At the time my wife and I first began to think about conducting our own paranormal investigations, we were overwhelmed by the vast array of equipment seen being used by established teams and TV personalities. It was also clear that it is possible to spend the price of a good used car on some very specialized equipment, most of which is useful only to “ghost hunters” and building inspectors. Some devices are even custom-made-to-order one at a time, with long build times and high prices to match.
Experience is a wonderful teacher, however. We now have a large inventory of equipment but know that a few pieces of gear are used 90% of the time, what we consider to be the “essentials”. We even put one of each of these “essentials” into a separate case, which we call our “Mini Kit”. It is typically taken for location scouting trips, for quick checks and baseline readings prior to the actual investigation, and for non-paranormal-related trips, just in case something turns up that begs a quick investigation.
It consists of:
EVP recorder. Just a simple, thirty-dollar digital voice recorder with headphone jack. This is your single most important tool, period. It will return the most bang-for-the-buck.
K2 meter. This will detect EMF. Careful use can determine if the readings are due to wiring or other electronics on-site, or truly spurious signals more apt to be associated with the paranormal.
SB7 Spirit Box. Darkness is not a requirement for the SB7, you may get voices during a walk-through in daylight. Be sure to use it in conjunction with the EVP recorder or camcorder, to capture anything that could be considered paranormal. The SB7 does not have internal recording capability.
Day & Night-Vision digital camcorder. Very good high-def digital camcorders with night-vision (NV) infrared capability are now inexpensive. The on-board NV illuminators that come with these cameras are sufficient only for very small rooms and closets, so an aftermarket illuminator is also necessary, such as the popular “Ghost Light”, or the ORDRO NV illuminator. These illuminators will cost from $40 to $80, depending on model and vendor.
Throw-in a protective hard case, and a person can realistically expect to spend between $250 and $300 for just these items if purchased new, but honestly these alone are sufficient for a decent investigation. Build your equipment inventory slowly, as you gain experience and figure out what works best for you. There are other devices that do the same things as those listed, one of those may be a better fit for you personally.
Just these four items can keep a team of four busy, each member can take turns with a different device, or work in pairs.
There are some other non-specialized tools that every investigator should have, these are more easily obtained.
Flashlight. We use several different types, both LED and incandescent. We both always carry two flashlights on our persons when investigating, in case one is lost, or the batteries die.
First-aid kit. We started with a simple car-type kit and this is probably OK for most investigations. When we started finding ourselves at locations an hour or more from the nearest hospital or ER, we began carrying a full field trauma kit. Hopefully never needed!
Notebook. Naturalist Aldo Leopold wrote: “Keeping records enhances the pleasure of the search, and the chance of finding order and meaning in these events”. He was referring to the outdoor, natural world, but his words ring true for any fact-finding endeavor.
Drinking water & toilet paper.
Extra batteries for everything that takes them.
Download Audacity (freeware program) to isolate & evaluate your EVP recordings on the computer.
There are of course many, many other gadgets and items that the paranormal investigator can call into service, but for most investigations, just these few will give you the tools you need to obtain both visual and audible evidence.
Happy Ghost Hunting!
