Ghost Hunt 2: MORE Chilling Tales of the Unknown

by Jason Hawes

  Even though we have investigated hundreds of cases, every TAPS investigation follows the same steps:

  1. The Interview

  2. The Sweep

  3. Setting Up the Command Center and the Equipment

  4. Collecting Evidence

  5. Research

  6. Analyzing the Evidence

  7. Conclusions

  Let’s quickly review the steps, the way we always do with our team.

  STEP 1: THE INTERVIEW

  Getting a new case is the best part of our job. When someone calls us with a story about seeing a ghost, we’re ready to pull an all-nighter to catch a glimpse of it. But you know there’s work to do first. You need to get the story. That’s what we call the interview. A good interview can tell you what to look for and where to look for it. The point is to get as many details as possible. Remember, we always ask specific questions to get the best results. You don’t say “So what happened?” You need to ask questions that will give you exact answers, like these:

  When was the first time you heard or saw the paranormal activity?

  Where exactly were you when it happened?

  What did you see or hear?

  Did the spirit move at all?

  Was there anyone else with you?

  Did you both experience the same thing?

  Were objects moved, or did the spirit try to communicate?

  Does this activity happen only in one spot or throughout the house?

  Once in a while we come across someone who is trying to trick us. Maybe that’s happened to you… It’s best to find out if someone is just messing around early on so you don’t waste time that could be spent investigating a real claim.

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  Expert Interview Tip:

  Spotting a Lie

  Sometimes we get a call and everything is just right—exciting claims, historical location, people who seem trustworthy. All the pieces are adding up, and we are eager to investigate. And then when we show up at the site, something feels off. Maybe there is a stack of books on the paranormal or a Ouija board that “just happens” to be left out. Or the people seem more excited than troubled. But we just get a weird feeling that maybe we aren’t getting the whole truth. This may happen to you. What do you do?

  Get to the bottom of it fast. Ask a lot of questions until you get the whole story. Ask the interview questions we gave you, and then keep going. Get super-detailed. Make sure it all adds up. For example, your friend Eric says he saw a spirit while he was eating a midnight snack. Ask him what he was eating. If he can’t remember, that could be a clue that something isn’t right.

  Look people right in the eye, and watch their body language. If the people you are interviewing can’t look you in the face or if they keep fidgeting or if they blush, they may be lying to you. Then just stare right at them, and ask them straight out if they are lying. Their reaction will tell you the truth.

  STEP 2: THE SWEEP

  We do most of our investigations at night, but we always start with a daytime tour of the site. We call this part the sweep because we spend this time looking for what we call false positives. Remember, that’s our term for things that seem paranormal but are, in reality, just normal.

  Use this handy checklist to help you when you walk through your site.

  SITE SWEEP CHECKLIST

  Be sure to look closely for these things:

  Old pipes, radiators, and air ducts can make scary noises.

  Water leaks can cause noises and creepy dampness.

  A house settling can make creaky sounds and can make floors uneven, which can result in falls or weird feelings.

  Mice, rats, raccoons, and other critters—even termites in the walls—cause noise and scratching, and they can move in the dark.

  Cracks in the windows create drafts and drops in temperature.

  Blinds or shades that blow in the wind can make banging noises.

  Bad insulation can create a cold spot on a wall.

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  Expert Sweep Tip:

  What’s Behind the Walls?

  It might be easy to run through a sweep too quickly. After all, you are excited to do an investigation. But you need to stay focused. Here’s an important tip: Imagine what’s behind the walls.

  Having an idea of the layout of a house can be very important in an investigation. We’re plumbers, so we have a lot of knowledge about how a house is built. We know what is behind the walls that could be making noises. But you don’t have to be a plumber to figure these things out. You just have to pay close attention. Sometimes, a buzzing sound can be caused by electricity. In that case, look for an electrical outlet nearby. If you don’t see one, look on the other side of the wall in the next room.

  Water running through pipes can sometimes sound weird. But if you know where the sinks and toilets are, you can figure out if pipes are nearby. By keeping an eye out for those types of things, you will be training yourself to debunk first. And you’ll be less likely to miss something important when you do your investigation.

  STEP 3: SETTING UP THE COMMAND CENTER AND THE EQUIPMENT

  Before we go dark, we need to get organized. You know that we don’t just walk through a house without knowing where to meet up afterward or deciding who goes where. We set up the Command Center so the team knows where to meet and regroup during the night. On a TAPS investigation, we set up monitors so the team members can check out the action in the whole house at the same time. We can also see where the other team members are.

  When it comes to setting up equipment, make sure to have all the hot spots covered by a team member or two and from all angles, if possible. When you set up, look for conditions that could cause false positives. (Look at the sweep checklist for help.)

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  Expert Setup Tip:

  Setting Up Outside

  Not all investigations take place indoors. Think of the “Ghost Town” story. Lyssa and Jen experienced a cold spot outdoors. And even though Lyssa was inside the shack, Jen was the one who caught the video evidence from outside. So no matter where you are investigating, you still need a Command Center.

  Make sure it’s an easy place to find. If for some reason you get split up or your walkie-talkies stop working, you will be able to meet up quickly that way. If you’re in a place where there are a lot of buildings, choose to set up near the tallest one or one that is lit up—that way you’ll be able to see it from far away. If you’re in a more open space, you should make sure to stay within shouting distance of the Command Center. If your teammates at the Command Center can’t hear a shout, then they are much too far away from the investigation. Other than that, your Command Center setup should be similar to the one you use when indoors.

  But remember one important thing: Bring lots and lots of extra batteries. Nothing will end your investigation faster than not being able to use your flashlight.

  STEP 4: COLLECTING EVIDENCE

  Between the hours of 11 PM and 4 AM is when most spirits appear, so that is when you should investigate. It takes a lot of energy for a spirit to appear, and it is easiest during these hours. Think of it like this: If you were to turn on a flashlight during the daytime, you would hardly notice the light. But if you were to turn it on in the dead of night, the light would shine brightly. Before starting an investigation, remember to get permission from your parents and the owners of a site first. And always investigate with a partner. You see more and you enjoy it more—and it’s safer.

  When you come across activity that you think might be evidence of a spirit—like a strange noise or a cold spot—you need to walk toward it. It’s natural that your first instinct might be to back away. But instead, you should walk slowly but steadily into the area. What you’re trying to see is if the activity gets more intense as you get closer. If you walk toward it and the activity just goes away a second later, it might be nothing.

  As a ghost hunter, what you need most of all are your eyes, your ears, and your brain. There are some things tha
t no gadget can capture. There are things going on in a room that just cannot be recorded with any piece of equipment. But there are some basic inexpensive tools that we always like to use.

  Audio recorder: TAPS prefers one with an external microphone, so you won’t pick up the sounds of the recorder itself.

  Video recorder: We set up cameras in hot spots where activity has been reported, and we also carry handheld cameras to record what we experience.

  Compass: A compass can be used as a basic EMF detector. The needle will spin around if the electromagnetic field of an area changes. This could mean a spirit is near, but it can also mean it’s close to a magnet or metal. Wave the compass very slowly in a circle to see if there are minor changes in the electromagnetic field. Don’t move too quickly, to avoid a false positive.

  Flashlight and lots of batteries: The flashlight is a no-brainer. But why the batteries? This might not seem very important, but believe us, it is. Spirits will use any available energy source to manifest—including draining your camera or flashlight batteries.

  Digital thermometer: (Note: Use an ambient thermometer—one that measures the temperature of the whole room, not just the spot where it’s pointed.) A digital thermometer is a very common tool in ghost hunts. Use it to look for warm spots or cold spots. A cold spot might mean a spirit is drawing energy from the room, using the warmth from the air to manifest. Of course, once you find a cold spot, the next thing you should look for is a natural cause. Don’t forget to use your checklist from the sweep.

  Walkie-talkies: Use these to keep in touch with the rest of your team.

  In order to be scientific about an investigation, TAPS does use other equipment that can accurately measure things. Keep in mind, though, that you don’t need all our high-tech stuff to do a good investigation. There are advances in science and technology all the time, so we are always looking for new equipment that will help us.

  Here is a list of some gear we use. You can find more in the glossary at the back of the guide.

  EMF detector: This measures the force given off by electrical charges. Scientists call this force the electromagnetic field. We do not use EMF detectors to prove there are ghosts. We use them to see if there is a sudden increase in the electromagnetic field. A sudden increase could mean a spirit has entered the area. It could also mean that you walked in front of an object with a high electromagnetic field, like a large appliance. So you have to be careful.

  Some people are very sensitive to electromagnetic fields. A strong electromagnetic field can make them feel sick or dizzy. Sometimes it gives people a creepy feeling, which can make them think there are paranormal things happening. When we find high EMFs, we often tell people to have an electrician fix the electricity in the house. If the creepy feelings go away, we can debunk the claim.

  Geophone: Scientists use this device to study earthquakes. A geophone detects vibrations. We use it to try to pick up the vibrations made when spirits walk.

  Ion generator: An ion is a particle with either a negative or positive electrical charge. An ion generator makes the air electrically charged. Paranormal investigators think the charged air makes it easier for ghosts to try to show themselves.

  IR illuminator: We use this camera attachment, which shoots out invisible infrared light into a room, to make the IR function work better.

  K-II meter: Like the EMF detector, this detects the electromagnetic field. A light blinks to show how strong the field is. TAPS teams have tried using K-II meters to communicate with spirits. We ask yes-or-no questions. If the spirit wishes to answer “yes,” it can use energy to change the magnetic field and cause the light to blink. If the answer is “no,” the light stays off.

  Laser grid: This piece of equipment shoots out lasers (a laser is a very focused beam of light) into a grid of bright dots arranged in a pattern. All a person sees are little red dots on whatever the laser grid is pointed at. If a spirit walks in front of the laser grid, the dots will disappear as if they are blocked by the entity.

  Thermal camera: A special kind of IR camera. Thermal cameras collect visual information about heat and cold. They make warmth and coldness visible and can see what regular camcorders can’t. We use them to detect cold spots and warm spots—and to watch for changes in temperature, which could mean a spirit has entered a room.

  Gathering Audio Evidence

  Say you’re investigating a house for strange noises. As you go through the house, you will hear all sorts of normal sounds. Don’t forget to tag all those sounds. Just say “The floor creaked under my foot,” or whatever the case may be. These investigations can take all night, and you might forget something insignificant like that when you are listening for EVPs later. It’s important to be careful because you want to be sure your electronic voice phenomenon is real. Sometimes the sounds you hear explain what the spirit is looking for. Remember the spirit in “Lost in the Lake”? We heard “Find me,” and eventually he was found.

  So how do you get ghosts to talk? You start by talking to them. Remember, spirits were once alive and deserve the same respect you’d give any person. Don’t start off by asking questions like “How did you die?” or “Why are you haunting this house?” Instead, ask simple questions, such as “Who are you?” or “What are you doing here?” or “What do you want?”

  After each question, wait ten to twenty seconds. It takes time for a spirit to gain enough energy to respond.

  Collecting Video Evidence

  A regular camcorder is a great tool for a ghost hunter. You can watch the whole investigation over again second by second and not miss a thing. You can even slow time down to study every part of an important moment. This helps when you’re not sure whether what you’re seeing is actually evidence. Is that black thing just a shadow… or a black mass? Most camcorders also have a night vision camera, which is perfect for a ghost hunter walking around in the dark.

  Professional ghost hunters like us also use thermal cameras. They’re great for debunking a site. Some thermal cameras are so strong that they can pick up the heat of a mouse in the wall. If it were not for these IR cameras, you’d never know it was the little mouse all along making those creepy, scratchy noises.

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  Expert Evidence Tip:

  Experiment

  If you do think something paranormal could be happening, be creative. Try to think of an experiment you can do that would debunk the strange thing going on. For instance, if you hear a funny sound that’s near an air duct, have a teammate try to re-create the noise by standing at the other end of the duct and calling down to you. Metal tubes can make a voice sound really garbled. If you see a flash of light, think about where it could be coming from. Then see if you can duplicate it with your flashlight. If you see a door slam for no reason, go over to it and open it and see what happens. It may just be hanging at a funny angle.

  STEP 5: RESEARCH

  Doing research about a site can bring your investigation to the next level. If all your evidence adds up and your research backs it up, you might have a real haunting on your hands. We spend a lot of time looking up information about our investigations. We try to find out who lived in the house and what they did there. If an area or a town has a lot of history, there will be a lot of great information to find.

  But we know you know this from reading about us and watching our show: Always do the research after you’ve investigated the site.

  Have you ever passed someone drinking a soda and then five minutes later you’re dying for a Coke? That’s because the idea of drinking a soda was planted in your head. The same thing can happen if you do research before the investigation. If you show up at a site knowing that a famous singer died in the house, every faint noise will sound like someone singing to you. Or you may be so focused on trying to capture the singing that you overlook other important evidence. To be a good ghost hunter, you have to observe and take good notes. Then you can do research and come up with some conclusions.

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Expert Research Tip:

  Getting More Information

  You’ve done a thorough investigation and have some convincing evidence—that’s great. But what if you go do research and you come up short? The information you need just isn’t there. If you’re like us, the Internet is most likely where you started doing your research—and it is a great place to begin. You can find lots of information on almost any topic or location in a matter of minutes. But it’s just a start.

  There are a few other options. First, try your local library. Ask the librarian if the library has old articles that relate to your investigation. Many libraries have microfilm stations where you can look at very old newspaper articles. Some libraries have even converted the film to digital files so you can read them on a computer and print them out. You can also take out a few books on local history if necessary.