Moon Mausoleum
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The mysterious and unexplained have fascinated humankind for centuries, leading many on a ghost hunting journey. Whether it’s ghosts, UFOs, or cryptids, paranormal investigators rely on specialized equipment to capture […]
The mysterious and unexplained have fascinated humankind for centuries, leading many on a ghost hunting journey. Whether it’s ghosts, UFOs, or cryptids, paranormal investigators rely on specialized equipment to capture evidence of the supernatural. Here are some of the Paranormal Investigation Gear and the theory behind how they work.
Today the ghost hunts are so special you can even get a couple of paranormal investigation kits ready for you with all sorts of specifications.
The history of paranormal investigation trying to use science to explain ghosts existence dates back to the industrial revolution in the 19th century through organizations like the Society for Psychical Research. Even today we see the same with small crews using different equipment to prove the existence of ghosts.
Although the investigators try to use science to prove ghosts, the investigators often come with a more spiritualist background, like Harry Price or Sir Arthur Donal Cone from the spiritualist movement in the 1900s, or the religious background of Ed and Lorraine Warren.
Today the crews have moved to the tv screen and youtube channels, and much of the equipment we see today has been featured or even designed especially for these types of investigations.
It is important to note though, that these types of investigation using modern technology, doesn’t mean that they have scientifically proved the existence of ghosts. Many groups have been said to ignore the scientific method with empirical research from a skeptical point and what they really are up to is some form of techno-mysticism where they use electronic devices to prove their based theory.
Although the equipment themselves is nothing magical, but purely electronics, there really isn’t any scientific explanation between ghosts, cold spots and electromagnetic fields, and are as such nothing more than a pseudoscience at this point.
So let is have a look at some of the more modern equipments the paranormal investigator may carry in their bag.
EMF (Electromagnetic Field) meters are standard tools in paranormal investigations and were originally designed to record the safe range on power lines and household appliances to check radiation levels and how safe it is in the homes and workplaces.
These devices measure fluctuations in electromagnetic fields, which are believed to be associated with the presence of spirits or paranormal activity. Sudden, unexplained spikes in electromagnetic energy can indicate the presence of an entity. Paranormal investigators use EMF meters to detect such fluctuations in haunted locations, especially after the Ghost Hunters TV series claimed that it was “Specially calibrated for paranormal investigators.
This is probably one of the more known equipment for ghost hunting and in our digital age, there are now also apps for your phone or tablet you can use as well. The idea is the theory that ghosts need energy and use it, something that will show up when recording the energy.
One way to use it is to hold it up towards a light that makes the EMF go off. If the light stays consonant, the cause of it is purely an electrical one. However, when asking for a sign of a presence and a shift in the light intensity occurs, it is said that it could be something more paranormal.
What can it also be: Many argue that the EFM is popular for ghost hunters because it gives so many false positive readings during the hunt. In addition to a potential ghostly guest, the EMF will pick up any fluctuations of energy, this includes those of electrical outlets, wires and electronically appliances. It is an unshielded device so your phone, radio or literally any other electrical things can set it off. Even your own body will give out natural electricity, so it is advised to hold the device away from your body and wave it around as it only works on one axis.
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Like many other measurement tools, this tool is used to measure ionizing radiation, looking often at something taken from GhostBusters. This product has been around for a long time and was a classic in the Paranormal Investigation Gear, since 1928 and used to be widely used by ghost hunters until other technology got more popular.
This piece of equipment might be able to tell you if there is radiation around you and how much, but it won’t be able to tell you where it comes from.
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Although many paranormal hunters’ goal is to get the million dollar shot of a ghost, recording sound is just as a common part of ghost hunting. The theory is that not all ghosts will manifest themselves visually but could be heard. It was popularized by Friedrich Jürgenson who published a book in 1967 on radio contact with the dead. He had played around with a cassette recorder in his garden, recording birds. When he played them back he was certain he heard voices from his dead father and wife that were calling his name.
The theory is that perhaps it is too low to hear until you playback the recording and crack up the volume. Perhaps it is on a frequency the human ear can’t register and some tweaking could make it out.
This could also be the fault of this technology, because where does the tweaking of the sound recording become manipulated? People fast forward, play it backwards and try to get a particular meaning out from the chaos. The skeptics will say that when you are looking for it, you will eventually hear it.
Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) recorders are specially designed audio recording devices that paranormal investigators use to capture unexplained voices or sounds. The idea was popularized by the Latvian Carl Jung student and parapsychologist Konstantīns Raudive in the 1970s.
These recordings are often considered as potential communication with spirits or entities. Investigators will typically ask questions aloud during paranormal investigations and later review their recordings for any responses that were not audible at the time of questioning.
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Spirit boxes and ghost radios are devices that continuously scan through radio frequencies. The idea behind these tools is that spirits can manipulate the scanning process to produce audible responses to questions. These devices are used during paranormal investigations, allowing investigators to ask questions and receive real-time responses in the form of radio snippets or white noise.
The spirit box changes between different AM frequencies and uses white noise as a filler. The box is fed with the noise it picks up and the idea is that the spirits will be able to manipulate the noise to words we can understand. The output is then played out on a speaker, allowing the investigator to communicate in real time, not only realizing the words after coming back from the investigation.
This particular equipment was designed by Frank Sumption in 2000 and today it is seen with almost every youtuber and paranormal investigator and is at least a very fun and popular thing to keep in your Paranormal Investigation Gear. It is also called Frank’s Box or Ghost Box and Sumption claims he got the design idea from the spirit world. It got especially popular when the Ghost Adventure show used it when they investigated the alleged paranormal activity at Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum on October 30, 2009.
Because it uses and generates static, it also generates random effects, and like with the EMF reader, gives off a lot of false positives, confirming an already bias for the paranormal investigator. From skeptics it is called the modern ouija board, or just a broken radio.
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Together with this, a couple of headphones should also be helpful and kept in your Paranormal Investigation Gear. You would be surprised about just how much sound pollution the ear picks up, and a couple of good headphones for your sound recording would be good for playback and focusing on the area.
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One of the most used ways to detect ghosts is a sudden change in temperature. You often hear about people telling about a sense of a drop in temperature and getting cold when recounting their paranormal experiences.
There are many theories as to why this is said to happen, but the most speculated one is about use of energy. According to this belief, ghosts are traces of energy, and need and use it when manifesting. Heat is a type of energy and because of this, the energy is taken from the surrounding area, making the temperature drop.
How cold it needs to be to indicate a ghost though varies a lot. Some claim that it is everything from below 13 degrees celsius to almost zero.
There is also a theory that the spirit creates a dimensional gateway that will create a difference in the air pressure. This is a way of trying to explain it in more tangible terms when mediums are talking about vortexes and portals.
Digital thermometer can give you all sorts of specifications on the readings. Make sure not only to get something that would measure the surface temperature, but also the ambient temperature.
An old classic thermometer that is not digital or electronic could also be an idea to keep in your Paranormal Investigation Gear as there would be no electrical interference from it or could run out of battery.
What measurements could also mean: Even though you have located a drop in temperature, does it mean you have located a ghost? No! Things like metal or windows will give off a colder temperature than the ambient temperature elsewhere in the room.
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A camera is both used as paranormal investigation gear for detection as well as proof. The relationship between the camera and ghosts goes as far back as the invention of the camera.
With the progression of cameras its usage during ghost hunting has also become more versetail. First and foremost it is used as surveillance equipment, interviewing witnesses and research.
Today most of us have a pretty good camera on our phone, but there are some things that some cameras do better than others.
We have all seen footage of the ghost hunter crew running around with a camera in an old abandoned building in search of ghosts. In some instances they claim that the photos picked up more than what they saw with their naked eye.
How many cameras you really need in your Paranormal Investigation Gearis up for debate, and many have their different uses. The standard though is a camcorder to record the process that you can take with you.
There is also the theory that the camera will pick up things that the naked eye won’t like flashes of illumination that could hint to ghosts. As well as perhaps giving you an idea where you are walking in complete darkness.
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Infrared cameras, often referred to as IR cameras or Thermographic cameras, are said to be essential for capturing images and videos in complete darkness. They work by detecting thermal radiation (heat) and converting it into visible monochrome images with a data called thermography. Paranormal investigators use IR cameras to capture potential apparitions or anomalies that may not be visible to the naked eye.
It was originally developed for military use during the Korean War, but today the use of the camera has expanded. In the world firefighters use it to detect humans when the smoke is hindering vision, locating overheating parts of power lines, looking for fever in humans and animals and in telescopes. For ghost hunters, they are used to detect the rumored cold spots.
With these types of cameras the idea is that you will be able to detect so-called “Hot Spots” and cold spots that are invisible to the naked eye as the infrared cameras are sensitive to wavelengths that normal cameras are not.
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Thermal imaging cameras detect variations in temperature by capturing the infrared radiation emitted by objects. Paranormal investigators use these devices to identify cold spots (sudden drops in temperature) and other anomalies that may indicate the presence of spirits or entities.
The theory is that paranormal energy can affect the temperature of the surroundings and with a camera you will be able to visualize this effect, not only recording it with a thermometer. This used to be one of the biggest pieces of evidence you could get as a paranormal investigator.
What could it also mean: With the many different products, there will also be bad ones. Especially smartphones apps, where the thermal reading is often nothing more than a faked filter.
But what is the difference between active IR and thermal imaging? The IR uses wavelength infrared light, which is then reflected back and creates an image. Thermal imaging is when you use mid- or long wavelengths of the IR energy. This makes them passive and the only difference you can see in black and white, cold and hot. They don’t see reflected light either so are better at penetrating headlights, smoke or other haze.
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Full-spectrum cameras are adapted to capture a broader range of light, including ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) wavelengths in addition to normal photos. More specific, there is no such thing as a “full spectrum” camera although there are “multispectral” cameras made at very high cost for the fine Paranormal Investigation Gear.
The idea is that with the extra sensitivity to light will also create better, clearer and cleaner images. The idea is that paranormal entities may manifest in these wavelengths, and using a full-spectrum camera increases the chances of capturing evidence that is not visible to humans under normal circumstances.
The thing about having a full spectrum camera is that it will hopefully cancel out some of the “Blurry Evidence” people catch on camera of strange interferences like light flares, shadows and so on.
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Motion detectors and trigger objects are used to engage with entities. Motion detectors can sense movement in an area and trigger alarms or lights when something moves and is also found in an Paranormal Investigation Gear. Trigger objects are personal items placed in a location, often with the intention of inviting spirits to interact with them.
One can start to speculate, why would ghosts trigger something like a motion detector when they supposedly can glide through walls without any problems? In this scenario, the ghosts would at least have some sort of mass in the real world for it.
There are countless stories of ghosts leaving handprints on a person, pushing the living and having this sort of vague presence we don’t really know the scope of.
Some have experienced that a security camera started recording even though nothing was there. Could it be a ghost? Could something like a spirit really trigger something like this? Or is it simply a malfunction and any triggering of motion detectors should be investigated as something alive was around?
Some claim that a REM pod is some of the best things to use to detect ghostly movings. The Radiating Electro Magneticity has been used on many ghost hunts, and the small device has an antenna with its own electromagnetic field that reacts when something gets near it.
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Laser grids project a grid of laser beams into a room and has also been widely used in ghost hunters Paranormal Investigation Gear. Investigators observe the grid to detect disruptions or the movement of shadows that could indicate paranormal activity. Shadow detectors are devices designed to detect and track shadows, which are believed to be associated with spirits.
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Some sort of night-vision device like Night vision goggles or monoculars allow investigators to see in low-light conditions. These devices use available ambient light or infrared illumination to create visible images. They are particularly useful in navigating dark and potentially haunted locations.
It is different from thermal imaging as it utilizes a different section of the infrared spectrum. They were developed in World War II, but became widely used during the Vietnam War.
The use of this equipment is mostly to help you see where you are going in darkness. And who knows, perhaps you see something in the dark you wouldn’t have otherwise. Pair it up with a flashlight with red light to not interfere with the night vision.
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In many haunted houses studies, one of the scientific ways to debunk a haunting is to measure levels of gasses, in particular carbon monoxide gasses. This gas has been proven to cause hallucinations and after being exposed for this gas without knowing, people have claimed that they are haunted.
This was the case of the report on the Haunted H House in America in the 1870s. The use of gas in lights and heating was widely used at this time and was dangerous, as not only could it cause hallucination, but in worse case, death.
This is why you should always keep an Air Quality Monitor in your Paranormal Investigation Gear.
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Something so obvious like a good and trusted Flashlight is good to grab in your Paranormal Investigation Gear, even if you have lights both from phones and cameras. Also a headlight would be a good idea
Extra Batteries is also perhaps obvious, but necessary. Not only because the paranormal investigation could go on forever and you could drain your batteries. There are also those investigating strange claims that it drains fully charged devices like phones, cameras and so on.
Some sort of a two way communication like a walkie talkie is a good idea. If you are ghost hunting with others, be sure to be aware of each other’s present. One thing is the danger of losing each other, but you should also be careful to deem your paranormal investigation partner as a ghost in the darkness and mistake their sound for something else.
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Keep a watch on to note down the exact time things are happening, and how the watch is behaving. Is there some disturbance? Is time behaving differently than usual? Many that claim to have experienced something paranormal come back and tell about how time seemed to stop, or perhaps move differently. Compare timestamps after and have an analogue clock or something to double check.
These are just some of the many equipments used in paranormal investigations and in ghost hunters gear kit. Whether these equipment will be what gets the final proof for ghosts remains to see.
