Five Unique Paranormal Investigative Tools

People have watched enough Paranormal shows on Television to know the basics of what is used in the field. I will run them down just in case.

An EMF meter (Electro Magnetic Field) is often used. Spirits are thought to emanate or disrupt the magnetic field. When the field increases, it is thought that Ghosts are nearby. Digital cameras for taking pictures and hoping to capture El Dorado... A Full Body Apparition.

IR (Infrared) video Cameras for capturing spirits on video. Digital Thermometer. Manifesting spirits are thought to draw energy from their surrounding in the form of heat. This vacuum is thin filled with a "Cold Spot". These cold spots are measured with thermometers to document the drop in temperature. These are all great pieces of equipment that I also use with success. However this article is about a few items that help to document evidence that are either over looked, or discarded as "Proper" Paranormal Investigative Equipment.

The first one that I would like to discuss is great for capturing E.V.P. evidence. E.V.P. stands for "Electronic Voice Phenomena". Basically, a recording that is made during an investigation (typically on a Digital Voice Recorder). Upon playing back the recording, voices are heard that was not audible at the time of the "Taping". This brings me to the equipment. I use on almost every investigation an old cell phone. The phone is not hooked up to a network. I use the "Voice Memo" feature. I simply start the "Voice Memo" and ask questions out loud to potential spirits. (i.e. What is your name?, Did you live here?...etc.) When I return home I put the phone on speaker and record it on to my computer. I use a program called "Audacity" that is free to download from the internet. Once the Voice Memo recording is on the computer, I can then listen to it with ear-phones and pick out suspected areas on the recording.

The next piece of equipment that is used is called a "Ghost Box" or "Telephone to the Dead". I know these are trite names but fit quit well. A Ghost Box is basically a modified Radio Shack Pocket Radio with external speakers. It is modified as such, the radio is disassembled down to the internal main Circuit Board. There is a row of pins on this board under the Ribbon Plug. The one marked "Mute" is cut and everything is reassembled. This modification is then used as such. The radio is turned on, and on the main dial press the up arrow. This then makes the radio scan all of the frequencies in the band. I us AM due to less radio "Blurbs" come through on this band than FM. In other words, the radio does not stop on a station. The radio goes through 6 stations per second (roughly). When questions are asked and you receive answers or sentences that come through over MANY stations, you know that this is an anomaly that has the potential to be Paranormal. I record my Ghost Box sessions with my digital recorder (RCA RP 5022) so I can listen to them again later at home. The Ghost Box is used as a vehicle for the Ghosts to speak to you and allow you to hear them in real time. Thus, "Telephone to the Dead".

The next one is pretty straight forward. I use a "Night Vision Monocle". Most Paranormal Activity happens in the dark. The Night Vision allows me to see in the dark. It uses Infrared beam to "Light up" the surroundings. This is good for looking in to areas where a noise has been heard without charging to that area and potentially scaring off the subject. It is also handy to keep me from tripping and running in to hazards.

Spirits are said to give off "Ectoplasm" when they manifest. The ectoplasm seems can be illuminated by use of a UV (Ultra Violet) light. Also called a black light. The light is used in two different ways. The first is when a spirit is detected. (I.e. using an EMF meter), charge the area by turning on the UV light for several seconds. Then snap some digital photos. If the photos show a misty, smoky cloud, this is potentially a spirit. The second use is to turn on the UV light in an area of reported Paranormal Activity. Let it run and keep monitoring the area. This will help attract spirits. Kind of like a "Moth to a Flame" technique. Snap photos frequently when doing this method.

Laser pointers are an interesting and cheap piece of equipment. These lights are very useful in detecting the anomaly known as a "Shadow Person". Shadow people are what appears to be an outline of a human but is all black with indistinguishable features. When you press the button of the laser pointer, the only thing that you should see is the dot on the surrface that you are pointing at. If you run in to something "Supernatural" is will appear as kind of like smoke and illuminate the laser beam. In other words, when something gets between the Pointer and the surface it is pointed at, it will make the beam visible. Snap pictures when you run in to something illuminating the beam. I use this to keep "Scanning" an area while investigating.

Notice in the EM-Spectrum Curve that what we can see with our eyes, is a small fraction of the entire spectrum. Just above and just below the curve, you will find infrared and ultra violet. Spirits seem to manifest in all three of these spectrum ranges. Visibly. Audibly you can hear them in the lower frequency range using EVP equipment.

Thanks for reviewing this article. I have tried to put this together in a manner that best describes some unique pieces of equipment, without exaggeration. Give them a try and let me know what you think. Any questions, just send me an email, and I will be glad to help.

Equipment List----

Cell Phone Voice Memo: I use an LG Model VX3200. I use others that work as well.

Ghost Box - Radio Shack Pocket Radio 12-469 ($20.00 USD) Generic External Speakers ($10.00 USD)

Night Vision: Arsenal. Model NVM-G1PLUS. EBay. ($100.00 USD)

UV Light: Generic. No Name. Look Under "Pet Stain" Detector on EBay ($15.00 USD)

Laser Pointer: Generic. No Name. Cat Toy Laser. I bought mine in the Wal-Mart Checkout line ($4.00 USD)