Spent a few hours last night in one of our ongoing research locations, Building One of Carrington Hospital.
I’ve spent many years exploring and documenting sessions in this building, with the team, and on my own.
Both approaches have their benefits.
Investigating with a few people is fun, and sharing experiences together is a great thing.
Multiple witnesses to an incident make that moment more valuable and credible. It also opens up discussion about what happened and the whats, hows and whys, etc. that could potentially lead to answers.
However, sometimes no team also means no chatter, no distractions, and no wasted time, resulting in a more focused session.
Just me, the building, and time.
Working solo strips everything back to its most honest form. There’s no cross-talk to contaminate audio, no shifting bodies. Every sound, every subtle change in atmosphere, can be faced and interpreted without influence.
It demands patience, discipline, and a willingness to sit with the quiet. It’s quite the character-building exercise, too.
Sitting alone in a dark, derelict former psychiatric hospital, I have to say I’m quite used to it and don’t really have any reservations about going in alone.
I find it therapeutic. After a hard week of work, sitting alone in peace and quiet in a dark building is my ”happy place”.
If anything happens, I consider it a bonus.
I keep things deliberately simple. No overload of gadgets – just a data logger, an EMF/temperature meter, a camera on a tripod, my phone and a couple of torches.
Long periods of stillness. Sitting in the dark, observing, letting the building speak in its own way.
It’s in those moments, when nothing is forced, that you begin to notice the smallest details: a distant tap, a change in air pressure, the feeling of being watched – or perhaps simply the weight of history settling around you.
Solo investigation isn’t about proving anything in the moment. It’s about clean data, undisturbed conditions, and a direct connection between researcher and environment. No filters. No noise.
Just you and whatever may, or may not, be there.
I know solo work isn’t for everyone, and that’s fair. But I do recommend it, even if it’s just sitting alone in a cemetery or outside an allegedly haunted location. Day or night, it doesn’t really matter. Just sit quietly, tune in and listen.
You never know what you might experience, or who might come over to say ”hello”. – Mark
