We’ve all seen the shows where a ghost hunting team locks themselves in a spooky building and shuts off the lights. Everyone breaks out their trusty EMF meters and voice recorders to sit in the dark and jump at every sound. But, what is really needed to go ghost hunting? I’m going to give you a list of the basics and a few other items that you’ll want to have.
Like most things, your equipment list will depend on your intentions. Are you out having fun in a graveyard or has a terrified family called you in to conduct an investigation? Obviously, one is going to require more than the other. Most of us start out doing this for fun so let’s start there.
Like most things, your equipment list will depend on your intentions.
It’s Friday night you, your dog, and the gang pile into your van and head to a creepy abandoned house to hunt for ghosts. So, what’s packed in your Mystery Machine? Outings like this are usually centered around having experiences more so then getting hard proof. You are probably going to want video and audio for EVPs… and to have something to show off. The bare-bones essentials of ghost hunting.
Camera $50-$250
You’ll need a camera, not your phone. If you can get a good resolution camcorder or Go Pro style camera, they are worth their weight in gold. Cell cameras are ok, but there is some debate over their ability to capture raw footage at night. I’m a fan of the Canon Vixia HF R800 and Go Pros. If you can, get one that has been converted to night vision or “full-spectrum.” To save more money get one of the knock off Go Pros and convert it to full spectrum yourself. It’s not necessary, but you’ll be able to see so much more. You might hear something moving around you, but a good night vision camera will see it, squirrel or ghost.
Digital Voice Recorder $46.65
Digital voice recorders are a must. Don’t worry about getting one the super expensive ones to start out. Most of them will get the job done. Sony and Olympus are still two of my favorites, and they can be very inexpensive. One day, you’ll want to upgrade. For now, keep it simple. Olympus has a great recorder with realtime listening for under $70. Just pop in headphones and you can hear real-time EVPs. It makes the review process so much faster and adds to the experience.
Cell Sensor EMF Metter $29.95
If you really want to get into it, bring an EMF meter to use when doing contact experiments, looking for possible natural causes, or to try and correlate with manifestations. Again you don’t have to go all out. A Cell Sensor is an extremely simple Gauss meter that works great. There is a similar/cheaper one called The Ghost Meter. I used them for years when I was running a team. They were about 35 bucks and held up. We used them with a few other more expensive models and they always had accurate readings. We’ll have a post out soon going into detail about how to properly use EMF meters.
Miscellaneous Knickknacks $10-$30
You’ll also want to have some of the less glamorous low tech stuff like flashlights, pens and paper, and tons of batteries. In almost every case where I’ve experienced real activity, there has been a battery drain, all of the batteries in use mutinously die. Be ready for it. Have a paper to take notes, tag photos and audio files, and stay organized. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought I had an EVP, just to go back to my notes and see it was someone talking.
To get started, your looking at maybe $150-$200. Buy used when you can to save on the expenses. Upgrade as you go. I didn’t start with an NVR system, Go Pros, and cases of tech. I built it up over time. Today, I don’t even really use most of it. I do however use the things I’ve listed here on almost every case I take.
Happy Hunting!
