Originally Posted by
62fender
The only way to successfully get the bulb base out without getting "zapped" is to make sure that the power is off.
Unfortunately, if you don't know which breaker controls your hallway light, you will have to kill the power to the whole place.
You can do this by shutting off the Main breaker (the big one at the very top of the box marked "Main").
Once you've shut all the power off, you can grab the bulb base with needle nose pliers and unscrew it. You can also try the "potato trick" if you don't have pliers.
Technically you should not have power to the light if the hall light switch is off. THIS IS NOT ALWAYS THE CASE.
Sometimes, things are not wired to code. the light may have power before the switch. In this case, the light will still go off when you shut the light switch off, but you will still get shocked if you touch the light socket.
I hope this helps. :-)
62fender