It is always a good idea to visit your investigation site during daylight, to ensure that you get your bearings and aware of your surroundings for your investigation. Arriving at a site after night fall, particularly one which does not have electricity can be very disorientating. In order to ensure that you are as productive as possible during your investigation a daytime visit can prove very valuable.
Once you arrive at the investigation site it would be a good idea to make notes which might assist you during your investigation. Comment on areas that you would like to visit during your investigation. Also make yourself aware of anything which could be dangerous should you stumble upon it unaware in the dark.
Once night has arrived you will be able to move about knowing that you are fully aware of the layout and able to avoid any dangers which may be present. This is particularly important when visiting a ruin or derelict site.
There are a number of useful tools which are designed to assist us when working in the dark. Everybody has a torch sitting in a drawer at home, which is the best starting point. Having several torches to hand during an investigation is important. At the very least you should ensure that you have two. One main torch and a backup readily available when required. It is not uncommon for batteries to drain far quicker at a haunted location than you would expect during normal conditions. The exact cause is unknown, therefore having spare batteries with you is also important. It is also all too easy to break a bulb by dropping a torch. It makes life easier to be able to switch on your reserve torch and continue you investigations. However is worth mentioning that there are now some excellent LED torches available, which survive numerous drops and no broken filaments to worry about. It is worth remembering that something will only break at the most inconvenient moment, therefore being prepared is the safest option.
Night vision scopes offer an ideal way of navigating and making observations in the dark without waving a torch all over the place, which can be quite annoying when you are part of a large group. Too much light pollution can cause problems with your photographs and video recordings leading to misleading images. Night vision mono-scopes are relatively inexpensive to what they used to cost and can give the user visibility in total darkness. The added advantage of night vision scopes is that unlike standard torches, they do not give off any heat which can cause problems when using temperature instruments in the same area. It is possible for a high powered torch to generate an increase in air temperature when the beam is focused. If you find it hard to keep one eye shut for several minutes, you may wish to use a binocular night vision scope which enables far more comfortable use for prolonged periods of time. It is very important that you do not use your night vision scope in bright or daylight conditions. When it is not dark you should always replace the cap to avoid damaging the light intensifier. Night vision scopes generally consist of 2 parts. Part 1 is the light intensifier which is designed to gather as much light as possible from the surroundings and IR light. This is the part which you look through. Part 2 is the IR lamp which generates infra-red light to light up objects and allow you to see in total darkness. When you use a night vision scope in moonlight you will often find that you will not need to use the IR lamp because there is enough light for the image intensifier and allows you to save battery power.
Head torches are a very useful tool. You may find that you quite simply do not have enough hands when performing your investigations and in order to free up a hand, head torches can be very useful. A multi-mode head torch is your best bet. These have several functions so that you can set them to either provide little light or lots of light. When using the head torch for taking notes or taking measurements from your EMF meter the low light setting is usually ample.
It is essential that we carry the right tools to enable us to work in dark conditions. A little preparation and planning will help your investigations become more enjoyable and productive.
Dowsing is one of the oldest tools used for detection of the paranormal with lots of history. It is surely worth giving them a try; they have been around since around 500BC (possibly sooner). The results which such a simple yet effective tool provides have stood the test of time. If you are interested in the art of dowsing I recommend that you read more on the subject to give you a greater head start for when you use them on your next investigation.
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