Help, FAQs, and site guidance

How it works

Paranormal Country is organised around your profile, Feed, groups, messages, events, locations, marketplace, and field reports.

1. Create an account, verify your email if prompted, and sign in with the same email address each time.
2. Complete your profile with a display name, avatar, bio, and general location so other members understand who they are talking to.
3. Use the main navigation to move between Feed, Groups, Messages, Events, Locations, Marketplace, and Help.
4. If something does not look right, try Help Centre search first, then contact support with the page URL and a short description.

How it works

Your profile is the member-facing identity other people see. Settings control what you show, how visible you are, and what happens to your account.

1. Open Profile to update your display name, avatar, bio, interests, and general location.
2. Open Settings to manage privacy choices such as online status, rank visibility, account security, and account lifecycle options.
3. Use temporary deactivation when you want a break but may return later.
4. Use permanent deletion only when you are ready for the account removal process to complete after the grace period.

How it works

The Feed is the main place for updates, evidence, discussion, birthday greetings, and community interaction.

1. Start a post from the Feed composer, then write the update clearly and add any useful context.
2. Choose the right audience before posting so the update appears in the intended place.
3. Attach images or media when they help the story, then wait for any safety processing to finish.
4. Use comments, reactions, shares, hide, and report tools to manage what you see and how you take part.

How it works

Groups are shared spaces around a topic, team, investigation, or local community. Admins control visibility, membership, and posting rules.

1. Browse Groups to find public groups and private visible groups that are open to requests.
2. Join instantly when a public group allows it, or send a request when admin approval is required.
3. Admins can choose Public, Private visible, or Private hidden visibility from group management.
4. Post inside the group when you want the discussion to stay with that group audience instead of the general Feed.

How it works

The Ambassador programme recognises trusted members who help welcome people and keep the community useful without giving them staff powers.

1. Open the Ambassadors page while signed in and use Apply now.
2. Write a short note explaining why you should be considered.
3. Wait for an admin to approve, decline, or message you with follow-up questions.
4. If approved, join Ambassadors Corner and use the Welcome Desk to support new members.

How it works

Friends help you follow familiar members, manage closer connections, and share greetings or profile interactions more personally.

1. Open Friends to browse suggestions, existing friends, and pending requests.
2. Send a request from a member profile or the Friends area when you want to connect.
3. Accept, decline, or leave requests pending depending on whether you recognise and trust the person.
4. Use birthday prompts to post a greeting to the birthday member's timeline; once posted, that birthday notice should disappear from your view.

How it works

Gamification is a lightweight reputation layer. It rewards constructive participation without replacing safety rules or moderation.

1. Earn XP and activity credit by taking useful actions such as posting, commenting, reporting issues, adding context, or contributing to community tools.
2. Ranks and contributor labels update as your account builds a healthy participation history.
3. Badges and coins recognise milestones, but they are not cash, payment, or a guarantee of trustworthiness.
4. Use Settings if you want to control whether rank information is visible on your profile.

How it works

Events help members organise investigations, meetups, livestreams, talks, and hybrid gatherings.

1. Browse Events to find upcoming activities by title, date, location, or type.
2. Open an event to review the organiser, description, schedule, location or online details, and attendance notes.
3. RSVP when you plan to attend so organisers can prepare and members know what to expect.
4. If you create an event, include safety expectations, accessibility details, meeting points, and cancellation information.

How it works

ScareBnB-style locations help members discover investigation-friendly places, haunted stays, and notable venues.

1. Browse Locations to find venues or places that match the kind of investigation or visit you want.
2. Open a listing to review the description, photos, location details, access notes, and any host guidance.
3. Save places you want to compare later and contact the host or organiser when enquiry options are available.
4. After visiting, share useful reports or feedback that helps other members assess the location responsibly.

How it works

Marketplace lets members list and browse paranormal equipment, books, collectibles, and related items.

1. Browse listings and open an item to review photos, description, seller details, price, and condition.
2. Create a listing with clear images, honest condition notes, delivery expectations, and any faults.
3. Agree payment, postage, returns, and refunds directly with the other member before exchanging goods.
4. Report listings that look unsafe, misleading, counterfeit, stolen, abusive, or scam-like.

How it works

Messages are private member conversations for planning, follow-up, enquiries, and direct discussion.

1. Open Messages or use a member profile action to start or continue a conversation.
2. Check message requests before replying to people you are not already connected with.
3. Use media, GIFs, stickers, voice notes, and reactions when they add useful context to the conversation.
4. Archive old chats, restrict uncomfortable accounts, or report harmful messages from the conversation tools.

How it works

Case Rooms are private-by-default investigation spaces. They help you collect related material without making sensitive evidence public.

1. Open Case Rooms and create either a personal private case or a group case for a group you moderate.
2. Add notes, evidence uploads, external links, and timeline entries as the investigation develops.
3. Use linked group/feed posts, field reports, sightings, venues, or haunt directory locations to connect the case to the rest of the site.
4. Archive a case when it is complete, explained, unresolved, or no longer active.

How it works

The Investigate hub connects field work, travel, evidence handling, and community goals in one place.

1. Open Investigate from the sidebar or Community tools.
2. Pick the tool you need: case rooms for private workspaces, passport for visited places, trails for curated routes.
3. Use the Evidence Lab before sharing uploads, and Paranormal Academy for safety-led guides.
4. Check Monthly Mystery Challenges for featured community goals that reward thoughtful engagement.

How it works

Your explorer log for the haunt directory. Visibility defaults to private.

1. Open Haunt Passport from Investigate or add places from the haunt directory and haunted place stories.
2. Mark locations as visited or bucket list.
3. Choose private, friends-only, or public passport visibility per entry.

How it works

Liminal Routes is a new Investigate tool inspired by random-coordinate exploration. It uses your location once to generate a destination point within a chosen radius.

1. Open Liminal Routes from Investigate.
2. Choose an intent, mode, and radius, then confirm the safety agreement.
3. Generate a coordinate and open it in your preferred maps app.
4. Log the outcome afterwards: interesting, strong match, nothing noted, or unsafe / inaccessible.
5. Share a completed route to the feed only if you want other members to discuss it.

How it works

Practical guides that award profile badges when you complete a course.

1. Browse courses from Investigate or Paranormal Academy.
2. Read each lesson and mark it complete.
3. Finish all lessons in a course to earn its academy badge in Trophy Room.

How it works

Helps you document metadata and context. It does not analyse or prove paranormal activity.

1. Upload a file to read EXIF metadata and generate a SHA-256 fingerprint.
2. Complete the checklist and add weather, lighting, and chain-of-custody notes.
3. Save a private lab report for your records before posting evidence publicly.

How it works

Polished trail guides for paranormal tourism and structured outings.

1. Browse trails from Investigate or Guided Trails.
2. Read safety notes before you go.
3. Follow stops and open linked haunt directory stories for local context.

How it works

Groups marked as investigation chapters appear in the crews directory.

1. Group admins: open group settings and set type to Investigation chapter.
2. Add a region label and crew safety rules.
3. Assign crew roles to members in the Members tab.

How it works

Rotating challenges that reward field work and thoughtful engagement automatically.

1. Open Monthly Mystery Challenges from Community tools or Investigate.
2. Read the featured goals for the current month.
3. Complete qualifying actions like field reports, haunt passport visits, or academy lessons.

How it works

Sightings and field reports help the community document unusual experiences with enough context to discuss them responsibly.

1. Start a field report when you have a sighting, case note, investigation result, or evidence summary to preserve.
2. Add the date, approximate location, conditions, witnesses, media, and what happened in plain language.
3. Use the sightings map to browse patterns by place while respecting privacy and sensitive locations.
4. Update or discuss reports when new evidence, corrections, or ordinary explanations become available.

How it works

Security tools protect accounts, reduce spam, and give members clear options when account access or status changes.

1. Use a strong password and password reset if you lose access or suspect someone else knows your credentials.
2. Complete Turnstile or other safety checks when the site asks for proof that the action is human.
3. Use deactivation for a temporary break, deletion for permanent removal, and support contact for account status questions.
4. If your account is restricted or suspended, review the relevant notice and contact support with context if you believe it is wrong.