Basic guide for ghost hunting – Part 5

Ghost Hunting, not to be confused with “ghostbusting”, can either be an exciting, entertaining pastime or a phenomenal exercise in self-delusion, depending upon the motivations and perspectives of the participant. But before we can examine the factors that determine this conclusion, we must begin by defining what “ghost hunting” is, and what it is not.

Ghost Hunting is, in the most simple of terms, the practice of seeking out paranormal experience of the sort most commonly associated with the idea of “ghosts” or “hauntings.” In a more refined definition, it is the above combined with an attempt to obtain some sort of “evidence” of the reality of such phenomena. Ghost Hunting is not, however, at all related with “ghostbusting”, or attempting to “cleanse” an area of spiritual activity, or dispelling a haunting, in any sense other than a related “geography.” These are entirely different fields of endeavor, with completely different skill sets required.

In ghost hunting, the most basic requirements are simply an open mind, your five biological senses, and an accessible location which is reputed to be “haunted” in some fashion. One enters the premises, generally at night, and attempts to gain an experience of this reputed phenomenon. Ideally one does this in a fashion that doesn’t result in a group of people simply scaring the wits out of each other (which can be a good time all it’s own, but is somewhat contrary to the purpose of actual ghost hunting,) and instead in a fashion that promotes the likelihood of a genuine paranormal experience being possible.

More advanced ghost hunters may decide to take with them a variety of equipment to provide documentation of their experience, and to uncover interesting phenomena that were not originally detected by the hunters. Common examples of this equipment are digital cameras and digital voice recorders. More advanced equipment may consist of Electromagnetic Field Detectors, Infrared cameras (night vision), and motion sensors, complete with a laptop computer that can compile the information recorded by all these devices into a single record, but such an array is only rarely employed by anyone but the most serious, and well funded, ghost hunters.

Digital Cameras, for instance, are utilized to capture “spirit presences” that are generally considered invisible to the human eye, but may well show up in photographs. Examples of this are often called “Orbs” or “Streaks”. They are seemingly luminous bodies that