| Investigation NO-NO's
Articles from SJPR
What Not To Do On Investigations - By Susan Bove'
So you're a Paranormal Investigator! Good for you! No doubt you found lots of helpful information on how to conduct investigations from sites just like ours!
Well, I would like to take the instruction a step further and stress a point to all new investigators, and even seasoned investigators will benefit from this reminder. Everyone will learn this lesson eventually...the hard way, but I felt that if one person reads this and is saved some embarrassment, then I have spent my time well!
If you conduct your investigations with the lights out as we do, you may get complacent thinking no one can see you. So, you might try to quickly expunge your nose of any debris, thinking everyone is none the wiser. Or, perhaps you end up making a rather unflattering facial expression...Well, I'm here to tell you that there will come a time that someone in your group will capture an image of you worthy of blackmail!
Sit back and study these images and be thankful if you are not featured on this page. We will add to it as our investigators find themselves in compromising circumstances!
Click here to go directly to newly posted No-nos
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View the Video - Watch - Oh My! Definitely what not to do on video.
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There is a serious condition that has been identified and is plaguing many modern ghost hunters. When someone announces "flash," so that everyone can look away, there are some ghost hunters who simply can not divert their eyes. Instead, they are compelled to look directly into the flashing camera!
This baffling condition has been dubbed, Deer in the Headlights Syndrome, or DHS. If you notice this syndrome developing in any member of your ghost group, seek help immediately before it is too late!
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As you can see, Lois Weber has a severe case and Nancy Brown, in the background, is showing early signs of the syndrome. |
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Take note of the added glare of confusion as Lois' condition worsens |
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Poor Lois...everyone else can look away, but she cannot. |
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Hmmm...not really sure what to make of this public display at a diner following an investigation. Mike Hrycyk assured us that real men DO drink peach smoothies, but a picture is worth a thousand words. Luckily, this hoity-toity display lasted only as long as the smoothie. |
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Come on, now...we've all done it. You're wearing dark clothes, wandering around in dark buildings...then, you take a respite and pull up a box or sit on some stairs. Just remember to brush off your bottom when you get up! We only let Deb Thornton walk around like this for part of the evening (well, most of the evening), before we told her about her dusty bottom :o) |
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We just couldn't resist showing off our SJPR colors in hues of black, green, blue and maroon! From left to right: Deb Thornton, Mike Hrycyk, Karen Spring, Susan Bove' |
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Sigh...and just days after the picture above was posted, Sherri Halpin failed to heed the dusty bottom tip! As you can see in the picture, we were investigating an historical house that is undergoing some radical restoration. At some point in the evening, Sherri obviously decided to plop down on the dirty floor! |
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Not every investigation yields a lot of evidence, but some investigators just won't give up. During our investigation of the Ireland Hofer House, Investigator Deb Thornton is either praying for evidence, or perhaps she's choking her video camera. |
SHEER TERROR |
Try to resist clicking on the SHEER TERROR link until you've read this set-up! Our investigators, Mike Pennock and Joe Farley, were investigating in the basement of an historical house, which had no windows, and no source of light, other than the video camera Joe was holding. As a joke, Mike decided to put his camera about 3 inches from Joe's face to snap a picture and surprise him. As he quietly inched the camera closer to Joe (who was busy watching a mouse in his camera's display), the dangling camera strap touched Joe's shoulder. Thinking a ghost was tapping him on the shoulder, Joe's expression says it all regarding how he felt about being touched by an unseen hand! Of course, we at SJPR completely discourage playing jokes on each other during investigations, but Joe is Mike's nephew, so we give them a bit of latitude...we also keep them away from everyone else by pairing them together on a team. Joe probably had it coming anyway...
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Oh, my! Did Kelly Groff see something really scary? No, she's just all tuckered out towards the end of a night of ghost hunting. Try taking a nap before we head out, Kel! |
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Let's take a look at the well equipped trainees we took to Batsto this night:
Pad & pen to take notes: Excellent!
Hooded sweatshirt for chilly weather: Smart!
Camera & Recorder: Now you're thinking!
Reflective pants so every neighbor in a 5 mile radius calls the cops on us: BRILLIANT!
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Every paranormal research group has a "princess," and Karen Spring is ours! Her hair is perfect under all circumstances and in any weather...we truly hate her for that. Since every well-rounded group should have a princess, we keep her around. She fits the bill pretty nicely.
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Having a princess does present problems at times, though, as evidenced in this picture. While everyone else is concentrating during this investigation, Karen is preoccupied with practicing her "princess wave." |
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After an investigation one evening, Karen Spring demonstrates a proper princess "air kiss." |
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As paranormal investigators, we find ourselves in some precarious situations! While investigating in a darkened home in Sicklerville, NJ, the homeowner's dog mistook Kelly Groff for a chew toy! There was no need to panic, however, as Kelly works in a veterinarian's office. She handled the situation professionally, biting the dog back. |
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We're not sure if Growling Al Agar is possessed or just peeved at Deb Thornton, who is clearly the recipient of bared teeth and bulging eyes! |
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Investigating after a long, hard day can be really rough! Here, Jim Tornatore tries to tell his troubles to a client's cat, who is clearly disinterested.
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Our dainty princess!
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We always appreciate when a client puts snacks out for us when we come to investigate. However, we ask that you save the crunchy snacks for break time. Click on the link to the left to hear our Princess, Karen Spring, enjoying some crunchy snackage - LOUDLY - complete with "yummy noises!" Boy, she really likes those honey wheat pretzels! Save some for the rest of us, Karen!
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| What the...? |
When our members are new, they often ask for help in reviewing their evidence, which is great! It's the way you learn! George Rogozin sent a portion of audio to Susan Bove' that was captured at a private residence so that she could listen and make sure he identified all the EVP there were to be found! As soon as Susan hit "play," she was hit with some pretty unflattering noises! George claims that these ear assaults were NOT belches, but rather his hungry tummy complaining. Curious how they "pop up" at the breaks in George's talking! You decided for yourself... |
Snippy Jim |
We have entitled this audio clip "Snippy Jim" because Jim Tornatore was being...well, SNIPPY! Listen as he interacts with Susan Bove' and Marisa Bozarth, who hangs out with us when we investigate the Burlington County Prison. Geez, Jim, take a pill - or perhaps a nap! |
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As you can see in this picture taken at Blackbeard's Plank House in Marcus Hook, PA, the ceilings are quite low...Our Al Agar is also quite tall, so his head almost touches the ceiling... |
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Oops! Al found an area in the room where his head actually does touch the ceiling! |
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| Al suddenly realized that he was stuck! He was wedged in and started to panic because he couldn't free himself! The rest of the team worked to keep him calm and talked him through bending his knees until he was able to move again....whew! It was a trying time for Al, but thankfully, he came through it relatively unscathed. |
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Hmmm...not sure what to make of this picture of our Joe Lenkowski. We do investigate in the dark, so any perch we can find to park our derrières will do!
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And there it is...that moment in time when your "fight or flight" instincts kick in. Unfortunately for Deb Thornton, her moment was caught on film! This is the exact moment when Deb felt an unseen hand touch her arm... |
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At the risk of embarrassing Deb further, here's a close up! |
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**NEW**
| Sleepy Hunter |
Ok, so it's now 2009 and I, Susan Bove', am finally putting myself on my own No-Nos Page. The members of SJPR can consider this their Happy New Year present and stop trying to find ways to put me here!
This is video I was shooting at a client's house in Wenonah, NJ. Watch as I struggle to keep the intended subjects in the video's frame the more "comfortable" I got. This is really "riveting footage" and shows just how boring ghost hunting can sometimes be. In my defense, this was during the last 15 minutes of a long investigation and the chair in which I was sitting was soft and fluffy. And I was really only semi-unconscious. Realizing at one point I am nodding off, I repositioned my video arm, hoping this will help jostle me awake. It didn't help.
To the credit of those on my team, if they noticed my snooze, they said nothing. My "comfortableness" actually went on for a good 5 minutes, but I've clipped this down to just under 2. It's the most boring investigative footage you'll see on the 'net, but go ahead and click on it anyway...you know you want to.
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Careful what you ask for! Anyone who ghost hunts tends to "diner" quite a bit. After investigating the paranormal, we always go for a meal at one of dozens of all-night diners in South Jersey. I have some specific ways that I like my food prepared, but it's nothing that freaky. I mean, I like my home fries well done, and I don't really like onions that much, stuff like that.
Well, after conducting a preliminary visit at a client's house, Karen Spring and I stopped at a diner and I ordered a broccoli and cheese omelet, but they tend to put too much broccoli in it. So, I ordered my omelet to be made with half the amount of broccoli they would normally put in it. I guess the order didn't translate well to the kitchen staff, because as you can see, what I got was a half-broccoli omelet! On an up note, the home fries were cooked to perfection!
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| Shooting Gallery |
Poor Bonnie! As you can see in this video, Bonnie Sauter is wearing a neck brace after having to endure surgery on her neck. Ever the trooper, she attended this investigation. The neck brace, however, made it difficult for her to see anything but that which was eye level. She spent the evening bouncing off of objects like a shooting gallery duck! She wisely tells herself to sit down in this clip! |
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Freaky! Jim Tornatore sinks up to his knees in the concrete floor of a client's basement! They have asked us to come back and collect him, but SJPR does not have a jackhammer in our equipment bag. Any other suggestions would be welcomed. |
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