Ghost Hunting: EMF Science & Tools

Everyone has at least seen or heard of the ghost hunting groups that are now local and nationwide organizations. The “TAPS” team on the Syfy network is probably the most popular and known paranormal research team in the public eye. During these investigations the hunters gather information using tools and scientific explanations but they seem to still be a bit behind in a full understanding of how these natural and apparent EMF based paranormal experiences could be occurring.

I have been interviewed by ghost hunting teams before and a lot of times it just seems the questions they have are only about the equipment they are familiar with. The understanding of the readings on their equipment also appears limited. They all are familiar with the popular K-2 EMF (electromagnetic frequency) meter, infrared and normal cameras, voice recorders, and temperature gauges.

I would like to inject some suggestions and information to the ghost hunting world that I believe could greatly increase their understanding and thoroughness of their researching. As each experience will be unique to the environment they are in, the time of day or night, and the different people involved, there are some common factors in the gathering of information that could help debunk or help prove a paranormal experience to be seen as legit or not.

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The K2 EMF meter picks up electromagnetic frequencies between 30-20,000 Hz. If you ask the average ghost hunter what that means most of the time they will reply with, “well it could be a ghostly presence or a large power line of some sort”. While this could be the case, it could also be many other sources or reasons than just those two. Looking at the chart presented this range of frequencies is a relatively small amount of energies known in the electromagnetic spectrum. It could be a cell phone, a cellular tower, a television, a lamp, pretty much any electronic or electrical device in the area of the happening including bad wiring in the building. A lamp turned off but plugged into a power outlet will still emit a small amount of EMF. I am sure most teams at least try and verify the readings by some means of further investigation but I don’t normally see them do it on the shows. In a few cases I have seen an investigator standing right in front of a power box and not understand why the K2 meter might be picking up any readings. In almost every case similar to this, the power box is the reason. From this example it also needs to be understood that being near this electrical power box could also be the cause of any visual or physical occurrence thought to be of a paranormal nature. Electromagnetic fields affect brainwave patterns and can trigger nausea, hallucinations, the eerie feeling of a presence, or hair to stand up on your arms. In these situations just remember to fully rule out any possible man made devices or power sources to help narrow down what it could possibly be. The K2 meters present the frequencies in milliGauss (mg). It is known that at the lowest frequency able to be picked up by this device that the physical effects or experiences of being in a haunted area can be explained by man-made sources that can cause ill or abnormal effects to someone.

Another thing to be aware of when using the K2 or other EMF meters is, metal plumbing in a home away from any electrical device could be charged electrically as well and give a postitive reading on your equipment. Be weary of any situation where this occurs as well.

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In the area of infrared and regular cameras the recorded experience is more substantial evidence as the appearance of anything can be seen at a later time after viewing the recording and then backed up by any personal experiences then. What is better than actually having a picture or visual recording of a ghost? Probably nothing will match this kind of evidence except repeated visuals of the same experience. Again you will want to rule out any electrical or man-made devices in the area. Infrared and the visible frequencies are known to exist at approximately 1 THz to 790 THz. As seen on the chart given, these frequency ranges are near each other. In regards to the wattage or power needed for devices to create these frequencies you can use the following guidelines. Bright sunlight provides an irradiance of just over 1 kilowatt per square meter at sea level. Of this energy, 527 watts is infrared radiation, 445 watts is visible light, and 32 watts is ultraviolet radiation.

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Electronic voice phenomenon, or EVP, has become a popular technique as well with ghost hunters. Digital recording of sound to pick up frequencies that humans cannot normally hear and sounds that can be heard is a great adaption and useful idea in ghost hunting as it uses yet another electromagnetic field to try and justify a hunter’s experience. There is a lot of controversy on what is being said in the recordings as it could be some kind of background noise or an unbeknownst sound or force of nature but amazingly at times it appears there is a complete recording that does seem to emanate from some unknown source that everyone can agree what it is saying. Sound Waves on the EMF spectrum range from the 20Hz – 10 kHz. The amount or lack of power from an audible source could be the reason the human ear did not hear the voices at the time of the recordings. The digital recorders really do a great job of covering what humans seem to think they hear to a better quality sound to better understand.

Temperature gauges also are nice to have on a long night of ghost hunting; you can prove how cold you are or possibly get a sudden increase in temperatures in an area. Most teams carry some form of one of these around and they seem to help discern if there are any effects in the area that could be related to a paranormal experience. A suggestion would be to take a digital and analog thermometer. You never know if one is malfunctioning and it is always great to have a backup device.

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As far as other great equipment I don’t see a lot of use of that I believe would be useful is the old fashioned magnetic compass. Described by many ghost hunters is the theory that ghosts travel or come into our dimension, or world, by means of energy vortexes. In locations where there are known magnetic vortexes on earth a compass will begin to show the incorrect information and you can determine the boundary of the vortex as well by using one. This could be a crucial investigation technique not used by any teams that I have seen.

Along with the trusty compass, I would suggest bringing a pair of mid size magnets. Make sure they both have an attracting and repelling side. If you ever do come across an area where the compass is reading incorrect, the EMF meters are going off, the temperature has changed, or you hear a voice or see something using the magnets in an area where a vortex is possibly located could help bring the paranormal being into existence or even help close or dissipate it. This technique would take quite a bit of test and trial from using the attracting sides of the magnets and the repelling at the same place and hope the timing is right to induce some kind of physical change to the current experience going on. Keep the magnets from exactly touching but put them close enough together to create the push or pulling force and move the range or distance between them to different spacing to also experiment further. Also try different sized magnets together and with opposite sized magnets. In reality if the vortex’s were truly in an area and you wanted to try and influence it would most likely need far more energy that just simple magnets to affect it but up until this time I am unaware of it being tested at all in this manner.

Overall I would just like the ghost hunters worldwide to learn more about the electromagnetic forces that most, or all, of the equipment they use to find ghosts is using EMF’s and how it is measured. There is a lot of information about all the different frequency ranges. Along with this knowledge, some of them would probably be able to think of even more effective and creative ways to use the measuring of these energy fields to their advantage even more. Good luck and happy ghost hunting to everyone.

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