You have either come to this article looking for advice on how to find a ghost or for additional information. Let me start by emphasizing that Ghost Hunting is not like media outlets portrait it on television. Ghost hunting requires long hours of research, patience, and the willingness to stay open minded while trying to explain any phenomenon which may occur. With that being said the following is a set of basic formalities which should be followed if you are serious about trying to research and/or publish your findings.

* Documentation; I can not stress enough how important this is. Keep a detailed journal of everything. Write down the time of day it occurs, along with what you hear, see, or feel. Write down the weather outside, people who are nearby, electrical appliances you may have running. No matter how small the details write them down! If your neighbor three houses over is mowing write it down. Every thing you take note of can later be compared to try and correlate what may be happening. For all practical purposes those strange knocks can be your neighbor throwing rocks from his mower against your house.

* Videotape; This will not capture any ghost, however  it will serve to document what it may be interacting with along with the environment and your tools to prove that you are working in a sterile area to better prove and understand your findings.

* Photographs; Again this does not capture paranormal entities on film, it only serves to show what it may be manipulating in the real world along with giving you a reference later to see what else may have been in the room to cause it. (“orbs” are not proof of paranormal events. They are caused by interpolation of the camera when it hits the reflective surface of dust which is too small for the naked eye to see except for in high light situations)

 Approaching Ghost Hunting from a scientific standpoint will ALWAYS yield the best results.  If something is moving in the house try and find rational explanations first then resort to less traditional methods to try and explain it. Concentrate on what is happening in the physical world, and start with what you know.  Preserve the area in question keeping it sterile from contamination. Keep your equipment on tripods, and keep people and pets away from the area in question. Remember that sounds from outside the area along with lights can contaminate your research if they are not properly documented.

 There is no accreditation in the “field” of Ghost Hunting so avoid people who make such claims of being accredited, or try to charge for their services. Paranormal research has not made any leaps towards explaining anything out of the natural sciences. Modern day television shows only hamper legitimate research by continuing to air “thrill seekers” who bypass all truly scientific methods for ratings. Since the early 80’s and the release of Ghostbusters at the theatre home brew investigators have been using devices commonly known as EMF detectors. There is no proven documentation anywhere that show these work or can truly detect or predict paranormal activity.

 The author Randy Karshner has been investigating and documenting paranormal occurrences for over ten years. He can be contacted via the Haunted Cincinnati website for advice or further information.