Ghost Hunting Gear

The following equipment is most commonly used for Paranormal Investigations with the exception of the Geiger Counter and Barometer. They are included as items to use for advanced investigations.

Recorders - Recorders are used as both an alternative to the notepad and to record EVP's – Electronic Voice Phenomena. When you listen to the recording you may find something has added its voice or other sounds to the recording. These are known as EVP's or Electronic Voice Phenomena. The new digital recorders that link to your computer are great, and they download the files quickly and easily and have no background motor noise or tape hiss. Don't expect the ghost voice to sound like someone calling on the phone, though some are quite clear. Some find a hand held mike or lapel mike seems to yield more results for EVP's.

Still Cameras - Film or digital, inexpensive to professional, they are one of the best investments for a ghost hunt. The digital camera offers immediate gratification with the ability to see what you shot in seconds. Digital also offers the lowest cost per shot and ability to print only the ones you want. The higher the megapixel count the more detail you will get in your pictures and the better you can crop and enlarge a part of the picture. Polaroid instant cameras can offer the quick image viewing but at a very high cost per print and lack of the ability to enlarge them. Film cameras must have the film developed to see what was captured on film. One plus for film cameras is that negatives are considered much better evidence than a digital picture since they are much harder to fake.

Compass - The original ghost meter! Ghosts seem to affect the magnetic field when they are near. A compass needle will react and start to move back and forth when a ghost is nearby.

EMF/Gauss meter - Essentially a meter that reads electro magnetic fields. There are several types and they all work for ghost hunting. The better tri-field meters (usually over one hundred dollars) can actually sense small variations in the earth's magnetic field. Just as the compass a nearby ghost will cause a reading to fluctuate. For serious paranormal investigation a better tri-field meter is useful to have because of its sensitivity and omni-directional field pickup.

Camcorders - There are many makes of camcorders and they all work well for recording the family events. For the ghost hunter a camcorder with the infra red nightshot feature is what you want. Paranormal phenomena can be recorded with any camcorder but the IR feature work well to capture in very dark locations. The IR allows you to work in total darkness. The cameras do need some IR light to image and they have a small IR led built in. You can also buy or if you are handy with electronics make a led IR light array to significantly increase the distance the camcorder can see in IR. The key to good video is holding the camcorder steady even when you're tracking an object.

Thermometers - Paranormal activity is sometimes indicated by temperature differentials. On hunts people will feel “cold” in some areas. Using an IR Thermometer it is easy to take readings around the area. The better ones have laser pointing so you can see exactly where you are pointing them. They do have range limitations, so you can't expect readings from across a football field. Generally the sensor will give an accurate reading off a small area up to 15 – 20 feet away. The farther away you are the wider the IR sensor area sees. So even a medium sized object may be missed at a distance.

Geiger Counter - Geiger counters are used to measure radiation levels. While ghost hunting does not involve large amounts of lethal radiation; measurements of variations in the background count are taken. It is suspected that ghosts can in some way affect the radiation count either increasing or decreasing the count. If you are purchasing a Geiger counter make sure it is designed to take low level readings. These typically have a separate probe. The inexpensive yellow CD surplus Geiger counters are designed for higher levels of radiation from fallout as would be found after a nuclear war not for sensitive low level readings – great to stock in your bomb shelter but not suitable for ghost hunting.

Barometer - Paranormal activity is sometimes indicated by rapid changes in barometric pressure.

Divining Rods - Not considered a scientific instrument or method, divining rods are sometimes used by ghost hunters. Those who use them believe they can be used to point at "ghosts" and allow yes/no questions. If you wish to try a pair you may order them from our store.

Pendulum - Not considered a scientific instrument or method. Pendulums are used by some ghost hunters who believe that they can be used to comunicate with "ghosts." If you wish to try a pendulum you may order them from our store.

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Copyright 2005 – Ralph Esposito

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