EVP Questions to Ask
Interviewing ghosts can be a delicate process, and most spirits are emotionally unstable and prone to flee rather than face unpleasant memories or difficult questions. However, using tact and a series of questions that slowly increase in intensity, you may be able to glean invaluable information. If possible, attempt to conduct the various stages of the questionnaire over the course of several encounters. Be sure to tailor each question to the ghost's age, era, and sensibilities.
Stage One: Identifying the Ghost
Questions 1-13 should be asked during a first encounter (but only if the ghost is friendly) and are designed to give you information about the ghost's identity. After you have completed this portion of the questionnaire, you should conduct independent research at the library, on the internet, or in the county clerk's office to learn more about the ghost and its family.
1. What is your name?
2. How old are you?
3. Do you have any relatives? What are their names?
4. Are you married? What is your spouse's name?
5. Where do you live?
6. Where do you work (or go to school, if the ghost is young)?
7. What are your hobbies or favorite pastimes?
8. Who are your close friends?
9. Where do you most like to visit?
10. Where were you born?
11. What is your fondest memory?
12. Do you have a favorite possession?
13. Have you ever spent any time in a government institution, such as an asylum, prison, or military installation?
Stage Two: Assessing a Ghost's Mental State
These questions are essentially geared toward determining whether or not the ghost realizes that it is dead. A ghost who still believes it is alive will still believe that it is the year of its death and will have little knowledge about events in the real world. Those with weak psyches, or alternately those ghosts on the verge of realizing that they are actually dead, may express confusion when faced with some of the questions below. Stage Two also reveals how the ghost is coping with the afterlife. Some ghosts may reveal hostile feelings or tendencies, while others may express a healthy acceptance.
14. How do you feel at this moment?
15. How do you feel in general? Are you generally happy or sad?
16. Physically, how do you feel?
17. Are you frequently tired, weak, or cold?
18. Do you consider yourself forgetful?
19. Do you miss your loved ones?
20. Do you consider yourself normal and well-adjusted?
21. What year is it? Do you know today's exact date?
22. Where are you?
23. Who is the president of the United States (or king of England, or chief of the local tribe depending upon when and where the ghost died)?
24. Are you hungry or thirsty?
25. Do you have any violent thoughts?
26. Have you committed any violent actions recently?
27. Does my manner of speech or dress seem strange to you?
28. What is your worst memory or experience?
29. Do you have nightmares?
30. Do you ever feel trapped, confused, or lost?
Stage Three: Confronting the Ghost with Death
Stage Three questions are meant to coax a ghost into the realization that it is, in fact, dead. Be careful when pursuing this line of questioning, as reluctant ghosts may violently deny their undead state. If the ghost appears delicate, you should probably warn it that the interview may take an emotional turn to prepare the spirit for the revelations to come. Stubborn but otherwise psychologically sound ghosts who refuse to admit that they are dead may be convinced of this fact if they are presented with evidence, such as a photograph of their own headstone (or the headstone itself), a copy of their obituary, or intimate details of their last years of life.
31. Do you ever have dreams in which you die?
32. When was the last time you had anything to eat? If it has been quite sometime, does that seem unusual to you?
33. When was the last time you saw your family, friends, or spouse? If it has been quite sometime, does that seem unusual to you?
34. Have you ever walked through a wall by accident or felt invisible? Does this seem strange to you?
35. Do you recognize anything around us? Does that seem unusual?
36. Do you know what a "ghost" is? (If the ghost answers with a negative, define the term).
37. Have you ever considered the possibility that you may be a ghost?
38. I believe that you are a ghost. How does this make you feel?
39. Can you prove that you are alive?
40. Do you accept that you are, in fact, a ghost?
Stage Four: Learning About the Afterlife
This stage is only for those ghosts who know that they are dead and have some time to contemplate their plight. Any ghost who answers yes to question 40 above should open to the questions in this section
41. Can you fly, move through walls, or become invisible?
42. Do you feel that you have returned from the dead because you have a mission to complete?
43. Do you feel that you have returned from the dead because you are searching for someone or something?
44. How did you die?
45. [If the ghost was murdered] Who do you think was responsible for your death?
46. [If the ghost was a suicide] Why did you take your own life?
47. [If the ghost died in a tragic accident] Do you know of others who perished with you?
48. What do you enjoy most about being a ghost?
49. What do you like least about being a ghost?
50. What do you miss most about being alive?
51. Do you know any other ghosts?
52. When you are not visible to me, where do you go?
53. Do you ever remember a moment, perhaps as you died, when you consciously chose to become a ghost?
54. Do you know where your body is buried?
55. Have you visited your old home?
56. Do you enjoy frightening people?
57. Have you ever attacked anyone using your ghostly powers?
58. Why have you allowed me to conduct this interview?
59. Are you tired of being a ghost?
60. [If the ghost answers answers yes to question 59] Is there anything I can do to help you find peace?
Information from The Field Guide To North America Hauntings by W. Haden Blackman.