Investigation 101

Preparing

The Client (if applicable)

• Strongly encourage them to keep a journal/record of these happenings, including their mental/emotional states before, during, and after. This will help them get through the events, as well as to aid the investigators.
• Supply them with information that might ease their fear, or clear up any misconceptions.
• Talk to any and all witnesses, multiple times if possible. Interview them at depth, asking questions multiple times in different ways.
• Make sure all parties have given their consent to the visit and investigation.

Research

• Do your own research on absolutely everything involved in the case. For apparitional and haunting cases, it may be necessary for you to look into the background history of the location or the person(s) seen in the form of an apparition. You may want to do some background checks of the people involved if there is some question in your mind that something may be missing. Anything that is vaguely applicable? Look into it.
• Talk to other experts. Get various opinions. You may need to consult experts in other fields for information. For example, a magician might shed some light on perceptual problems or on how to set up controls against fraud in a poltergeist case, a builder may help understand why odd sounds are produced by the house, a geologist may help with effects that could be related to unstable foundation of the house or to temperature effects (which could be due to an underground water supply), and so on.
• Compile all information you think may be useful during your investigation.

Find Fellow Investigators

• Unless you are instructed explicitly to do so, DO NOT GO ALONE. You never know what the extent of the situation is, or how safe it is. Plus, it's always good to have others to help with interviewing.

Gather Supplies

• One tape recorder per investigator
• One camera per investigator
• Make sure your research is accessible
• Notepad, pencil/pen
• Flashlight, measuring tape, etc.

Investigating

The investigation may take several visits, or may warrant staying in the location for a period of time.

General Tips:

• Eliminate all normal/natural explanations before assuming anything is paranormal.
• Avoid publicity/media as much as possible. It could interfere with the investigation as well as the clients' personal lives.
• Become a part of the setting yourself. Try as best you can to blend into the background if the events are still continuing so as not to be disruptive of the factors that may allow the phenomena to go on. Any equipment you have should also be as unobtrusive as possible.
• Keep full notes along with any recording of the investigation. Take down any impressions you or the other investigators have as you are conducting the investigation. They could have a bearing on the final assessment.
• Check and recheck all facts of the case as you have them.

Interviews:

• Interviewing clients is immensely helpful in understanding cases.
• Speak to everyone involved, individually and as a group.
• Ask the same questions multiple times with different wording.
• For an in-depth list of potential questions, see here.

Field Experiments:

• Field experiments can be either an attempt to recreate or to simply gauge the nature of the activity.
• Only try to recreate the activity if the client is comfortable doing so.
• For an in-depth list of potential field experiments, see here.

A note on cryptids:

Cryptid hunting looks a lot different than a parapsychological investigation. While the general tips still apply, much of cryptid hunting is hiking through woods, collecting samples and hoping to catch a glimpse of the unglimpseable. If you're lucky, you'll get to chat with a few locals who have experienced something interesting, or you may stumble upon an undetectable print or tuft of fur. Cryptid hunting is a lot less involved, but you don't have to deal with the emotional hysteria that comes with a live apparition or poltergeist. So pick your poison.

Things to look for on a cryptid investigation:

• Animal tracks, scat, or beds
• Strange animal sounds, rustling
• Broken tree branches,
• Carcasses

A lot of investigating is using your best judgement to figure out what's truely going on. Use a scientific approach. There is no "one size fits all" guide for investigating the unexplainable.

What Next?

Well, we must do our best to follow through with the request of the client. If the client simply wishes for it to be investigated, that is the end of it. Hopefully by the end of the investigation we can tell the client what the entity is and what is causing it. If the client wishes for the strange activity to stop, we must try to make that happen. Very often, a call for an investigation is a cry for help. The family very often needs the phenomena to stop, while we, as investigators, would love to see them continue in order for us to study it. The ethics of the situation demand that the needs of the people come first.

So firstly, we must figure out what is causing the activity.

As an investigator researches more and becomes more familiar with the patterns expressed by different entities, it becomes easier and easier to identify the cause. It is important to know what may indicate a true ghost versus a poltergeist, or a local cryptid versus regular wildlife activity. These distinctions come with time, practice, research, and experience.

Next, we can take the appropriate actions.

There is extensive knowledge available on how to get rid of a ghost, poltergeist, apparition, etc. Cryptids and aliens are much harder to "get rid of", and we tend to simply inform the client the best we can on how not to get attacked or abducted. If the client only requested an investigation, we can bring our findings back to L.I.C.E. for others to appreciate.

For corrections, questions, or further information, please contact your advisor.