Pick the Proper Location
Paranormal activity can occur in all sorts of locations. For example hotels, cemeteries, prisons, hospitals, private homes, parks, bridges, scene of accidents, major disasters or murders, etc. Anywhere that residual energy might dwell.

What kind of ghosts do you want to encounter? Lost souls, murderers, accident victims, demons? Do you want playful spirits or the really angry ones who will push you down a stairwell if given a chance? Pick a location where reports include the type of energy you’d like to encounter or investigate. You may not want to lock yourself in an old abandoned mental ward until you’ve been doing this for some time.

Do Your Research
Once you’ve chosen a location, do some research. You must know what to expect or what you’re dealing with so you know who to bring on your team, what equipment you’ll need, what permissions you need to get, and what to have on hand in case of emergency. Does your ghost appear at a certain time of day or night? Make sure you investigate at that time. Does your ghost appear only in certain hotel rooms? Make sure you can book that hotel room. Is your ghost vocal? Make sure you bring something to record it. You don’t want to waste time investigating at the wrong time or place or in the wrong way.

Get Permission
If you’re investigating on private property always obtain permission from the owner to do your investigation. You will be trespassing if you don’t, and if you cause damage to the property, you will be liable. If you have to use bolt cutters to get into your location, you’re doing it wrong! It’s not worth the risk. It might look like the old abandoned hotel is safe, but you don’t know about hidden hazards that could hurt or even kill you. If you want to get started quickly, investigate a public park or other public location where ghosts have been sighted or reported. Just be sure to respect the property, do no damage, and leave nothing behind.

Assemble a Good Team
The right team is vital to have a successful and fruitful hunt. You will need people in the following positions, noting that one person may be able to fill multiple positions.

Researcher – the person willing to surf the internet, scan reports, get details, make phone calls, and secure permission to get onto the site to investigate.

Lead Investigator – this is the person who will lead the investigation. They will decide where the team goes and when, how the equipment is divvied up and set up, and will generally make decisions regarding the safety and efficacy of the team. Often the lead investigator will attempt to communicate with the ghosts, but sometimes that falls to the intuitives.

Audio/Visual Techs – you need people who can take digital photos, hold the video cameras, hold the digital audio recorders, work the EMF detectors, monitor the temperature, and document all the goings on during the investigation. I would assign 2-4 people to handle the equipment depending on what you’ve got going. Downloading and analyzing all the data can be done by them or anyone else on the team.

Intuitives – Don’t forget to bring your blood hounds! Bring along a psychic or two to help you pinpoint areas of unearthly activity. It will save you a ton of time and energy. Sure you have equipment, but are you using it in the room with the activity? Or are you wandering around 50 rooms of a hotel looking for one ghost? Intuitives will be especially helpful to have around if you want to help cross a spirit over. They are like canaries in the mines… if you see your intuitives running away from something, you should run too. Intuitives will be able to communicate with the ghosts and have a better chance of calling an entity forth.

Safety/Tactical Guy – this is the person who checks the area of investigation for safety hazards and comes equipped with items to help the team stay safe or get through obstacles or barriers. They check the area ahead of time and mark off areas too dangerous to tread through. They should also be capable of carrying an injured person, or hauling someone on the team up or down a hole with rope. This is the person that is responsible for the team’s safety.

Skeptics or Science-types – In addition to your intuitives, you also want to bring along a skeptic or scientific person. Don’t they cancel each other out? No. The skeptic is there to scientifically investigate reported phenomenon to see if it can be replicated in an earthly way. Skeptics are also the last to become possessed or influenced by negative entities since they are not opening themselves up to try to communicate with the ghosties. A good skeptic is like your grounding tool. When all your psychics drop, the skeptic will be standing there healthy and well saying, “What the heck just happened to our psychics? I see nothing.”

Comic Relief – If bad things happen to members of your party, one of the best ways to snap them out of it is humor. If the investigation is getting dark and scary, keeping your vibration high is critical, and having someone in your group who is great at cracking jokes can save the day. Trust me, I know, it happened to me. Bring the funny.

Use the Proper Equipment
Taking along as much equipment as you can will help you verify the presence of the paranormal. Here is a list of items you should endeavor to bring, and their function.

Digital Camera – Take a lot of photos of your haunted location. You never know what will show up on your photos that you can’t see with your eyes. Literally take hundreds of shots. There should be at least one person snapping photos every few seconds in each location. If someone is engaging with an entity or ghost, take a ton of photos of the person and their surrounding area.

Digital Voice Recorder – If you want to capture EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) then you want to have a digital recorder going at all times. Give a recorder to your lead investigator, your intuitive, and possibly your skeptic. To capture good EVP, everyone must stop all motion, someone will ask a question, and wait at least 5 seconds for an answer. You may not be able to hear anything, but your recorder might. You’ll analyze it later.

Infrared Cameras – If you have the budget for it, bring along some infrared cameras which are good at picking up ghosts in the dark. You can set them up in stationary locations around a single room, or have your audio visual person carry them while you walk. If you do walk around in the dark, be ridiculously careful!

Video Camera – If you’re investigating during the day or in lots of light, video your investigation. You never know what you’ll pick up on the camera. Plus if something really cool happens, like a brick gets thrown at your intuitive’s head, you’ll want to capture that evidence on film!

EMF Detector – This nifty device will tell you if there is unusual electromagnetic activity in the area, which some say is a sure sign of paranormal activity. You can buy an EMF detector online. Research the different frequencies that are detected and decide which one will serve you best.

Thermometers – Ghosts often bring their own cold front. Check the chill and record your data. See if you can correlate it with the other information you’re picking up.

Motion Sensors – Ghosts can trip motion sensors, sometimes. They can also hurk items across a room that might be picked up by a motion sensor.

Think about safety
In addition to equipment designed to nab your ghosts, you must also think about personal safety equipment. Here is a list of items to consider bringing along on an investigation. Your security/tactical person should manage and inventory these items and give them out to appropriate personnel.

Flashlights – If you’re trudging around in the dark, you’ll need some light. You can use handheld flashlights or headlamps. If you’re using infrared cameras, you can only use red lights.

Walkie Talkies – If your team splits up, it’s vital to be able to reach them in an emergency and to check in. Make sure your walkie talkies have a long range and don’t pick up interference from other devices.

Glow Sticks – These are great for lining a path back to safety. Drop a few of these on the ground if you’re in a dark maze-like environment. If you’re running (for some reason) and you need to find the exit fast, these are probably your best bet. Plus ghosts can take out electrical equipment but I have yet to meet a ghost who is a match for a glow stick!

Door Stops – It’s a good idea to prop open doors so they don’t get mysteriously slammed or locked on you, preventing you from getting out in a hurry.

Proper Attire – Know what kind of terrain you’ll be walking around in and dress for safety and comfort. Will there be mud? Loose floor boards? Wood with nails sticking out of it? You should wear good boots or close-toed shoes (no heels ladies). Have jackets with zippered pockets, or a tactical vest with pouches, long sleeves, gloves, etc. Dust masks, shemaghs, or bandanas to cover your face if the environment will be dusty or filled with airborne nasties.

Batteries – Where there are dead people you’ll find lots of dead batteries. Investigations can end quickly if all your brand new batteries mysteriously get discharged. Have tons of back up batteries for all your equipment.

First-Aid Kit – Sprained ankles, bonks on the head, cuts, bruises, and wounds can certainly occur during an investigation. Better safe than sorry! It could be a while before you can get a fallen comrade to a hospital. Be sure to bring ice packs, bandages, wound closures, anti-bacterial wipes, antiseptic sprays, antibiotic ointment, burn gel, slings, and something you can use as a splint. Oh and bring a jacket (love, mom).

Rope – Hopefully you won’t ever need rope, but it’s handy for all sorts of occasions. Hauling a friend out of a hole, helping someone down a well, restraining a possessed psychic. Fifty feet of rope never hurt anyone, so bring it.

Food and Water – Keep your team hydrated and energized. Water bottles for everyone and energy bars to keep them going. Often investigations happen long after dinner. Skulking around a prison can sure make you hungry! Be sure you’ve got enough food to handle emergencies, especially if you are somewhere remote.

Cell Phones – Charged cell phones you can use to call for help are essential.

Zip ties or handcuffs – On the rare chance that someone in your party does get possessed, you’ll want to be able to gently restrain them so they don’t hurt themselves or members of the team.

Do not bring weapons on a ghost hunt. Ghosts won’t be affected by them, but if the possessed members of your team get hold of them, you’re all dead. If you must bring a utility knife, fine, but give it to your skeptic to hold.

Go in strong
Be sure you’re well rested before starting your hunt. Tired people are more easily influenced by dark forces. Be sure you’re healthy and well. No drinking of alcohol before or during an investigation. Stay sharp and in control. No drugs of any kind either. Stay alert and in your right mind.

Never hunt alone
This is super important. The buddy system rules when hunting ghosts. No one goes anywhere alone, not even the bathroom. If you’re alone you could be easily injured or influenced and there will be no one around to help you. If you’re with a team of people and you break off into groups, make sure there are at least 2 people in a group, although I recommend 3 people per group. With three, if there’s trouble, one person can get help, one person can be in trouble, and the other person can stay with the troubled individual. Also, if someone does get possessed, you’ll want at least two other people there to restrain him or her.

Know the signs of possession
You might think it can’t happen to you, but it can. If you’re stirring a hornet’s nest of haunted hotels or houses, you can get stung! You’re opening yourself up to the paranormal, basically inviting it to show itself, so don’t be surprised if it latches on to someone in your group. It’s important to know the normal behavior of everyone on the team so you’ll know if they start acting strangely.

Signs that someone is being negatively affected by something paranormal include: getting sick or nauseous, feeling dizzy, acting confused, unable to speak, breathing strangely or irregularly, sudden bursts of unusual emotion (sadness or anger for example), swearing, attacking a member of the team, hurting themselves, speaking in odd languages or in an odd way, eyes rolled back in their heads, overt sexual behavior, thrashing around, or passing out.

Always keep an eye on your team mates. Remove anyone who appears to be acting strangely. Sometimes the act of removing them from the area is enough to bring them back to themselves, and sometimes you need to help them come back. This is when you use love and humor. You may also need a strong voice to tell the offending entity to back the heck off!

Learn how to analyze your data
When the investigation is over, the real work begins. It can take many hours to analyze all the data from all your equipment. You’ve got to correlate what your psychics received with what the equipment picked up. You’ve got to scan photos for unusual or anomalous images. Look for orbs in your photos. Look for dark shapes or shadows that have no physical correlations. Put your thermal readings together with your EMF readings. Listen to the digital recordings for any EVPs. Try to piece it all together and look for evidence. This can be painstaking and requires a very discerning ear and eye. Working with a partner or having everyone on the team take a look at the data can be very helpful so you don’t miss anything.

Be safe, have fun, and get on out there! There’s a whole other world to explore. Get your equipment, your team, your gear, and get ‘er done!

Influenced
As I was sitting there at the card table, something strange started happening to me. I started to feel a strange pull or tugging in my head. It literally felt like someone was threading a string from my left ear, through my brain, and out my right ear. It left a trail of tingling energy as it passed through my head. It was not a comfortable feeling at all. I started to become confused. Maury was talking but I wasn’t hearing her. It was like her voice was coming from far away. At one point she said, “Erin, are you getting anything?” Confused I just said, “I don’t know.” She continued talking.

Then I felt an overwhelming sleepiness come over me, like someone put chloroform over my mouth. I put my head in my hands and dropped off in seconds. I knew as it was happening that this was really bad, but I was powerless to resist. I don’t know how long I was out, but when I came around and lifted my head something was very different and very wrong.

My consciousness was not alone in my body. “I” was shoved up, to the right and to the back of my head. That’s where I was. Inhabiting the rest of my brain/consciousness was someone else. I knew it was the entity I had connected with earlier. I can hardly describe the sensation of being pushed aside in my own body. I was still totally aware and totally present, I just wasn’t alone. I felt like I had 5% of the vessel and the entity had 95%. I now understand what it feels like to be a trance channel, only I wasn’t channeling something particularly pleasant.

Maury was still talking. I looked over at her and could just make out the barest outline of her body, but I could see her eyes in the ambient light of the glow stick. And I started to feel angry and frustrated at Maury. The anger was building up inside me and I had this extremely strong urge to pound my fists on the table and say, “We don’t want you here. Who do you think you are? Why do you keep coming here? This is our domain. Get out!!”

I was surprised at the vehemence of the thought. Then I realized it wasn’t mine. It was his. He wanted to speak and take action and use my body and voice to do it. I knew I was being influenced, but I wasn’t sure what to do. I had to get someone’s attention, to tell them there was something wrong with me and to help me, but I couldn’t speak what I wanted to speak. I wasn’t “allowed” to.

I knew that Maury could help me if I could just signal to her that I was in trouble, but just then she stood up and took Ted and Jamie to the other end of the hall, leaving me at the table, in the dark, with just Dana, Pam and Matty. I was screaming “noooo” inside my head. My only help had just walked away!

I struggled to push the energy out of my head, but he was so strong. I felt like an ant trying to push a Hummer down the street. He wanted to speak and act. I started making strange breathing noises. Sharp intakes of air, and then my breath would get choked off. Matty said, “Erin are you alright?” I managed to squeak out, “He’s pushing me.” I don’t think Matty, Pam, or Dana knew exactly what that meant or what do to. I was so frustrated because I needed help but couldn’t say what I wanted to say. It had taken great effort just to say “He’s pushing me.”

The strong urge to act was still coming, but now he wanted me to stand up and fling the table to the ground. I knew if I did that, it would hit Pam along the way and hurt her. I resisted, but the urge was so powerful. I knew it would feel so good to fling that horrible table away. He wanted to say, “This doesn’t belong here. This is an insult to us and mocks us. Get this out of here!”

I balled my hands into fists and was getting ready to start pounding. The me in the corner of my head was getting scared and frustrated because my friends couldn’t see how hard I was struggling to get their attention. We had gone over this during the mission briefing. The signs were present, but no one on my team could see me well enough to see me struggling. Only Matty was picking it up intuitively.

Then it got worse. I turned towards Dana and felt intense anger at him. The energy inside me was enraged at Dana. The entity wanted me to fling the table up onto Pam and then turn on Dana and attack him. I had visions of myself choking Dana. I was appalled at the thought, but the violent images kept coming. He was upset that Dana wasn’t afraid of him and that Dana wasn’t showing him the proper respect. He wanted to say to Dana, “How dare you come into my domain and disrespect me! I’m in charge here. You’re nothing.” He wanted to make Dana bow before him.

I was in a horrible state. I was sharing my consciousness with a violent psychopath and didn’t have control of my body. I was so afraid of what he was going to make me do. But, I was also afraid of what Dana might do if I attacked him. During the mission briefing he stated that if anyone came at him he would take whatever action necessary to take them out. So I cast my own images of Dana taking “us” down hoping the dark energy would see the futility of attacking Dana. The entity seemed to consider this and came up with a new plan. He wanted me to pick up the mag-lite and whack Dana across the face with it. That is one heavy flashlight, and I knew that in the dark Dana might not have time to react before he was hit.

This terrified me. The entity now had a plan of surprise attack that would seriously hurt Dana. I was very upset. I started to really push at the entity and try to eject him from my body. But the violent urges were super strong. I knew I needed help. I was surrounded by people who could help me and no one knew I was in trouble.

This was a basic failure point in our plan. If a large part of protecting each other depended upon us seeing each other….the dark was so thick and enveloping. It reminded me of the dense barometric pressure right before a tornado (I grew up in Kansas). As a child we would go into my grandfather’s cellar and wait for the storm to pass. At one point while sitting there I told Matty that I did not want to go down the hall where Maury and the guys were. I said I didn’t know why but my senses were just screaming to me not to go there. I took hold of Matty’s hand and felt him relax somewhat.–Pam

Finally Matty reached out and took my hand in the dark. I can’t tell you how grateful I was. That contact loosened the dark energy’s hold on me a little. Matty said, “You alright there, Erin?” I was able to say, “No, not really. I’m having trouble.” Matty cracked a joke. I don’t even remember what it was, but I started laughing, and in that instant, the entity fled. Instantly, just gone. I felt like I had been released from a paralyzing state. I took a deep breath, and filled myself with white light energy and asked the angels for protection.

Erin laughed when Matty said that he had been holding my hand in a death-grip for over 5 minutes. I should have realized that something was going on with Erin because she was so quiet but I thought she was just tired!–Pam

Then I said, “Let’s get up and go to Maury.” I wanted to be near her if something went down again, and I wanted to tell her what had just happened to me. Matty said, “Are you crazy? You wanna go down there?” I said, “Yeah, come on, let’s get up and walk.” I didn’t want to succumb again. I did not let go of Matty’s hand. We walked to where Maury was talking and being interviewed by Ted and Jamie. I didn’t want to interrupt them because she was in the middle of a story. I started to feel like myself again and felt much better. At one point I started picking up a strong smell… of soap. Believe me, there was no soap down there. Quite the opposite. I told Maury I was smelling soap. She got excited and said that other psychics also smelled soap in that spot.

I suggested we get going. I wanted to get out of Spooky Hollow pronto. At this point I still hadn’t told anyone what happened to me.

I asked Dana to lead us out. And I took up a position behind him. I’ll tell you this… if Dana knew how badly I wanted to brain him with my flashlight, he wouldn’t have been walking in front of me.

Maid’s Quarters
Maury wanted to show us the old maids’ quarters. I really just wanted to be done. I was so freaked out by what had happened to me and just wanted to process it and talk to Maury about it. But we were already there, it was quick, and we decided to just walk through the rooms quickly. The energy in there was different. I could feel presences but they were skittish and didn’t want us around. They weren’t violent or angry, just timid and submissive and wanted to be left alone.

I purposely didn’t try to make contact directly with any of them as I didn’t want to open myself up. I was done. It was 2:15am, and I was desperate for sleep. We all signed release forms to be in the documentary that Ted and Jamie were filming, and I believe they are showcasing their movie in the next couple of months and then releasing it on DVD.

Spending the night
Dana decided he was going to jet home and sleep in his own bed and then get up and go to his Search and Rescue training. I was a little concerned about Matty sleeping in the very haunted Room 20, but Matty was okay with it, so Dana packed his gear and headed home. It was probably safer for him to be away from me anyway.

The spirits I encountered in my room did not check out with the one who supposedly hangs out in the room most of the time. I ended up with a couple playful ladies rather than a grumpy male spirit. Yay! -Matty

Pam and I headed to our room, got ready for bed, and hit the sack hard. Dana had left us the walkie talkies so if Matty had a problem he could call for help. But no one died or got possessed and the beds were really quite comfy. We woke at 7am, had a quick breakfast in the café, and got the heck out of Amargosa! I was happy to be headed home.

The Aftermath
I wanted to talk to Maury about what had happened to me so I sent her an email when I got home but she was out of town for most of the week. Finally when we talked and I explained to her what happened in the Sunset Room she helped me understand the whole experience. There had been movement at the end of the hall, and that got Maury, Ted, and Jamie out of their seats to investigate. She said she felt lured away, which is how it looked to me. Right at the moment I needed her most, she got up and walked away. There’s no doubt in my mind that had she been sitting there throughout my ordeal she would have figured it out. Matty, Pam and Dana had never seen such a thing before and in the dark had no chance to see me struggling. The entity timed his move very well.

Maury also confirmed that what he wanted me to say to her was the same thing, practically word for word, that she’d heard before from other psychics. She also wasn’t surprised by the guy’s desire for me to attack Dana. He apparently doesn’t like it when alpha males are down there, unafraid of him. He wants people to be afraid, and he wants respect. Dana gave him neither. He didn’t have a problem with Matty or Pam as they were neutral to him and had a healthy respect for him. She also confirmed that choking was his preferred method of torment.

Since returning from Amargosa, I’ve been visited by the guy a couple of times. Pam’s been dreaming about Spooky Hollow, and I have woken one time to find him standing over my bed for a good 5 seconds. That scared me so badly I was awake for 2.5 hours trying to shake off the energy and adrenaline. I have since taken the appropriate steps to cleanse my energy, close off my connection to him, and before bed every night the angels are put on guard. I also make sure I’m in a high vibrational state before bed and that has helped considerably.

Overall, Maury was impressed by the accuracy of the information I received during our investigation. She’s invited me to go on other investigations with her, and I’d love to. She also liked having Dana there. He was the perfect counterpoint to the intuitive part of our investigation. The combination of Maury’s expertise and equipment, along with my psychic abilities, and Dana’s no-fear, skeptical side make a good and balanced combination.

What We Learned and Tips for Investigating
If you’re doing an investigation in the middle of the night, stop when you get tired. Or find a safe place to nap for a bit and keep going.

Keep an eye on each other. If you’re in the dark, it’s especially important.

If your group splits up, make sure you have walkie talkies on you at all times. And no one goes anywhere alone.

To properly handle and restrain someone who is influenced or possessed, grab them around the arms in a bear hug, and have someone else lift their legs. Then take them to the ground and wait for your psychic security leader to help remove the influence.

Bring someone along for comic relief. Matty’s humor kept our vibration high and saved Dana from getting a mag-lite to the face, which in turn saved me from having all my ribs broken in retaliation.

Stay hydrated and well fed. We ate dinner at 5pm and by midnight there were a lot of stomachs growling.

I don’t recommend sleeping in the same place you investigate unless it seems very very safe.

Your team should consist of someone who is very intuitive, someone who is scientific and can work the equipment, and someone who is not open and isn’t affected by non-corporeal energies. Do not bring hardcore skeptics if you want to do an intuitive investigation because they will blunt your ability to tune in.

Make sure you have someone on the team who knows how to handle influenced or possessed people. If I had been unable to get free, Maury would have taken me outside, we would have formed a circle, and used our combined energy to cast love at me and raise my vibration, so I could eject the entity. You want to gently restrain the person so they can’t hurt themselves or anyone on the team. And everyone must be present so the entity doesn’t jump to another host.

Don’t let your guard down.

If you’re intuitive and you start feeling an overwhelming energy, it’s okay to pull back and shut down.

Be safe if you’re in broken, run-down areas. Make sure you have people on your team who can handle physical problems like lifting someone out of a hole by a rope, handling first aid issues, and using safety equipment.

Try to have the appropriate equipment like EMF, digital recorders, infrared cameras, etc. If you only bring a psychic and no equipment, you may miss apparitions and voices that are only picked up by EVP and infrared cameras. Likewise, you should always bring at least one intuitive on an investigation because if you only have equipment you may be filming in the wrong spots, and a psychic can pinpoint areas of high activity fast.

In Summary
Despite being influenced by a deceased psychopath, I really enjoyed the Amargosa investigation. It was an intense experience that taught me a lot. I would definitely go out on other investigations. Amargosa is a hot spot and one of the 10 most haunted hotels in America. If you’re looking for a challenge, check it out. Just don’t mention my name.

Video:
We did a little video taping with a Flip camera, periodically, as we had time.

Whole Series:
Amargosa Investigation – Part 1
Amargosa Investigation – Part 2
Amargosa Investigation – Part 3
Amargosa Investigation – Part 4
Amargosa Investigation – Part 5

Photos

Sitting at the card table in the Sunset Room

Getting settled in Sunset

Lots of dust in this room.

I’ll show you my orbs if you show me yours.

Seriously, would a dustbuster really hurt the place so much?

Maid’s Quarters. Probably wouldn’t hire them to clean for me.

Maury out on the porch with us telling us we can switch rooms in the middle of the night if bad things happen.

The Scooby Gang
Dana, Matty, Erin, and Pam