Interview with 2 C Paranormal member

 This is my interview with Cindy from 2 C Paranormal 

Me – What type of things has your team found that can cause noises that aren’t paranormal but can be interpreted as paranormal?
Cindy – Many issues can create a noise that sounds like a voice or word. Like a loud banging can simply be something settling. Animals can make and sound like all sorts of things, whether you are in wilderness or a neighborhood. I prefer a place that has no power; this makes it easier to deciphering.

Me –When is the best time to investigate?
Cindy – This is dependent on what type of entity. But night/dark makes it easier to capture lights and colors, for pictures/video  daylight would be your friend. But there is no real time better than the other, each entity is different.

Me –What methods and equipment does your team use when investigating?
Cindy – We use temp, weather, and other reports. Also;

• EMF detector,
• IR video cameras,
• Digital cameras, 
• Trap cameras, 
• Voice boxes 
• Temp meters,
• Laser grids,
• Compass, ans
• Flashlights.

We role-play a lot, so sometimes we use props like;

• Balls,
• Food/drink,
• Pen/paper, 
• Perfume, and
• Games.  

We are not rude, and don't evoke or invoke.

Me –What types of paranormal evidence have you and your team capture?
Cindy – Our team have had some cool experiences/captures at Vulture Gold Mine; pic with a bright face/profile, great interactions several times in the school house, all lasting quite a while; including pics, videos, audios, emf senses and the best: personal experiences. Among other things found here. And many experiences other places too.

Interview with Long Island Paranormal investigator Rob

Interview with Rob from Long Island Paranormal Investigators

Me- How did you start investigating?

Rob- My friend Mike and I started our organization 9 years ago. We began by checking out local urban legends to see if we could find any truth to them. When we first started everything was new and there weren't television shows on the subject. We read a lot of
books and information on websites. We then tested out theories that others presented in books and the internet to see what we would discover and what to believe.

Me- What equipment do you suggest for beginners?

Rob- We generally tell beginners to the field to ignore all the new, fancy gadgets on television and get grounded on things that are more substantial and have been used for a while. Starting out you should have a basic EMF meter, audio recorder, and a camera. Make sure to study and learn the specs of the individual item thoroughly. Once you master what you have, then consider expanding what you have.

Me- What is your mentality when going into an investigation?

Rob- When we enter into a case we go in as open-minded skeptics. We believe in being open to possibilities, but that you shouldn't go in expecting something paranormal to happen. When you get something you must eliminate all other answers before you call it paranormal. Your evidence must hold up to scrutiny if you want others to take you seriously. 

Me-  If there is one piece of advice you would give to beginners, what would it be?

Rob- One piece of advice I give to new people is to remember television is for entertainment. I just say to take things at times with a grain of salt.

Equipment

Science and technology have come a long way. The paranormal is not back up strongly by science, but technology can help you gain evidence that will make your investigation more credible. Equipment is very broad in the paranormal field, but a few pieces of equipment are necessities. These are;

• Flashlight(s),
• Digital camera(s),
• Audio recorder(s),
• Digital thermometer(s), and
• Electromagnetic field detector(s).

These five items are good to have if you are just starting out, but there are other items that can be used.

Many investigators use;

• Video camera(s),
• Thermal Camera(s),
• Motion Censor(s),
• DVR System(s), and
• Computer Program(s).

I will warn you that the five items above can be expensive. That is why I am telling you what you should definitely consider having when investigating and what you may want to check out. Some websites you can find equipment at are;

• Ghost Shop.com 
• Less EMF.com
• Prairie Ghosts.com
• My Ghost Gear.com
• The Ghost Hunter Store.com
• Paranormal Research Tools.com
• Ghost Mart.com

GhostStop.com has the biggest selection but they are the most expensive out of the five I have listed. I found GhostMart.com has the best prices out of any paranormal equipment store. 

Another thing about many of these items is that you can find them in stores other than paranormal equipment stores. If you seem to be having a hard time finding a piece of equipment that fits your budget try Walmart or Home Depot.

Remember that you do not have to buy all this equipment, remember to use what you feel comfortable using and what you can pay for.

Need to know vocabulary for new investigators

Over the years investigative groups have developed some terms that every beginner should become familiar with. I will use a lot of basic vocabulary in my posts. To make my blog easier for you I am going to address some of these terms in this post. Thousands of words have been created to define the paranormal. I am going to keep terms and definitions concise and will only address those I feel a beginner should know.  

It is important to know:

• Apparition — a spirits manifestation to one’s sense of vision 
• Electromagnetic energy — a mixture of electrical charges and magnetic fields 
• Entity — a conscious ghost
• EMF — electromagnetic field 
• EVP — electronic voice phenomena   
• Intelligent haunting — ghost is aware of your presence and does things to get attention 
• Orbs — balls of energy that give off light, often mistaken as a ghost 
• Paranormal — anything that cannot be explain in a scientific or factual manner
• Residual haunting —the ghost has no awareness of your presence, they are just going through a past event repeatedly 

You need to know these words to get started as an investigator. If I ever use words not in this list, I will try to always give definitions at the end of post or directly next to the word in parenthesis’. These are not the only words that will be useful to know, but they are the most important for beginners. At the bottom I will list a good site that has a mass amount of words if you wish to know more. 

The website SimplyGhost.com has all these words and much more if you want to look up other words that describe the paranormal. 

History of paranormal investigation

The belief of spirits and ghosts has been around since the beginning of time. Many old, ancient cultures practiced animism, the belief that everything, even rocks, has a spirit. So the history of ghost goes as far back as the history of humans. 

“One of the earliest known ghost “sightings” in the west took place in Athens, Greece. Pliny theYounger (c. 63–113 AD) described it in a letter to Licinius Sura (c. 74 BC–7 AD), a Stoic philosopher, decided to rent a large, Athenian house, to investigate widespread rumors that it was haunted.” (Pennsylvania Paranormal Research Team, 2009)

 “The first poltergeist was reported centuries later at a farmhouse in Germany in 856 A.D.” (History Channel, 2012)

Since Pliny’s investigation was the first to be documented, it is reasonable to say it was the first to paranormal investigation. 

The history of paranormal investigation is not greatly recorded. But what we do know is that ancient cultures believed in spirits and that ghost stories have been passed through the centuries. Also it is natural for human beings to be curious and investigate what they don’t know. 

This leaves a few questions to think about;

• Are ghost stories paranormal evidence? and
• What makes an investigation valid?

  Most importantly, whose idea was it to start investigating
  paranormal phenomena?


Figure 1 shows an old photo, with a ghost behind a soldier.

  Looking for more information?

             History.com history of ghost stories page
             GhostlyCast.com history of paranormal research page

Figure 1

This picture was found at about.com's paranormal phenomena page.

Welcome to the skeptical ghost investigation blog

Many websites, blogs, and shows give great advice and tips for investigating, but do not advise beginners to keep a skeptical attitude. This is important because if you don’t keep this attitude you will not have a successful investigation. 

I will solve this problem by addressing all the things that other websites, blogs, or shows address but with a skeptic view. My advice will make you a better investigator, which will be the difference between you finding credible and non-credible evidence.

Most of the resources I will get my information from will be from the internet. I will also contact investigative groups like;

•          Dallas Area Paranormal Society, 
•          North Texas Paranormal Investigations, 
•          Society for Paranormal Investigations, and
•          Others.

I will also ask randomly selected people on whether or not they believe ghost investigation helps to prove the existence of ghosts. 

My passion and experience will help me write this blog. I have performed investigations in my town of Mesquite, Texas. I have also done research on the topic because my own personal interest keeps me curious about new methods of investigating. 

As a process that cannot be proven as an actual science, ghost investigators must try to mesh science in with their investigations. A skeptical attitude will help you to find the evidence of ghost that you wish to get as an investigator.