Home

SPI: Arizona-wide TAPS Family Ghost Haunting Investigation Group

Are you experiencing paranormal activity?  Does your home have a real ghost?  Do you think your work location or business is haunted?  Do you want a free paranormal investigation?  Are you looking for ghost hunters but are having trouble distinguishing from among numerous groups all appearing to be good?  Are you anywhere in Arizona, including the Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas?  Then you have come to the right place.

Sonoran Paranormal Investigations (SPI) is an experienced team that has been covering the entire state of Arizona for over 16 continuous years.

 

SPI is trustable and safe:  SPI never charges a thing for its services.  Our members undergo initial and yearly criminal background checks.  We enter into written confidentiality agreements with clients.

 

SPI is professional:  We are scientifically oriented, use proven equipment, mature methods, rigorous protocols, and mentored personnel.

 

SPI is connected:  We know of resources that may provide you further assistance, if needed, after we diagnose your situation. In addition, we are the only group in Arizona that is a member of the TAPS family.

 TAPS Family Member

TAPS is The Atlantic Paranormal Society that pioneered the scientific approach to ghost hunting.  It has the longest-running paranormal TV show in history, Ghost Hunters, as well as numerous spinoffs such as Ghost Hunters International, Ghost Hunters Academy, and Ghost Nation.  Jason Hawes continues to lead Ghost Hunters on the Travel Channel and Discovery+, aided by Dave Tango, Steve Gonsalves, and Shari Debenedetti .

 

The TAPS Family is an international organization of like-minded groups and professionals that is associated with TAPS.

 

TAPS Family membership means that we operate with high standards of professionalism, have access to experts world-wide, and use practices and equipment that have been vetted across the globe.

SPI is trusted:  Our clients often ask us back.  Our clients include homeowners, renters, businesses, professionals, public and private institutions, historic sites, and federal, state, and local government agencies.

SPI is serious:  The activities conducted at the investigation site, i.e., the vigil, is just the tip of the iceberg.  4-5 times the number of hours that are used for the vigil are dedicated to other activities.  This includes the meticulous review, processing, correlation, and analysis of the data captured.  This is followed by diagnosis, development of recommendations, prognosis, and the production of a formal and thorough investigation report.

Our investigation report typically runs 25-30 pages in length.  It includes research findings for the geographic location and building structure, reported phenomena, investigative approach, equipment used, activities conducted, evidence found, video and audio logs, conclusions, and recommendations.

This report documents for the client everything we learned, providing context to the photographs and audio and video clips that we also provide to the client during our Reveals.  For SPI, the report serves as the basis for planning possible future re-investigations of the site.  It also forms a part of a cross-case research database for the development of new theories, approaches, and methods. 

Can I Investigate My Own Haunting?

Everyone has access to the gear that ghost hunters use, and you can pick up a lot of ideas on how to investigate by just watching TV shows. So, yes you can investigate your own haunting. But is it a good idea?

For openers, you are biased. You can’t help it. You are either biased toward your theory of what is happening or away from what you dread. It is hard for you to be impartial because you have a stake in what is going on and your emotions are invested. For these reasons, even though SPI investigators are highly experienced and capable, they have not investigated their own hauntings.

SPI staffs vigils with multiple investigators to not only do more in less time but to cross-check each other and counter biases. The collection of SPI member owned equipment is more extensive in terms of types and numbers than what individuals can usually afford. SPI has also developed proprietary custom software and hardware.

Many of the techniques you see used on many TV shows are bad, flawed, or even full of risk. Most TV shows do things for entertainment value, shock, and bravado. Their approach does not yield data that is helpful in analyzing a situation and diagnosing what is happening. SPI’s approach is proven to be productive in capturing a sufficient quantity and quality of data that supports analysis.

SPI investigators acquire knowledge through participation in numerous cases of different types and by following protocols that the group has developed and refined through years of collective experience, testing, and refinement. These protocols go beyond what is needed to investigate. Protocol coverage includes analysis, correlation of data, hypothesis testing, diagnosis, development of a recommended response, and prognosis.

Many TV shows do not follow a sound process to reach conclusions. They simply jump to the nearest conclusion, usually a wild and fantastic one with a strong awe factor. A small number of shows do have a good process, but they don’t show it for lack of time or because it looks dull and boring.

All of this suggests that the knowledge that you may have acquired from watching TV shows is likely deficient and unsuitable. Worse, you may not know what you don’t know.

So no, we do not recommend that you investigate your own situation.

About Us

Sonoran Paranormal Investigations (SPI) is an Arizona paranormal investigation group with members throughout the state.  We serve all of Arizona and will travel at our expense to any corner of it to provide our free service to clients.

From the get-go, SPI began with a scientific approach to paranormal investigations.  Starting with just four people, the founders of SPI originally set out to research and study haunting-based paranormal claims in order to learn, help people, and contribute to science. 

We approach every case with a hefty dose of skepticism.  We review what our client tells us and shows us and use that information to guide the planning of our investigation.  However, we do not use any of that information to form any conclusions unless we can corroborate it with our own objective data.

Wherever possible, we employ scientific methods to study phenomena, conduct experiments, capture objective data, analyze the data, form hypotheses, test those hypotheses, and identify the body of data that provides evidence for our conclusions.  We attempt to disprove, rather than prove, the manifestation of paranormal phenomena.  We will not reach a conclusion of paranormal activity until all possible natural explanations have been ruled out.  

Many groups claim to be scientific but are really not.  They are not much more than thrill seekers that are in it for themselves and not for the client.  They tend to do what we call "Hit and Run" investigations.  SPI has demonstrated for more than 16 years its scientific approach and professionalism and has earned the trust and respect of clients.  Our services have been used by homeowners and business owners but also by government agencies, including historic sites, local and state government (including police), and the United States Army.  We are often called back to conduct new or follow-up investigations.

Hauntings happen on the border between science and the spiritual.  So if we are compelled by evidence to conclude that a haunting is truly happening, then we address the spiritual side of the matter.  We explain in simple terms what is happening and answer all of our client's questions.  We provide our client with a recommended course of action that solves their issue and meets their needs and desires.  We also provide a prognosis:  What the client can expect to happen if they take our advice as well as what they can expect if they don't.  All of this is enabled by our many years of experience with these matters.  This is where our knowledge of the spiritual side of things complements our scientific approach to provide a wholistic service to both the client and the departed.

We are not exterminators, that is, we will never promise to rid a client of ghosts.  However we can put our clients in touch with other professionals who can solve the problem, whether it be an electrician, a plumber, a contractor or a religious person to perform a cleansing, blessing, and guide the departed to where they need to go.

Our members come from all walks of life, and we have had medical professionals, photographers, artists, engineers, computer specialists, corporate business managers, and teachers in our ranks.  Our members contribute their unique skills and perspectives and help us further our field.  But no matter what the current composition of our team is, we are defined by the following:

Our Mission:  Investigate cases of alleged hauntings and put clients' minds to rest.

Our Purpose:

  • Confirm or deny the existance of hauntings
  • Diagnose found hauntings
  • Recommend haunting treatment plans
  • Provide client with prognoses
  • Answer client questions
  • Help the departed when possible
  • Contribute to the furtherance of knowledge about the paranormal
  • Keep our investigators safe

Our Core Values:

  • Don't charge a dime for services provided
  • Use scientific methods wherever possible
  • Respect the client's confidentiality
  • Act in a professional manner
  • Be tactful and caring in all dealings with clients and their associates

If you want to know more, the following pages explain: How Can SPI Help You?