years of observations, experiences, learned behaviors, and more; you will have a more clear idea of how to help each and every client.
Rebecca Boyer
Co-Founder/ Case Manager
Antietam Paranormal Society
*Formal Investigations within Antietam Paranormal Society is defined as a private investigation that we have created a formal plan, controlled the location to the best of our ability (including those in attendance, the setting, and other variables), and documented in the fullest capacity. Some investigations that have been completed by our team are defined as Informal Investigations where we did not utilize as much surveillance equipment, did not create formal plans, and has a more "ghost hunt" type of feel. All of our investigations are controlled to the best of our ability and we document as much of the variables as we can.
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