Rules for Ghost Hunts

SRT RULES FOR PARANORMAL INVESTIGATING

1.         You will be required to sign a Waiver of Liability before you participate in an investigation or ghost hunt with Supernatural Researchers of Texas (SRT). If you will not sign it, you will not be able to participate.

2.         Be quiet!  Talk in low voices or whispers. Do NOT squeal or even talk loud or excitedly. Act with respect and also compassion for the entities we're going to encounter. Remember, these were once living people. Now, if they are ghosts, they are lonely and confused. We may also find small children tonight. Remember that they are indeed children.

3.         There will be absolutely no baiting or provoking any of the entities we encounter tonight. By that, we mean demanding they show themselves or give us some indication of their presence. It also means mocking or saying anything mean, nasty, or derogatory to them. Remember that the people we encounter were once someone's son, daughter, mother, father, or other part of a family. If you do anything like that, you will be asked to leave immediately, with no second chance, and no refund of your money will be forthcoming. Therefore, if you feel you cannot act respectfully, then please ask for your money back now. Once the ghost hunt is in progress, there will be no refunds.

4.         Don't butt in if someone is communicating with an entity. If one person is using the flashlight to communicate, then hold your mouth and let them handle things. We will be assigning some things to certain people, and we don't want you to interfere with that.

5.         Walk slow.  Tune into the ghosts and spirits around you.  Don't go racing off and spoil the hunt for others. Hang back versus forging into the unknown. This place tonight has some dangerous areas, and I’m not talking dangerous entities. I don't want anyone on that third floor unless they have permission from me to go there or is going with a team member.

6.         Only use your flashlight to see in front of you, so you don't stumble or fall.  Never shine your flashlight on anyone else, especially in their eyes. Some of us have sharper vision than audible abilities, and it you ruin their vision with a light, they lose their ability. That's not fair to them. So be aware of what you are doing, where you are, where everyone else is around you ALWAYS.

7.         Take your pictures away from the group and away from any other individual.  If there are others near you, let them know you are getting ready to shoot.  Give them a few seconds to turn their eyes away from the flash before you push the button.  Never take a picture near a group without prior warning, and if you are told no, do not shoot! There is a possibility that someone is seeing something and getting ready to communicate. A flash will ruin that.

8.         If there is someone in the group with whom you do not get along, either don't go on that ghost hunt or be courteous to that person during the investigation.  Squabbling and arguing spoil it for others and won't be tolerated. If you have something to discuss with someone, discuss it politely and try to work it out. Only call on Belle or me as a last resort. We are involved in the investigation and we are all adults here. We need to act like adults.

9.         Be especially vigilant and quiet near where cameras are set up. Also, if you are near enough to the camera that it might pick up your movements, say announce yourself quietly so the noise won't be mistaken for something paranormal during evidence review.

10.       If an EVP session is going on, do not approach anywhere near this. These sessions demand silence.

11.       Do not interrupt the concentration of others.  Do not take pictures during communications unless you are informed that you can!  In fact, stay away. Don't barge in and try to see what is going on. Pay attention to what those around you are doing before you get camera-happy and ruin a communication. If the person communicating wants company or to share what's going on, that person will invite you to do so. Otherwise, stay far enough back not to interfere.

12.       If there is something that we want you to experience, we will quietly call you over and you should quietly comply.  If there is something you are experiencing and you want others to know, quietly inform them. Keep the word "quiet" in the forefront of your mind always.

13.       If something scares you, quietly rejoin a team member and let them know what has happened. However, we are in paranormal territory. We will be encountering paranormal energy and possibly encounter angry or hostile ghosts. If you can't handle that, then you need to learn how to or not ask to go along on an investigation that's above your ability to stay calm. Team members are not here to babysit you. We are here to conduct an investigation.

14.       However, if something does attack you, you should definitely cause a loud disturbance so you can be rescued.  This is the only situation where you should be loud and insistent.  If possible, explain what is happening.  If not, if whatever is there makes it impossible for you to let us know what's going on, you will still be shielded and protected.

15.       If you are asked along on an investigation where Trana and Belle deem that you should wear the packet of protection, wear it over your heart at all times and without question. At all times and without question! Do not remove it, even for a few seconds.

16.       Do not ask anyone else on a hunt without clearing it with Trana or Belle first.  Sometimes we will allow others along, but we must meet them first.  Under no circumstances will anyone under age 18 be allowed along without a parent.  Even then, we must meet the under-age person first, and he or she will be expected to be quiet and courteous, as well as also obey all the rules.

17.       LISTEN TO THE SRT TEAM MEMBER LEADING YOUR PARTICULAR GHOST HUNT AND OBEY THEM TOTALLY AND WITHOUT QUESTION. They are in charge. Don't argue, don't question, unless you feel you have a legitimate misgiving over something we tell you to do. If so, mention it quietly. But if we still tell you this is how it is to be and you can't agree, then you will be asked to leave immediately.

Failure to abide by the rules will result in your not being asked along on any future hunts.