Is Ghost Hunting Dangerous?

Andy here offering you another glimpse beyond the veil with our blog on the paranormal.  This time i'm looking at the physical, psychical and mental stress of seeking contact with spooks and spirits here in haunted South West Wales.

Since Pembrokeshire Beyond's investigation at Haverfordwest Priory, where we were allegedly in communication with a semi-religious entity some associate with devil worship and the occult, called Baphomet, I've thought long and hard about the pitfalls of speaking with entities with supposed negative or darker sides.

I was asked by a friend wether or not I believed I was in harms way when conversing with this spirit.  I didn't believe so at all. I'm not overly religious or god-fearing so am immune to any pre-conceptions of evil or any religious doctine that may be overtly suggestive and force a belief onto me that is of no use on a serious paranormal investigation.

Had a lifelong christian been in my shoes then it could've caused some friction or fear by association.

As the lead investigator of Pembrokeshire Beyond I, while heading towards our goal of seeking communication with spirits, have to be respectful and understanding of the spiritual beliefs of the mediums and team around me. Had any of them felt uncomfortable we would've stopped the investigation and asked for protection in their chosen faith or, if all else failed, wind the investigation up.

But should we be worried about speaking with negative entities or spirits with a nasty intent or personality?

As a rational person delving into the unexplainable I would say: Yes!

As lead investigator its my responsibility to look after my teams mental, physical and psychical states:

Mental States

If we're at a location with a troubled or violent past and we openly speak about it then this can play on peoples minds. At 3am, when your body is at its lowest ebb already, gory details really can start to effect the ghost hunter.  The stories can weigh heavily on the sub-conscious and lead to sleeplessness and feeling mentally drained.

We combat this by ensuring all non-psychical team members are fully briefed on the history of a location as far beforehand as possible.  This gives the team members time to mentally "digest" the information and to discuss worries or fears they might have long before being confronted with a locaton that could play on their mind.

Physical States

Physical exhaustion is a big risk for a ghost hunter.  We could be at a location for 12 hours with no food or drinks available.  Add this to being at locations open to the elements or the adrenalin of a place being very paranormally active and you've got the possibility of people collapsing from shear exhaustion.

We combat this by having regular breaks and ensuring, at the minimum, that bottled water is in someones car boot should it be needed.  This ensures our investigators minds and bodies are at peak efficency.

Psychical Stress

Psychical stress isn't just limited to mediums, oh no, if a location is rife with paranormal activity some investigators report feeling drained or tired. Almost as if the spirit is leeching their energy. We, as investigators, have to be wary of these effects so always offer protection to investigators beforehand and then it's up to the individual to wether or not they accept.

If all else fails we're not adverse "grounding" members from coming out with us if they appear mentally, physically or psychically exhausted.

We need to remember we're dealing with the unknown, so we need to be as respectful and as open minded before, during and after an investigation.

We simply don't know what effects spirits may have on us, so if Pembrokeshire Beyond cover all of our bases then we can at least be as ready as we can should we bump into the four horsemen of the apocalypse!

Thanks for reading and feel free to leave your comments and questions!

Andy.

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