This article is from 2021 and may be outdated. We're working on restoring a newer version.
No, there are no grants for ghost hunting. Most paranormal research funds are intended for parapsychologists.
Many books and movies start with an aging, wealthy individual. He or she wants definitive proof of an afterlife. So, the rich recluse hires a team to spend the night in a haunted house. The team promise to return with proof — one way or the other — about life after death.
In most fiction like this, particularly movies, the investigators deal with unspeakable terror at the hands of the house’s ghosts. Usually, one or more of the researchers never leaves the house alive.
(Best of these movies include the original The Haunting, and The Haunting of Hell House. Though they’re dated, they have more authenticity than most films in that genre.)
A variation of this involves a large reward to any of the group who who stay (or survive) one night in the haunted house.
And, for good measure, they’re locked in the house. It’s similar to the staging used for the TV series, Ghost Adventures.
Ah, if only someone would present me with that kind of offer…
In real life, I don’t think that’s ever happened. Not like in the movies, anyway. No decrepit billionaires offering large sums of money for evidence of life after death.
You may find grants related to ESP and other areas of parapsychology.
However, corporate funding or individual grants for ghost hunting don’t exist.
As a result, some ghost hunters accept individual clients or conduct readings for a fee.
Some people say that’s preying on vulnerable people who want to contact lost loved ones.
Often, I agree.
I’m not sure where to draw the line. Is it more moral to take a day job in fast food than to work as a paid psychic medium? You’ll need to decide for yourself.
Charging a high fee just to investigate a private residence…? No. I won’t do that. I’ll find more honorable ways to earn a living, and still have time for paranormal research.
In other words, don’t expect grants to finance your ghost hunts. If any exist, I haven’t heard of them.