In paranormal research, ghost hunting, or any spiritual pursuit, protection is a must. We bring pepper spray and cell phones, go in groups to those dark, isolated cemeteries, and let other people know our location. In the physical realm, that should be enough. But keep in mind any pursuit involving the non-physical world warrants special protection.

Think you have a haunted house? Living in a place you believe to be haunted can be a scary experience. Should you tell anyone? Will they think you're crazy? Yes, you should tell someone, and no, they probably won't think you need a straight-jacket. There are some steps you can take to investigate possible causes on your own. Above all, keep a calm head, an open mind, and use your common sense.

Ghost hunting and paranormal investigating is a tricky field to be participating in, but, like anything else, we can all strive to be better by learning from our mistakes. And believe me, you will make mistakes. It's hard to handle equipment in the dark, and even harder to distinguish true anomalies caught on film or audio from inadvertent finger fumblings while trying to hold a flashlight, camera, notepad, pen and EMF meter in one hand while trying to dig for new batteries with the other hand. I've learned a few lessons over the past couple years of paranormal investigation; hopefully reading about my ?whoops' moments will save you some of your own.

The ghost hunting team I'm a member of had a profoundly horrid experience two weeks ago. We were asked by another local ghost team to join them on a private home investigation as they were short a few members and we'd worked together in the past. It all sounded great in the beginning. The house had two occupants and a bevy of odd occurrences. We were enticed by stories of cupboard doors opening at the same time every morning, only to close again in front of the occupants' eyes when they entered the kitchen, perfume-y smells with no natural explanation, and missing objects appearing weeks later in obvious places. Our team, Mystic Ghost, discussed it, made arrangements with the other team, and planned to go on a Saturday night.