A Practical Ghost Hunting Guide for Amateur Sleuths
I made a simpler ghost hunting method, aimed at newbie ghost hunters. I admit some of my other methodologies are a bit intense. So, here’s a simpler way to plan and report your next ghost hunt by using 6 questions. Get the scoop after the jump.
A Practical Sleuthing Method
I realize I may have made other methods seem intense, overly structured, and rigid. That’s not what I intended. So, I stepped back to reflect and simplify my process.
Again, this is my process. You are absolutely free to use what you like, adapt it, or ignore it.
Ok, let’s dive in. I’ll use a recent trip to the Tokeland Hotel for this exercise. First things first, ask a bunch of questions. This is what I focus on …
1. What’s the mystery?
State the haunting claim and where it came from.
How to do that:
I start with using AI search platforms (i.e., ChatGPT, Claude or Perplexity) and search engines (Google and Bing) to find sources about a haunted place. It’s as simple as a search for the name of the place + haunted. If you use AI search, you can ask it a better, more detailed question.
For example, I used ChatGPT to gather information about the Tokeland Hotel. I used the prompt, “Is the Tokeland Hotel haunted? If so, tell me about the ghosts associated with it using verified sources.”
Verified sources are important. It stops a lot of the hallucinating (making things up) that they can do (especially Google AI Overviews + AI Mode). Then, I actually click the citations to see the context of its responses and the quality of its sources. Believe me, there’s a lot of crap about haunted places out there.
Then, I start jotting down what kind of activity might be going on. That brings us to …
2. What do we know about the place?
Check records, dates, names, and the story’s source.
How to do that:
I’ve written an article about using dark history for your ghost hunts. Let’s not be redundant, eh?You can even listen to it:
For example, I used Ancestry.com and a few newspaper archive sites to find information about Albert Brown’s death. He was the little boy that drowned near the farm that predated the hotel. Back in 1866, there wouldn’t be a newspaper article or death certificate at the time. None of that document infrastructure had started in Toke Point, Washington.
BUT … an article from 1930 mentioned his death in an interview with the boy’s father. So, we have a confirmed death (near) the site.
3. Who has reported something?
Separate firsthand accounts from retellings and folklore.
How to do that:
Firsthand accounts include testimony from an eyewitness (like the owner of a haunt) or ghost hunting report from another team. That could be a YouTube video or website page with evidence. You could use newspaper reports, too.
The big thing is to separate folklore. I wrote a handy-dandy guide to urban legends to help sort things out. I’d count forum entries and blog posts without sources/citations and evidence as part of folklore.
For example, the Tokeland Hotel has a lot of urban legends associated with it. The big one dealt with Albert Brown. I interviewed 3 employees at the hotel while I stayed there. Not a single person mentioned seeing a child spirit or hearing anything related to kids.
Also, there’s a paranormal log book where guests leave their encounters. Of the 30 entries I examined, not a single guest mentioned a child ghost. However, the online world was aflame with talk about Albert’s ghost. That makes Albert part of the hotel lore, and not an actual ghost haunting it.
4. What else could explain it?
Look at the setting, conditions, equipment, and ordinary causes.
How to do that:
In general, this means going to the haunt and checking it out. Totally recommend this option if it’s possible. You can learn a lot about a haunted place and its ghosts by walking around.
If you can’t do that, then YouTube might be your next best option or a website with a video tour.
If you go, get some baselines. Listen to how the building sounds with people walking its halls or how the wind sounds inside as examples.
For example, I stayed at the Tokeland Hotel over Halloween weekend. It was obvious the rooms had very thin walls. I could hear people talking in their rooms on the opposite side of the floor. When people walked the halls, it sounded like they were in the room with me. And the wind? It sounded like whispering voices.
I also checked claims of unexplained EMF readings from the paranormal log book. It turns out it was the cycling AC (old wires) in the building. I used the ErikHill EMF meter to see it racing on the EF band. Up and down. Up and down.
5. What did I try?
Explain the plan, tools, observations, and anything that didn’t work.
How to do that:
This just references how you go about testing the haunted claims. It will have an equipment list, your experiments (like an EVP session) to confirm a ghost’s identity, and places to investigate within the haunt.
Your log book is an important piece. You’ll jot down what happened when and where. Debunking also goes in there.
And if you don’t get anything, well, that’s a result, too. Keep it in the files.
For example, I’ve got an upcoming report on the Tokeland Hotel investigation coming out soon, but I’ll spoil some if for you. In my report, I list Amy and Chryssa as the other investigators. I’ve got audio interviews with them and their experiences in there. Then I’ve got the different rooms and their reported activity as part of it. After that, my report has the experiments we ran and evidence captured like the cat balls in Room 3. I always end the report with my final thoughts on the investigation and any debunking of claims (like Albert Brown mentioned earlier).
6. Where does the case stand?
Say what’s documented, what remains a report, and what you still can’t explain.
How to do that:
Essentially, this is your verdict about a haunted place and its ghostly activity. In some cases, you’ve answered your questions and solved the mystery (rarely happens, btw) or you captured nothing, so you want to keep going.
In other cases, you’ll find out the haunted reputation is all folklore, and it doesn’t need any more ghost hunting. Just say so in your report.
For example, I end my Tokeland Hotel report with a few items to follow-up on at a later date. I want to learn more about the poltergeist activity in the restaurant/lobby area. Then, I’m not sure if we captured a ghost cat, and I want to do more research into that experience in Room 3. And, finally, what caused the shadow detectors to go off in perfectly lit rooms?!
So, for me, the Tokeland Hotel is still an active haunt, even if I debunked half the claims I started with. In this case, I leave the case file open … and book another trip.
Thanks for reading this post on a supernatural sleuthing method. If you have a favorite way to investigate or document hauntings, let me know about it in the comments. Much appreciated and take care!
