If I could pinpoint two qualities that are required to study ghosts or shall we say paranormal phenomena they would be nerve and patience.

You're especially going to need that last quality by the bucketfull because you are about to go fishing and as any fisherman will tell you may well wait along time before you get a bite! I am assuming that your reading this article because you really do want to get out there actually hunting rather than reading about various ghostly accounts or watching another episode of Most Haunted.

Well if this is the case then despite the fact that I co-own Paranormal Nights Ltd. I'm going to say your best bet is to source a local paranormal research group in your area. But do your homework beforehand and by that I mean check out those clubs, societies or groups. Most credible organisations will have investigated many locations and will have investigations lined up that you may be interested in. Not only this but it is worth pointing out that some have been in existence for a great deal of time and many were there before the public events companies. Some organisations even have their own libraries and can even offer various courses and because of their long term existence and reputation would be able to investigate uniquely personal occurences based on established trust. Now I've also pointed you, the wanna-be ghost hunter in this direction because within such an group you could become an integral member and therefore be well placed to add to the accumulation of accredited evidence on the phenomena. It is worth pointing out that being familiar with or adept at certain things may help you specialise your role in an organisation, an example might be being a reasonable photographer or by being adept at video editing etc. But don't despair if you don't see your talents as being applicable, your role may only truly be realised once your in the thick of it! Who knows? You may come to shine through as a particularly good sensitive, even medium, but more on that later..

There is of course the other option of participating in a public ghost hunt offered by various companies aound the UK. These are going to give you a brief insight into ghost hunting but the companies running these do tend to have much more prestigious, dare we say it active locations? If only because they can cover the location costs involved. They will supply you with the equipment, teach you the basics and cover all the other details for you so you can just turn up and be part of the event. It should be pointed out that because the initial group size will be bigger you may feel safer, but equally so the actual party size for the vigils will be smaller so that comforting feeling won't last!

Ok so I've given you two possible starters but there is another. Meet up with a like minded person and begin there! I ought to stress the need to be in pairs as a minimum though, never go it alone! You will also need to act primarily as recorders to begin with and limit your initial interactions, especially avoiding employing any spiritual contact apparatus! There is also the obvious everyday saftey factors involved in being in dark situations and should you for example intend to investigate anywhere remote then of course let others know your whereabouts.  If you do choose this route then you are going to need to have a good deal of the first quality I mentioned as well - nerve.

Remember though at this point I'm just getting you onto the starting blocks, whatever route you take! I must point out that if you fancy the last option your going to have to do alot more of the prep work, but hey that's part of the fun! You'll also have to have to equip yourselves with gear just as you would have to if you joined a paranormal research group and seek out for yourselves somewhere active to investigate.
In the next installment I'll cover prep work and start getting on to the equipment you'll need as well as the equipment you might like.