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As many of us know there are many facets of a paranormal investigation. The initial contact, interview, walk-thru, investigation, review, and reveal. However, there are many other aspects of the investigation that some of us cringe about when we have to do it and that is research on the property that is being investigated. I am here to say, research can be fun and rewarding if you approach it in the proper mind-set.
One of the major roadblocks to anyone who wants to research the history of a location is; where do I start? There are two approaches I use when starting a research project. I speak directly to the client and get as much information they know about their property. Or, I start out cold by going to the hall of records in the courthouse to look up owners of the property, usually in the form of old deeds.
The first approach can be helpful, however, I have learned that even though the client is trying their best to be helpful, some of the oral history can be misleading or even wrong. This could lead to a lot of time tracking down dead ends, and I mean a lot of time. You could actually spend weeks on end trying to track down a lead your client gave you only to learn that there is absolutely no record to substantiate the claim. It can be maddening, but at least you have obtained a valuable piece of information that you can pass along to your client.
The second approach is not as productive as one might imagine. I have been in the courthouse tracking down Deed information only to find there are big gaps in their documentation. Remember, not everyone who lived on property had to have permits to build, they just built what they wanted. Many of the homes in this area have a past very similar. The current home might be built upon the foundation of old homesteads that were never documented prior to the modern home.
I also suggest you keep your dues up with your local library as they are a great resource in looking up past events in your community. All libraries usually have records of all newspapers in microfiche. As long as you have a specific date or incident, this is a pretty good way to track down information, and it might lead you to other resources.
Another resource that can be helpful is the Internet. I do want to caution you though; the Internet is rife with inconsistencies and outright wrong information. For those of you who swear by Wikipedia, I would say I am sorry for you. Wikipedia is a site that anyone can sign into and put any information they want about a subject. This is not to say there are not sites on the Internet that are legitimate such as, Ancestry.com. This is a pay site, but they have an extensive database of information on pretty much everyone. One more word about the Internet, always check and re-check your information you uncover on the Internet. Anyone who was in college will tell you that any paper you wrote had to be backed up by references that had to be valid.
Another excellent resource is your local historical society. Those folks are fountains of information on the area and if they don’t know, they can pretty much point you in the right direction. Most historical societies are associated with institutions of higher education as well as state historical societies. Don’t dismiss the local college professor who teaches history.
Another source that I like, but I know some are hesitant, are old folks. Some of these people actually lived the history and they are just sitting there full of information. If you are a good listener and really take the time, these folks can fill in a lot of the blanks. Plus, it is good to take time out of your busy schedule to show a little respect to those who came before us.
I know this is a long post, but I wanted to address some of the issues of doing the legwork, if you will, of the researcher. It is not easy and there will be times you want to throw in the towel and say it just is not worth it, it is too much work. It takes tenacity, and patience as well as also being personable, and willing to devote endless hours of your time. All those negative feelings about all the hard work you put into your research magically disappears when you uncover that one piece of evidence that explains everything.
For those of you that are still with me, I have a challenge for you to test your skills as a researcher. You can use your home as a starting point or if you happen to be walking around in a cemetery, and see a name that looks interesting, start researching that person or home to see what you come up with. You might just surprise yourself. Remember to think outside the box. Ask yourself, if this were I where would someone keep information on my life and me? Above all else…Have fun!
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Researcher/Investigator BHPI
"Nemo Me Impune Laccessit"
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