Michigan Paranormal
Research Association

Whether I am investigating in a group, or going solo, the two primary tools I use are quite simple. I do my best work when recording for EVP, using an old fashioned analog tape recorder. The other tool is a pendulum. I always like to start with a pendulum to ascertain a presence or not. From past practice however, there always is someone present, no matter the location or reported activity. The spirits are all around us, 24/7, just some are more comfortable in interacting with us than others. I gauge the strength of the 'answer' I receive after asking a question, sometimes that pendulum has a mind of it's own!! At the investigation at the Holly Hotel, during a pendulum session, a question was asked if 'they' needed help. "They' answered in such a way (yes!) that the pendulum was swinging with such force, had I let it go, it would have sailed across the room and crashed into a wall! They definitely were trying to tell us that they needed help, badly. it seems in a lot of locations, the spirits divide themselves into small groups, and they find a place within the location to exist. In this case, there was a dark energy that existed in the basement, and the 'upper floor dwellers' were intimidated by the 'basement people'. They are all aware of each other, and chose to avoid each other, for the most part. But when they cross paths, that is when there can be trouble. It is basically the same in the living world, we avoid those bad situations and the people involved, and sometimes crossing paths cannot be avoided. The dark energies like to act for the most part like bullies, they pick out the weakest or the most meek of them, to bother. Although they cannot phsically harm them, the memory of what a physical alteracation is is all too real. I have heard some spirits lament, "he tried to choke me, also heard was, "he said he was going to burn me", things like that. So their fear is all too real and danger is evident in their minds. We have no real way of knowing what truly goes on during one of these 'attacks', all we know is that they report that they are frightened and intimidated by these dark energies, and they want help with dealing with them.
We are in a position to try and help everyone to get along. Sometimes just by acknowledging that these things are going on, and we are aware of what they are doing, some will pull back and stop bothering the more placid spirits. For the most part, when you think about it, they had been allowed free reign to do what they wanted with out consequence. Now that we can show them that we are aware of them and what is going on, it is a step in the right direction in trying to promote harmony amongst them all. The use of higher tech devices all have a place in the investigative procedure. Each one of us that uses a particular device, should try to become the very best at using it. We should always do things to the best of our abilities, using our combined knowledge will help us strive to do our very best for those who need help, whether in the living world, or in the spirit realm.