Mock Investigations

You will be scored on a scale of 1-100 based on logic/reasoning, use of resources, and detail. Incorrect conclusions may affect your score.

Please read the evidence thoroughly. All evidence is taken from real life cases, though some of it may be simplified.

Input your answers into the answer sheet in the style of a case write-up. Make sure you answer ALL additional questions within your case write-up. Note: step one may be skipped completely, as that information has been provided. Step two does not have to include the actions provided below, but must include any additional steps you would have taken.

A number of resource links are available at the bottom of the page. You are welcome to do outside research but all necessary information has been provided. Some links may not be relevant.

Reach out to your advisor with any questions.

Investigation 1:

Goal: Alleviate the distress the activity is causing.

You are investigating a client case in Northern California with three fellow investigators (Agents 1, 2, and 13). This takes place over November 4th-6th, 2023.

First Contact

• A woman contacted us reporting a ''presence'' inhabiting her house.
• The Jones family consists of
  • The mother (49 f, lives at home, the client),
  • Child 1 (25 f, out of the house),
  • Child 2 (22 f, out of the house),
  • Twin 1 (16 f, lives at home), and
  • Twin 2 (16 m, in long-term psychiatric treatment).
  • They also have a small dog and three house cats.
• All five of them moved into the house 16 years prior.
• Presence had been felt occasionally for 10 years, after Child 1 had moved out, increasing in frequency and magnitude over the last few weeks.
• No clear details of the activity. However, the events were frequent enough, current enough, and with more than just a single witness, so a visit was planned.

Visit One

You spend several hours with the mother and Twin 1. You learn:

• Twin 2 had been committed to an institution for mentally disturbed juvenile delinquents following incidents of truancy, burglary, and running away from home.
• The house was built in 1935.
• No clear details of the actual activity.

Visit Two

You are able to speak with the mother and Twin 1 again, as well as Child 2.

• While on the stairs to the second story, Agent 1 and Agent 2 experienced a pressure of some kind coming out of one of the upstairs bedrooms. The pressure felt like a great increase in air pressure, and seemed to center around their heads. One reported his head began to throb as you neared the bedroom. He walked into the room ahead of everyone, and stopped in a particular spot, which was the place where the apparition stands when he appears.
• 6 years ago, Child 2 was sleeping in her mother's bedroom (which was hers at the time). She was awakened and felt as though there was a weight on her chest. At the same time, she apparently saw a figure in black at the foot of her bed. After, Child 2 asked her mother to stay with her. She fell asleep before the mother did, and soon after the mother felt like she was being pushed into the bed, receiving the same impression of a figure in black, again at the foot of the bed. This experience prompted the mother to call a priest, who came over to bless the rooms in the house. Child 2 continued to feel odd about the room, but apparently didn't have another encounter with the figure in black.
• Twin 1, according to the mother, was the next to experience it. She had apparently been seeing it for a while before telling her mother about it a few weeks ago. Twin 1 noted that the activity escalated for her mother after she admitted to experiencing the activity.
• According to the mother and Twin 1, the figure was male, dressed completely in black, and wore some sort of helmet that covered all facial detail. There was a swirling effect around the body that suggested a cape, and the figure also wore distinctive black boots, and carried a black broadsword. The figure was less ''seen'' with the eyes than visualized. Both mother and Twin 1 got the feeling of evil from the figure, but that it wouldn't necessarily do anything to harm them. It always appeared in the same place in the mother's bedroom.
• Twin 1 offered her interpretation. She felt that he was quite ancient, and that he was stuck in time in their house, seemingly waiting for an opponent to do battle with.
• They had not tried to communicate with the entity, as they were too afraid.
• When asked why the figure wouldn't appear in her room, Twin 1 told you that she simply wouldn't let it, that she was ''bigger than it''.
• The mother tried to tie all of this in with her son's abnormal behavior. While growing up, her son began collecting (''with an obsession,'' his mother said) very odd things such as boots, capes, masks, and toy weapons like swords and guns. He developed emotional problems as he grew up, which she blamed on the influence of the figure in black.
• The mother reported plenty of times sensing the presence, ''feeling it as a sort of hangover'', when she entered the room.
• The mother was obviously more tied up with her perception of the figure as ''evil'' than she was in looking at the situation objectively.

Visit Three

In your final visit, you speak with 4 of the 5 family members (not including Twin 2).

• Child 1, who had moved out before any of the experience, had not had any contact with anything unusual to do with the house.
• With her mother out of the room, Twin 1 admitted not experiencing as much as her mother, though she did feel there was something there. She contradicted her mother's descriptions a bit, admitting that she had agreed to a certain extent to make her mother feel better. She thought the figure was not tied to her twin brother.
• All three daughters felt that the mother was heavily invested in there being a direct relationship between the son's behavior and the influence of the presence of the figure in black.
• After suggesting somehow moving the ''ghost'' out of the house, the mother thought it would simply attach itself to someone else, and that if they moved, it would follow them.
• A search beneath the house reveals a variety of toys, helmets and toy weapons that the son had apparently left there.
• After getting in touch with Twin 2's counselor, you learn that after that Christmas visit home, he was talking a bit about the ''presence''. However, the counselor said that the boy seemed uninterested in it, though not evasive, as though whatever he told his mother was merely what she wanted to hear.

Investigation 2:

Goal: Collect eye-witness testimonies and evidence, and (if necessary and possible) correct any potentially hazardous situations.

You're somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. You and a team of other investigators (Agents 4, 5, 7, 8, and 52) have been sent to follow up on some concerning reports from locals. Your team has interviewed many of them over the 1st through the 20th of June 2025.

• Local A, a logger in his mid 30s, tells you a story about working in the woods three weeks ago: "We were hearing some weird stuff up there for a couple of days. You know, just strange animal sounds and rustling. And we didn't think much of it of course. There's so much wildlife, you're bound to hear some rustling and snapping twigs and stuff. But after a while it became real unsettling. Something out there was way bigger than just a fox or a deer. Most of the guys thought it was a moose or a bear, so we took some extra precautions and let the other crews know there might be something out there and to just be safe. Pretty soon after that was when it got really weird. It was pretty early in the day and [Local B] was standing over by the trucks, about 20 feet away from me, and this rock comes flying out of the brush at him. Nearly hit him in the shoulder, and if I hadn't seen it myself I wouldn't have believed him. Now, people will say I'm crazy, but I swear to god it kept happening all day. I'd hear something bang on the side of the skidder, or a rock would land in the dirt a few yards from me. I couldn't get the other guys to admit that it was anything to be worried about, but I know they saw it sometimes too [...] I haven't been up there since I transferred crews. I don't mess around with that stuff."
• Local B, interviewed by another investigator, recounted his perspective. It verifies Local A's account. Local B also added that the rock was "hurled with an incredible velocity", and it likely would have seriously injured him if he had been hit.
• Local C, an avid hiker in her late 60s, recounts a story from a few months ago to another investigator. She was hiking alone on her "secret trail", when she noticed large imprints in the mud. Later, she came upon a large animal carcass that had been "ripped to shreds beyond recognition only moments before I saw it". A second later, a "huge shadow loomed over" her with its arms up. She screamed and ran, not looking back at the creature.
• Local D, husband of Local C, advises our investigators to ignore the claims of Local C: "She likes to draw attention to herself. She means well, but her story is total bullshit. Thanks for visiting though!"
• Local E shares a story from a camping trip with family: "For our 19th birthday, my brother and I wanted to go camping a little ways out of town [...] We camp a lot, especially up in that area. [...] Anyways, it was just past dark and it was just me, my mom, and [friend] who were at the fire. Out of nowhere, we hear this scream. Something like a big cat scream? Definitely more animal than human, and we were immediately freaked out. We totally froze in fear and kept listening. The first scream sounded really really close, like if it was a big cat we probably would've been able to see it if it was in the day. The second scream was much farther. It was weird, I think we should have been able to hear it move away from us if it was the same creature both times. But other than the two screams, we heard nothing." Local E shared the contact information of her twin brother and her parents, none of which were willing to be interviewed.
• Local F hears about your investigation and tracks down two of your teammates. He makes a point to tell you not to go looking for anything in the woods, as it is very dangerous and "none of your damn business".
• Local G is a known conspiracy theorist, he shares his story: "Yeah, I'm a big believer. I've seen her, too. I've seen her out there. I've lived my whole life in these woods and every once in a while I catch a glimpse of her. It's a real special feeling. She won't be seen unless she wants to be. Folks 'round here have told me it's just a bear I keep running into. But I've got proof that it's not. In May of 2005, maybe 2006 [...] I sent in this hair that I'd found after tryin' to follow her. [I] found it out there, and I have no doubt it's hers. I sent it in to this expert [...], and he got back to me saying he couldn't identify the sample as any known animal. I don't know what other evidence you'd want." He refused to answer any other questions.
• Local H is an American rock band formed in 1987. Their second album 'As Good As Dead' was a huge success, featuring their most popular song 'Bound for the Floor' which is a straight banger. Give it a listen hehe.

Investigation 3:

Goal: Alleviate the distress the activity is causing.

You (codename: Zero) and your partner (Agent 153, codename: Three) are investigating a small family's home in Townville, Idaho. They have contacted L.I.C.E. due to unusual activity that has been escalating. The activity only occurs at night while the family sleeps. You plan on a 5-day investigation where you will be stationed at the home from sundown until sunrise. On the first day, you will interview the family.

Day 1 - April 7th 2008

Your partner interviews the family while you search the home. Your partner confirms the details reported from the First Contact Call, and reports back to you with the following information:

• The family consists of John Smith (35 m), Jane Smith (36 f), and their son Jack Smith (8 m). Jack has a pet corn snake in his room. They have lived in the house for four months. They bought the house six months ago.
• The couple admits seeing a marriage counselor for nearly a year. There is no history of mental illness in the family. The family reports a happy homelife (other than the activity), as well as a comfortable financial situation.
• The activity started the first night they moved in, when Jane woke to scratching in the attic and heard a soft voice from outside their 2nd story bedroom window. The scratching occurs nearly every night and Jane occasionally hears the voice outside. Some nights are more frightening than others. Overall, the activity has slowly gotten more intense.
• 2 months ago, John and Jane woke up to the windows of their bedroom violently shaking for a little under a minute. They thought it might've been an earthquake, but none of the neighbors had noticed it.
• 3 weeks ago, John woke up around 3am and went downstairs for a glass of water. The kitchen was freezing cold and he could see his breath. He did not get a glass of water, but instead returned upstairs, unable to sleep for the rest of the night.
• 2.5 weeks ago, Jack woke his parents around 3:30am and insisted he couldn't sleep in his room anymore. He refused to explain why. He still will not sleep in his own room.
• 2 weeks ago, Jane began feeling an overwhelming sense of anger and helplessness around sunset each night.
• 1.5 weeks ago, the family woke up to the windows in the master bedroom shaking violently. After a few moments, the door of the bedroom swung open. They immediately left the house to stay at a hotel. They returned to the house during the day but spent the next 8 nights in the hotel.
• 1.5 weeks ago, John noticed Jane becoming agitated, even furious, very quickly for little reason.
• 3 days ago, John and Jane attempted to stay the night at the house again. Jack stayed at a friend's house. They slept on the living room couch. Around 3am, John awoke to an intense pressure on his chest and severe chills. They left the house once more. They have been staying at the hotel ever since.

While examining the home, you find the following:

• On the first floor, there is a living room, kitchen, and bathroom. A small staircase in the living room leads to two bedrooms on the second floor, each with a small walk-in closet. The larger bedroom has a half bath and a ceiling attic access door. There is no basement.
• The attic is inaccessible because the door is locked and plastered over, though you can see the indents of the edges.
• The whole house seems like it was completely remodeled about a decade ago: new flooring, paint, cabinets, and doors.

Night 1 - April 7th/8th 2008

• 5:38pm All family members leave the house.
• 6:26pm Sunset
• 11:43pm Scratching heard from attic, lasting about 20 seconds.
• 12:15am Scratching from attic, lasting about 15 seconds. Temperature drop from 68 to 54 degrees in kitchen.
• Temperature slowly returned to normal, reaching 62 degrees by sunrise.
• 6:13am Sunrise

Day 2 - April 8th 2008

Having now recieved proper information and consent from the client, you are able to do more research.

After contacting the couple's marriage councelor (with due consent), you learn that the couple has worked through communication problems. The councelor reports that they have been receptive to treatment, their relationship improved greatly over the last year, and they are ready to move on from counseling.

Also, you are finally able to find some records on the history of the house:

• The house records are unclear of the owner at multiple lengths of time. It was built with 15 other houses in the 1930s as part of a government housing project. It is one of two left standing. No notable information on the other house.
• The first recorded owner of the house bought it in 1957 and sold it in 1961 after the death of his wife. A newspaper column published in 1961 claims the following information: After moving into the house, the wife began exhibiting strange behavior. Once outgoing and sociable, she suddenly became reclusive. She refused to leave the house. Her husband claimed she avoided him constantly, she stopped sleeping at night and prayed constantly even though she did not come from a strong religious background. When he brought a psychiatrist to the house to speak with her, she locked herself in the master bedroom for multiple days. When she emerged, the room and attic were torn apart. She was forcibly taken to a care facility and treated for six months. The details of her treatment are unknown. She was found dead in the kitchen of the home the morning after her release. Cause of death unknown, suspected suicide.
• The only other recorded owner of the house passed just before the client bought the house. She owned the house from 1994 until 8 months ago. There are no known reports of strange activity from this owner.

Night 2 - April 8th/9th 2008

• 6:28pm Sunset
• 9:49pm Jane and John go to the master bedroom to sleep.
• 11:09pm Scratching heard from attic, lasting about 20 seconds.
• 3:03am Scratching from attic, lasting about 15 seconds.
• 3:06am Temperature drop from 65 to 42 degrees in kitchen.
• 4:39am Scratching from attic, lasting about 10 seconds.
• 4:42am Temperature drop from 44 to 31 degrees in kitchen.
• 4:46am Jane wakes screaming.
• 4:47am Jane and John came downstairs, insisting we all leave.
• 5:20am Sitting at a restaurant, Jane reported an intense pressure on her chest had woke her up and she watched a figure attempt to open the window of the bedroom while it shook violently.
• Vibrating/shaking movement captured on cameras, but no figure.

Resources:

Alakwis

Bigfoot

Demons

Gumberoo

Parapsychology