We believe that conducting paranormal investigations and ghost research during the daylight hours is the proper investigation technique. Many benefits can be obtained by limiting your investigation hours from dawn to dusk.
Safety:
Safety should always be the number one concern of an investigation of any type. There are too many people in this world who are willing to cause harm. Unfortunately, many of these people like to carry out their deeds under the cover of darkness. We believe that daylight investigations minimize this very real threat. There is also the possibility of falling over or into unseen objects while conducting your hunt. This is probably the greatest risk to a team member during the investigation. By investigating during the daylight, we nearly eliminate this risk.
Ease Of Access:
No investigator should ever feel like they are sneaking into a location to conduct an investigation. Many locations are closed during the night and legal access can be difficult if not impossible to obtain. Most of these locations are available during daylight hours, which make it much easier to gain access to conduct the investigation.
Imagination:
It is important that you not attempt to "get in the mood" before an investigation. How many times have you been startled during a night investigation by an innocent sound? It could be a squirrel or bird or even a mouse in a home. Your imagination tends to run wild when you are surrounded by darkness in a strange location that could be haunted. Your imagination is a major factor in jumping to conclusions and recording paranormal activity that does not exist. It is much easier to keep your imagination in check when you can see where noises are originating.
Alertness:
How many of you get tired at night? Are you more alert during the daylight? Of course you are. If we are conducting an investiation in a location that is strange to us, it is vital that we be on the top of our game. By being alert the investigator will eliminate many silly mistakes they would otherwise make.
Activity Level:
If a location is actually haunted or has paranormal energy, that energy will be present regardless of the time of day. The witching hour of a truly haunted location occurs twenty-four hours a day. It is not necessary to conduct an investigation at midnight or any other time of darkness to record paranormal activity.
Equipment Operation:
It is certainly easier to operate your equipment when you can see clearly. The simple task of changing batteries in a camera or EMF meter can become a difficult task when attempted in the dark. Flashlights help but only to a certain extent; they can't compete with the sun.
Orbs:
If you own a digital camera and have taken photographs in low light conditions, we can almost guarantee you have seen pictures with orbs. Please don't be fooled into believing that these orbs are paranormal in nature. We are not trying to say that ALL orbs are digitally created but you must be careful in determining which orbs indicate spirit activity and which ones do not. Dust orbs may still be a problem even in the daylight. While the orb problem is not totally eliminated during daylight investigations it is greatly reduced.
Photographs:
Your biggest concern with daylight investigations is probably in obtaining paranormal photographs. It is a common misconception that spirit photos can only be achieved at night. This is not true at all. While it is certainly true that fewer photos that capture allegedly paranormal phenomena are taken during the day, we believe this is a good thing.
Many of the photos taken at night have natural explanations. These explanations include: low light orbs, flash reflections, flashlights, other investigators camera flashes, and reflections off of bright objects. A paranormal photo taken during the day holds much more credibility than a nighttime photo. Daylight photos are a skeptic's worse nightmare because they are hard to dismiss as mere light tricks.
Explanations:
Explanations for events that happen during an investigation are easier to find during the day. We as investigators can see all around us to obtain the "big picture". Many situations that come up can be explained away as natural happenings when we are able to see all the factors involved in the event. This directly related to the "mood" of the investigation. Please try to keep a clear and level head during your investigations in order not to jump to erroneous conclusions. Your goal should be to seek the truth of the alleged haunting whatever that may be.
There are arguements for conducting paranormal investigations and ghost hunts at night, but we believe the above-mentioned advantages of daylight investigations far out weigh the disadvantages.
If your site is available from dawn to dusk than you should consider daytime investigations; otherwise, a nighttime investigation is acceptable.
