The purpose of this document is to establish in advance of your death a set of protocols by which designated individuals (“designees”) will attempt transcommunication with you by way of electronic voice phenomenon or an equivalent method. By completing and submitting this affidavit, you and your designees consent to its use as outlined herein....

We appreciate knowing ahead of time whether or not you keep companion animals in the venue scheduled for investigation.  Your companion animals are part of your family, but they're not always predictable when guests come over....

AVP. Audible Voice Phenomena. Are they really from beyond the grave? Regardless of how you value them, a little knowledge about the most common varieties of them and the issues that should be addressed with them will go a long way to making your account of your investigation something others can depend on....

While other groups may choose to honor a more metaphysically based approach to the subject, for PPI paranormal phenomena are first and foremost an exercise in careful environmental monitoring. Establishing a baseline of readings is fundamental to conducting our investigations according to the scientific method....

Because of the sensitive concerns that children can pose for a paranormal investigation, PPI follows special protocols about their involvement. We respectfully ask that you review the following guidelines about child cases and children's participation in the investigation process.

The American originator of EVP Classification system, Sarah Estep, describes the Class A event of interest as a "clear and distinct voice or sound that is universally accepted and undisputed, because it must be understood by anyone with normal hearing and without being told or prompted to what is being said or heard. It can be heard without the use of headphones.” Estep here is talking about the consensus that forms around what’s clear and trustworthy....

Class B EVPs suffer from an identity crisis, fraught with credibility issues and doubt.  As such, they're easy to misclassify.  In fact, the uncertainty about so many Class B EVPs has raised many a debate as to whether or not another system for classification should be used....

Why are Class C EVPs the most common, you may ask? Probably because they're the least likely to be paranormal. Some could be paranormal, certainly, but they're usually too obscured to say with any certainty that they're not caused by some other normal acoustic source in the environment, much less interpret what exactly they're saying....

EVP are probably the most prolific results produced by paranormal investigations.  There are good things about this, and there are bad things.  The bad news is that, working under the assumption evidence of the paranormal is a rarity, with so many examples of EVP populating the internet, the likelihood any of it being genuinely "paranormal" is pretty low.

Although the purpose of any “ghost hunting” vigil is varied, its primary objective is to transcommunicate: to make “contact” with putative spirits and carry on an exchange. Audio-visual recording is the preferred technique because it, both, documents a session and yields the most intriguing findings in the recorded audio: electronic voice phenomena....

As an agency dedicated to education and outreach, Pacific Paranormal Investigations values the diversity of all individuals and their right to mutual respect, be they living or incorporeal....

The subject of Electronic Voice Phenomena or EVP has provided some of the most compelling evidence of paranormal activity ever captured. But the most intriguing characteristic of Electronic Voice Phenomena is that anyone with a quality recorder can capture it; the phenomena is available to any one willing to spend the time to investigate and carefully analyze their recordings.

The idea of documenting environmental fluctuations at alleged haunted locations dates back to at least the 1930's, when serious paranormal investigators like Harry Price began applying the principals of scientific method to spontaneous paranormal investigations in the field. Price standardized the practice of environmental monitoring during his famous investigation of Borley Rectory, and his methodologies proved so compelling they are still used in the field today.

PPI is very proud to be among a growing number of paranormal investigation groups that, like our parent organization, T.A.P.S., responds to claims of paranormal activity by attempting to disprove them.....

In "Improper Use of Psychics During a Paranormal Investigation," Tim Mountain "tells it like it is" about the reasons scientifically based paranormal investigating gives psychics a demoted role to play, and what the protocols of their participation should be. 

Even if this is not your first time inviting an paranormal group, you'll still want to know what to expect when PPI conducts its investigation in your home or business. Here you'll find answers to the most frequently asked questions about how to prepare and what to expect.

If you've been asked to submit information about your medications and medical conditions, please read on.

In this resource you'll find an overview of PPI's principles of investigating that can be used as a model or adapted for your own investigative group.  It includes i) a current inventory of our equipment and tools, ii) a detailed accounting of our procedures during an investigation, iii) a comprehensive delineation of the protocols we follow, and iv) a declaration of our code of ethics.

The San Diego based Pacific Paranormal Investigations (PPI) began in 2005 as a not-for-profit organization of investigators and researchers seeking to assist those who are troubled or curious about experiences they suspect are paranormal. PPI’s services are completely FREE of charge, and our investigations can extend beyond San Diego County to the greater Southern California area. As investigators our main goal is to assist clients with our services, but as researchers we also rigorously use scientific methods and current technologies to contribute to the field of paranormal research. With commitment to our clients and dedication to our peers in the field of paranormal research, we take great pride in our PPI motto: Investigate. Evaluate. Educate....

I remember I was about six when my 16-year- old sister had several of her girlfriends at our home for a slumber party. I was not interested in girls yet so the night was extremely uneventful for me. At least most of the night was uneventful. The only interesting part of that night came late in the evening when I heard loud screaming coming from inside her bedroom. Then her bedroom door flew open with such force that it sucked the air out of the hallway where I was....

For our debut podcast, we join three members of Pacific Paranormal Investigations during a fireside chat on Halloween Night. Brian Miller, Brian Johnson and Tim Mountain discuss all things paranormal in a casual and spontaneous manner.

Recorded October 31, 2008.

Length: 00:13:25

Join Pacific Paranormal Investigations and Savannah Sincoff,LCSW, for a lively discussion following the Intrepid Shakespeare Company's production of The Turn of the Screw, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from the novella by Henry James. PPI and Savannah Sincoff disect the story and characters of The Turn of the Screw as if it were a modern day paranormal investigation. Moderated by Tom Hall.

Recorded April 15, 2012 at the Performing Arts Center of theSan Dieguito Academy, Encinitas, CA

Length: 00:45:18

Part 1 of PPI's presentation: Science and Beyond- An Educated Look at Ghost Hunting, is entitled Investigative Techniques. Presented by PPI Investigator and Case Manager Jason Sieckman.

Recorded March 21, 2009 at Grossmont College, El Cajon, CA

Length: 00:17:12

Part 2 of PPI's presentation: Science and Beyond- An Educated Look at Ghost Hunting, is entitled Tools of the Trade. Presented by PPI Tech Manager and Co-Director Brian Miller.

Recorded March 21, 2009 at Grossmont College, El Cajon, CA

Length: 00:14:23

Part 3 of PPI's presentation: Science and Beyond - An Educated Look at Ghost Hunting, is entitled Critical Thinking and Logic. Presented by PPI President and Co-Director Karl Sherlock.

Recorded March 21, 2009 at Grossmont College, El Cajon, California

Length: 00:17:04

Part 1 of our presentation: Science & Beyond - A Look at the Science Behind 21st Century Paranomrmal Investigation -is entitled Investigative Techniques.

presented by PPI Investigator Jason Sieckman. Introduction by PPI Investigator Tim Mountain.

Recorded October 11, 2011

Length: 00:17:32

Part 2 of our presentation: Science & Beyond - A Look at the Science Behind 21st Century Paranomrmal Investigation -is entitled Tools of the Trade. Presented by PPI Tech Manager Brian Miller.

Recorded October 11, 2011

Length: 00:19:25

In "Provoking, or How to Lose Friends and Influence Ghosts in the Paranormal World," Jason Sieckman takes a tongue-in-cheek but critical look at provocation, a technique some paranormal investigators employ to get a rise out of spirits and stir up more activity.

While it can sometimes become as tedious as any other component of the post-investigation process, audio review is among the most rewarding phases of an investigation. Not only does it tend to produce proportionally more results than any other data set, it generally offers the most intriguing findings. In fact, most investigators will cite their best EVP as their most persuasive "evidence" of paranormal activity. This is because the voices that emerge from out of that an unseen realm, so fallibly human and familiar to us, invariably appeal to our pathos in ways cold spots and orb photos could never hope to....

In "Spooking Yourself: Confirmation Bias, Consensus Building, and Household Myth-Making," Karl Sherlock explains one of the most frequent pitfalls in claiming to witness paranormal activity, and warns against two of the most common behaviors that result from it, manufacturing consensus and collaborating on household myths.

Statements Written by David Hanson

Professionalism in the field of paranormal investigating is a bit of an oxymoron because we’re not really professionals. We’re amateurs, even if we get paid for it and publish books about it. Those who bring expertise to the field do so usually by way of other professions, and even those who tout being pros on TV are primarily reality television professionals or actors outright. Because of our amateur status, then, we’re all actors of a sort....

For many reasons, establishing and following a clear set of surveillance protocols during investigations is crucial. For starters, anyone claiming to honor the scientific method in paranormal investigating understands the importance of controls. By “controls,” we mean those precautions taken to contain how data is collected, to limit contamination of that data, and to identify potential misinterpretations and false positives....