Thinking of calling in a ghost team? You need to consider a few things before you do so.
Begin with keeping a journal of what's happening, when, and who is encountering it and where for at least a couple weeks ideally. This log will help the team to get some insight into what and where and why certain areas might be active and also what explainable triggers might be present.
Then, I suggest you sit down with yourself and ask why you want a team in.
Do not bring in a team if:
1. You want to see a team in action (that is no good reason to take people's time, expense and effort).
2. You are hoping your home might end up on a TV show. Believe me, your home is no more a celebrity than you are. Give up the notion that somehow somewhere someone is going to want to showcase your home.
3. You are hoping to join a team and thought this was a good way to show them your knowledge and get a conversation going. Once again, do not waste people's time, expense and effort.
4. You have a suspicion that someone in the home might have reason to want the place haunted, such as someone with mental or psychiatric issues, pathological lying, need for attention, anxiety and the like. Seek appropriate mental health care instead. The team is not there to do therapy.
5. You have only had one or two incidents. This does not show a pattern. A couple times is unusual, but more than that is perhaps a pattern. Do not call until a pattern is formed.
Here is when you should call in a team -
1. You have a child that is repeatedly being affected with stories that don't sound like usual childhood anxiety of the dark or what's under the bed, especially if the child's moods and behavior are different during waking hours.
2. Repeated patterns of phenomenon have been occurring and several people have encountered them.
3. Someone has been physically harmed or emotionally unsettled to the point of hysteria.
4. You are finding it difficult to be alone in a part of the house.
5. You don't feel safe in your own home and want to know what is going on.
Finding a Team
First, do a little Google search about the team. See what others have said, see what kind of commentary they make - do they tear down other teams, seem to have in-fighting? Don't be shy to friend team members on Facebook and check out how they handle themselves publicly. Google individual team members' names.
Do not call them to your home! Protect yourself. These are a group of strangers with no licensing. Meet them in a public place first. Trust your instincts.
Keep a diary of what is going on so you can give them a time line, events, and such. Please be sure to include any recent deaths, emotional upsets, family fighting, mental issues with members of the family, people moving in and out - anything disruptive.
Ask if they charge for any services. This can be a red flag.
Ask if they use psychics, sensitives, mediums and the like.
Ask if they will be reviewing any evidence with you. A thorough investigation should offer both options and not just one or the other.
Ask if they do cleansings or blessings. Ask about the credentials of the person who does that and their name. Look that person up. See what kind of business they do - are they a psychic for a living? You might be charged for a blessing should they find something wrong. Are they willing to accommodate your faith?
Ask the size of the team and that they arrive without a marked car and team t-shirts, you don't want the neighbors knowing. Let them know you and another will be present during investigation, although you are fine with being cloistered in a room so they can have free run and so that you don't corrupt the investigation.
Let them know your objectives - do you want to be rid of your issue or simply find out what kind of issue it is?
It sounds paranoid, but please take any RX medications, booze, money, jewelry and the like and lock it into a drawer they cannot get into. No matter how nice they are, they are still strangers in your home.
If you wish privacy, ask if they can sign a privacy paper so that you are assured they won't go online bragging about what is happening in your home or writing about you in their next book.
If they allow you to speak to another client, that is a good thing. Take advantage of it and contact that person.
Ultimately, know what you want out of the experience. Do you want them to educate you about ghostly workings so you can just learn to live with it, should there be a haunting? Do you want them to find something so you are justified in being uncomfortable in your own home? Is there anything going on in family dynamics that makes calling in a team an upsetting thing? What would you do if they find no evidence of haunting?
It is a great unknown for the team when they enter a new client's home, but it is just as much an unknown for you just how you will feel when people work to elicit ghostly antics and document them. A good team should help you along the way.
Should you have a positive experience, do not hesitate sharing a quote they may use on their site anonymously if you wish. If they were lackluster, feel free to share that knowledge with the public. The only way that we weed out teams with a healthy agenda and attitude is by showcasing them up against the losers.
