The goal of the skeptic is to debunk a haunt. The goal of the believer is to prove it. Both will go to great lengths to justify their claims and support their argument. The best approach is open-mindedness and critical thinking. Do not enter an investigation or visit with the goal of proving or disproving the paranormal. Open-mindedness is often misunderstood by those promoting it, as they will often encourage it with a bias to belief; rather, open-mindedness is a neutral mindset open to possibilities, unswayed by belief or skepticism in its pursuit of truth. The series Fact or Faked: The Paranormal Files was an excellent example of this mindset.
Just because you didn’t see anything on your visit to a haunted place doesn’t mean it isn’t haunted. We receive countless comments and messages from people who have visited reportedly haunted locations and claim it isn’t actually haunted because nothing happened when they were there. Think of it this way: if you visited a forest and didn’t see a deer, it’s not that deer don’t exist or aren’t in the forest: you simply didn’t see one.
Rookie investigators usually feel discouraged when they can’t conclusively prove the existence of ghosts. Remember there will always be skeptics who will arm themselves with baseless claims to prove their point. The best way to combat them is to check your evidence for “leaks”: eliminate potential natural causes and check other possibilities. By being thorough, it gives your case more weight against those looking for errors.
