“The Scientific Ghosthunter” by Christopher Tillman
(c) 1998, revised 1999, 2002, 2024
(…if they haven’t already found you…)
We begin our investigation of the paranormal with the most logical starting point: finding ghosts. This is, of course, a most important first step because your exposure to paranormal phenomena is the foundation of your research.
It would seem that one of the biggest problems encountered by first-timers is the perceived lack of paranormal activity in their geographic location. This statement can be attributed to the fact that I receive numerous emails each month from novice investigators asking how to go about finding ghosts. I repeatedly hear the same frustrated sentiment from each one, “How come so-and-so seems to be so successful at finding ghosts? Is he making it up or am I doing something wrong?”
We’ve all felt this way from time to time. Every researcher has his or her share of frustrations and dry spells, but I think all it takes to overcome this obstacle is a little persistence, legwork, and research.
Every town, no matter its size, has its own blend of rich history, local legends, and tales of ghostly goings-on. You don’t need to live in the shadows of a ruined English cathedral or in the village of Amityville, Long Island to be surrounded by paranormal activity. I’d wager that there is just enough going on right in your own backyard to keep you busy for a long time. For instance, right here in northwest Ohio, researchers have uncovered all kinds of haunting activity and related anomalous phenomena. Within just a two hundred mile radius we have legends and sightings of hauntings, strange creatures, lake serpents, unidentified flying objects, cropcircles, bigfoot, werewolves, insidious cult activity, and other supernatural mayhem! And, the rest of the state is just as active with eyewitness reports and folklore!
It’s been my experience that once you begin looking for the paranormal, you’ll eventually find it. Some will even go far as to say that it will find you. Either way, success in your search for the strange and unusual depends on where you look. The problem that most novice ghosthunters run into is confining themselves to a limited search area. Many beginners learn the basics of paranormal research by watching what others are doing. They see gallery after gallery of cemetery mist and orb photos online, and read all the same legends in book after book of ghost stories. Invariably, would-be paranormal investigators spend the first years of their research careers skulking around moonlit cemeteries and backwater towns in search of folklore phantoms. Now, there’s really nothing wrong with this because there is no standard methodology in place to guide them. So, the only option available is to emulate the research practices of others and figuring out what works for them and what doesn’t. This plan of attack has both good and bad points to consider, but far too many beginners spend too much of their time inside cemeteries. I suppose you don’t want to jump in the deep end of the pool on the first time out, and cemetery investigations are a good way for a novice to get his feet wet, but the problem is that cemeteries and legends alone won’t expose you to the kinds of phenomena that can provide any type of meaningful evidence. They are important subjects to investigate, but they will only get you so far. The levels of activity are far too erratic to justify a series of full-scale investigations. And, because legends usually don’t pan out and cemeteries yield little to no valuable data, the frustration over having no luck in coming face-to-face with the paranormal is enough to send some novice ghosthunters into early retirement. The thing that beginners need to understand is that others appear to be more successful in documenting paranormal phenomena because they focus their efforts on places where such activity is most prevalent, like private residences.
Some researchers even go so far as to blame their frustrating lack of contact on the notion that they’re not psychic or sensitive enough to paranormal energies. I don’t necessarily think this is always the case. It’s hard to determine why some people are susceptible to experiencing the supernatural while others aren’t. Very little is known about how paranormal energy propagates itself and how humans receive and interact with it. But, I’m willing to bet that it often boils down to having the right mindset and not so much about how psychic you are, or being in the right place at the right time. Psychics don’t have a monopoly on detecting paranormal phenomena. I know they like to think they do but, trust me, they don’t.
Just don’t get discouraged. Once you begin to actively seek out the paranormal, you will eventually find it. And, let’s not forget to mention that once your community learns of your research interests, everyone will be dying to tell you a ghost story. (No pun intended.)
Once you make the effort to pursue the paranormal as more than just a hobby or passing interest, you’ll find that one ghost story invariably leads to another, and to another, and to another…
