Ghost Hunting Scientific Equipment

I know some readers are new to ghost hunting and I know I have some experienced hunters reading this blog.In the early days of ghost hunting technology was bulky and awkward to effectively us in a setting. Technology made most of the gear smaller and lighter weight and in doing so gave investigators more opportunities to try out theories and experimental gear.

Basic Gear- This is the gear that you should always have readily available.

Camera- It doesn't really matter which camera you use in the field as long as it works. Digital camera you get that instant gratification of whether or not you got something. Film cameras require you to get the film processed and at the current rate of things film cameras will become obsolete in a few years.

Audio Recorder- Digital recorders are probably the best ones to work with. Some people swear by a tape recorder. The only thing is that you need clean tapes each time you run. Otherwise your risking running with tampered evidence. On top of that digital recorders don't come with the background noise with the gear mechanism on a tape deck. It is easier to transfer over audio files just a matter of drag and drop and you can start editing. Tape recorders you have to play through the tape first.

Flashlight- Hands free with LED bulbs that can let you switch to a red filter. Easier on the eyes, provides some decent lighting for your pictures. With it being hands free you don't have to worry about dropping your light or not having a hand to take a picture when you need to.

Batteries- Stock up on rechargeables. You'll go through a lot of batteries ghost hunting from drains whether it is ghosts or equipment.


Extra Equipment- Things you don't really need but would be nice.

EMF Pump- Newer tech where it puts out EMF waves into the area. Ghosts love EMF waves as they disturb them when they manifest. I have been in a real good EVP session with an EMF pump in the room. Had lots of excellent recordings and even got a disembodied voice. Always a great toy.

Various Pucks- There is some devices that are similiar to hockey pucks and what they are is devices with a vocabulary built into them. The battery in the device only powers the tone generator and the ghost will manipulate the dictionary to have words come out. The one that I have worked with before had the option to go through and randomly use words from the dictionary to generate some white noise. Though often you would want to use it the other way.

Frank's Box- There is many other names for this device but they all share the same concept. You have a radio and in about a 20 second time span it would go through every frequency on it. It is not on a station long enough to get a full letter sound. Though a ghost can be able to use that to generate words and even sentences.

Camcorder- Camcorders are more for investigations than general hunts. The most important feature of a camcorder is its night vision. The stronger the vision the more it would pick up at night. Some cameras do have attachments where you can put on IR lights on them. Though with a good camera is a good tripod. There is some tripods that have bendable legs that are more suited to awkward surfaces for shooting.

EMF Detectors- This is also good for investigations. When you use them you need to do a base run of the area to check for any abnormalities before an investigation. That way if the investigation comes along and you get a high reading and it was high earlier then its not abnormal if it was normal and now high than you got something.

Thermometer- What you want to find is one that does the temperature of an area instead of a specific point. When you do an exact point like the IR guns you get the temperature of a wall instead of the cold spot in the middle of the room.

Laser grids- These have picked up recently but they are primarily used to track movement in an area. If a mist goes through the area it will cause a break in the lights. It is easier to see these in the dark than with a flashlight due to their pinpoint nature.

Motion Sensors- Motion sensors are obviously used to track movement in an area. If they go off then it picked up movement. Normally in an investigation you set these up with a camera covering the area. That way you can see what set the alarm off.

Fishing Vest- It may sound crazy but find a nice sturdy vest. All the pockets can carry something. When you have everything nearby you don't have to make a quick run to the car to grab something.

Pen and Paper- Always good to have something to write down your experiences or what you have noticed.

I have given you a good solid list of equipment for your ghost hunting case. This would help give you a good solid start into the ghost hunting world. With good equipment and patience you would get good evidence.

Ghost Hunting Shows.

Thanks to the Ghost Hunters there is a lot of shows out there on ghost hunting and the paranormal. In fact because of these shows paranormal investigators are getting a chance to go to more haunted sites than before and gather more evidence. With the more evidence being used we start to see patterns and start to develop more technology to compliment our current technology and get stronger evidence. If your wanting to get into ghost hunting the best thing to do is watch these shows. You start to critique their work and you learn from their mistakes.


Ghost Hunters- I consider this show the elementary school of ghost hunting shows. They do have their controversial moments and they also give out a lot of good info. It is very basic and I will admit they are very slow to adopting new technology. I give them credit for using an infrared camera system. This is just one of the tools out there for us to use. Though when they barely have a flashlight off and leave it alone and have ghosts light it off and on it is really reaching. Can ghosts manipulate the flashlight to turn off and on? Yes. Is that going to be solid evidence? No. You are just leaving the circuit barely together. All it takes is a spark to complete it and the light comes on.

Ghost Lab- This is more middle school of ghost hunting shows. They bring more science to the show. They got a lot of cameras, recorders, motion sensors in their inventory. They do a large sweep beforehand checking spots and getting a base read then when the investigation is going on comparing what they get with what the original reading. They also try and do some provocation with their work. The one big complaint I have against this show is that they have a production crew. There was an episode where a camera man was setting up a show and created a disturbance that they thought was paranormal.

Ghost Adventures- This is borderline middle school and high school level of ghost hunting shows. It is one of my personal favorites and with good reason. The premise with these guys is they go to a haunted location and are locked in for the night. Three guys go in and whatever evidence they get they will often play it back on the show there. So not only do you not have to wait until the end of the show. You get it while they get it. They use the current ghost hunting technology and even some experimental. They bring in other ghost hunting professionals to help collect evidence. They also do more aggressive provocation. They also get responses back from that.

Extreme Paranormal- This show only lasted a couple of episodes. Though what the three guys did lived up to the name. This would definitely be more of a high school almost college level ghost hunting. They would incorporate technology and they would use various religious rites. They got awesome evidence but they received a lot of backlash for their show. Too many complaints about how they went about things damaged the show a lot.

Paranormal State- This show isn't primarily a ghost hunting show. They do have some ghost hunting episodes in it but they also tackle other things of the paranormal. There is some episodes about psychics, cryptozoology and dealings with negative entities. It is still an interesting show that gives you more insight into other things around you.

That is what I consider good solid shows for those wanting something to watch on tv or to download and watch later. Even though they are on tv and seem reputable should always take it with a grain of salt. Somethings can be easily manipulated into great evidence to turn a dull episode to good. Always feel free to comment.

Who am I?

My name is Matthew Lawson. I have been studying or been involved with the paranormal since I was around six years old. Ever since I have watched the first Ghostbusters movie I have always been reading and exploring what I can within the very subject. From being a member of Indiana Ghost Trackers to trying to figure out my own personal growth with my psychic abilities. I have seen strange lights in the sky and felt the strange energy fluxes from being in touch with nature.

Now I am recording and sharing what I have learned. I welcome open opinions and open minds. It is in doing so that we learn more about what is simply unknown to us.