To Set Up An Investigation....
To SET UP an investigation:
1. Please fill out our homeowner's information form. This form is read ONLY by the initial contact who will set up the investigation. The information is kept sealed until the end of the investigation and is not distributed to anyone outside the team or within the SPIRITS of St. Petersburg. The form is read only at the conclusion of the investigation and in front of home or business owners to verify the information of activitity initially reported. The initial form will ask you to name this investigation. Often, investigations are named by the nearest street to the home.
Note: The SPIRITS of St. Petersburg currently has a call for haunted and non-haunted investigations.
2. Upon completion of this form, please send an email to tbspirits@netscape.net. We will contact you to set up a phone interview. This allows you to speak to a SPIRITS representative to ensure that you are comfortable with our services.
3. We ask our clients to complete two forms when we arrive on location. One states that we are allowed on the property. The other clarifies how much information (all, some, or none) we may release to our website. Copies of these forms are listed below.
THE BASICS:
The S.P.I.R.I.T.S. of St. Petersburg are very sensitive to the needs of those who we investigate. We try to be as non-invasive as possible during our research and we are extremely respectful of the living and the dead. Although each investigation is different, there are some basic procedures and research guidelines that we would like to make you aware of. We have installed these protocols in an effort to make our research more scientific and successful, and to make you as comfortable as possible with having us in your home.
Please note: Members volunteer to block off time from their personal and professional schedules to attend investigations. Therefore, we do request homeowners to pick a firm date for our investigation. Cancellations should be avoided unless in emergency situations.
Procedures:
*Expect 3-9 members of the team to arrive at your location at a time that has been agreed upon by both parties. Most of our hunts average 6 people, but there is some fluctuation depending on individual schedules.
*Most of our investigations take 2 - 4 hours to complete. Usually, only one member of the team knows about the details of the haunting. The rest of the team does not know. Please do not indicate any haunted activity or details of the haunting until we have done a full "cold" reading on the house. Allow us a few minutes to take notes, compare information, and centralize areas of potential hauntings. We will be conducting an interview with you. It is then that you will be able to share information and experiences with us.
*We will be using mostly hand-held equipment that you will be able to recognize. Equipment list includes video, 35 mm cameras, digital cameras, tape recorder, temperature sensitive gauges, and EMF (electromagnetic field) meters. If you have any questions as to our equipment please ask us.
*We ask that just the residents of the home be in attendance and that no guests be invited unless we have discussed it with you prior to the investigation.
*Please try to dust at least a day prior to the SPIRITS investigation.
If possible:
*Please shut down a/c or heat several hours prior to investigation.
*Turn off miscellaneous appliances that might emit EMF or other unusual signals.
*Please avoid spraying sweet smelling perfumes or household deodorizers before the SPIRITS arrive.
*We will turn out lights and shut off as many electrical appliances as you allow. Please, do not leave on TVs or radios because they will interfere with the EMF readings, as well as the visual and audio recordings.
*If you would like to observe our investigation, please do. Ask questions but please be mindful of our recording devices. Allow us enough room to be able to take measurements and readings.
We are more than happy to answer any questions you may have. We will also ask you questions about the history of the area, your interaction with the potential hauntings, some background information on yourself, and any paranormal experiences prior to this haunting. In order to conduct our investigation properly we need to ask these questions.
*We will be happy to share with you our results. Some of the information, reports, and unusual pictures will appear on our web site. Some information may be published in Bayside News, with the permission of the homeowner. We DO NOT print names (unless they are pseudonymous, or unless we are granted permission to publish your name) nor do we print addresses for either Bayside News or the web site. We may put general locations (106th Avenue, St. Petersburg) or simply the name of the city, but we respect the privacy of the homes we investigate. If you do not want any information released, tell us.
Thank you for allowing us your time and working with us for this investigation.
TV and SPIRITS Investigations:
We do understand that there are many paranormal television shows currently in production. However, these shows are for entertainment purposes only. The SPIRITS of St. Petersburg is a professional hobbyist investigation group. We are here to assist homeowners with understanding the phenomena active within their home and to aid as mediators between the living and the deceased. We are not here for entertainment purposes, nor do we use the same protocols that are depicted on television.
The SPIRITS' belief is that ghosts, like the living, have personalities. As a group, the SPIRITS of St. Petersburg does not endorse nor practice the goading, taunting or provoking of entities. We do not invoke, evoke or exorcise ghosts.
As investigation results are unpredictable, the SPIRITS of St. Petersburg cannot make any promises of any expected results. Please note that after an investigation, it takes time to compile and review the data gathered. We want to produce accurate documentation of phenomena, so please be patient with us.
Thank you for your patronage! We look forward to working with you in the future.
SPIRITS of St. Petersburg
SPIRITS RELEASE 1
This information is not for release to anyone outside of the SPIRITS team. The information is private only for the SPIRITS hard files and is kept in a secured private location.
I, __________________________ (your name), have contacted the SPIRITS to do a voluntary investigation in my home. I have the authority to allow access to the volunteers of the SPIRITS of St. Petersburg members and affiliated persons into
______My house______My business______Other:_______________________Located at:
(Street address):_______________________________________________
City:________________ State:______________________ Zip:__________
(Your address will not be released to the public or used for solicitation. This is strictly for SPIRITS record keeping).
Please verify:
______* The investigation process has been explained to me and I give SPIRITS permission to conduct one at this location.
______*I understand that the SPIRITS is a volunteer and secular organization. We do not guarantee to find or remove any beings that may exist in the house. The SPIRITS of St. Petersburg group does not engage in occult or religious practices (invocations, evocations, spell casting, etc.).
_______* The SPIRITS of St. Petersburg understands that there are many paranormal television shows currently in production. However, these shows are for entertainment purposes only. The SPIRITS of St. Petersburg is a professional hobbyist investigation group. We are here to assist homeowners with understanding the phenomena active within their home and to aid as mediators between the living and the deceased. We are not here for entertainment purposes, nor do we use the same protocols that are depicted on television.
The SPIRITS’ belief is that ghosts, like the living, have personalities. As a group, the SPIRITS of St. Petersburg does not endorse nor practice the goading, taunting or provoking of entities. We do not invoke, evoke or exorcise ghosts.
As investigation results are unpredictable, the SPIRITS of St. Petersburg cannot make any promises of any expected results. Please note that after an investigation, it takes time to compile and review the data gathered. We want to produce accurate documentation of phenomena, so please be patient with us.
Signed___________________________ Date___________
Witness__________________________ Date___________
Initial date of contact:_____________________ SPIRITS Investigation date:____________________
SPIRITS RELEASE 2:
This information is not for release to anyone outside of the SPIRITS team. The information is private only for the SPIRITS hard files and is kept in a secured private location.
The SPIRITS of St. Petersburg respects your right to privacy. Every effort is made to maintain client confidentiality. It is our policy to publish reports and photographs to our website, www.spiritsofstpetersburg.com, as per the “SPIRITS of St. Petersburg” release statements. It is the homeowner’s responsibility to inform us if they wish to have the page(s) removed. All forms and documents must be signed by the legal resident or homeowner in order for a paranormal study to be conducted.
Release of Information:
The SPIRITS of St. Petersburg would like to use some or all of the information and evidence collected during the investigation for possible inclusion in our website and other future media considerations. Please check the level of confidentiality you would like to request:
___ SPIRITS may not release any part of the investigation to the public.
___ SPIRITS may release the information providing that the identity of witnesses and clients are changed and the exact address of the location is excluded. Images taken by the SPIRITS and posted to the website will not have homeowner or friends/relatives of the family pictured. (Standard. The procedure is to use false names, initials, or first names only, and refer to the investigation by street or general area. Homeowners are excluded from photographic images unless permission granted).
___ SPIRITS may release any/all of the information and evidence collected during the investigation.
Other comments/requests________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________
Signed___________________________ Date___________
Witness__________________________ Date___________
