I.C.P.I.R.
International Community For Paranormal Investigation & Research

Are You Expierencing a Haunting?

By Christy Necaise
ICPIR


I know what you may be thinking. Am I crazy? This can’t be happening. People are going to think I am a lunatic. Well for starters, I don’t think your crazy and the unexplained phenomena that you are experiencing may have some merit to it or it may in fact be explainable. After working with plenty of home and business owners, I have come to a realization – when you are experiencing something paranormal and you are scared and unsure of what to do, education is your best friend.

What do I mean by education? Isn’t a ghost just a ghost? The plain and simple answer to that is – no. Does that mean what you are experiencing isn’t real? There is no plain and simple answer to that because the truth is there is no way to prove the existence of ghosts. Why do paranormal teams exist then? To help you and provide you with some reassurance, data from our arsenal of equipment, and education by using a few things we have learned from our research.

When I am contacted by a prospective client one of the first things I ask is if they want an investigation. A lot of people merely want some direction and a person to listen to them - a paranormal counselor so to speak. If that is all they need then I am happy to give them that. If one wants an investigation I then ask what they are seeking and what they want out of an investigation. Some people want some validation for their experiences. Others want alternative answers for the phenomena they are experiencing. Some simply just want help and someone to lean on in a stressful and scary time.

Here comes my first word of caution on your road to educating yourself. Do your homework! You have computer access if you are reading this so peruse those search engines and find as many articles on the paranormal as you can and find all the paranormal teams in your area to help you make an informed choice in who you want to work with. Interview each team. Read their forums and web sites. These are people that you might be letting into your most sacred space – your home. Be careful during your search. If you find paranormal teams charging for their services move on with your search. There is a paranormal team out there for every type of client, but I will get to that in a minute.

You may be asking why you should have to read articles and educate yourself at all. When you watch a door close by itself or see an apparition standing at the foot of your bed that may be all the proof you need in order to call someone in for help. Before you pick up the phone ask yourself, what type of help do I want? This is why I made the statement there is a paranormal team out there for every type of client.

Hollywood and the media have finally stepped into the paranormal realm and put shows out there that bring the main stream public into the paranormal world. In some ways this has been a blessing and in some ways it has been a curse. This is where I introduce you to your first lesson in paranormal terminology. What is the difference between a ghost hunter and a paranormal researcher? A ghost hunter is an individual that is a weekend warrior so to speak. They do this for the thrill and don’t care about rules and protocols. They traipse around cemeteries with a camera and a ghost hunting gadget or two and do it just for the thrill. You have to be careful because there are teams of ghost hunters and they want to use you for their thrill. They do not have your best interests in mind. They have themselves to think about and how many notches they can put in their belts a.k.a. pictures on their web site of supposed ghosts and unexplained experiences that they obtained at your expense.

Now I will get to the paranormal researcher. They are easy to distinguish. They ask you questions on the phone - a lot of questions. The questions can range from the medications you take, your religious preference, your property’s history, and even your psychological history. Yeah, they can get pretty personal. Why? Because they want answers to the phenomena you are experiencing and they are going to turn over every stone to find those answers for you. They are going to go to the local library, tax assessor’s office, the internet, previous homeowners, etc. to find causes for your experiences. They are going to come to your house and find environmental causes for the phenomena you are experiencing. They are going to explain things to you like sleep apnea, paredolia, and how the mind affects how individuals perceive the paranormal. They are going to introduce you to different books you can read to educate yourself or articles to help you in your decisions. They are not going to exploit you. You will hear things said like confidentiality is important to them and they will be there for you long after the investigation is over.

The word paranormal is simply defined as the unknown. Don’t make your decision on who you let help you with your haunting be defined as unknown. You can do your homework in anonymity if that is what you choose. Amazon.com has a plethora of books that can be shipped to your door for free and in little brown boxes so no one knows what you are curled up in bed reading. An excellent book I recommend to all ICPIR clients is “Grave’s End”, by Elaine Mercado. This is a woman who is a wife, mother, and nurse who experienced some terrifying occurrences she could not explain. She put herself out there and shared parts of her life that some would consider controversial, horrifying, or even crazy. Elaine, just like you, experienced a haunting and decided to write about it. The book helps to confirm that there are people out there that have gone through and are going through what you are and that you are not crazy. The book helps to educate you.

Now to the final point of my article and I think one of the most important. Ask yourself, what are you looking for in a paranormal team? At this point there are almost as many paranormal teams as there are lawyers. Are you looking for someone to call your house haunted so you can share it with your relatives and friends? Are you looking for someone to find the answers that fit the best for the phenomena you are experiencing just from the photos they take and from the guesses they make? Or are you looking for a team that uses scientific methods and is going to go through rigorous attempts to analyze their data, history, and everything else at their disposal to give you the answers you seek? Find what you want because there is a team out there for you. Is ICPIR that team? Maybe not, as we have been told by some that we are too scientific. I don’t think that is possible in a field where we can’t prove the existence of what we are seeking, but that is content for another article. Please do your homework so that you are not exploited and so that you do not have a bad experience. Remember that you are not alone and we are only a phone call away.



Christy Necaise
ICPIR Founder


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