These Are The Ghost Hunting Gadgets You Should Avoid If You Want To Be Taken Seriously As An Investigator

When it comes to paranormal investigation, everyone has their own methods, and some turn to gadgets to enhance their explorations. However, not all equipment is created equal, and some devices can be seen by some to undermine the credibility of an investigation.

This article features a list of gadgets that you might want to approach with caution if you're aiming to be taken seriously as a paranormal investigator. This isn't an exhaustive list, but understanding the limitations of this handful of devices might help you make a more informed judgement on other tools in your arsenal.

None of this means you should abandon these tools entirely. We're not here to tell you how to run your investigations. After all, some people claim to get excellent results with the devices we mention, but it's worth understanding their limitations and the reasoning behind the skepticism.

Remember, the best tools in any investigation are your own senses and a critical mind. While gadgets can be helpful aids, many struggle to replicate or validate the personal, subjective experiences often reported during hauntings.

EMF meters, or electromagnetic field meters, are a popular tool on ghost hunts. These devices were originally designed to detect electromagnetic fields generated by electrical devices and wiring. The link between EMF readings and paranormal activity comes from the speculation that ghosts might manipulate electromagnetic fields.

This speculation is fine as a theory, but no one has ever measured a consistent frequency or intensity of EMF spikes that can be directly tied to supernatural occurrences. Nor has there been a scientifically validated mechanism explaining how a ghost might produce such fluctuations.

The most significant flaw with EMF meters is their susceptibility to false positives. Environmental factors like faulty wiring, mobile phones, and even household appliances can cause EMF spikes, causing the device to trigger. If you use an EMF meter, it's important to be aware of these limitations and consider the context of any readings.

Spirit boxes are another controversial tool. These devices rapidly scan through the AM or FM radio spectrum, as they do, the sounds of white noise and fleeting snippets of radio broadcasts can be heard. It's believed that spirits can manipulate these bursts of audio in order to form sounds, words, or even sentences. While it can be exciting to hear what seems like intelligent responses, skeptics argue that this phenomenon is often the result of pareidolia - the brain's tendency to find patterns in random noise.

The presence of live radio transmissions in these sweeps raises questions about the validity of any responses. Without a controlled environment or a method to rule out coincidental matches with random broadcasts, it becomes challenging to determine whether these sounds are genuinely paranormal or just coincidental.

Structured Light Sensor (SLS) cameras, often modified versions of gaming equipment like the Kinect, use a projected grid of infrared dots to detect human-like shapes in their field of view. Any shapes it interprets as figures are displayed on the camera's screen as stick figures.

While this sounds promising in theory, these devices are notorious for misinterpreting environmental objects as human shapes. A chair, a coat rack, or even a curtain can trigger the camera to display a figure. This is because the technology was not designed for paranormal investigations and struggles in uncontrolled environments, resulting in a high likelihood of false positives.

Cat balls, small toys that light up when moved, have become popular trigger objects in ghost hunting. Personally, I like using cat balls during investigations because the concept of a light-up object responding to interaction is appealing in principle, though I know some might mock this approach.

The problem with cat balls isn't the way they're used or even the theory behind them - it's the quality of the devices themselves. These balls are designed to entertain pets, not to serve as scientific instruments.

The sensors in many cat balls are not always sensitive enough to detect subtle interactions. Try it for yourself. If you are slow and steady, it's possible to pick up a cat ball and rotate it significantly without it lighting up. Conversely, they can also light up without any movement if placed on the floor in certain orientations.

Electronic speech synthesis devices, such as the Ovilus series and Poltercom, generate random words or sounds using a database of phonetic elements. The idea is that spirits influence the random processes of these devices to communicate messages. Supposedly, they do this by interacting with the built-in sensors, which measure things like temperature, pressure, humidity, or electromagnetic fields. The readings from these sensors are used as inputs to generate random numbers that correspond to specific words or sounds.

The issue with these devices lies in the disconnect between a spirit triggering a sensor and the device producing the word the spirit intends to communicate. For this to work, spirits would need to manipulate environmental conditions with precise intent to signal the exact word or phrase they wish to communicate. This would require knowledge of how these phrases can be put together algorithmically by the device. For example, a spirit would need to understand that a specific increase in temperature might represent one word, while a decrease could represent another.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of ghost hunting apps available in the app stores. These apps often mimic the behaviour of physical ghost hunting devices, offering features like EMF detection, temperature sensing, and EVP recording. For investigators on a budget, they can be a good alternative to expensive gadgets, and depending on the phone's capabilities, they can sometimes be just as accurate. However, their effectiveness depends heavily on the phone's hardware and the app's design.

Mobile phones use sensors such as the compass, magnetometer, accelerometer, and even internal thermometers to approximate measurements. While these sensors are not primarily designed for ghost hunting, they can detect spikes or changes in environmental conditions to some extent. The accuracy, however, varies by manufacturer, handset, and price point.

The main thing to be aware of with apps is that many are built on the same principles as their physical counterparts, such as EMF meters, spirit boxes, or electronic speech synthesis devices, meaning they inherit the same limitations. Furthermore, there are countless apps designed purely for entertainment or outright scams, which can mislead investigators and discredit legitimate findings.