Appendix C:
Field Investigation Tips

Throughout this book, we have documented firsthand accounts and photographic evidence while also discussing theoretical possibilities pertaining to paranormal phenomena experienced in and around Gettysburg and its historic battlefield. We hope you have learned a thing or two about this mysterious and beautiful place, and we also encourage you to get out there and go to haunted locations to perform well-executed investigations that will yield viable results for the good of the entire research community.

Having said this, paranormal field investigators should remain cognizant of the following when investigating haunted locations such as Gettysburg:

• Keep an open mind regarding quantum theory and the general laws of physics. You don’t have to be a physicist to be a good paranormal investigator, but you should read the equivalent of Quantum Physics 101 (see Appendix B) in order to gain a basic understanding of the physical laws of the universe and how they might relate to paranormal phenomena.
• Bring a broad array of environmental measuring tools, including geomagnetic field meters, electromagnetic field meters, temperature gauges, humidity gauges, barometric pressure gauges, radiometers, ion detectors, etc. These tools will help you document baseline readings and record any anomalous deviations from those baseline readings.
• Document every small detail of the landscape in question. Note the topography including rock types and formations (Devil’s Den), and take latitude, longitude, and elevation readings (Little Round Top) to create an accurate grid of the area being investigated. These topographical details might play a role in triggering the phenomena. Be sure to document by taking plenty of still photographs.
• Research as many cases regarding residual hauntings as possible in order to create a model on which to build an investigative strategy. For example, many imprint hauntings are preceded by a palpable change in atmosphere. By knowing what to look—and feel—for, you can be prepared when environmental fluctuations occur.
• Understand that consciousness plays a factor in these phenomena; therefore, it’s important to utilize a good medium and/or sensitive during field investigations in order to localize paranormal energies and document the effects these environments have on certain individuals.
• Interview eyewitnesses beforehand in order to determine optimal focus areas. For example, many incidents at Gettysburg that fit the profile for imprint hauntings occur in the Triangular Field. Knowing this, you should focus on conducting particular experiments and taking specific readings in this area. Compiling a lot of documentation at a specific location can be beneficial to future research.
• Ask experts in particular disciplines for ideas on what they might want documented at a particular location or investigation. By doing so, you can accumulate data that is potentially beneficial to other researchers moving forward. It will also help you develop strong investigative techniques and protocols, and you will end up with solid research as a result.
• Make sure you have a well-balanced team. Your field-investigation team should include a team leader who makes sure the team stays on task and has the historical research on hand to help direct the investigation, a sensitive, an equipment/tech person, a photographer, and a documenter, whose job it is to take copious notes and collect all of the field data. We also suggest bringing along a second sensitive; the two of them can help validate and enhance the information being obtained by one another.
• Share your research with others! In order to make progress in any area of study, a clearinghouse of information must be made available to all researchers. The sharing of thoughts and ideas is the fastest way to enlightenment.

In the end, all we can do as paranormal field researchers is use our in-vestigative skills, our intuition, and the proper equipment to best obtain and document a body of evidence that may someday assist physicists, psychologists and other scientists as they attempt to answer life’s most profound questions. Gettysburg provides the perfect “outdoor laboratory” in which to do this.

The Civil War-era American poet Nathaniel Hawthorne once wrote, “Our Creator would never have made such lovely days and have given us the deep hearts to enjoy them, above and beyond all thought, unless we were meant to be immortal.”

We believe, as did Hawthorne, that human beings are innately aware of something metaphysical, something highly abstract that exists beyond the physical world (in which we only exist temporarily). Humanity’s quest for knowledge underscores this awareness. As it applies to paranormal research on battlefields, we owe it to ourselves and the millions of ghost soldiers around the world to optimize the knowledge that can be gleaned from
the etchings of their heroic sacrifices, respect those sacrifices, and enjoy the journey of exploration along the way.

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