Sue Darroch and Matthew Didier's Paranormal Blog

Our Do's and Don't checklist for investigations is drummed into the memory of everyone who volunteers with us. We feel that each of these are pretty much common sense, but we still print it off for all of our newbies as they are good rules of thumb to follow.

DO:

- ALWAYS be polite, courteous, and respectful no matter what the circumstances.

- Arrange when and what time you will be starting your investigation with whomever you need permission from and BE ON TIME!

- Arrange when and where you're team will meet and what roles who might fill before heading out.

- Obey any rules the owners/tenants have laid down. Breaking a rule in the name of research makes a good "Movie of the Week" but will almost guarantee you will not be invited back.

- APPOINT LEADERS and make sure that they can coordinate amongst themselves successfully.

- LEAVE THE AREA YOU ARE ASSIGNED IN THE SAME CONDITION OR BETTER THAN WHEN YOU ARRIVED!

- BE QUIET AND RESPECTFUL OF YOUR TEAM'S RESEARCH AND YOUR TEAM IN GENERAL!

- LEAVE your investigation on time. Respect the property owner's time. Do not make someone miss a home cooked meal or a date because YOU want half an hour more to fuddle around in an attic.

DON'T:

- Smoke unless you are absolutely certain it is ok to do so.

- Smoke while someone's taking a picture nearby.

- Make a lot of noise around recording equipment.

- LITTER!

- CONSUME ALCOHOL of any quantity before, during, or immediately after an investigation. This should go without saying, but any illegal substance either. The latter will have you removed from our team.

- "Break in" to a sealed room or home to get a better picture or whatever.

- TALK TO THE PRESS WITHOUT CONSULTING YOUR LEAD!

- Assume the jokes you're making are funny to everyone.

- FORCE SOMEONE TO DO SOMETHING THEY DON'T WANT TO DO!

Of course this is added to, and tailored for each unique outing, but over all these are the most important points we like to cover.