# Paranormal investigation Source: https://spiritfold.com.au/Paranormal_investigation Published by the Australian Spiritual Alliance on Spiritfold, licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. [](https://spiritfold.com.au/index.php?title=File:Hampton_Court_-_The_Haunted_Gallery.png&filetimestamp=20261014131930&)"The Haunted Gallery" at Hampton Court Palace. The palace was one of two sites in a 2003 study of reported hauntings. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons **Paranormal investigation**, often called **ghost hunting**, is the investigation of reported hauntings, apparitions, poltergeist disturbances and similar experiences, usually by interviewing the people involved, visiting the place concerned and keeping careful records there.[1] It grew out of psychical research: the Society for Psychical Research, set up in London in 1882, describes itself as the first scientific organisation to examine claims of psychic and paranormal phenomena.[2] ## Description ### Kinds of cases The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) groups the experiences investigators are asked about as "spontaneous" cases, because they happen without warning and outside anyone's control. It notes that many have ordinary explanations, either physical causes or the state of mind of the person who saw or heard something.[1] - **Apparitions**: a person who is awake and well sees a figure, or hears a voice, that cannot be a real person. The SPR says most such experiences are very likely hallucinations, though a few match outside events in ways that are hard to explain.[1] - **Poltergeist cases**: the SPR lists thumps, raps and scratching, footsteps, small objects moving or thrown, doors opening and closing, lights switching on or off, cold breezes and unexplained smells. In most cases, it says, the events are trivial and seem aimless.[1] - **Hauntings**: the SPR notes that haunting and poltergeist cases may call for watching the places concerned over time.[1] ### How the SPR advises investigators to work The SPR's guidance for investigators puts people and records first, and equipment second: - Read up on similar cases before starting.[1] - Interview the witnesses in depth, ideally one at a time, and write up a statement that each person reads, corrects and signs.[1] - Record when and where each experience happened, how long it lasted, the lighting and sounds at the time, and where everyone else was.[1] - With the occupants' consent, visit the scene soon, filming it or drawing plans, and make follow-up visits, since events may be rare and first impressions can change.[1] - Keep a separate written log for each investigator, synchronise watches and the clocks of any equipment, and have witnesses write their own accounts of any event as soon as possible.[1] - Ask open questions and avoid leading ones, keeping in mind that memory errors, guesswork and wishful thinking are common.[1] Basic equipment, in the SPR's account, is a notebook and pen, a watch, an audio recorder and a camera or smartphone. It adds that researchers also routinely use instruments such as electromagnetic field (EMF) meters, thermometers and motion detectors.[1] ### Ghost-hunting equipment and its critics Popular ghost hunting relies heavily on consumer electronics. Writing in *The Atlantic*, in an article reprinted by Australian Skeptics, Colin Dickey describes a widely used handheld EMF meter that was designed to find fields from power lines and household appliances. Because it is unshielded and reads on only one axis, he writes, it can be set off by a mobile phone, a two-way radio or almost any electronic device that gives off electromagnetic waves. He also describes digital recorders used to capture "electronic voice phenomena" (EVP), and "ghost boxes" that scan radio frequencies for words in the static.[3] Dickey argues that such devices produce random noise in which people are primed to find patterns.[3] ## Scope ### What it includes - Investigating reported hauntings, apparitions and poltergeist cases by interviewing witnesses, visiting the place and keeping records[1] - Recording conditions with cameras, audio recorders and instruments such as EMF meters and thermometers[1][3] - Looking into other experiences the SPR counts as spontaneous cases, such as apparent extrasensory perception, precognitive dreams and out-of-body experiences[1] ### What it is not - It does not start from a fixed answer. The SPR says it holds no corporate view about whether the phenomena it studies exist or what they mean, and that its members hold a wide range of views.[2] - It is not the Spiritualist practice of rescue work, in which a circle tries to help an earthbound spirit said to linger in a house to move on (see [Spirit rescue](https://spiritfold.com.au/Spirit_rescue)).[4] ### Research - In a 2003 study, R. Wiseman and colleagues asked volunteers to walk around two places with a strong reputation for being haunted, Hampton Court Palace in England and the South Bridge Vaults in Edinburgh, and to note where they had unusual experiences. More unusual experiences were reported in the areas with a haunted reputation, whether or not the volunteers knew that reputation. Where people had their experiences was linked to features of the surroundings, such as variation in local magnetic fields and the lighting. The authors concluded that reported hauntings may, at least in part, be people responding to normal factors in their surroundings.[5] - A 2009 study by C. C. French and colleagues tried to build an artificial "haunted" room. Its 79 participants each spent 50 minutes in a chamber where they were exposed to infrasound, complex electromagnetic fields, both or neither. Many reported unusual sensations, but the number reported was unrelated to which conditions they were exposed to. The authors judged suggestibility the simplest explanation.[6] ## Traditions and lineage Modern Spiritualism itself began with a reported haunting. In 1848 a family living in a farmhouse at Hydesville, New York, were troubled by unexplained raps at night, and the spirit behind them was said to have identified itself as a man murdered in the house.[7] Spiritualism in turn inspired psychical research, which set out to examine the claims of mediums and developed ways of studying telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition and reported spirit contact.[7] Early studies were the work of individuals, such as William Crookes, discoverer of the element thallium, who in the early 1870s tried to measure a "psychic force" in séances. By the early 1880s many felt a more systematic approach was needed, and the Cambridge philosopher Henry Sidgwick founded the Society for Psychical Research for the experimental study of the powers mediums displayed.[8] Some of its founders, the Ellwoods write, had always been more interested in scientific investigation than in the religious side of Spiritualism.[9] The Society's past presidents include the philosophers William James and Henri Bergson and the scientists William Crookes and Charles Richet, and it has published its *Journal* continuously since 1884.[2] ## Context ### Within Spiritualism Psychical research and Spiritualism share a beginning but went different ways. Spiritualism started with the Hydesville raps and prompted the first systematic tests of mediums (see Traditions and lineage, above).[7] The National Spiritualist Association of Churches in the United States says that, over time, Spiritualism's leaders came to feel its phenomena had been proven, put less effort into scientific investigation and turned mainly to its philosophy and religion.[10] Where Spiritualists believe a house is troubled by a spirit, their own response is rescue work rather than investigation (see [Spirit rescue](https://spiritfold.com.au/Spirit_rescue)).[4] ### In Australian Spiritualism Psychical research grew up beside Australian Spiritualism. In Adelaide, a branch of the Society for Psychical Research was set up in the same period as the city's Spiritualist societies of the 1880s and 1890s.[11] In Melbourne, Thomas Welton Stanford, who founded the Victorian Association of Progressive Spiritualists in 1870 with W. H. Terry and J. B. Motherwell, left most of his personal estate to Stanford University for psychical research when he died in 1918.[12] In Sydney in the late 1970s, Gillen recorded that Spiritualist rescue work could include clearing earthbound spirits said to linger in particular houses and frighten people.[4] ### A Spiritualist perspective Spiritualists have every reason to welcome honest investigation. The movement began with a family trying to make sense of noises in their house, and it was Spiritualism's own claims that first drew scientists into the séance room. A Spiritualist can respect the investigator's patience and open mind, even where the two reach different conclusions. Where a Spiritualist would add something is in the human side of a case. People who report a haunting are often frightened, and some are grieving. The careful investigator's habits described above, consent, confidentiality, no leading questions, and care with children, are also good spiritual practice. Treat any place where people have died, such as a cemetery, with respect, and never turn someone's fear or loss into entertainment. ## Paranormal investigation in Australia The Australian Institute of Parapsychological Research, also known as Parapsychology Australia, was set up in Sydney in 1977 and is Australia's oldest surviving parapsychological research institute. Since 2001 it has published the *Australian Journal of Parapsychology* twice a year.[13] Australian Skeptics describes the skeptical movement in Australia as a loose network of groups and people who investigate paranormal and pseudoscientific claims from a scientific point of view. It places ghosts at what it calls the lighter end of these claims.[14] Its magazine, *The Skeptic*, has published critical articles on ghost-hunting equipment.[3] Permission matters. In 2022 cemetery trusts in Melbourne's south-east barred paranormal groups from holding events at gravesites.[15] ## Safety and good practice The SPR's advice to investigators includes: - **Don't go alone.** Not everyone who calls in an investigator has the same motives, and two people observe better than one.[1] - **Get consent.** Explain your plans in terms people can understand, and have their consent before going ahead or visiting the scene.[1] - **Protect privacy.** Assure witnesses that their names will not be published without their consent, and explain how their privacy will be protected.[1] - **Take special care with children and vulnerable people.** Make sure a parent or other suitable responsible person is present at every interview or other contact.[1] - **Be tactful.** Investigators are likely to be treated as experts, so they should hold back from giving opinions, especially where a situation may involve mental, social or emotional problems, and stay out of family affairs.[1] - **Avoid publicity.**[1] Investigating on land you don't control also needs the permission of whoever manages it; cemetery trusts, for example, have refused paranormal events at gravesites.[15] ## Common questions ### What does a paranormal investigator actually do? Most of the work, in the SPR's guidance, is interviewing witnesses and keeping detailed records, with signed statements and notes of times, lighting and sounds.[1] Investigators visit the place with the occupants' consent and often return, because events may be rare.[1] ### Do EMF meters detect ghosts? The meters popular with ghost hunters were made to measure fields from power lines and appliances, and Colin Dickey notes that a mobile phone or radio can set one off.[3] In a 2009 experiment, exposure to complex electromagnetic fields did not change how many unusual sensations people reported.[6] ### What has research found about haunted places? A 2003 study at Hampton Court Palace and Edinburgh's South Bridge Vaults found more unusual experiences reported in areas thought to be haunted. The researchers linked these to features such as lighting and magnetic fields, and suggested people may be reacting to normal aspects of their surroundings.[5] ### Who studies the paranormal in Australia? The Australian Institute of Parapsychological Research, founded in Sydney in 1977, publishes the *Australian Journal of Parapsychology*.[13] Australian Skeptics also examines paranormal claims, including ghosts, from a scientific point of view.[14] ## Related modalities - [Spirit rescue](https://spiritfold.com.au/Spirit_rescue) - [Physical mediumship](https://spiritfold.com.au/Physical_mediumship) - [Mediumship](https://spiritfold.com.au/Mediumship) - [Exorcism](https://spiritfold.com.au/Exorcism) - [Spiritualism](https://spiritfold.com.au/Spiritualism) - [Telepathy](https://spiritfold.com.au/Telepathy) ## References 1. Society for Psychical Research. ["Notes for Investigators"](https://www.spr.ac.uk/research/notes-investigators). The Society for Psychical Research, © 2025 (accessed 14 October 2026). 2. Society for Psychical Research. ["About the SPR"](https://www.spr.ac.uk/node/2). The Society for Psychical Research (no date shown; accessed 14 October 2026). 3. Dickey, Colin. "The Broken Tech of Ghost Hunting". *The Skeptic* (Australian Skeptics) 36, no. 4 (December 2016): 45–48. First published in *The Atlantic*, 2016. [PDF](https://www.skeptics.com.au/wp-content/uploads/magazine/The%20Skeptic%20Volume%2036%20(2016)%20No%204.pdf) (accessed 14 October 2026). 4. Gillen, Paul. *[The Spiritualists: Gnosis and Ideology](https://figshare.mq.edu.au/articles/thesis/The_spiritualists_gnosis_and_ideology/19431146/1)*. PhD thesis, School of Behavioural Sciences, Macquarie University, November 1981 (accessed 14 October 2026). 5. Wiseman, R., C. Watt, P. Stevens, E. Greening and C. O'Keeffe. "An investigation into alleged 'hauntings'". *British Journal of Psychology* 94, pt 2 (2003): 195–211. [doi:10.1348/000712603321661886](https://doi.org/10.1348/000712603321661886). Abstract read via [Europe PMC](https://europepmc.org/article/MED/12803815) (accessed 14 October 2026). 6. French, C. C., U. Haque, R. Bunton-Stasyshyn and R. Davis. "The 'Haunt' project: an attempt to build a 'haunted' room by manipulating complex electromagnetic fields and infrasound". *Cortex* 45, no. 5 (2009): 619–629. [doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2007.10.011](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2007.10.011). Abstract read via [Europe PMC](https://europepmc.org/article/MED/18635163) (accessed 14 October 2026). 7. Melton, J. Gordon and the Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. ["Spiritualism"](https://www.britannica.com/topic/spiritualism-religion). *Encyclopaedia Britannica* (no date shown; accessed 14 October 2026). 8. Monroe, John Warne. ["Spiritualism"](https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/spiritualism). *Encyclopedia of Modern Europe: Europe 1789–1914*. Reproduced on Encyclopedia.com (accessed 14 October 2026). 9. Ellwood, Robert S. and Gracia Fay Ellwood. ["Spiritualism"](https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/spiritualism). *Contemporary American Religion*. Reproduced on Encyclopedia.com (accessed 14 October 2026). 10. National Spiritualist Association of Churches. ["Science: Phenomenal Evidence"](https://nsac.org/science-phenomenal-evidence/). NSAC (no date shown; accessed 14 October 2026). 11. Bartley, Helen and Jill Roe. ["Spiritualism"](https://sahistoryhub.history.sa.gov.au/subjects/spiritualism/). *SA History Hub*. History Trust of South Australia (first published in *The Wakefield Companion to South Australian History*, 2001) (accessed 14 October 2026). 12. Potts, E. Daniel. ["Stanford, Thomas Welton (1832–1918)"](https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/stanford-thomas-welton-8620). *Australian Dictionary of Biography*, vol. 12. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, 1990 (accessed 14 October 2026). 13. McLuhan, Robert. ["Australian Institute of Parapsychological Research (AIPR)"](https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/articles/australian-institute-parapsychological-research/). *Psi Encyclopedia*. Society for Psychical Research, created 3 November 2016, last updated 2 September 2026 (accessed 14 October 2026). Article text only; the site's AI-generated summary was not used. 14. Australian Skeptics Inc. ["About Us"](https://www.skeptics.com.au/about/) (no date shown; accessed 14 October 2026). 15. Brooks, Shelby, Jamie Salter and Eleanor Wilson. ["Paranormal events stopped"](https://pakenham.starcommunity.com.au/news/2022-07-06/paranormal-events-stopped/). *Pakenham Gazette* (Star News Group), 6 July 2022. Opening paragraph only; rest of article behind a paywall (accessed 14 October 2026). ## Further reading - French, C. C., U. Haque, R. Bunton-Stasyshyn and R. Davis. ["The 'Haunt' project"](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2007.10.011). *Cortex*, 2009. - McLuhan, Robert. ["Australian Institute of Parapsychological Research (AIPR)"](https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/articles/australian-institute-parapsychological-research/). *Psi Encyclopedia*, Society for Psychical Research. - Society for Psychical Research. ["Notes for Investigators"](https://www.spr.ac.uk/research/notes-investigators). - Wiseman, R., C. Watt, P. Stevens, E. Greening and C. O'Keeffe. ["An investigation into alleged 'hauntings'"](https://doi.org/10.1348/000712603321661886). *British Journal of Psychology*, 2003.