Is paranormal investigating a science?

  With the rising popularity of ghost hunting shows on television, can paranormal investigation be considered a legitimate scientific field? A proper investigation will follow the scientific method. Prior to an actual investigation, all available information about a location needs to be obtained, including its history, and any reports of the occurance of the paranormal. Once on location, recording devices(audio and video) need to be placed in proper locations to gather as much additional data. Anything that can be proven to be something other than the parnormal gets dismissed as evidence. A majority of people claim to believe in angels and demons, but not ghosts. Why is this? Logic dictates that these two entities are polar opposites and on different ends of the spectrum. The question is what lies in between?

The task is to attempt to gather all possible history about a location (deaths, unexplained phenomenon, i.e.). If it is possible, get first hand accounts of any reports of paranormal experiences. This will help you to decide later on how you will conduct your investigation. It needs to be noted, that permission to be on any property needs to be legally obtained. A legitimate investigation should follow a code of ethics, along with all laws concerning tresspassing. Prior to arriving, check to ensure all equipment is in proper working condition, and make sure that you have plenty of backup batteries.

  Now to begin your investigation. An investigation team should contain no less than two members. This is to ensure the safety of the individual. If there is more than one group investigating a location, it is extremely important that all team members know where the others are at all times. This helps to eliminate outside contamination, such as footsteps, voices in a conversation, or an unitentional spot of light from a flashlight. If one team experiences something unusual, they need to come out of that particular area and send another in without informing them of what occurred. If another section of the team has a similar experience, then this serves to solidify both accounts.

   When evaluating gathered evidence, it must be done by the same people that conducted the investigation. The reason behind this is that they were aware of any conversations that may have been occurring at the time, and can pick out anything that they may not of heard originally. *Any sound that is captured by a recording device and not heard by the investigator at the timeis known as an EVP. EVP stands for Electromagnetic Voice Phenomenon. EVPs are different from disembodied sounds, in that a disembodied sound can be heard with no logical source for the sound.* Anything captured, audio or video, needs to be evaluated by all investigators. A good rule of thumb in the field of paranormal research is, "When in doubt, throw it out." Simply put, if there is any doubt whether or not contamination has occured, don't use it. During the process of the actual investigation, all efforts should be made to debunk, or disprove, all things. This makes the job of evaluating evidence later an easier task.

After all evidence has been thoroughly gone over, a conclusion can be reached as to the legitimacy of a haunting. It may be an example of runaway imagination, or other conditions that makes someone feel their is a spiritual presence. If a location is haunted, be sure to let the property owner know whether it is residual or an intelligent haunting. A residual haunting is like a recording on a loop. It will happen over and over whether or not someone is present to witness it. An intelligent haunting is when a spirit interacts with a person, being able to make sounds or manipulate items on request, such as a ball or flashlight. If there is a possibility of danger to the property owner, it should be disclosed at this time, along with any suggestions to rid the property of any unwanted "guests".

Present students with both audio and visual evidence that has been collected, and have them to conduct their own evaluation of the material. Have students discuss why or why not the evidence shows a haunted location.

Have students research possible locations that have had reports of paranormal incidents.

Have students comprise a list of possible needed equipment to launch a mock investigation.

Students should be able to define the following term: EVP, disembodied sound (voice), contamination, residual, intelligent, debunk.

This would be a good class project to do during the last two weeks of October, because of the tie in to Halloween. This project encourages logical thinking, deductive reasoning, cooperation, and research.