Ghost Hunt 2: MORE Chilling Tales of the Unknown

by Jason Hawes

  You could also do more interviews. Neighbors, senior citizens, and your teachers might have some information that could be important. Anyone with knowledge of the location would be a good source for your research. And you will be amazed by how much people enjoy talking about their town’s history. It’s one of the best parts of our job. We love making a connection to the past.

  STEP 6: ANALYZING THE EVIDENCE

  You have hours of videos and audiotapes. You’ve recorded everything. You’ve done your research. Maybe you’ve even experienced something you couldn’t quite explain. Now it’s time to study and analyze the evidence.

  Remember, you need to be very careful when analyzing photographs or video footage. Is that white form a ghost? Or is it nothing? You need to look very closely. These normal things are often thought to be evidence of spirits:

  cold breath

  smoke or fog

  dust, rain, or bugs

  a finger or camera strap in front of the lens

  a reflection from the camera’s flash or lens flare

  Video evidence can be very convincing, but it can fool you, too. Here are some tips that will help you know the difference between real evidence and footage you shouldn’t bother looking at again:

  Never fast-forward during the first viewing. Yes, there are hours and hours of video to watch. Yes, it will be boring. Yes, there is a large chance that you will not find any evidence of the paranormal or ghosts. But do you really want to take the chance of missing something? An important piece of evidence might only be present in your footage for half a second. There’s no way you would spot it if you were fast-forwarding.

  Watch out for an out-of-focus picture. Some cameras, especially in dark situations, lose focus. This can make objects blurry. Blurry objects can look spooky. Is that a ghost hunched over in the background, or just a lamp? You could be fooled if the camera is out of focus.

  Beware of matrixing. Have you ever looked at a cloud and thought it looked like your dog? It’s human nature to make things seem familiar and understandable. It’s something we all do. But ghost hunters like us, and you, have to be really careful about it. Let’s say you have a photograph of a mysterious face in a window. You have to be sure that your mind isn’t turning a random pattern of raindrops into a face.

  Matrixing often happens when you have a picture with a lot of stuff in it. Pictures of tree branches or leaves, fields, or a room with a lot of furniture can fool you. If something in a photo looks like a ghost crouching in your closet, make sure it isn’t just a pile of sweaters.

  TAPS

  Expert Analysis Tip:

  Helping Spirits

  Being a ghost hunter is not only about gathering evidence. There are real people involved—you and the person who called you—and sometimes a spirit is present as well. You know to be respectful when gathering EVPs. But what should you do if you actually get a message? What if the spirit is asking for help?

  Often, a spirit just wants to communicate. Many of the EVPs we get are simply people stating their names. But sometimes a spirit will have unfinished business that is preventing it from resting in peace. This can be a tricky and stressful situation. Especially because when you finally hear the message, you will not be in the presence of the spirit anymore—you’ll be at a desk going over all your evidence.

  If the request is simple, you or your client should consider doing it. Almost like a favor to a friend. Or if it seems like the message is meant for someone else, you should consider delivering it to that person. Remember, as a ghost hunter, your job is to help everyone involved, including the spirit.

  But you may get a message that’s a little more troubling. If a spirit seems really lost or has a request that you just can’t do, then you must let it go. You should try your best to help, but in the end, a spirit must find its own path to peace.

  STEP 7: CONCLUSIONS

  The best way to be sure your evidence is real is to work with your team. You need people with different opinions and different sets of eyes and ears. It’s important not to count anyone out. If one person disagrees with you about the evidence, it could give you a whole new way of thinking.

  TAPS

  Expert Conclusions Tip:

  Keep Investigating!

  Even if you follow the TAPS procedures we just reviewed, we can’t guarantee you will see a ghost. But you will learn a lot about how to do an investigation, and you’ll have a lot of fun. If you don’t see a ghost, don’t give up! Keep a file on each case, even if you don’t think anything paranormal happened. You’ll find that, pretty soon, you’ll have drawers full of case files. By now you know the whole point of being a ghost hunter is to find out the truth about the paranormal, and that can take some time. Look at us—we have investigated hundreds of cases, and we’re still finding out new things all the time!

  MORE EXPERT TIPS FROM TAPS

  Ever since our first book, Ghost Hunt, came out, we’ve been getting more and more questions from kids like you who are doing their own paranormal investigations. We are going to share some of our answers here to help you have the best possible time on your ghost hunts. Keep reading to discover the answers to your most-asked questions.

  Where do I look for ghosts?

  A lot of readers asked us where to start their ghost hunt. Many people have the idea that they should head straight to the cemetery, because that’s where all the dead people are, right? But think about it: How many people actually passed away there? Chances are, not many. So it’s not all that likely a spirit will be connected to a graveyard.

  Instead, try to find friends or relatives who think they might have a haunting on their hands. First listen to their claims, and then plan your investigation. If you don’t know anyone being haunted, do some research about your town. See if there are any nearby public places that are known to be haunted. Many towns have old buildings that are said to hold spirits. But make sure you get permission to go inside.

  Do you use special tricks to make ghosts appear?

  We get asked all the time if we have a special method or technique to get ghosts to show themselves. If we could just make ghosts show up, we wouldn’t have to hunt for them. But we do have a few tricks up our sleeves. Ghosts are unpredictable, so sometimes we try to surprise them. Casually snapping a picture over your shoulder might result in a great piece of evidence. It may sound strange, but it’s worked for us. Also, we are usually very polite. But sometimes we do try to make the ghosts a little angry. In the Alcatraz case, we dared a spirit to come out.

  How do you keep your cool?

  Ghost hunting can get pretty scary. A lot of readers want to know how we keep our cool during an investigation. The truth is, we sometimes get scared, too. It happens to all of us. It would be weird if you didn’t get a little freaked in the places we investigate. So it helps to always have a team member with you. With someone by your side, you automatically feel less scared. Also, we try to keep in mind that ghosts really aren’t like how they are shown in movies. They’re not out to get you. But if we do start to feel really scared, we just get out. There’s nothing wrong with that at all. You won’t be able to focus on the actual investigation if you’re too scared.

  How do you know when an investigation is over?

  We talk a lot about what to do during an investigation, but our readers have been asking us about how to end an investigation. The best thing to do is trust your gut. If you’re getting a little bored because nothing is happening, quit and come back another time. Or if you have a very scary experience, go home. You can always come back.

  I don’t believe in ghosts. Where’s the proof?

  First of all, it’s not our job to prove ghosts exist. Our goal is to find out the truth and help people who have had scary experiences. But our advice to people with friends who don’t know much about the paranormal is to take them along on a ghost hunt. We have often worked with people who don’t believe in the paranormal. After all, for people who haven’t seen it firsthand, the paranor
mal may be hard to understand. But this isn’t a bad thing. It keeps us on our toes. We always want people to ask questions and point out explanations when it comes to evidence. We need to make sure our evidence is as good as it can be. But here’s the bottom line: There’s always room for doubt.

  Your training is almost complete. We’ve given you lots of knowledge and tips you need to do a ghost hunt, so it’s time for a real test. In this test, you will get a chance to join us on a TAPS investigation. You will be asked to go into a very scary site with the team. You will handle the gear, listen to and watch the recorded evidence, and help the TAPS team come to their conclusions.

  Is the deserted, spooky Oakwood Academy haunted? You are about to find out.

  Good luck!

  INVESTIGATION AT OAKWOOD

  “We just got a call from the groundskeeper at Oakwood Academy. He wants us to investigate,” Jason tells the TAPS team.

  “Oakwood Academy?” you ask. You may be the newest member of the team, but you’re not going to be shy. “Do you mean the boarding school that closed down a few years ago?”

  “That’s the one,” Grant says. “The school was open for almost a hundred and fifty years. Students complained that the rules were too harsh. There were always rumors about unexplained accidents. Were they really accidents? Then, three years ago, a student named Robert Miller fell down the stairs and died. After that, the school was closed.”

  “Why does the groundskeeper want an investigation? What are the claims?” you ask.

  “Well, he says he can hear noises coming from the dorms. It sounds like kids talking to one another. He also reports hearing squeaking noises, like the sound of people jumping on beds. He’s also heard footsteps running down the halls. He’s even seen moving shadows in the hallways. The guy was pretty freaked,” Jason says. “I think we should check it out. What do you think?”

  1. You want to show the team what you’ve learned, but you don’t want to be too eager just in case this isn’t something they would investigate. After thinking it over, you say…

  a) “Definitely. This place must be haunted because of the death of the student.”

  b) “Yeah, it might be worth it. I’m going to do some investigating first to find out more about the student who died. Then we’ll decide whether to go.”

  c) “It sounds like something paranormal might be going on. If you think the groundskeeper is telling the truth about what he heard and saw, we should check it out.”

  d) “I don’t think it would be worth it. Something doesn’t add up to me. Wouldn’t the ghost of a student just be near the stairs?”

  The team decides to investigate. On the day of the investigation, you arrive at Oakwood Academy in the early afternoon. You meet briefly with the groundskeeper. Then you and the team check out the student dorms. This is part of the sweep. You are walking up the stairway near where Robert Miller fell when you stop cold. You hear a squeaky sound—like springs in a bed. You remember what the groundskeeper said about hearing the sound of squeaky beds.

  “Grant, do you hear that?” you say.

  “Yeah. It’s really creepy. What do you think it is?” Grant asks the team.

  2. Your teammates have several suggestions. What do you think the team should do?

  a) “Check out the hinges on the doors. Maybe a loose one is making the squeak,” Lyssa says.

  b) “Find the exact spot where Robert Miller fell. That might be where it’s coming from,” Mark says.

  c) “It’s a ghost. Run, dude!” Mike says.

  d) “Try to communicate with the spirit,” Jen says.

  Grant reminds you that it’s most important to look for normal reasons for the sound. So the team follows Lyssa’s advice. You all look through the stairwell, paying close attention to the windowpanes, the door frames, and the air ducts. Everything appears to be normal. You can’t find anything that would make the squeaking noise, so you can’t debunk it. But you’re not ready to call it evidence yet, either. You make a mental note that it should be investigated more. Eventually you move on and finish sweeping the rest of the dorm.

  It’s getting pretty dark outside, so the team regroups. After setting up Central Command, you and Jason go to the main hallway in the dorms to set up equipment. This is where the groundskeeper heard the footsteps.

  3. What piece of equipment should you use to find out if there really are spirits walking?

  a) EMF detector

  b) IR camera

  c) Ion generator

  d) Geophone

  You hand Jason the geophone. You know that it will pick up very tiny vibrations—like footsteps. Then you help Mike and Mark arrange the cameras. The sun has finally set, and the team goes dark.

  You go up one floor and walk slowly with the EMF detector in your hand. The readout is pretty steady until you get to the study hall. At the door to the room, the EMF detector spikes way high. So you go inside to investigate.

  Wham!

  The door slams shut right behind your back. Your heart jumps into your throat. You take a minute to calm down. The room is totally still and completely dark. You flick on your flashlight and scan the room. Nothing is out of place. Then you look at the door. It’s just a regular door. The kind you have to push closed. It’s not the kind that shuts itself with springs. This is really weird. You think it’s possible there is a spirit in the room. You want to try to make contact with the spirit. You decide to use the K-II meter.

  4. You hold the K-II meter out in front of you, and you say…

  a) “Robert, is that you?”

  b) “If there is a spirit present, please come closer and make the lights on the meter blink.”

  c) “Spirit, what is your name?”

  d) “Spirit, how did you die?”

  The K-II meter blinks. Your eyes open wide. You can’t believe what you are seeing. You have actually communicated with a spirit. Or was it just an accident? You ask another question: “Did you go to school here? If you did, please make the light blink again.” You can feel your heart beating as you wait for the response. It seems like forever, waiting for the colored lights to blink. Then, three seconds later, the light blinks again! Now you’re sure there’s something going on.

  5. The next thing you do is…

  a) Turn on the audio recorder

  b) Ask another question

  c) Assure the spirit that you mean no harm

  d) All of the above

  You’re excited by the K-II meter results, so you keep asking more questions. But the K-II meter stays unlit. You think the slamming door and the response you got on the K-II meter may be evidence of something paranormal. But now nothing is happening in this room. You decide to move on.

  You walk toward the students’ bedrooms. As you get closer, you hear that squeaking noise again. You get on the walkie-talkie and ask Jason if he sees anything on the geophone. He says nothing is showing up.

  By now you’re at the first set of bedrooms. You keep walking. A strange smell fills the air. It’s almost like wet wool. Suddenly, you see movement out of the corner of your eye. Just as you spin around, you see a shadow retreat into the room next to you.

  You jump back and call Lyssa on the walkie-talkie for backup. Within minutes, she’s standing next to you. You tell her what you saw.

  “That’s really interesting,” she says. “Moving shadows is another thing the groundskeeper said he’d seen. I’ve got a hunch, though. Watch the door.” She starts pointing her flashlight at different angles. She shines it at the wooden floor, at the walls, then sweeps it back and forth across the whole hall.

  6. You think she must be…

  a) Trying to catch the groundskeeper, who has been trying to play a trick on TAPS

  b) Trying to re-create the shadow

  c) Scaring off the spirit

  d) Making it easier for the spirit to show itself

  “Look, over there.” Lyssa points at the next door down as she moves her flashlight back and forth. “Did the shadow
look like that?”

  “Yeah… sort of.”

  “It’s possible you made the shadow yourself with your flashlight.”

  “Maybe. But it was next to me. Not in front of me.”

  You and Lyssa decide to investigate the bedroom. As you walk in, you notice the air feels stuffy. There are two beds at opposite ends of the room next to two desks. You can almost imagine the students doing homework at those desks.

  Lyssa takes out the IR camera. She points it all around the room. The temperature is pretty steady, but when the light lands on the bed, she notices there are two small warm spots right in the middle.