I began my journey into the paranormal in 2010. Over the years, I have had the privilege to work with some wonderful people (and some not so wonderful). I have learned from each of these people and grown as an investigator. In the beginning, I was just curious about what people were experiencing and as time went on I became more interested in visiting as many places as possible to have my own experiences. Eventually my goals changed and today I’m 100% interested in pushing myself to know as much as possible about the how/what/when/why of all things paranormal. Maybe your journey has been similar or maybe not. Today I want to talk about some of the reasons we decide whether or not to start a paranormal team and what you should do next if that is your goal. 

My friends and I enjoy ghost hunting: This is a common theme in paranormal teams. You start with a group of friends who have been hitting all of the public hunts. Everyone is tired of the large crowds and odd people they encounter at these investigations. You want to do things with just your group. So, you come up with a team name, make some shirts, and book some locations. It’s still all about the adventure and fun. 

None of the members of my current team have time to investigate: Life is crazy and we all have things we must do. As we get older, we have children, more demanding jobs, changing responsibilities, chronic illnesses, and so on. If you are in this situation, you may have a hard time building a team from the ground up because your current contacts may not be available to investigate. I recommend starting with some public investigations to try to meet some new people who are still actively investigating. Over time, you may be able to put together a new team or you may decide that you enjoy being a lone wolf. 

I’ve been a member of a team and everything fell apart: This happens more often then we talk about. That group of friends expands and contracts over time. People come and go. Fights happen and eventually a splinter team is created. Hopefully everyone parts on friendly terms but I have seen some really dirty splits. If you form this type of team, be particular about your by-laws to ensure that you don’t fall into the same trap in the future. Remember that no one is perfect or knows everything about the paranormal so build your team on open/honest communication. Do your best not to bad mouth the other group even if they are extreme dicks. 

My team no longer fits my goals: This is where I am. I love the people on my current team but I’m ready to take that next step. I want to do more experiments, collect more data, and really focus on specific locations to hone in on what is really happening at these locations. I am still friends with everyone on the current team and plan to have a few more adventures with them. Ultimately, I figure that my time is valuable and if I am not fully utilizing my time at locations to grow as an investigator, I need to make a change. Thus, I am building a research focused team. The first couple of members of my team are people I have investigated with over the years and are also looking to take that next step. 

In this situation, I am being very particular about who joins me on this next stage of my journey and have worked with my fellow investigators to build by-laws that focus on our collective goals. This isn’t a team for your weekend adventure ghost hunter. We have rules, procedures, paperwork, deadlines, and research goals. We won’t investigate non-stop, so my team has the flexibility to experience public events and participate with other investigators as long as they don’t act foolish (they still represent the research team even when acting outside of it). When they are with me, they will work. While we each have an individual goal for growing as an investigator, we will work collectively to become the best investigators we can be. 

No matter where you are on your journey, always be willing to evaluate how your current situation fits your interests and goals. Some people will never move past adventure ghost hunting and that is ok as long as you don’t cause any harm along the way. Some people will jump from team to team until they land in the right place. And some of us will learn from all of the people we encounter along the way, the books we read, and the experiences we have and eventually decide to take the next step into conducting more targeted research. The choice is yours. 

Running a paranormal team is not easy. It is a lot of work. So, if you want to stick to just being “that guy” on the team that buys all the latest tech but doesn’t really want the hassle or responsibility for managing people, you don’t have to. Do what fits you. 

Until next time, Happy Hunting!