Think of it as camping out with amenities. Part of the house has heat and air and furniture. There's a bathroom, 2 refrigerators, a microwave, coffee, snacks. There are some air mattresses and a couple of sofas. There is also WIFI if you have a laptop.

It's like an amateur ghosthunt with a little more of a party atmosphere. No 2 are ever alike. You bring a camera, digital recorder (if you have one), flashlight, sleeping bag and any other equipment you might have.

We'll have a few scary movies for those who want that type of thing. Most people just want to hang out and explore the house after dark.

The front porch is very popular with a couple of rockers and a few other chairs. It's enclosed on 3 sides and a nice place to visit. No one is allowed to venture into the uninhabited part of the house alone. You need at least 2 people and preferably 3 to act as a team.

We DON'T do Seances or OUIGA.     If Linda is there, She may read Runes. If anyone attending is psychic we will let them tell us what they see or feel. There is ALWAYS a Hostess or Host to act as your guide and to answer your questions. If anyone wants to hear the stories of those who have been there before.... there is always time for storytelling.

Again, each party is a little different, but always fun.  

DO I have to bring 10 people to come to a Ghosthunt party? 

No,  you can reserve Hill House Manor for a Ghosthunt of your own or if you don't have enough people to throw a party, you can join one of ours.  Most people are a little shy about coming alone the first time, so you might feel more comfortable bringing a friend or two to join us on one of our Ghosthunts.

Are Ghosthunts ALWAYS an overnight thing?

No, more often than not, overnight Ghosthunts don't actually involve sleep and many people leave before 3 or 4 in the morning.  Some as early as midnight.

A Ghosthunt is NOT a structured event. 

A Ghosthunt is NOT a drug or alcohol party.

A Ghosthunt is NOT an occult event.  We do not participate in or allow  negative practices or any taunting of the resident non-corporeal beings.

Likewise a Ghosthunt is NOT a religious event.  Neither Christian, Pagan, Wiccan, Spiritualist nor any other religion.

Hill House Manor has been privileged to witness many Ghosthunting teams.  We have a page that links to every team that has investigated here.   We have observed a lot of different "methods" and levels of structure.  We have had teams here with as many as 20 participants and teams with as few as 3.

Most teams seem to try to include a skeptic, a video technician, a sound technician, a historian, a photographer, and often a psychic.  Sometimes one person wears several of the afore mentioned "hats". Sometimes there are more than one person available for each job.

Usually the whole team will do a walk through to get an idea of the house.  They will then begin to set up their equipment which often consists of video cameras and DVRs .  Most of the team members seem to have digital cameras and sound recorders.

Once they have surveyed the territory and set up equipment they will often split up into smaller teams of 3 or 4 people.  Some groups will allow only one team at a time to venture out on a "hunt".  Others will allow small teams to "stake out" rooms or areas to monitor or "hunt" in.    It's always interesting for us to observe.

Much later the individual members begin the long task of reviewing the tapes, photos, audio recordings etc.  This process can take weeks as they go over hours and hours of video etc.

This may not be the best or most accurate description of a ghost hunt.  It is just our observations here at Hill House Manor.   For a Wikipedia version look here.