Use this cheat sheet to better prepare yourself for investigations of the paranormal
Remember – SAFETY FIRST when investigating!
EVP RECORDING CHEAT SHEET
Personal Preparations
1. Go in EXPECTING to get EVP. Do not “hope” for them. KNOW you are going to get them!
2. Meditate and prepare ahead of time if possible. Be in as calm a state as you can be, and in a cheerful mode. Spirits seem to respond to our inner state of being. So be in the best place you can be emotionally and spiritually!
Gear and Preparation
1. When recording, put the recorder down and try not to handle it unless absolutely necessary. You will get better recordings as a result.
2. Have extra batteries and plenty of SD card storage for your recorder BEFORE you go out on an investigation.
3. Keep at least one recorder running at all times. You cannot get EVPs if you are not recording!.
4. Treat your captured audio and video like gold and IMMEDIATELY copy it to your hard drive or cloud storage upon getting home to ensure it is safe. Make sure to back up the data to have more than one copy!
Manners
5. ALWAYS use good manners! Spirits respond to people who are well-mannered and kind to them. Do NOT insult ghosts who may insult you, even if you are using good manners before the negative capture. Thank the angry or nasty spirit and move on. Always take the high road.
6. NEVER DEMAND RESPONSES. Leave it up to Spirits to respond to questions posed or not.
7. Do NOT take souvenirs or property from a haunted location. Ever. It is not only bad manners; it can rightly be called theft. Leave the site taking nothing but recordings, pictures, and your memories with you.
8. NEVER ENGAGE IN PROVOCATION. EVER! As a technique for eliciting responses, provocation is an abysmal technique for getting Spirits to respond. It is the absolute height of poor manners and a sure way to bring negative consequences during or after an investigation. NEVER EVER engage in it!
9. If you do inadvertently offend a Spirit, immediately take steps to apologize, in person if possible. Your action of taking responsibility for an oversight or bad moment of judgment will often be taken into account, especially if your apology is from the heart. Spirits know when you mean it.
10. Do not take liberties in assuming you are “friends” with a Spirit you just met. Use common sense to introduce yourself and be on your best behavior. Let them get to know you, and then, as you become familiar with them, you may refer to them as a friend. Some spirits are VERY sensitive to these distinctions.
11. Provide gifts to Spirits in the form of tokens, small trinkets, or even a heartfelt moment of prayer for them. Speak their full names if you know their name. Hearing the Living speak their names is like music to their ears. Remember, these are people without bodies, and attention given, especially if heartfelt and honest, WILL be rewarded.
Protection
12. Use prayer or meditation to protect yourself BEFORE investigating and recording EVPs. When done investigating, make sure to do the same and request that no entities follow you home.
13. NEVER investigate the paranormal while sick! Being around paranormal sites is taxing on the human body and energetic fields. It is best to wait to investigate when you are healthy and able to handle the stresses of being in the presence of ghostly energies.
Speaking with Spirits
14. Talk about what likely interested the Spirits while they were alive. Put yourself in their shoes and wonder openly about their lives. You show you are making an effort to be sensitive to them by doing so. Believe me; you WILL win points for investing in getting to know them.
15. Know the history of the location you are investigating, the stories, and the names of the people likely to haunt a location. Use this information to plan your EVP session if doing a field investigation.
16. Prepare questions ahead of time, if possible, when going to a haunted location with a known history. If no questions are prepared, at least know the history and facts about the location to help you ask the right questions. Approach the session as a “host” of a radio show and treat the Spirits as your honored guests.
17. ASK PERMISSION TO RECORD! Ask not only the Living who may own the property or run it but also the permission of the Dead who also live there. If you receive no response from asking permission (from the Dead), it may be an “approval” for you to record. Trust your feelings, and if you are not sure, don’t record.
18. Use common sense and don’t take unnecessary risks with safety. Keep the amount of equipment you carry to a minimum so you are not overwhelmed with weight. Light and simple is the order of the day for paranormal work.