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Tools & Troubles of the Ghost Hunting Trade
- By GhostHalo
- Published 08/27/2008
- Paranormal Evidence
- Unrated
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The list of tools is impressive, and there are variations and extensions of each on the market today, including special "ghost hunter" watches - wrist watches that detect beta, gamma, x-ray and radiant energy! With all of these tools and tricks of the trade, why hasn't anyone produced solid scientific proof that ghosts or other spiritual entities exist? One of the problems, I believe, is too many cooks in the kitchen.
With the rise of popularity of paranormal activity, everyone wants to be an investigator. The Internet has made it possible for any Tom, Dick, or Harry to fully equip themselves with the latest fashion in gadgets. There's an impressive variety of "Ghost Hunting Starter Kits" available on the market ranging from the cheap to the incredibly expensive! Television has assisted this boom with a multitude of paranormal programs fuelling the fire. Unfortunately, the one thing many of these amateur investigators aren't equipped with is objectivity and/or scientific perspective. Anything that registers on the amateur's radar becomes "proof".
One of the biggest culprits in providing false "evidence" is the digital camera. Oh, I've been known to fall prey to its sly tricks, too, so don't feel bad. We snap a shot with our handy dandy digital photo and abracadabra, we have ORBS, or bubbles of light! Orbs have been a major cause of excitement for many paranormal investigators or common civilians who catch the orbs unexpectedly on their digital camera. Some have even gone so far as to say they see faces in the orbs. Dust particles can be blamed for a good percentage of those orbs, but it was later discovered that another common factor in catching photos with orbs is the camera itself. The cameras aren't malfunctioning or broken, but because of their make up and design, they often capture images of the light reflected
from their own flash or other lights in their casing. Not all orbs can be discounted due to these facts, but the good majority of them can. Isn't that a bubble buster?
Well, how about those EMF meters then? Surely there must be some accuracy in those, right? There are two major malfunctions in trusting EMF readings. The first problem is that "spikes" on the meter can be caused by common sources such as wiring in the wall or other sources of electricity. The second problem is that electromagnetic fields are thought to produce reactions in the human brain that cause hallucinogenic effects. A person standing in an area of concentrated electromagnetic energy may genuinely feel they're seeing, hearing, or feeling things when, in reality, it's only their mind firing off reactions to the energy itself.
E.V.P.s can be fascinating to listen to, but the problem with electronic voice phenomena is that it's subjective. One person may hear something that sounds like, "run" and another person hears the same thing and perceives it as "gun". Furthermore, because it's a sound caught on audio and not experienced physically, it can't be proven where the source of the sound came from. Was it a ghost or a humming generator in the background?
The tools are cool, don't get me wrong. I love exploring the possibilities of the paranormal and am tickled pink that we're on the road to trying to establish rock-solid proof for paranormal encounters. I'm looking forward to conducting my own amateur investigations or tagging along with friends on ghost hunts. However, I do believe it's utterly important that we don't believe everything we read, that we don't buy into the media hype, and that we remain objective in our efforts.
Ludwell/Paradise house, with orbs, in Colonial Williamsburg, West Virginia
With the rise of popularity of paranormal activity, everyone wants to be an investigator. The Internet has made it possible for any Tom, Dick, or Harry to fully equip themselves with the latest fashion in gadgets. There's an impressive variety of "Ghost Hunting Starter Kits" available on the market ranging from the cheap to the incredibly expensive! Television has assisted this boom with a multitude of paranormal programs fuelling the fire. Unfortunately, the one thing many of these amateur investigators aren't equipped with is objectivity and/or scientific perspective. Anything that registers on the amateur's radar becomes "proof".
One of the biggest culprits in providing false "evidence" is the digital camera. Oh, I've been known to fall prey to its sly tricks, too, so don't feel bad. We snap a shot with our handy dandy digital photo and abracadabra, we have ORBS, or bubbles of light! Orbs have been a major cause of excitement for many paranormal investigators or common civilians who catch the orbs unexpectedly on their digital camera. Some have even gone so far as to say they see faces in the orbs. Dust particles can be blamed for a good percentage of those orbs, but it was later discovered that another common factor in catching photos with orbs is the camera itself. The cameras aren't malfunctioning or broken, but because of their make up and design, they often capture images of the light reflected
Well, how about those EMF meters then? Surely there must be some accuracy in those, right? There are two major malfunctions in trusting EMF readings. The first problem is that "spikes" on the meter can be caused by common sources such as wiring in the wall or other sources of electricity. The second problem is that electromagnetic fields are thought to produce reactions in the human brain that cause hallucinogenic effects. A person standing in an area of concentrated electromagnetic energy may genuinely feel they're seeing, hearing, or feeling things when, in reality, it's only their mind firing off reactions to the energy itself.
E.V.P.s can be fascinating to listen to, but the problem with electronic voice phenomena is that it's subjective. One person may hear something that sounds like, "run" and another person hears the same thing and perceives it as "gun". Furthermore, because it's a sound caught on audio and not experienced physically, it can't be proven where the source of the sound came from. Was it a ghost or a humming generator in the background?
The tools are cool, don't get me wrong. I love exploring the possibilities of the paranormal and am tickled pink that we're on the road to trying to establish rock-solid proof for paranormal encounters. I'm looking forward to conducting my own amateur investigations or tagging along with friends on ghost hunts. However, I do believe it's utterly important that we don't believe everything we read, that we don't buy into the media hype, and that we remain objective in our efforts.
Ludwell/Paradise house, with orbs, in Colonial Williamsburg, West Virginia