I was having a discussion with my son-in-law and the subject of the paranormal and paranormal investigations came up. Now my son-in-law doesn't believe in the paranormal and I think that to be a good paranormal investigator you either believe or don't believe. Let me explain my reasons behind this.
If you have had a paranormal experience then you usually are a believer and want to investigate what happened or the sources behind it. You will use all the tools at your disposal to try to prove the existence of the paranormal. As a good investigator you will not tamper with the evidence to prove the existence of the paranormal or supernatural. I tend to follow the path set forward by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, founders of The Atlantic Paranormal Society (T.A.P.S.), when they go on an investigation the first thing they try to do is debunk the claims. The evidence they cannot debunk is then used to prove the existence of the paranormal. Sometimes they cannot prove or disprove a haunting and will tell the client so when they talk to them. Jason even went so far as to admit that not all active locations can be considered haunted.
If you are a non-believer than you either never believed or never had an experience. These folks will usually be more dillegent while reviewing evidence and try to disprove a haunting. I would want a non-believer on my team just for that reason.
So what are you a believer or a non-believer. Leave a comment below and let me know. I really want to know.
When you go on an investigation your group usually sets up a command center or command base. This is the spot where your monitors and all the cameras feed into. It can be a table in a room at the location or in a van outside of the investigation spot. My personal preference is to use a class C Recreational Vehicle or Motor Home. The RV can serve many functions during an investigation. Not only as a command center but also as a first aid station, rest area and as equipment and personnel transport.
There are pros and cons to using the RV, and ultimately it is up to the team leader for that investigation.
Pros
- If no power to the investigation location, RV has a generator that can power the equipment.
- If you use the generator, make sure to take the noise into account when doing audio analysis, or better yet make a test from one of the hot spots and see how bad the generator noise is.
- Can transport up to eight team members to the investigation site.
- Can transport all of the equipment to the investigation site.
- Has a built in rest room.
- Has built in table to put the monitors.
- If allowed by the client, the RV can plug into the power and water.
- Has a refrigerator to keep lunches in and a microwave to heat up food.
- Has beds to lay down in if team members overcome with nausea or for first aid reasons.
- First Aid can be administered from the vehicle.
Cons
- Usually uses a lot of gas.
- If using the generator need to make sure have a full tank of gas.
- Generator can be noisy.