by Alex Matsuo
When you're investigating with audio recorders, you will want to label or tag any noises that you hear. If there is traffic, someone burps, a stomach growls, etc., then you need to tag it so that you know what that noise is when you review your audio. You don't want to hear something and mistake it for something that is completely explainable. It is one of those things that may seem annoying at first, but it is worthwhile for information gathering. To tag a sound in an audio recording, simply say what it is. I recommend you train your team-mates to tag their own sounds. “That was my stomach,” or “a car just went by.” After your first few reviews of sound recordings, you’ll start to understand which noises are tricky to evaluate later. I recommend you do some trial runs with your recorder before you count on it for an investigation.
You will also find audio recording devices specifically made for ghost hunters, designed like a wristband. However, don’t assume that a product marketed to ghost hunters, is better equipped at collecting spirit voices. In this case, the design just means that you can keep the recorder on your body and record the sound around you as you investigate. I admit that I have not tried this myself yet. But I imagine you will have to tag sounds more than usual, especially if you use this device was your dominant hand.
Photography
Along with being a paranormal investigator, I also do photography. I ran my own photography business for several years before I got burned out on it. Now that you know this, please believe me when I say:
ORBS ARE NOT GHOSTS.
I have made many enemies with this declaration. To be clear, I am referring only to orbs in photos. I have seen orbs with my naked eye that I believe were paranormal.
The orbs that we so often catch in pictures and videos are not ghosts. They are bugs, dust, bits of moisture, etc. This is especially true for any sort of outdoor photography where there is a lot of loose dirt. I have frequently joked that you can make your own ghosts by vacuuming and jumping on the bed and then take a picture with flash. Even if you look at a video and it looks like an orb has a mind of its own, it is probably a bug or an orb that has a different weight than the rest and got caught up in a different air current.
However, I will admit that I’ve seen orbs with my naked eye. I was in the sickbay on the USS Hornet in 2012 with a few friends. Previously, our larger group had been given a tour of the ship, so I was aware of what was around and a general idea of our surroundings. As we were trying to make communication, I started talking about my grandfather’s involvement with World War II as a Japanese man serving in the Army. As I spoke, green balls of light started appearing to our right and moved in a circular motion. Of course, several friends had left the room, and our cameras had turned off during this encounter. I called out for the rest of my friends to come back into the sickbay. Luckily, I had one friend with me, and she was able to confirm that she was seeing the same thing. I can only describe these orbs as spectacular, like watching fireworks. I was so dumbfounded by what I saw that I turned on the light and looked at the ceiling to find any source of light that might be causing it. Nothing.
I turned the light off once more and started talking about my grandfather again. Lo and behold, the green balls of light returned for a few more moments before they disappeared, never to be seen again by our group.
I have so often seen impressive photos of orbs where people swear that they see a face inside. This is nothing more than matrixing and pareidolia. Our brains are conditioned to create patterns out of nothing. One of the most common patterns our brain searches for is a face. The best example of this is looking up into the clouds and you start to see different things like faces, animals, and structures. It works the same way in the paranormal field. When people show me orbs that have a face, or even a nucleus, you're still looking at moisture. I find these types of orbs appear the most in photos taken during a hot summer where it is really humid, or fresh after a rainstorm. At times like that, water is still in the air, just not visible by the naked eye.
The camera's job is to find the light so that it can take a picture. The longer the shutter is open, the more light is let in. That is how many photographers take those cool traffic photos or draw pictures with sparklers. This can happen with orbs as well, which is why sometimes you can see different outlines.
So, what is a real orb?
In my experience, orbs of a paranormal nature can be seen by the naked eye and they emit their own light. I've only experienced this a few times in my paranormal career. The first time was on the sickbay on the USS Hornet in Oakland, California, and these orbs emitted a greenish color. There were about four or five at once, and they were flying around each other like fireflies. The other time was at the Henry River Mill Village in Hickory, North Carolina. I wasn't 100% sure that it was an orb, but it was definitely a lantern-type light moving throughout the village independently. I know at the time no other investigators were around, so it made it even all the more interesting. True orbs are incredibly rare -- I’ve only encountered them twice. But photographs of orbs abound. I am not trying to ruin the experience of ghost hunting for you. But thinking critically is important so that you can ignore these distractions and shift your focus onto more productive evidence. I often think that while people are chasing down things like orbs the ghosts are waiting on the sidelines to be noticed.
Video
Video data seems like the most promising piece of equipment, but it can also be captured horribly. The challenges to capturing good video are extensive. I’ve seen clips of someone using their cell phone for video in the dark and the viewer can't see anything. Or, they are holding the camera in their hand and the video shakes incessantly because the person is shaking or running. Not to mention the low-quality video that is often cropped and zoomed in to show "evidence" when all you're watching is fuzz moving across the screen. Video is often one of the more intimidating pieces of equipment because it can be overwhelming. You have several decisions to make just about video captures.
Do you choose a camera with no microphone? Do you actually need sound? In my opinion, yes, you need microphones. A lot of surveillance equipment might not come with microphones and record video in silence. This isn't a disaster as long as you have some audio recorders in the room, and everything is synced up, so you know how to label your time stamps. Syncing your equipment is as easy as doing a single clap so you know when to start your clock.
Getting a 360-perspective with a camera is challenging because we seldom investigate a single room. Depending on how many rooms the location has, you'll need at least one camera for each area. Plus, if you want a good gauge of the area around you so you're not missing a moment, you'll need multiple cameras. This is where ghost hunting starts to get on the more expensive side.
You don't want to just select any camera. You'll need a camera with infrared capabilities so that it can capture data in the dark. Even if you plan to keep the lights on, you will want to have the choice for infrared if you can afford it. I'm always up for an investigation with the lights on because it helps me keep my wits about me. Often, investigations in the dark create that intimidating atmosphere. I've noticed that if a place has some sort of activity, it will usually happen regardless if it's dark or light. But if you try to record video in the dark without some sort of light, or even night vision, you might as well be recording audio to a dark screen.
You'll want a camera that is high-quality in pixels and storage so that you can avoid blurry footage and can tell the difference between a dark shadow and the family cat. Take careful note of the "frames per second" or fps. The more frames you have per second, the better quality video you have. You want to avoid the blurry and fuzzy footage because if you do catch something weird, you want the clearest picture you can possibly get. As the image becomes fuzzier, you can't tell if you're looking at a bug, rain, or something else completely explainable.
Interactive Tech
I like to call certain pieces of equipment "interactive tech," meaning that we watch it for
some sort of response to our questions. This can be something like the EMF meter, a REM-Pod, or some sort of device that lights up. You won’t find a lot of information supporting the idea that these pieces of tech actually work. Some may call them toys and the flashing lights do nothing more than distract us and make us feel like we look busy. Because we don't know how to measure a ghost, we can't give credibility to any sort of device like these things since we don't know what they're supposed to be measuring.
REM-Pods are probably my favorite piece of equipment because I've only seen one go off once in the several years that I've worked with them. A REM-pod is essentially an EMF detector with an antenna. They are set to go off whenever the energy near the antenna changes.
They are typically set to sense only a tight range, so typically they will only go off if your hand is very close -- like an inch away from the antenna. Before you start your ghost hunt, you'll want to take a baseline reading of your REM-Pod to see just how close someone has to get to it in order to go off. I know that ghosts don't have mass, but it is definitely interesting to watch it go off when there is nothing nearby.
There are other forms of interactive tech, and I encourage you to research and see if there are cheaper options. For example, a REM-Pod can cost you anywhere from $50 to $150. However, REM-Pods are simply Junior Theremin kits with stuff built around it. You can actually get one of these kits for about $13 online. You would need to build your own base around it, so it's not just wires, and you'll need to enhance it with sound if that is what you prefer. I'm still working on my homemade REM-Pod with my limited ability to build.
You can be quite creative with your ghost hunting tech. Remember, we are simply measuring changes in the environment. If you’ve been following the paranormal community for a while, you might remember the discovery of a simple cat toy as ghost hunting equipment. The cat toy lights up whenever a cat (or human) makes contact with it. As cat toys, you can find them on eBay for about a dollar. However, once the paranormal label was put on the toy, you can expect to pay more like $11.
Temperature & Thermal Imaging
This might be my favorite piece of tech, and it's also one of the most expensive. I think using thermal imaging might be one of the most accurate ways to measure a ghostly presence. Thermal imaging uses different colors on the screen to show what's warm, hot, cold, etc. Some of the most compelling pieces of data I have seen have shown different temperature readings in an empty part of the room.
Assuming accurate baseline readings were taken, you can track changes that might have happened in a certain area when and where you think there is interaction with the paranormal. I have seen full body shapes on a thermal camera as well as an obvious looking face with the appropriate temperature differences to make a perfectly formed face with eyes, a nose, mouth, and ears. What is even creepier is when you can watch this thing move on the imaging camera. If you decide to swing the money for something like this, you will not be disappointed. It can be hard to dispute the existence of ghosts when you are watching a human-like shape walking around a room when there is no one present.
What Should You Use?
This might make me sound a bit old-fashioned, but I think any sort of equipment you use should be considered for monitoring changes in the environment. This means that you are looking for temperature changes, differences in EMF levels, and looking for specific catalysts and interactions with your tech during moments where you think you might be interacting with a ghost. If someone is feeling cold, then use your thermal imaging camera and temperature gun to keep track of those changes. If you think something or someone is walking down the hallway, then be sure to have your camera and REM-Pods ready to go so that it can go off when that anomaly is walking by.
I feel like the only way we'll know for sure if something weird is going on in a haunted place is to measure and gauge the changes in the external environment. For example, if you want to get readings of possible footsteps in a certain area of your haunted location because there are reports of someone walking around at night, then consider setting up something called a Geophone, which will read the vibrations of any changes as you go. The only downside to this is that the geophone will pick up ANY movement, even movement that you are making yourself. Most teams will set up their geophone with a camera and then leave the area so that there isn't any mistake in what is making it go off. You will still want to take your baseline readings and mark on the floor the closest you can get without making the geophone go off. You'll want to use painters tape or even something you can set on the floor to serve as your reminder.
In summary, you have lots of choices when it comes to what tech you want to bring on your investigations. Be sure to get to know how your equipment works before you take it on an investigation and be sure to get good baseline readings at your site.
CHAPTER fourteen:
21st century gadgets
The field has changed so much in just the past few years, and it's only continuing to evolve. It's interesting how we've become dependent on phone apps for interaction and data collection. Just a few years ago, we wouldn't even think about using a phone app to conduct an investigation. But today, it seems that every investigation includes at least one person with some sort of ghost hunting phone app. What most people miss in the app disclaimer is that they are primarily for "entertainment purposes only."
Apps, Apps, & More Apps
If you're using a ghost hunting app that acts as an EMF meter, how is the device distinguishing itself from the object giving off the EMF readings? How is it reading the EMF with cell phone technology? I hate to break it to you, but unless you have an actual EMF meter that has Bluetooth technology, which doesn't exist at the time this book is being written, you're not going to get a truly accurate EMF reading on a cell phone.
This is the same for apps that work like the Ovilus and REM-Pod. Your smartphone was built to function like a small computer. Any app you use on it will be working with your phone's technology. Paranormal tech like the Ovilus and REM-Pod was built to function a certain way. Your phone was built to have access to the internet and to read certain signals for 4G so you can call, text, and use data from the nearest cell phone tower...not look for ghosts.
There is one app that I might give some credit to, only because I have had interesting things come up on the program, and that is Echovox. Without setting off any sort of hate for the app, some of the most respected ghost hunters I know use it with a lot of success and will sing praises of it. There is a learning curve involved with it, and you have to sit down with it and play for a bit to figure out what works for you. It doesn't read radio stations like your typical shack hack or SB-7 ghost box. You will hear a man and woman's voice coming out in spurts that sound a lot like vowels. Keep in mind that there are settings that will echo your own voice (hence the name), so you want to make sure that you're not mistaking your own voice for a ghost.
If I had to choose between using a phone app or the actual piece of equipment it's trying to replace, I'm going for the latter. Some will tell you that neither category will actually work and it's all junk science, which is totally fair. It's important to know how each piece of equipment works, and the same goes for phone apps. I've heard scientists from Harvard try to validate certain equipment as ghosts being made of photons, and that is what gadgets like the Ovilus, and the Ghost Box are actually reading. As mentioned earlier in this book, we don't know what ghosts are made from, and we certainly don't know for sure how they communicate with us, so we can’t predict how they will interact with our gadgets.
Photo Ghost Apps
Photo ghost apps are a very different beast, and they are not investigative equipment. What I’m referring to here are apps that have been created so that people can insert a ghost into a regular photo. The crazy thing is that some of the most knowledgeable people haven't caught on to the ruse. I've seen major news outlets post-viral stories where a picture of a "ghost" was spotted in a hallway or in someone's bedroom.
Spirit Boxes
Spirit boxes are a tricky subject because they're not made alike. There have been countless incarnations of the spirit box, and it has been through a multitude of name changes like the ghost box, Frank's box, etc. I tend to go more old school and use what is known as a "shack hack" radio. It's a radio from Radio Shack, model number 12-469, and the mute pin is either bent or removed altogether. This will enable the radio to sweep through AM and FM stations without going silent. I've had some fairly remarkable encounters with the shack hack.
One of the most popular spirit boxes is the PSB7, which also sweeps through radio stations as well as adding an extra layer of white noise. My experience with multiple versions of this device is varied. I've heard some interesting responses on one person's spirit box while hearing nothing but static on someone else's spirit box. I'm not sure I can tell why this happens because the world of paranormal tech is imperfect and inconsistent.
Some Cautions about Tech
If I had to choose just one piece of tech you should stay away from, it would be anything that is using the Kinect technology, like the SLS. Yes, it's the same addition you see for Xbox 360 with the stick figures. The Kinect SLS for ghost hunting uses 3-D imaging strategies to find and report patterns and movements consistent with the human body. That should be a great thing and it should be able to detect things like full-body apparitions, right? Not really. I have seen this device used by other paranormal teams and even some psychic fairs where they use the Kinect to read auras. The problem I discovered with this device is that it will create a pattern out of ANYTHING. When I tested it out, I apparently had a ghost in my vacuum cleaner as well as my cat's tail. At this stage of its development, I can’t trust it as a dependable piece of equipment. I recommend you avoid it in order to avoid false positives.