How to Contribute to Ghost Hunting in Any Capacity



(**Remember, there is a short story contest going on until July 3rd on my blog**)

Anyone can contribute to the ghost hunting field and you don’t have to be wandering around abandoned buildings with a team and equipment to do it.

My sister is a good example of ways you can help ghost hunting without having to be a field person.

My sister isn’t willing to buy any ghost hunting equipment and absolutely refuses to use a new-fangled computer, but she lives in an amazingly rich area of abandoned buildings and dramatic history in West Virginia. There are no local ghost hunting teams, so no one has scared off local businesses who have historic buildings. She would have a great pick for any place to hunt, but she’s going to forgo that avenue.

So, here’s some alternative options she (or you) could consider that in the end could even make her money:

A. If she loves cemeteries, she should volunteer to the cemetery association. They could give her a list of cemeteries that haven’t been documented yet. She could go to the cemeteries, write down the names and date of birth/death for each occupant and take photographs. This could help the cemetery association to build their records, as well as to put them online for genealogy buffs to find relatives. This is a perfect option for those who love cemeteries, love history, and love doing things that are neat and orderly and concise. It’s a way to volunteer in the field without having to run around in the middle of the night. You can also take a trash bag and clean up the cemetery, pick up overturned flowers for the graves and put them back in place, and also get some amazingly eerie photography, which is often sell-able on line. People are very fascinated with eerie sunsets and graveyards and the lonely starkness of an unattended grave. She could sell the photographs or keep them for a potential coffee table book. This is also a really helpful option for people who have suffered losses. It sometimes helps put things in perspective and comfort them to know that people still visit, still remember, and still miss loved ones just like they do.

B. If she loved history, loved stories of the past, and found it all quite romantic, she might consider working for the local historical society or she might consider being a researcher. Finding the true back stories to tragic deaths, battles, and murders is a way to compile information that can be helpful for the local ghost hunting group. She can let them know she has a library card and is ready and willing to learn about any site they’re trekking to. She could check with the registrar for the city to learn about the building or lot’s history and make a great relationship with those at the local library. In the end, this could become an intriguing book that you’ve compiled based on the true background of famous hauntings.

C. Should my sister be technically inclined, she could do a little research to come up with ways to modify her equipment or perhaps invent new testing equipment that isn’t out there in the field now. This has the potential to be sell-able online. Just look at how the KII meter took off. When I ordered mine, I was on a waiting list.

D. If she didn’t get bored easily, she might consider reviewing evidence. If she connected with a local group, they could allow her to have copies of the EVP and photographic evidence. She could sit and review this evidence for anything that might be missed. With expert software, she could be sought after to review such things.

E. If she were a spiritual seeker, she might consider learning about feng shui, crystals powers, incense, paganism, occultism, demonology, or many other possible avenues for ghost hunting. When a team needs someone for advice, she might be the one called on to come and feng shui the environment or give advice on how to cleanse a house.

F. If she were the literary type, she might make friends with ghost hunters in the hopes of writing a book about it, poetry about it, or art inspired by it.

The important thing to know is that, although you see Jason, Grant, and Steve in the forefront of ghost hunting in the field on “Ghost Hunters” show, there are many more people behind the scenes. People trying to contribute to the field and knowing their talents. When I hunt, I keep in mind that my skepticism, logical mind, psychic abilities, and my counseling skills make me better for certain situations. Had I not been in the field, I would pursue art inspired by graveyards and getting my horror novels done—finally. But, I enjoy all those things, so I get a little of each done and none exclusively. That might be the case for you, as well. Sometimes, just being a supporter of the arts by going to concerts and helping to finance them is more important than being the singer on the stage.

Where would one be without the other?

Comments

  1. WOW! This sounds like ME!

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  2. What a great post. I really like the idea of recording information at graveyards. Both my husband and I are at the point in our family tracking that we need to go to locations and look for information. If there were more people that were reseraching, even if they passed the information to someone to get recorded for the masses that would be great!

    Very good post! Thanks so much!

    Cheers!

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  3. The Frog Queen;
    Yes, your local cemetery association usually has a way to volunteer to document an undocumented cemetery. As well, if you go here http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=sfg
    they also have a way that people can write in "I have a relative named John Hedlock at Pittsburgh Greenhill Cemetery" and if you live near there, you can offer to go take a picture of his grave to help that person get their family records together. It's a wonderful thing.

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  4. G.: Off yourself and promise to come back and haunt us until our heart's content.

    Yes, I'm a sick bastard. :^)

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  5. Gol, Dan,
    Hope you don't mean me? I would like to have my own personal ghost, but I always choose an incubus. I'm a sick puppy.

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  6. No, I didn't mean you! I just wanted to add it to the list of things that people in general could do to help the ghost hunting cause! ;)

    I need my future ghost hunting pards to stick around!!!!

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  7. Dan "Lucky Bastard;"
    I'm just teasing. I know you just love this blog too much to see me go! Thanks for being a regular follower. I'm writing it for smart hunters like you and those who just wonder what it's like and why the heck we do it!

    ReplyDelete

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