Paranormal Investigation Tools
Investigating the Paranormal takes more than just expensive tools. It takes the proper mindset and attitude. It also takes heart.
I want to ask all you Paranormal ninjas a question. Who do you think was the first person to hear and EVP? I think the answer is Thomas Watson. Watson was the one who heard “Watson come here I need you on Bell’s telephone machine.
It seems like it is almost monthly that a new piece of equipment comes out that it is a must have for Investigation teams. I see these items on the various paranormal equipment sites and wonder which of the TV ghost hunting shows will be the first to preview this item, which in turn will make it a must have item.
According to the “world-wide web” the earliest formal examination into apparitions and haunting began in the mid 19th century primarily in England. One of the first groups formed in Western society was the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) which was founded in London, England in the late 1880s (which still exist today). The founders of the SPR, the first organization to undertake the controlled study of the subject, began their investigation with data collection. They analyzed an enormous amount of material, mainly about crisis apparitions (reports of interactions from people dying or in life-threatening situations). One of the most important results of these early investigations was the book Phantasms of the Living, by Edmund Gurney, Frederic Myers and Frank Podmore, published in 1886. It presented several hundreds of thoroughly researched cases. The addition of carefully investigated first-hand testimonies and experimental results provided a body of evidence which is difficult to dismiss. Their main “tools” at the time were mostly seances and psychics. They often used a still camera to document the events.
We have come a long way since then, I mean a long way. As paranormal investigators we use equipment such as digital cameras, digital recorders, laser grids, night vision cameras, and EMF detectors. I am sure that, there are, a lot more pieces of equipment out there that other investigators use. So do we really need to have all this “high Tech” stuff to complete a paranormal investigation. I know that we use this equipment mostly to document activity when it happens and to speak with entities and spirits. This documentation helps us to explain activity to whomever we need to.
If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it does it make a sound? I think the same would go for paranormal investigations. If you go into an investigation without any equipment, except for a pad of paper, and a pencil to write any events that may happen and then produce that evidence to somebody would they think you had caught activity. Just because you didn’t record it on a video or audio recorder does not mean you did see or hear or feel something. Do we depend on our equipment too much? I think we do sometimes. I think that sometimes we depend on it so much we lose sight of the overall picture of the investigation. I really do believe that the best equipment that you could ever have as a paranormal investigator is the one between your ears. Especially because you don’t have to put batteries in it. Don’t lose sight of the big picture and always remember the reason you became a Paranormal Investigator.
I would like to think that a successful paranormal investigation is not only based on how scientific or how advanced the tools we use during field investigation are. I believe such success is also based on how much we understand the existence of the paranormal and how we accept their existence. The great tools are imbedded within our own personality. I believe spirits are human beings, who still keep their emotions and intelligence after death. Therefore, they still behave exactly like us, and like us they would like respect from the living. As a paranormal investigator, I understand the concept of humility that is related to positive behavior – showing respect and reverence for the dead will always create positive energy that in turn will attract the spirit to be involved in paranormal investigations.Nobody likes to be forced to do anything. Even in life, we don’t like someone to order us to do things in an offensive way. Asking in a polite way. I think will always get a more positive response out of the listener and will definitely make them more apt to cooperate. We must remember that we are trying to build a relationship with these spirits. I believe that if someone behaves in a hostile way towards the spirit by ordering the spirit to appear, so that the spirit can be captured, then we should be ready to feel the negative reaction of the spirit towards us or we suffer the failure of getting success in the investigation. Nevertheless, the technology that we use during a paranormal investigation is not the most important thing that brings success, but a mere tool that helps us to document spirit existence. I support and believe that the best attraction for spirits to take part in our investigations is by showing respect and reverence towards them.
~Tracy