Investigation Protocols:
Or how to ghost hunt without joining the other side.
By Andy Hagerty
Lets face it. Going on a Paranormal investigation is not the safest way to spend one’s free time. Leave aside all the metaphysical dangers. We are often in abandoned building or buildings in disrepair. We often are in the dark, and a large percentage of cases there is a lot of issues with the tidiness of the homes we are investigating. We are often exposed to rodent dropping while going through attics. Our clients may not always be the most stable of people. We also can be exposed to people who are physically ill. All teams should have plans and protocols in place when there is the potential for injury or harm to the team.
You cannot plan for the unexpected. The key is to expect everything and then plan for it. Most people work somewhere that has emergency preparedness plans in binders to cover the basic situations: Fire, Severe Weather, Bomb Threats and Zombie Apocalypse to name a few. A well prepared team should also have pre made plans to cover both the normal situations and the situation that are more unique to our profession.
Before your team ever goes on it’s first investigation, you should have a basic plan in place for the more common types of challenges. We have them as part of our basic investigation protocols at NightWatch Paranormal. You should update them as you run into new experiences and situations. Also make sure you have a first aid kit, and at least one person who is knowledgeable in first aid. Make sure they at least know the signs, symptoms and basic aid for heart attack, stoke, hypothermia and other common emergency conditions. Have a communications plan in place to alert your teammates in case of emergency. We have all teams carry a hand held radio and one at base camp. As a back up, we also have a piercing whistle at base camp. That way if the building catches on fire, and the members on rotation cannot be reached via radio, the whistle in
three short bursts will alert them to vacate the property.
three short bursts will alert them to vacate the property.
These plans are great to have, but they need to be communicated to all investigators. Also all updates and changes need to also be shared. The best laid plans will be useless if no one knows about them. Reviewing at least the emergency plans at regular meetings is not a bad idea. If you cover them often to the point they are drilled into your teams they may not take that second or two hesitation that could mean the difference between life and death.
Lets look at the different emergencies:
Common Life Threatening:
Fire - self explanatory, have a place to assemble outside (usually where we parked the car) Health emergency - person having a seizure, heart attack. We have trained people to assist the victim, call 911 or transport as needed. Accident - from trips and falls to getting cut on objects. Stabilize the patient, call 911 or transport as location dictates. REMEMBER
Although you should be there to assist the client by documenting the deceased, your first priority should be the safety and security of the living. |
Environmental emergencies:
Police response - we are often in dark buildings with no lights on. Having a signed permission from the owner to be there and knowing where it is before hand can stop a lot of hassles. Drunk/drugged client - This could also go under the life threatening. If a client is not in a right state of mind there is no telling what they may do or what they are capable of doing. Child Abuse - I do not know if there is a legal requirement to report observed child abuse. However if I see it, and better yet capture it on audio or video, I am going to report the event ASAP. Rodent dropping / black mold - There is an extreme possibility of complications around these two situations. Recently an investigator with a team died of complications due to exposure to this type of hazard. If you see this in your initial walk around, use respirators or better yet, remove yourself from these contaminants. |
The first step was to identify the more common types of hazards we have. The second step is to make a plan on how to minimize the adverse effects. Before we get into the planning stages, there is pre planning that needs to be done.
Pre Planing
We at Nightwatch have several of our members who are or have been EMT’S and First Responders. The more people you have trained in at least basic first aid and or CPR the better.
We have a "get home alive" bag that travels to every location we visit, we go over the contents and location of bag periodically during our team meetings. Also, most individual investigators have various personal items they bring as well, for easy access. The contents of the bag will be covered in a different place on the website.
We have a code word/phrase to “bug out” . If during any part of the investigation something is witnessed that could adversely impact our teams
health and safety, every member is trained to use a certain phrase. Upon hearing that we know to gather up equipment and gear and start to get ready to leave. Upon leaving we regroup and the person explains what they witnessed. This is usually due to some item or activity by the client and we do this to not alarm them and to keep the risk to our team to a minimum. If the team sees something that could be an immediate danger, they communicate that via a different code and we exit immediately.
We also have a two person rule. We almost always have at least two (or more) persons on a team doing the rotations. This not only gives the
investigator a backup to any spiritual interactions, but also has someone right there to get help if something goes wrong. We have set periods of time for our teams to do their rotation. This allows us to let our investigators free form their rotation, but allows up a set interval to check up on their safety.
We have a "get home alive" bag that travels to every location we visit, we go over the contents and location of bag periodically during our team meetings. Also, most individual investigators have various personal items they bring as well, for easy access. The contents of the bag will be covered in a different place on the website.
We have a code word/phrase to “bug out” . If during any part of the investigation something is witnessed that could adversely impact our teams
health and safety, every member is trained to use a certain phrase. Upon hearing that we know to gather up equipment and gear and start to get ready to leave. Upon leaving we regroup and the person explains what they witnessed. This is usually due to some item or activity by the client and we do this to not alarm them and to keep the risk to our team to a minimum. If the team sees something that could be an immediate danger, they communicate that via a different code and we exit immediately.
We also have a two person rule. We almost always have at least two (or more) persons on a team doing the rotations. This not only gives the
investigator a backup to any spiritual interactions, but also has someone right there to get help if something goes wrong. We have set periods of time for our teams to do their rotation. This allows us to let our investigators free form their rotation, but allows up a set interval to check up on their safety.
Night of investigation
We meet to carpool to the location we are investigating or we will meet at a location off site before going to the investigation as a group. This is done for several reasons. Among them are so we don’t trickle into the client’s house, a chance to go over all the data collected via phone or email with the team and a chance for our team to get the social chitchat over with so we go in with our “game face on“. We also choose to have a prayer circle for our metaphysical protection.
At location
At the case, we of course have a walk thru with the client. We are not only getting data on the client’s experiences, we are looking for obvious hazards. We try to evaluate the clients mental state prior to investigation using phone interviews and such, however it is always good to reevaluate during the walkthrough.
We also have a team of investigator who go over the location to take baseline measurements. These consist of temperatures, and EMF levels. They also know and will note any dangers or environmental issues. Environmental issues can be anything from loose floor boards to broken windows. We note these things not only for safety, but to maybe debunk evidence. This data will allow us to classify areas as clear, marginal or off limits.
After this data is collected we have a quick huddle, note any odd readings, go over any hazards and hot spots to keep an eye on, and come up with the final plan for the investigation. We usually set up a “Base Camp” which is a location we have all the extra gear, get home bag and our extra radios. This is also where we have the DVR system monitors set up. We keep this spot manned during the investigation as location and staffing permit.
We do set rotations. Often 30-45 minutes in length. This does depend on location. When the rotation is over we may have the team check in via radio or in person, again depends on location. We will often assign different people to teams based on the members present. We try to vary the make up of the teams because everyone sees things differently and may actually teach some new way to do something to their partner.
If during the course of the investigation the overall plan changes, we communicate this to base camp and have the lead investigator agree to it. This is usually having someone solo an area or go into an area that may be marginally safe.
We also have a team of investigator who go over the location to take baseline measurements. These consist of temperatures, and EMF levels. They also know and will note any dangers or environmental issues. Environmental issues can be anything from loose floor boards to broken windows. We note these things not only for safety, but to maybe debunk evidence. This data will allow us to classify areas as clear, marginal or off limits.
After this data is collected we have a quick huddle, note any odd readings, go over any hazards and hot spots to keep an eye on, and come up with the final plan for the investigation. We usually set up a “Base Camp” which is a location we have all the extra gear, get home bag and our extra radios. This is also where we have the DVR system monitors set up. We keep this spot manned during the investigation as location and staffing permit.
We do set rotations. Often 30-45 minutes in length. This does depend on location. When the rotation is over we may have the team check in via radio or in person, again depends on location. We will often assign different people to teams based on the members present. We try to vary the make up of the teams because everyone sees things differently and may actually teach some new way to do something to their partner.
If during the course of the investigation the overall plan changes, we communicate this to base camp and have the lead investigator agree to it. This is usually having someone solo an area or go into an area that may be marginally safe.
After investigation
We do breakdown as a team, usually keeping to the 2 person model. We also leave the location as a team. We will stop at a place off location to have a prayer circle to again protect us and ensure nothing follows us home.
We stick to the at least 2 person plan for our client reveal as well.
We stick to the at least 2 person plan for our client reveal as well.
In conclusion
We hope this is a useful guide to our team mates, other paranormal groups, or the people who are curious about the field. This guide and series of
protocals are ever changing as we run into new situations. Check back from time to time to see what is new since last update. We also review what happens to other teams via various media sources and try to learn from their experiences as well. If anyone would like to comment, add or correct what we do please feel free to contact us.
protocals are ever changing as we run into new situations. Check back from time to time to see what is new since last update. We also review what happens to other teams via various media sources and try to learn from their experiences as well. If anyone would like to comment, add or correct what we do please feel free to contact us.