Hobbies And Interests
Finding Hunting Sites
Unless you already have a haunting to investigate, part of hunting ghosts is looking for them in the right places. Read up on local historical landmarks to find haunting reports or stories about unexplained events. Take a local "haunted history" tour, or ask your librarian to help you find collections of ghost stories about your area. A librarian can also help you collect data about the history of any private structures you're asked to investigate. Make photocopies of relevant information, and keep everything together in a binder or pocket notebook.
Locating Ghosts at the Site
Once you've obtained permission to investigate the area, you'll need to locate any possible paranormal activity. First check the areas others have reported as active, and note any cold areas, strange smells or odd noises. Paranormal investigating groups use EMF detectors to find areas with unusual electromagnetic fields, which they believe spirits create or absorb as they attempt to manifest. Get similar results with a compass. Walk around the area with the compass held flat in front of you. The needle should always point toward north. If it points away from north, wavers significantly or spins, and you aren't near power lines or magnetic objects, you've detected an EMF abnormality.
Capturing Ghosts on Camera
Digital photographs are met with scrutiny by the ghost hunting community, which prefers film because negatives validate the phenomenon appearing in a photo. To save money on film and printing costs, use the digital camera for the majority of pictures and film for backing up that evidence. Frequently check your digital images on the camera's back. Once you find possible evidence, use the 35-mm film camera to take more photos of the area. You can also use an instant developing camera, such as a Polaroid camera, which produces instantly viewable, negative-containing images. Look for orbs, which some believe are balls of energy. Orbs are round and have a solid center, called a "nucleus." You can also watch for "vortexes," which are shooting, light-colored crescent shapes or "mists" that appear as defined areas of semi-transparent mass.
Recording Ghostly Audio and Video
Bring along a mini-cassette or digital recorder to your investigations. Run the recorder as you ask questions of possibly present entities, or leave the recorder running in "hotspot" areas of the investigation. Whenever possible, also set up a video camera on a tripod in areas with high levels of reported activity. Always use fresh tape if you aren't using digital recording devices. Avoid adulterated evidence by carefully staging these parts of your hunt. When you set up an area to record audio or video, cover the floor with flour around the device as you walk away. Also cover several feet in front of the entrance and exit points in the room. If the flour is disturbed, you'll know someone may have tampered with your evidence. After you've completed the hunt, check the tapes carefully and at loud volume. Look for unexplainable activity on the video, and listen to both audio and video recordings for whispers, sighs and coughs.