People love abandoned buildings, especially those with a tragic past. We like them because they look the part of a haunted location. Neglect and our romantic ideas of ghostly activities begin. Old buildings are perfect for residual hauntings.

Best Abandoned Buildings For Ghost Hunts

The best buildings to put on your ghost hunting list include:

• Hospitals
• Asylums
• Warehouses or Mills
• Schools
• Universities
• Churches
• Jails

Remember: Make sure you have permission before your hunt. You can get arrested for trespassing. And…if you look inside and see holes in the floor, don’t go in. Taking some pictures of a creepy, old place isn’t worth breaking your leg.

Starting Your Ghost Hunt In An Abandoned Building

If you live in a big city, you have your choice of buildings. Urban decay is common. This is your guide to hunting in abandoned buildings (after you get permission to be there – notice the theme, eh?)

Research

It all starts here. This is more than finding out who lived in the building and when they lived here. You have to go to the library or records hall and getting maps. Stop by the news and look at archives about the property. Some hunters go into the building without research. This does remove some bias from the investigation, but you may also end up injured or inhaling asbestos because you didn’t see the latest records and floor plans. Research tells you where to go in a building, especially a big building.

Critters

You’re going to encounter critters in old buildings. It could be rats, coyotes, raccoons and humans. These buggers can generate all sorts of weird sounds and shadows. Humans can steal your gear. Watch yourself and your group: The living are usually worse than the dead.

Mini-Investigations

When you arrive, start the investigation. Treat each room and hallway as its own unit. Don’t bother with a lot of equipment. You only need an EMF meter, digital voice recorder and digital camera (infrared or full spectrum, preferably). Stay together with your team: This is for safety. Believe the evidence you can see. In an old building, there will be many strange sounds. You don’t want to go chasing after everything. Take your time during the investigation and thoroughly review the building, one room at a time. Focus on the ghostly activity hotspots.

If you don’t know where to begin, start with the basement and go up. That’s because you don’t have to worry about falling through a cement floor. End on the attic or top floor. If there’s only two members, just stick to one floor for each mini-investigation.

Finishing the Ghost Hunt

Don’t forget to thank the spirits as you leave. You may want to perform a cleansing ritual at this time. Remember to tell the spirits they may not follow you home. The dead need to stay where they are.