If you are like me and think WAY too much about what we do as paranormal investigators and how we do it, you may find yourself often conflicted with the desire to “capture activity” while maintaining an ethical stance. Those of us who strive to do right by the living and the dead walk a very tight rope. The very nature of what we do can be disrespectful. We are essentially “invading” the homes of the dead and often interrogating them. We bring in equipment, set-up camp, and expect whatever may be present to perform for us. Let me put it another way, imagine this home belongs to your mom and a group of people just walked in with cameras, made themselves at home in her living room, and started to ask her a bunch of really personal and uncomfortable questions. How would you feel?

Of course, sometimes we are invited into these homes by the living in an effort to understand the strange things occurring within the location. It is our job to document the situation and try our best to elicit activity so we can start to formulate solutions for the living. In this way, we are attempting to help the living. In addition, many of us are trying to obtain data to help explain what elements are necessary for phenomena to occur and if these events have anything to do with our understanding of reality. Any of the current theories, if proven with empirical data, could change the way everyday people perceive themselves and the world around them. (These theories include an afterlife, time slips, multiple dimensions, aliens, collective consciousness, mental illness, and other less discussed topics.) 

So how do we balance on this tightrope? Here are some ideas to put you and your team on better terms with anyone who may be residing in a location. 

• Don’t just enter a location uninvited. Insist on having the current owner invite you at the door. Be sure to be polite and thank the owner at this time. (note: you should have an audio recorder running from the moment you get out of your vehicle and throughout the start of your investigation. Curious people may have questions when you first appear.)
  • If you are not meeting the owner at the location and are given a key to enter on your own then you need to be a bit more creative. Knock on the door and wait for a moment before entering. Say something along the terms of “Hi. (insert owner’s name) invited me/my friends here to visit today/this weekend.” 
  • Don’t have a ton of equipment in your hands when you do this. Most guests don’t barge in loaded down with cameras. 
• Ask to be shown around the house. Be polite and find kind things to say about the location as you look around. 
• Don’t ask for stories of death when you are in a room where someone passed. If we are dealing with dead individuals, you don’t want to talk openly about uncomfortable topics when they may be present and listening. Especially when you have just entered the location. Just like the living, you need to give people time to trust you before asking to talk about the most traumatic experience of their life/death. Let them bring it up first. 
• Learn the names of the people who are/may be in residence. It is important for at least one member of the team to have researched the history of the location so proper names can be used. When appropriate, address individuals as Mr., Mrs., or Miss. 
• Don’t use profanity or other types of “colorful” language. 
• Start off slow and don’t fill every space with gadgets. Sometimes EVP (electronic voice phenomena) and simple knocking are the best way to initiate a safe conversation. If you need to use a DVR, don’t set it up immediately but instead do at least one EVP session in a common space to initiate a friendly chat with anyone around. 
• As you start to set-up equipment, explain what you are doing and why you are doing it. People like to know what is happening in their home. 
• Learn about the culture of the people who have resided in the home and be able to talk about things that may have been important or of interest to those people. 
• Don’t insult, yell at, badger, or intimidate anyone in the home. If you are dealing with unpleasant people (living or dead) try your best to stay professional. 
• Be willing to give people space. You don’t have to pack up and leave entirely but move to another room or go to dinner so the residents have some time without you. 
• Have normal conversations, don’t just ask questions. Find a topic that may be of interest to the people residing in the location and talk amongst yourselves. Sometimes you can capture the residents chiming in with their thoughts on the topic. 
• Clean up after yourself and leave the place how you found it. 
• Also, when you leave, say “thank you, we enjoyed spending time with you.” 

These are just a few simple ideas to help you be more respectful when conducting your investigations. We have a lot of responsibility to the people we work with and work for so we need to take that seriously. Stay professional at all times and learn how to keep a cool head even when things get a little scary. 

Finally, try your best not to use other people’s pain for monetary gain. I understand that there is a growing industry of YouTube paranormal enthusiasts making viral videos that capitalize on the most tragic events in history. Try to remember that these events involved people and were terrifying for them. Have some compassion. Helping people understand the history behind an incident is different from creating shock value. Also, sharing evidence of paranormal phenomena does not have to exploit people. Stay professional, keep to the facts, and don’t insult the individuals involved. 

Be the kind of investigator that people would trust to come into their home and talk to their mom. Have compassion, be ethical, and stay honest. These things will keep you walking confidently on that very tight rope. 

Until next time, Happy Hunting!