What to Expect During an Investigation

by: Jim Hall

Considering an investigation? Please read the information below to help understand what to expect when requesting an investigation and don't hesitate to email with any questions.

1. We are a volunteer organization. What does this mean? It means every member of Haunted NC is doing this without getting paid a penny. Most likely these same members are funding everything out of their pocket as well (gas, equipment, etc.) Most of our members have full time jobs, families, continuing education and other commitments. The bottom line is that every case we work, and every bit of independent research or other contribution made has to be done by working around schedules and finances. Please be patient.
   
   
2. We are not an on-call service. We conduct scientific research into paranormal phenomena, but we are neither exorcists nor ghostbusters. If during our research we are able to help our clients answer some questions or offer explanations for what they are experiencing, we are happy to do so, but we make no guarantees as to what we will find. We will only report the truth, supported by evidence.
   
   
3. If you are dealing with paranormal events in your home or business, start keeping a journal. This will help us to determine frequency and significance of events and possible explanations. Keep as much information as possible in your journal - things such as time, day/date, location, who was present and/or witnessed the event and a detailed account of what happened.
   
   
4. When contacting us, please tell us where you are located. If you are not near us we may be able to refer you to someone closer.
   
   
5. Read the articles on our website...they might answer your question or help your inquiry when you do contact us. We try to update fairly often with new articles and information.
   
   
6. We begin a case by chatting with a client via e-mail or telephone, asking lots of questions and making suggestions. The next step (if the first didn't solve the problem or answer your questions) is to do an onsite visit and personal interview. The third step (sometimes done during the inital visit) is to do a full walk through of the area drawing maps, recording environmental data and photographing the area. The fourth step is to do historical and area research and the fifth is to set up a time to do several hours of onsite, fully-equipped investigative work. The final step is to analyze our data and report to the client our findings. A full investigation is very thorough and very time consuming.