PARANORMAL RESEARCH TIPS

One of the most important things that you have to do as a paranormal investigator is research.  Personally I love doing research, but I’m also a freak and many find it can be tedious.  Yesterday I found a ton of information about my area, Thunder Bay Ontario, AND the larger are of Canada and the US states:  Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.  In fact the information I found was too vast to put on our web site and I crashed our whole site trying to add it.  Here are a few tips about research that might make your life a little easier.

It’s the age of the internet and heaven forefend anyone actually pick up a book, (gasp!!!) but you have to be willing to do many unspeakable things in the name of research!  The first step to researching an area should be 1) LOOK FOR LOCALLY WRITTEN BOOKS ABOUT YOUR AREA.  Obviously, books of poetry and works of fiction may not be very helpful in your endeavors, but if you have a chance to go to a library (IKR get up from your computer and MOVE!) look through them anyway.  You never know, there may be old maps, pictures of families that lived in the area.  One clue might be the key to finding the right location.   If you hit the jackpot and actually find books about haunted locations in your area, buy it, mark it up, keep it close and thank the author!!!

The next step isn’t a huge a leap.  2)  LOOK FOR BOOKS WRITTEN ABOUT ‘THE MOST HAUNTED PLACES’ IN YOUR STATE/PROVINCE, COUNTRY AND BOARDERING COUNTRIES.  You never know what you’ll find.  Generally you will find a large majority of your information on the internet these days, but don’t limit yourself to it.  If you live near the boarder of your country of residence you can extend your search to the country beside you.  For instance, Thunder Bay, Ontario, is very near the US boarder, so I included research about Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin in my research endeavors.  Plus, I grew up in Indiana and we vacationed in Michigan all the time.  One of my most favorite family memories is going to a place called ‘The Haunted Fort in Michigan, which was an actual haunted house that successfully sent my entire family stampeding out the door at the end, but the location was very old so it could also have true haunting as well’  3)  PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND MEMORIES OF AREA.  The biggest pitfall of this one is that memory, as wonderful and horrifying as the brain can be, is extremely fallible.  Don’t rely on your brain to give you accurate facts, always follow up with research.

One of my favorite places in the world to explore is museums.  These places can also be a gateway to a treasure trove of knowledge.  4)  LOCAL MUSEUMS.  Inevitably, other organizations that you will want to contact will hover around the local museum community.  5)  LOCAL HISTORICAL SOCIETIES are generally filled with wonderfully knowledgeable people and will often have locations, artifacts, articles about the area that you will not find any where else.  Tea time, some scones and a friendly attitude may open up the mother load, so be gracious and be patient.

Your internet searches can also help you find organizations that may have more information than has been uploaded on the information highway.  There are buildings full of old tomes all over the world of history that hasn’t been uploaded, the more you’re willing to dig, the richer your experiences will become.  Below I’ve listed several things that will help you with your internet searches, but keep in mind you may have to do some leg work as well.

Before going to a location, make sure you do your homework and that means getting up to date information as well.  If the place you want to investigate is currently a crack den, probably not a good idea unless you have police back up.  You always want to know everything you can before going into an investigation.  If the property is old, it may not be safe for anyone to go poking around inside.  The last thing you want to have happen on a ghost hunt is to become one yourself.  Be smart, hunt safe!!
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1) LOOK FOR LOCALLY WRITTEN BOOKS ABOUT YOUR AREA.  

2)  LOOK FOR BOOKS WRITTEN ABOUT ‘THE MOST HAUNTED PLACES’ IN YOUR STATE/PROVINCE, COUNTRY AND BOARDERING COUNTRIES.

3)  PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND MEMORIES OF AREA.

4)  LOCAL MUSEUMS

5)  LOCAL HISTORICAL SOCIETIES

6)  INTERNET SEACH
*WORD SEARCH 
*ANYTHING & EVERYTHING YOU CAN  THINK OF
*CEMETARIES, GRAVEYARDS, FAMILY PLOTS
        *CREAMATORIUMS
*GHOST TOWNS
*ABANDONED PLACES
*MARITIME HISTORY
*SHIPWRECKS
*MINES
*BATTLEFIELDS
*OLD FORTS
*HISTORICAL MARKERS
*HOSPITALS
*ASYLUMS
*SEMINARIES
*MENTAL HEALTH
*CRIMINALLY INSANE
*HOSPICE
*TERMINAL WARD
*MURDERS, ACCIDENTS
*BIRTH, MARRIAGE, DEATH RECORDS
*CASTLES
*PRISONS
*REFORMITORY
*ORPHANAGE
*EXECUTION LOCATIONS & ITEMS
*HISTORICAL CRIMINAL ACTIVITY
*LOCAL DISASTERS
*NEWSPAPER ARTICLES

7)  LOCAL COURTHOUSE ARCHIVES

8)  PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR LOCAL HAUNTED HAOUSES AROUND HALLOWEEN TIME, THEY OFTEN HAVE THEM IN ACTUAL HAUNTED LOCATIONS.

Hanna McLean