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One of the most common questions I get is, “What kind of equipment should I buy? What do I need to start ghost hunting?” Truly, you could just use a notebook and pen to take notes. But if you want to take your ghost hunting to the next level, there are tech items you should consider buying. I do want to say that you don’t have to have every item on this list to be a “real” ghost hunter or paranormal investigator.
Also, I want to preface this by saying that none of these items are proven to detect ghosts or capture evidence of paranormal activity. Look at these pieces of equipment for monitoring changes in the environment. If there is weird stuff happening when the equipment is going off, then that’s something to further research and explore. Also, note that a lot of the “official” ghost hunting tech is made for entertainment purposes only. I also list the price so you can get an idea of how much you might be spending.
Also, just beware of any basic items that are rebranded to be a “ghost hunting” device. Sometimes, these products’ prices are inflated because the term “ghost hunt” is associated with it. You can probably find the exact same device for cheaper without the branding. I have had great experiences working with Ghost Stop when looking for my gear.
Laser Grid – $20
A laser grid not only looks cool, but it can also help detect mass. If there’s a hot spot where shadows have been seen, setting up a laser grid can help you determine whether said shadow has mass or not. Visual disturbances can happen in investigations. If the anomaly has mass, the green dots will be disturbed. Usually, these things do come with little tripods and a clamp so you don’t have to keep pressing the button. Also, set up a camera with it so you can capture that data. Laser grids tend to deplete battery life a bit faster, so have extras on hand to replace as needed. Not only does Ghost Stop carry them, but you can also find them on eBay.
Motion Sensor Lights – $22
Anything with a motion sensor is good to buy, especially lights. If there is any kind of movement happening, the lights will go off. These are effective to set up in a hallway or any other area with reported activity. A pack of six on Amazon is about $22, which isn’t bad. I highly recommend having a camera set up to watch the area, or be there physically to watch so you can try to debunk and/or engage should anything happen.
Infrared Thermometer – $35
This nifty tool is a great thing to use to monitor temperature changes, which people often associate with a paranormal presence. You can use this to take baseline readings, find cold spots, hot spots, and see if your team member really is feeling a chill. If you want to amp up your thermometer experience or combine forces with EMF detection, Ghost Stop has something called the EDI (“Eddy”), which runs about $200. This is definitely on my wish list since it also does data logging as well as sense pressure and humidity.
Audio Recorder – $52
Technically, you could use the microphone feature on your phone as an audio recorder. But, I do recommend turning off your phone whenever possible so you don’t accidentally cause a false positive with your K2 meter. You can also buy cheaper audio recorders. Personally, I don’t go too cheap on my audio recorder because quality matters in this case, especially when you’re reviewing audio evidence. I use this Olympus recorder, and it suits my needs. But if you don’t want to spend $50+, a basic audio recorder will do you just fine when you’re first starting out. I know several in the paranormal community who upgrade their recorders to one of the Zoom devices, and they come with amazing microphones that are crystal clear. As you can see, it’s quite a bit more expensive.
K2 Meter – $60
By the way, don’t buy the orange ones like in the photo…they don’t work. Like, they don’t even function correctly in detecting EMF levels. After Ghost Hunters premiered in 2004, the demand for the K2 meter exploded. This item is used to detect electromagnetic fields, better known as EMF. This is a real thing. Your smartphone, your computer, your TV, your kitchen appliances…all emit EMF waves. There is also such a thing as EMF poisoning that can cause one to have hallucinations similar to paranormal experiences. These devices were originally manufactured for detecting harmful EMF radiation from power lines and household appliances. Over the years, the paranormal community has come to believe that there is a link between ghosts and EMF since the activity is usually correlated with high EMF levels.
Camcorder – $69
Video data of your ghost hunting adventures can be very useful for you in many ways. The first is to relive your ghost hunt and review for audio and visual data, and the other is for multimedia purposes. If you want to create a video of your investigations, then you’ll want to have a few camcorders on hand. The first-person perspective will help the camera see what you’re seeing, like when you have a camcorder in your hand. You might also want to have a few stationary cameras in reported hot spots. Since you’ll probably be in the dark sometimes, you may want to consider a camcorder that comes with night vision or infrared. You can certainly use your phone, but it will be limited on storage space. If you want crystal clear clarity in 4K, then you’ll probably have to spend more in the $150 range.
PSB-7 or PSB-11 Spirit Box – $70-$130
Ah, the controversial spirit box, also known as the ghost box. This is a tool that ghost hunters will use to try to listen for spirit voices while the device sweeps through radio stations. While this isn’t proven to speak to ghosts, it’s used by both believers and skeptics alike (for experimental purposes). I have a few team members with both of these devices, while I’m old school and use a “Shack Hack” radio. You could say it was one of the first spirit boxes made from an old radio from Radio Shack. Ghost Stop has a bunch of different rigs for spirit boxes that include teddy bears and hybrids of spirit boxes, EMF readers, and recorders.
Mel Meter – $100
The Mel Meter was invented by Gary Galka after the tragic passing of his daughter, Melissa. He named the Mel Meter after Melissa, and it’s one of the most popular pieces of ghost hunting equipment out there. A Mel Meter measures temperature and EMF “bursts” that is said to happen when there is paranormal activity. This piece of equipment has evolved over the years and now there are Mel Meters out there that come with REM-Pod-like features and more advanced temperature detection.
Surveillance Camera System – $170
This is a great tool to use if you’re able to set up shop for several hours. We use these for our residential cases as well as spaces we’ve reserved for all night. It does take some time to set up (you’ll need the help of multiple people, FYI), but it will give you the ability to have eyes on multiple places on the property without using your camcorders. I do suggest having someone watching the monitor, which you can arrange in shifts.
REM Pod – $190
Basically, a REM-Pod goes off when someone is close to the antennae. I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t seen a REM-Pod go off very often, but when it does, there are various things happening as well like EMF spikes and my mediums will sense something is near. According to the description, the antennae radiates its own magnetic field and can be easily influenced by people or objects that conduct electricity. If you want to see the REM-Pod in action, check out this video from my team’s YouTube channel.
DSLR Camera – $300+
This is one piece of equipment that you’ll have to spend more money on if you want quality. DSLR is short for, “digital single-lens reflex camera.” I highly HIGHLY recommend using a DSLR if you’re going to be taking pictures during your ghost hunt. Do you know those grainy photos showing “orbs” when they’re all close-up? There’s tons of pixelation in these photos, which results in a phenomenon called pareidolia, which means that our brains are trying to make patterns from these pixels and that’s why you think you see a face. A DSLR won’t completely solve this issue, but the pixels and quality of your photos will be so much better and you’ll be able to zoom into weird anomalies without the pixelation.
Thermal Imaging Camera – $200-$1200
While this may be the most expensive, I personally think this is the neatest tool for ghost hunting. While this is used by builders, contractors, hunters, etc. in the average world, this has become a favorite in the ghost hunting community because people are catching fascinating anomalies with these thermal imaging cameras. FLIR is the most popular brand, and we have personal experience using their cameras and they are truly fantastic. An average FLIR camera will cost you around the $300 range and higher. FLIR does make attachable cameras for Android and IOS too. As you can see, you can get FLIR cameras on Amazon. Ghost Stop also has a selection as they are an authorized FLIR distributor.
Honorable Mentions
Ovilus – $399+
I will forever be skeptical of the Ovilus. I also am not a fan of the price tag given the usability of the device. It’s a popular device with ghost hunters. The word bank is a bit problematic for me since it is pre-programmed. I will admit that I’ve had interesting results using the Ovilus III in reverse phonetic mode, which I think is important to note. We didn’t have a word bank coming at us, and instead, had sounds come out. Does this leave room for pareidolia and the power of suggestion? You bet. Just proceed with caution.
Motion Sensor Alarm – $30+
I put this in the honorable mentions because this can end up being a problematic device because it’s noisy. I do like the indoor versions since they have a chime instead of a loud alarm. The one that Ghost Stop offers also has different sound choices too. They are worth purchasing, especially if there is reported movement in certain areas and it can let you know of different disturbances in the area.
Final Thoughts
All of these items will be useless to you if you don’t know how they work. When you receive your equipment, read the instruction manual, go to online communities and ask questions, learn as much as you can. Learn how the device works, and learn what makes it go off. This will better equip you in your evidence review and you’ll be able to separate what isn’t paranormal, and what is a true anomaly. When it comes to cameras and camcorders, this is especially true.