So you have your EMF meter, motion detectors, infrared thermometer and infrared flashlight, right? What else could you possibly need for a successful ghost hunt? Plenty, really.

All of the aforementioned gadgets are great and useful in and of themselves, but they will be of little use if you don’t have any way to capture and record anything they might pick up on. That is where the following equipment comes in.

Picking up a digital voice recorder is a good idea. Voice recorders are often used in paranormal investigations to check for EVPs, or Electronic Voice Phenomenon. If you are unfamiliar with what an EVP is, it is a voice or sound that is picked up by a recorder that was not heard at the time the recording was made. These spirit voices have been recorded talking of their own accord, and often will speak in reply to questions asked by investigators during a hunt. As an example, the video clip below contains three good quality EVPs obtained during an investigation of the Villisca Axe Murder House in Villisca, Iowa. Eight people (two adults and six children) were brutally murdered in the house in 1912 and their killer was never caught.

Creepy, eh? Of course you can use a tape recorder with a high quality tape as well, but the digital ones are nice because their voice activation mode saves you from having to listen to a lot of blank tape later, plus it time stamps the recordings, so you will have an accurate record of when it happened and can compare it to other records to be sure the voice cannot be accounted for by other means.

Then, naturally, there are the cameras.

Video cameras are great to have during an investigation, not only because they may capture ghostly images and orbs on film, but also because they can help account for strange thumps and whatnot that might accidently get interpreted as phenomenon when it was really just someone accidently bumping a side table in the dark. Many of them, like the one pictured here above, come with night vision features, the quality of which can be improved with a little illumination by either one of those infrared flashlights mentioned in the last post, or by a flashlight covered with a red lens.

Digital and 35mm cameras are also great tools. Feel like something is watching you? Snap a pic and see what shows up. Ecto mists and orbs are sometimes the result! Both types of cameras work well in investigations, but the digital camera has the added bonus of allowing you to see the picture immediately. For instant gratification fans like me, that’s a must have feature!

Finally, for the die hard hunters with a chunk of change to spare, I give you the thermal imager. These come in many shapes and sizes and with all kinds of different features, but the point of them is that they can read heat signatures from well below freezing to well over a hundred degrees, and can show heat signatures from things not visible to the naked eye. Many come with memory cards that can capture pictures from the imager for later review. A very cool toy indeed.

I don’t know how many of us out there have the spare cash to have all of these nifty gadgets along when we visit creepy places, but at least now you know your options, and you should at least have a better understanding of what investigators are doing on all of those t.v. shows. If you do decide to go out there and try to capture something on film or on tape, do remember to get permission first and don’t do anything naughty like trespass. Research the 101 of ghost hunting and make sure you are smart and above all safe!

Yours in this life and the next!

GhOsTwRiTeR KiM

With a flood of television shows switching off their lights and switching on their night vision cameras to investigate the paranormal, I thought it would be interesting, if not educational, to take a look at the latest technology available for the hunt of the haunt.  We may see these gadgets used all the time on these shows, but what are they really all about?

Probably the most common tool I have seen used on shows like Ghost Hunters, among others, is the EMF Meter, or Electromagnetic Field Meter.  A rapid increase in EMF levels is believed to indicate signs of paranormal activity, since ghosts are said to borrow energy from other sources in order to manifest themselves. Generally speaking, a good investigation starts with baseline readings of the area to be investigated, so that a massive increase in the reading of the electromagnetic energy in a certain area won’t be mistaken for paranormal activity when it is really the toaster oven that has caused the rise.

Infrared Motion Detectors are also cool little gadgets to have along for the hunt. These can be left in a room that is empty and will sound an alarm if they detect any motion. There are motion detectors that send out an infrared beam, and if the beam is cut they will sound, but more useful in a paranormal investigation are the type that have no beam, but pick up on infrared heat signatures above a temperature of absolute zero. This includes anything not visible to the naked eye, so it can be a handy-dandy partner in an investigation. Put it together with an unmanned camera in a room, and who knows what you could catch on film!

Another gadget that is fresh to the market is a handheld infrared IR flood light, recently developed by Paul Bradford at Sonoran Paranormal.  So fresh I couldn’t even find a picture for it, this light looks like one of the bigger handheld flashlights available, but it emits infrared light that is not visible to the human eye, but that vastly improves the range of the images shot with a night vision camera.  For more information on it, see this article.

Last but not least for today’s posting is the infrared thermometer.  Again, taking baseline readings with this tool at the beginning of an investigation is important to rule out any drafts accounting for temperature drops.  Extreme changes in the temperature are often felt in areas believed to be haunted and it is often said that a room or a spot in a room will go very cold just before paranormal activity manifests.

Part 2 of Ghosthunting Gadgetry will be up in a couple of days and will highlight a few other tools that are useful to have around if you plan on trying to detect any ever-elusive spirit activity.  Until then…

Yours in this life and the next!

GhOsTwRiTeR KiM