Location Database

Overview

The Location Database is Ghost Planet’s comprehensive catalog of haunted and paranormal locations. Each location includes geographic coordinates, historical lore, past investigation data, and community popularity ratings.

Location Structure

Every location in Ghost Planet contains detailed information:

type Location struct {
    ID                          int64           `json:"id"`
    Name                        string          `json:"name"`
    Address                     string          `json:"address"`
    State                       string          `json:"state"`
    City                        string          `json:"city"`
    Zip                         string          `json:"zip"`
    Lore                        string          `json:"lore"`
    Latitude                    float64         `json:"latitude"`
    Longitude                   float64         `json:"longitude"`
    PastInvestigationsUser      []Investigation `json:"past_investigations_user"`
    PastInvestigationsCommunity []Investigation `json:"past_investigations_community"`
    Popularity                  Popularity      `json:"popularity"`
    Visibility                  bool            `json:"visibility"`
    CreatedByUserID             int64           `json:"created_by_user_id"`
    OwnerUserID                 int64           `json:"owner_user_id"`
}

Location Fields

Geographic Information

Address Components:

name: Location name (max 500 bytes)
address: Full street address
city: City name
state: State (dropdown selection)
zip: Postal code

Coordinates:

latitude: -90 to 90 degrees
longitude: -180 to 180 degrees

Coordinates must be valid numbers within geographic bounds. The system validates that latitude and longitude values are not NaN (Not a Number) or infinite.

Paranormal Information

Lore:The lore field stores the location’s paranormal history and reported phenomena (max 500 bytes):

Historical background
Reported hauntings and manifestations
Notable events or tragedies
Local legends and folklore
Documented paranormal activity

Example:

{
  "name": "Haunted Manor",
  "lore": "Local legend says a woman in white roams the halls every full moon. Multiple witnesses have reported footsteps on the second floor when the building is empty."
}

Investigation History

Ghost Planet tracks two types of investigation history:Your Investigations:

past_investigations_user: All investigations YOU conducted at this location
Personal research history
Your collected evidence
Your notes and findings

Community Investigations:

past_investigations_community: Public investigations by all users
Shared research data
Community-contributed evidence
Collective knowledge base

Review past investigations before visiting a location to learn from others’ experiences and plan your research strategy.

Creating a Location

Enter Basic Information

Provide the location name and complete address:

Name (required, max 500 bytes)
Street address (required)
City, State, ZIP

Add Coordinates

Enter precise geographic coordinates:

Latitude: -90 to 90
Longitude: -180 to 180

Use mapping services like Google Maps to find accurate coordinates. Right-click on a location and select the coordinates to copy them.

Document the Lore

Write the location’s paranormal history (max 500 bytes):

Historical context
Reported phenomena types
Notable incidents
Local legends

Set Visibility

Choose location visibility:

Public: Visible to all users, contributes to community database
Private: Only visible to you, for personal research

Location Validation

Ghost Planet enforces strict validation to ensure data quality:

func ValidateLocation(v *validator.Validator, location *Location) {
    // Name validation
    v.Check(location.Name != "", "name", "must be provided")
    v.Check(len(location.Name) <= 500, "name", "must not be more than 500 bytes long")

    // Address validation
    v.Check(location.Address != "", "address", "must be provided")

    // Lore validation
    v.Check(location.Lore != "", "lore", "must be provided")
    v.Check(len(location.Lore) <= 500, "lore", "must not be more than 500 bytes long")

    // Coordinate validation
    v.Check(!math.IsNaN(location.Latitude), "latitude", "must be a valid number")
    v.Check(!math.IsInf(location.Latitude, 0), "latitude", "must be a finite number")
    v.Check(location.Latitude > -90 && location.Latitude < 90, "latitude", 
            "must be between -90 and 90")

    v.Check(!math.IsNaN(location.Longitude), "longitude", "must be a valid number")
    v.Check(!math.IsInf(location.Longitude, 0), "longitude", "must be a finite number")
    v.Check(location.Longitude > -180 && location.Longitude < 180, "longitude", 
            "must be between -180 and 180")
}

All required fields must be provided and within specified limits. Invalid coordinates will be rejected to ensure accurate mapping.

Popularity System

Locations are rated using a star-based popularity system:

type Popularity int32

func (p Popularity) MarshalJSON() ([]byte, error) {
    jsonValue := fmt.Sprintf("%d stars", p)
    quotedJSONValue := strconv.Quote(jsonValue)
    return []byte(quotedJSONValue), nil
}

How Popularity Works

Rating Display
Finding Popular Locations
Contributing to Popularity

Popularity is displayed as a star rating:

{
  "name": "Haunted Manor",
  "popularity": "42 stars"
}

The star count increases based on:

Number of public investigations
Amount of evidence contributed
Community engagement
Historical significance

Public vs. Private Locations

The visibility field controls location access:

Visibility	Value	Who Can See	Use Case
Public	`true`	All Ghost Planet users	Contribute to community database, share discoveries, build collective knowledge
Private	`false`	Only you (owner)	Personal research spots, sensitive locations, preliminary documentation

Location Ownership

Two ownership fields track location creation and control:

CreatedByUserID int64  // Who first added the location
OwnerUserID     int64  // Who controls visibility and updates

The creator may transfer ownership or maintain control. Only the owner can change visibility settings or edit location details.

Investigation Planning

Use location data to plan effective investigations:

Search the Database

Find locations by:

Geographic area (city, state)
Popularity rating
Phenomena type (from lore)
Investigation history

Review Location Details

Study the location before visiting:

Read the lore to understand reported phenomena
Review past investigations (yours and community)
Check popularity as an indicator of activity level
Note the exact coordinates for navigation

Analyze Past Evidence

Learn from previous investigations:

Review photos from other investigators
Listen to EVPs captured at the location
Read text notes documenting phenomena
Identify patterns in reported activity

Plan Your Approach

Design your investigation based on location data:

Target specific areas mentioned in past investigations
Bring equipment suited to reported phenomena
Schedule during times when activity was previously reported
Prepare questions based on location lore

Community Contributions

Public locations build a collective knowledge base:

Contributing to Community Locations

When you make a location public, you enable:Collaborative Research:

Multiple investigators document the same location
Evidence accumulates from different perspectives
Patterns emerge from repeated investigations
Community validates or debunks claims

Shared Resources:

Your lore documentation helps others prepare
Your coordinates guide future investigators
Your evidence contributes to location history
Your findings increase location visibility

Knowledge Growth:

Community adds new phenomena to lore
Investigation history expands over time
Popularity reflects research value
Best practices emerge from collective experience

Consider making locations public after your initial investigation to contribute to the paranormal research community.

Example Location

A complete location record:

{
  "id": 1,
  "name": "Haunted Manor",
  "address": "123 Spooky St",
  "city": "Albuquerque",
  "state": "NM",
  "zip": "08712",
  "lore": "Local legend says a woman in white roams the halls every full moon",
  "latitude": 40.7128,
  "longitude": -74.0060,
  "past_investigations_user": [],
  "past_investigations_community": [
    {
      "id": 42,
      "phenomena": "Apparition sightings",
      "created_at": "2025-10-15T22:30:00Z"
    }
  ],
  "popularity": "42 stars",
  "visibility": true,
  "created_by_user_id": 100,
  "owner_user_id": 100
}

Investigations - Create investigation sessions at locations
Evidence Collection - Document findings at locations
Visibility Controls - Manage location privacy

Get Started

Core Features

Guides

Overview

Location Structure

Location Fields

Creating a Location

Location Validation

Popularity System

How Popularity Works

Public vs. Private Locations

Location Ownership

Investigation Planning

Community Contributions

Example Location

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Core Features

Guides

​Overview

​Location Structure

​Location Fields

​Creating a Location

​Location Validation

​Popularity System

​How Popularity Works

​Public vs. Private Locations

​Location Ownership

​Investigation Planning

​Community Contributions

​Example Location

​Related Features

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Location Structure

Location Fields

Creating a Location

Location Validation

Popularity System

How Popularity Works

Public vs. Private Locations

Location Ownership

Investigation Planning

Community Contributions

Example Location

Related Features