Rules:
Note: Rules must be followed. Violation of any of these rules can result in suspension or termination from the team.
1. Never go investigating alone. Each investigator needs to have at least two other investigators over the age of 18 with them at all times (Total of three investigators).
2. Always let someone known where you will be while investigating. (See rule # 1)
3. If conducting a client investigation, there must be three investigators. The investigation team must consist of at least one male and one female investigator. (See rule # 1)
4. New team members must be approved by the senior staff and must go through a 90-day probationary period. The new team member must also attend at least three investigations before being considered to join the team. Once the new team member has completed their probationary period and their three investigations, the senior staff will meet and decide on whether or not to accept that member on to the team.
5. Always carry some form of identification while investigating. It is not uncommon for security or the local law enforcement agency to come to a location of an investigation to identify individuals on the property.
6. Always get permission before entering private property or a cemetery after hours. Make sure to get the property owner’s permission in writing prior to the investigation.
7. Never drink alcohol or do drugs (including prescription narcotics) prior to an investigation. Alcohol and drugs can cause the investigator to see or hear things that may not be real and can contaminate evidence from an investigation. Not to mention, it is dangerous to investigate while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Most locations are full of obstacles and debris that can cause severe injuries or death. Any investigator found to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs will be sent home immediately and banned from participating in the investigation. That investigator may also be terminated from the group by the Director of Tennessee Paranormal.
8. No investigator will drink alcohol while on the client’s property, even if the client is the one who offers alcohol to an investigator. As an investigator, it is our responsibility to remain professional and coherent during an investigation. Any alcohol (even one beer) can influence an investigator’s senses. Not to mention, accepting alcohol from a client shows poor judgement on the investigator’s part, and can affect the reputation of our team. Any investigator excepting alcohol from a client or their representative while representing Tennessee Paranormal, will be placed on immediate suspension from the team pending a full investigation by the Director of Tennessee Paranormal.
9. Don’t smoke near where the investigation will be taking place. Smoke can interfere with photos and videos. Not to mention, one of the complaints may be the smell of cigarettes or cigars where no source of the smell can be found. If at a residential investigation, make sure to get the homeowner’s permission to smoke or dip on their property. (Note: It is strongly encouraged that you smoke or dip in your personal vehicle.) This rule includes all smoking devices, including vape devices and electronic cigarettes.
10. Don’t eat or drink on client’s property without their permission. (Note: It is strongly encouraged, that you do so in your personal vehicle.) If given permission to drink on the client's property, make sure that the drink is in a closed container or bottle with a lid to prevent spillage.
11. Do not litter. When an investigation is complete, make sure to pick up all trash before leaving the client’s property.
12. When trying to record EVPs, make sure to tag any noises created by the investigator or guest. Do not whisper when doing an EVP session. This may contaminate any evidence of a real EVP. Also, make sure to wait at least 10 seconds between questions when conducting an EVP session. This will give the entity time to provide you with an answer in between the questions.
13. Carry a cell phone or walkie-talkie while conducting an investigation. You never know when you might need it. (If you are using a cell phone, see rule # 14.)
14. Wear a watch or have your cell phone to document times when an event occurs. Also keep a notebook handy to document the activity. If using your cell phone, make sure to keep it in airplane mode when not taking photos or recording EVPs.
15. If requested by a client to conduct an investigation, all team members will wear their team shirt or a black or navy blue in color polo type shirt or dress shirt. Do not wear shorts or flip flops while conducting investigations.
16. Don’t wear perfume or cologne to an investigation. One of the most noted paranormal events is the smell of perfume or cologne at a location where no source of the smell can be located. By wearing perfume or cologne, you will be contaminating possible evidence of paranormal activity.
17. Circumstances permitting, always set up a time to conduct a walkthrough of the location during the day. This will allow you to collect information and to recognize any possible places of danger such as holes in the floor or on the ground, weak floorboards or loose ceiling tiles to name a few.
18. When someone calls in requesting our assistance, the investigator must get a name, phone number and address as to where the activity is occurring. That information will then be provided to the Director or Assistant Director of Tennessee Paranormal, who will then disperse the information to the Case Manager and the Team Historian. The Case Manager will then make contact with the potential client or their representative, and collect as much information as possible with regards to the type of activity they are experiencing. The Historian will then research the property and surrounding area to try and determine if there is a reason for the activity going on at the client’s property. The information will then be provided to the Director of Tennessee Paranormal, who will discuss the case with the team, to see if the case warrants an investigation. If the case warrants an investigation, the Case Manager will contact the client or their representative and make arrangements as to the date and time the team will be able to conduct the investigation.
19. Be objective of your findings. Always rule out natural causes first before claiming it to be paranormal in nature.
20. No evidence will be shared with anyone outside of the investigation, without prior consent of the client and the Director of Tennessee Paranormal. The only exception to this rule is if the Director of Tennessee Paranormal sees fit to share it with an outside expert, to help identify the evidence received, in order to provide the client with the best way to deal with their paranormal activity.
21. No evidence will be disclosed to the client without going over all evidence first and only sharing it with the client on the day of the reveal.
22. All evidence will be shared with the Director of Tennessee Paranormal for final approval, and will be turned over to the case manager, where it will be stored on file and shared with the client or their representative on the day of the reveal.
23. No investigator will discuss the case with the client or their representative prior to the reveal, or speculate the cause of the activity while the investigation is ongoing, until all of the evidence has been reviewed and shared with the client or their representative on the day of the reveal.
24. If a client or their representative asks an opinion of the investigator with regards to the activity they are experiencing, the investigator is to inform the client or their representative that it is hard to know what is going on, without first reviewing the evidence. The last thing we want to do is provide the client with false, or misleading information about their activity. Not all evidence is clear and concise. There may possibly be more than one type of paranormal cause for their activity. An explanation will be provided to the client, or their representative on the day of the reveal, as well as a way to deal with that activity.
25. By no means whatsoever will an investigator ever share any evidence or communications from a previous client to a current client or their representative. We as investigators have an obligation to honor our client’s privacy. We all sign a confidentiality agreement promising our client that we will protect their privacy at all costs. By sharing information about a previous client to a current client, we are violating that confidentiality agreement which can open up legal grounds for our previous client to sue our team for violating that confidentiality agreement. Not to mention, it will also break our trust with the current client or their representative who could easily make it public knowledge about our indiscretion, and could make it impossible for anyone to ever trust our team to do an investigation on their property ever again. Any investigator caught sharing information about a previous client to a current client will be immediately suspended from Tennessee Paranormal pending a full investigation by the Director of Tennessee Paranormal.
26. Do not vandalize or steal client’s property. If anyone gets caught doing either one or both of these things, the client and the local law enforcement will be notified. Not to mention, you will be immediately terminated from this group by the Director of Tennessee Paranormal.
27. No one under the age of 18 will be able to join Tennessee Paranormal.
28. Only team member’s children are allowed to attend an investigation. The child’s parent must sign a waiver, and the child must be over 15 years of age.
29. All members must at least have a recording device, a camera and a flashlight when conducting investigations. The only exception to this rule, is for family members who will be sharing the same equipment during an investigation.
30. During training investigations, joking around is allowed for stress relief. However, if teams are split into groups, all team leaders need to be aware of any jokes or pranks prior to the joke or prank being conducted. This will prevent any contamination of evidence that may be collected during their investigation. However, joking around and conducting pranks will not be tolerated during client investigations.
31. All investigators must be completely professional during an investigation. There will be no profanity used around the client or their representatives during an investigation.
32. There will be no throwing of any objects during any investigation at any time.
Suggestions:
Note: Suggestions are there to help guide investigators during an investigation. These suggestions will help to protect the investigator, and will also help to prevent evidence from being debunked due to an investigator’s mistake or actions.
1. If you feel uncomfortable at a location, then leave. These investigations are voluntary. No one is required to stay at a location if they feel uncomfortable being there.
2. Reschedule your outside investigations if it is going to snow, rain, or if it is going to be foggy. Also check the pollen count. Moisture and pollen can cause anomalies in photos and videos.
3. If you have a large group, break up into smaller groups of three. This will help to keep the noise level down on an investigation and will allow the investigator to hear noises that may be missed in larger groups of investigators. (See rule # 1)
4. Don’t wear jackets or windbreakers with long strings. The strings may get caught on something or may cause a photo anomaly.
5. Always be aware of where your fingers are in relation to your camera when taking photos. Keep your fingers away from the lens or flash.
6. Be aware of your breath when conducting an investigation inside or outside in the cold. When breathing in cold weather, steam will come from your mouth and nose and can easily be mistaken for a paranormal mist. Make sure to take a deep breath and to hold it when taking photos in cold weather. It may be best to cancel an investigation if the temperatures are going to be below freezing.
7. If you have long hair, make sure to tie it back in a ponytail. This will prevent your hair from getting blown into your view while trying to take photographs. It will also prevent your hair from getting tangled up in wiring or other debris at the location of the investigation.
8. Remove camera straps or be aware of where they are when taking photos. The strap may get in the way and be mistaken for something paranormal in the photo.
9. Always bring extra batteries for your equipment to an investigation. Paranormal activity has been known to drain batteries.
10. Wear clothing suitable for the current weather conditions, and also wear comfortable shoes. T-shirts are acceptable at training investigations. (See rule # 15 for further information)