Ghost Hunt: Chilling Tales of the Unknown (25 page)

You want to record this evidence so you can study it later. Any kind of audio recorder is useful: cassette, digital, or even a phone with a mic.

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If you can, set up several recorders throughout a site. If possible, also carry an audio recorder around with you during the investigation.

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Ghost Hunters like connecting an external microphone to the recorder. That way you don’t confuse the sound of the recorder with sounds in the room.

As you go through the house you will hear all sorts of normal sounds. Every sound—even something as small as a cough—must be tagged. To “tag” a sound means to say into the recorder what it is. You speak into the microphone and say,
Matt just coughed
, because when you listen to the audio later, you may not remember that your partner coughed. You may think the cough is a ghostly growl. Tagging it will clear up any confusion.

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How do you get spirits to talk? You start by talking to them.

Introduce yourself. Be respectful. Remember, spirits were once human and deserve the same respect as living people. Don’t start off by asking how they died. Would this be the first thing
you’d
want to hear in a conversation? Ask simple and direct questions, such as “Who are you?” “What are you doing here?” or “What do you want?” Between each question wait ten to twenty seconds so the spirit has time to gather enough energy to respond. If you are lucky, you will hear the sound and be able to record it. But even if you don’t hear it, you might pick up an
EVP
.

EVP is short for Electronic Voice Phenomena. These are the recorded sounds or voices of spirits. The strange thing about EVPs is that they can be heard on a recorder but not at the site by our ears.

We often rely on EVPs as evidence. Many times we have played an EVP to a client, and they have been able to recognize a phrase that was familiar to them.

GATHERING VIDEO EVIDENCE

If you have seen us on TV, you know that we use video cameras to document our investigations. Luckily, video and digital cameras are not as expensive as they used to be. So you will probably be able to use video in your investigation.

The camcorder is a great tool. When you play back what you shot you can see everything that is happening second-by-second. You can even slow time down to study every single part of an important moment. This helps when you’re not sure of what you’re looking at. Is it an orb? Or just a bug flying around?

We put camcorders in hot spots we want to watch. We also use handheld cameras so the team can walk around. If possible, using a mix of both handheld cameras and camcorders is the best way to go.

Another great advantage of using a camcorder is night vision. Most DV camcorders have a night vision function. Definitely cool!

Professional ghost hunters like us also use thermal infrared (IR for short) cameras. These cameras make cold and heat visible. Using one of these IR cameras, T.A.P.S. was able to capture one of the most startling pieces of evidence we’ve ever collected—an image of a full-bodied apparition at Arizona’s famously haunted Crescent Hotel.

Thermal cameras are also really useful in debunking a site. Let’s say you’re standing in a dark basement, asking a spirit to show a sign. Suddenly, you hear a rustling sound. This might seem like a paranormal experience. Then the thermal camera sees that there are mice scuttling in and out of the wall. Sometimes small critters can make pretty loud noises.

You can also use cameras that take still photographs. We don’t use them very often. But if you can’t borrow a camcorder to shoot video, a photo can be useful evidence. You just have to be careful. Strange images sometimes show up in a photograph. Often these images are not proof of something paranormal. It’s easy to be fooled. You think you are looking at picture of a ghost, but it’s only a puff of smoke caught on film.

OTHER WAYS TO GATHER INFORMATION

One of the first pieces of equipment T.A.P.S. uses at a site is the
EMF detector
(electromagnetic field detector). An EMF detector measures the force given off by electric charges.

Lots of things create electromagnetic fields. Power lines and electrical outlets… even your refrigerator. We use the EMF detector to try and find out if a spirit is in the area. The idea is that spirits are made of a type of energy that can cause changes in the natural electromagnetic field of an area. A T.A.P.S. team walks through the site with the EMF. What they look for is a spike in the EMF reading. That spike could mean a spirit has entered the room.

You can buy EMF detectors online, but you can also use a compass and get the same results. If there is a change in the electromagnetic field, a compass will spin around. You just have to make sure there are no metal items or magnets nearby.

A
digital thermometer
is another common tool you can use in your ghost hunts. It is used in the search for warm spots or cold spots. A cold spot might mean that a spirit is trying to show itself and is pulling energy from the room. Of course, once you find a cold spot , the next thing you should look for is a natural cause—like a crack in a window.

It is a good idea to have a notebook and pen so you can record your readings. If you have walkie-talkies, they can be useful for keeping in touch with your teammates. We have to say it again… your eyes, ears, and brains are your most important tools.

D
oing research about the site is very important. The T.A.P.S. team spends a lot of time in libraries and on the computer looking up the history of our sites. We try to find out who lived in the house and what they did there, and we try to find out who died in the house.