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Sometimes in autumn – especially around Halloween – when the weather turns cooler and dusk is earlier, jokers visit haunted sites for amusement.
They act as if ghost hunting is funny. As if the actual ghosts are projections of some kind. A special effect, perhaps, by the site owner or another joker.
Maybe they think actual haunted houses (and other sites) are the same as seasonal, staged haunted house attractions.
(Perhaps those jokers really are ignorant. Literally. If they’re among the 35% – 59% who don’t believe in ghosts, they may not realize the harm they’re doing.)
If you encounter jokers like that, here’s my advice.
First, leave the site immediately.
Whether those jokers are acting-out as obnoxious trolls, or they’ve been drinking, or both, they’re looking to get a laugh at someone else’s expense.
Get away from them as fast as you can.
Then, if it looked like they were already vandalizing the site (or seemed about to), call the police.
Next, go somewhere else (your Plan B) for your investigation.
At a different haunted site, start as fresh as you can. Try to shake off the negative energy of the jokers. If you’re distracted by what happened at the previous site, your focus may not be sharp enough to notice important cues and anomalies.
Then, at another time, not necessarily at night, return to the location where the jokers had been.
And when you’re there, apologize – out loud – to the spirits.
Acknowledge that the jokers were obnoxious and mean. Let the spirits know that no one should be taunted, teased, or bullied, ever.
Yes, now and then we encounter belligerent ghosts and sinister spirits. No one should taunt or provoke them without a very good reason. Often they’re acting-out from a place of pain, themselves. Err on the side of kindness.
However, at most genuinely haunted sites, ghost hunters encounter confused, misguided, fearful, or even bewildered ghosts.
Let’s treat them respectfully, and be helpful when we can.