Ghost Hunt 2: MORE Chilling Tales of the Unknown (37 page)
Read Ghost Hunt 2: MORE Chilling Tales of the Unknown Online
Authors: Jason Hawes,Grant Wilson
Tags: #JUV001000
cold breath
smoke or fog
dust, rain, or bugs
a finger or camera strap in front of the lens
a reflection from the camera’s flash or lens flare
Video evidence can be very convincing, but it can fool you, too. Here are some tips that will help you know the difference between real evidence and footage you shouldn’t bother looking at again:
Never fast-forward during the first viewing.
Yes, there are hours and hours of video to watch. Yes, it will be boring. Yes, there is a large chance that you will not find any evidence of the paranormal or ghosts. But do you really want to take the chance of missing something? An important piece of evidence might only be present in your footage for half a second. There’s no way you would spot it if you were fast-forwarding.
Watch out for an out-of-focus picture.
Some cameras, especially in dark situations, lose focus. This can make objects blurry. Blurry objects can look spooky. Is that a ghost hunched over in the background, or just a lamp? You could be fooled if the camera is out of focus.
Beware of matrixing.
Have you ever looked at a cloud and thought it looked like your dog? It’s human nature to make things seem familiar and understandable. It’s something we all do. But ghost hunters like us, and you, have to be really careful about it. Let’s say you have a photograph of a mysterious face in a window. You have to be sure that your mind isn’t turning a random pattern of raindrops into a face.
Matrixing often happens when you have a picture with a lot of stuff in it. Pictures of tree branches or leaves, fields, or a room with a lot of furniture can fool you. If something in a photo looks like a ghost crouching in your closet, make sure it isn’t just a pile of sweaters.
TAPS
Expert Analysis Tip:
Helping SpiritsBeing a ghost hunter is not only about gathering evidence. There are real people involved—you and the person who called you—and sometimes a spirit is present as well. You know to be respectful when gathering EVPs. But what should you do if you actually get a message? What if the spirit is asking for help?
Often, a spirit just wants to communicate. Many of the EVPs we get are simply people stating their names. But sometimes a spirit will have unfinished business that is preventing it from resting in peace. This can be a tricky and stressful situation. Especially because when you finally hear the message, you will not be in the presence of the spirit anymore—you’ll be at a desk going over all your evidence.
If the request is simple, you or your client should consider doing it. Almost like a favor to a friend. Or if it seems like the message is meant for someone else, you should consider delivering it to that person. Remember, as a ghost hunter, your job is to help everyone involved, including the spirit.
But you may get a message that’s a little more troubling. If a spirit seems really lost or has a request that you just can’t do, then you must let it go. You should try your best to help, but in the end, a spirit must find its own path to peace.
The best way to be sure your evidence is real is to work with your team. You need people with different opinions and different sets of eyes and ears. It’s important not to count anyone out. If one person disagrees with you about the evidence, it could give you a whole new way of thinking.
TAPS
Expert Conclusions Tip:
Keep Investigating!Even if you follow the TAPS procedures we just reviewed, we can’t guarantee you will see a ghost. But you will learn a lot about how to do an investigation, and you’ll have a lot of fun. If you don’t see a ghost, don’t give up! Keep a file on each case, even if you don’t think anything paranormal happened. You’ll find that, pretty soon, you’ll have drawers full of case files. By now you know the whole point of being a ghost hunter is to find out the truth about the paranormal, and that can take some time. Look at us—we have investigated hundreds of cases, and we’re still finding out new things all the time!
Ever since our first book,
Ghost Hunt
, came out, we’ve been getting more and more questions from kids like you who are doing their own paranormal investigations. We are going to share some of our answers here to help you have the best possible time on your ghost hunts. Keep reading to discover the answers to your most-asked questions.
Where do I look for ghosts?
A lot of readers asked us where to start their ghost hunt. Many people have the idea that they should head straight to the cemetery, because that’s where all the dead people are, right? But think about it: How many people actually passed away there? Chances are, not many. So it’s not all that likely a spirit will be connected to a graveyard.
Instead, try to find friends or relatives who think they might have a haunting on their hands. First listen to their claims, and then plan your investigation. If you don’t know anyone being haunted, do some research about your town. See if there are any nearby public places that are known to be haunted. Many towns have old buildings that are said to hold spirits. But make sure you get permission to go inside.
Do you use special tricks to make ghosts appear?
We get asked all the time if we have a special method or technique to get ghosts to show themselves. If we could just make ghosts show up, we wouldn’t have to hunt for them. But we do have a few tricks up our sleeves. Ghosts are unpredictable, so sometimes we try to surprise them. Casually snapping a picture over your shoulder might result in a great piece of evidence. It may sound strange, but it’s worked for us. Also, we are usually very polite. But sometimes we do try to make the ghosts a little angry. In the Alcatraz case, we dared a spirit to come out.
How do you keep your cool?
Ghost hunting can get pretty scary. A lot of readers want to know how we keep our cool during an investigation. The truth is, we sometimes get scared, too. It happens to all of us. It would be weird if you didn’t get a little freaked in the places we investigate. So it helps to always have a team member with you. With someone by your side, you automatically feel less scared. Also, we try to keep in mind that ghosts really aren’t like how they are shown in movies. They’re not out to get you. But if we do start to feel really scared, we just get out. There’s nothing wrong with that at all. You won’t be able to focus on the actual investigation if you’re too scared.
How do you know when an investigation is over?
We talk a lot about what to do during an investigation, but our readers have been asking us about how to end an investigation. The best thing to do is trust your gut. If you’re getting a little bored because nothing is happening, quit and come back another time. Or if you have a very scary experience, go home. You can always come back.
I don’t believe in ghosts. Where’s the proof?
First of all, it’s not our job to prove ghosts exist. Our goal is to find out the truth and help people who have had scary experiences. But our advice to people with friends who don’t know much about the paranormal is to take them along on a ghost hunt. We have often worked with people who don’t believe in the paranormal. After all, for people who haven’t seen it firsthand, the paranormal may be hard to understand. But this isn’t a bad thing. It keeps us on our toes. We always want people to ask questions and point out explanations when it comes to evidence. We need to make sure our evidence is as good as it can be. But here’s the bottom line: There’s always room for doubt.
Y
our training is almost complete. We’ve given you lots of knowledge and tips you need to do a ghost hunt, so it’s time for a real test. In this test, you will get a chance to join us on a TAPS investigation. You will be asked to go into a very scary site with the team. You will handle the gear, listen to and watch the recorded evidence, and help the TAPS team come to their conclusions.
Is the deserted, spooky Oakwood Academy haunted? You are about to find out.
Good luck!
“We just got a call from the groundskeeper at Oakwood Academy. He wants us to investigate,” Jason tells the TAPS team.
“Oakwood Academy?” you ask. You may be the newest member of the team, but you’re not going to be shy. “Do you mean the boarding school that closed down a few years ago?”
“That’s the one,” Grant says. “The school was open for almost a hundred and fifty years. Students complained that the rules were too harsh. There were always rumors about unexplained accidents. Were they really accidents? Then, three years ago, a student named Robert Miller fell down the stairs and died. After that, the school was closed.”