need information on ghost hunting

right well am going to conduct a ghost hunt with my camera at some point but need tips on how to get a ghost to appear or get some activity i know my house is haunted because ive seen things i cant explain like the volume on the tv today just went down by its self i have a video camera but not sure if its good enuff to catch much activity it has night mode but not vision but just any tips is quite welcome

not so sure about video cameras, but with still photos just take pictures in dark using flash, you may find a view orbs, although personally im not convinced orbs are ghosts.
you could also try tape recording and asking questions to the ghost and listen back after.
useful to have thermometer to gage if any temperture drops are real or your imagination.

good luck ghost hunting

thank you dude and yeah i always pass orbs as dust but il have to buy a recorder and thermonitor be good fun though

reply to post by ingram1990


Make sure the battery in your camcorder is fully charged, new SD card or reformatted HD, PUT YOUR CAMERA ON A TRIPOD!!!
Point it to where you have witnesses ghostly activity and turn the camera on. That's what we do for some of our documentaries.

www.youtube.com...

reply to post by petdog82


Most orbs people find ghost hunting aren't orbs, it's dust and bugs reflecting camera light, watch a few episodes of ghost hunters and you'll see what I'm talking about. Actual orbs last only for seconds and are usually self illuminated.

Anyways......

Suggestions for the OP. Bring a few people along with cameras, preferably night vision. If you know someone who has a FLIR camera for sure get that out there. If you have access to a few digital audio records (quite cheap now) using brand new tapes (I suggest taping you actually opening and inserting/marking the tapes) set the records up in areas you feel you have seen or felt something and let them run all night.

Do an EVP session by asking a few questions to whomever might be present, leaving pauses for answers.

A stationary camera is good to have pointed at your recorder incase you do pick something up.

The ghost hunt itself is easy, the analyzing is hard. You will have to watch every second of video closely, preferably on a LARGE screen. With the audio, find an audio application that will allow you to adjust pitches and look at the wave form as some evps are in ranges we can't normally hear, but the recorder can capture it.

Most importantly though, if you are alone or with people, be calm, methodical, and don't whip the camera around a lot, slow panning motions are your friend.

good luck!

yeah i will do should be good if i catch anything il post it on here and that poltergiest vid is awesome

reply to post by whaaa


Being a sceptic I'm gonna call fake on your video. The chair is obviously pulled by a string attached to the chair leg. Hidden by the placement of the table.

In order to pull a chair like that and not tilt it over (like you would if you pulled it with your hand) you have to bend down and pull it by the leg, why would a ghost do that?

reply to post by ingram1990


You've received excellent information so far.

I can't add a whole lot to it, but I will say that when you take pics, don't zoom in... just aim randomly and snap pics. I would suggest taking pics with the flash and without. I'm glad to see you don't believe in orbs, lol.

If your video camera isn't that great, you can still use it as a voice recorder. Ask the ghosts whatever questions you would like to get an answer to, but treat them with respect and don't try to provoke them. Bad mouthing a ghost really isn't a good idea, especially if it's in your own home.

You can always say aloud that you are going to take pics and ask nicely for the spirit to try to manifest in any way that it knows how and that you would appreciate it if it would try to show up in your photos.

I think it's also a good idea to take pics in the area that is being videoed so if something shows up in a photo, you can go back and cross reference the video to see if anything showed up in it as well. It's also a good way to debunk an anomalous photo. Photos capture a split second in time and it's fairly easy for something completely mundane to look ghostly, but if you have the video, you can go back and look see if possibly headlights were shining in the window at the time the photo was taken or anything like that.

If you don't have an audio recorder and you do have a cell phone, check to see if your cell phone has an audio recorder built in. Might save you some money.

Good luck! If you get any evidence, be sure to post it for us!

reply to post by GodForbid


I just looked at it myself, if you notice the chair by the table at the bottom of the frame moves slightly first, then the chair behind it moves, then the one beside it.

This could easily be done with strings. This could also be genuine paranormal activity. that's the sad part about stuff like this, it's so easy to fake almost anything now a days it's quite easy to dismiss everything off hand, same with UFO videos. It pains me to think i myself might have seen proof that was so easily faked, it was discounted.

such is the life of a skeptic, faith plays no role. It's like a famous line from science teachers everywhere, science does not allow for miracles. I can't take it on faith that the person presenting isn't hoaxing. I can't take it on faith the video is real.

Video alone, for me, won't do a thing ghost wise. This is why I had high hopes for those "Ghost Hunters' and TAPS shows. Those hopes were dashed eventually. But their method would be the only one i could rely on, multifaceted approach.

Video, audio, thermal, emf, ionization, radiation detection, stuff like that is what I need. I need a video that also provides multiple angles. I'd also prefer a thermal image as well. It's expect motion detectors, emf detectors and various other measurement devices in place.

I have no reason to think the video posted here is fake, i also have no reason to believe it's real, I really have no opinion on this specific example as it's in the grey area of 'I could fake that myself in 10 minutes with 10$' zone, but like i said before as a honest skeptic, that alone isn't enough to say it's fake. It could be. Hell, the entire thing we call reality might be fake.

My hopes for the field, one I might take a crack at myself, is science. A scientific approach like the ghost hunters took in the first season or two. If you go into a house convinced it's haunted, you will get evidence proving that. If you likewise go in sure it's not, you'll find a lack of evidence, which supports your theory.

I say this for would be ghost hunters and skeptics a like, you must be able to free yourself and approach this with an open mind, and you must also be willing to be wrong.

reply to post by phishyblankwaters


I would just like to add one thing to this great list of recommendations.

Be patient! I have done several ghost hunts with a young lady that is fidgety & feels the need to make whispered comments every few seconds. Problem is, audio recorders pick up those sounds and can give you false positives when reviewing your files. Also, when doing any session, you have to give it time. Not just setup wait 15mins then bail when you feel 'nothing' is happening.

One last thing. Have a notebook and pen with you at all times. If you think you saw or heard something, make a note of the time and area you are in. If you recognize something happened that could create a false positive, make a note for when you review your recordings.

As for video cameras, I think the standard is to use one with nightshot (which sony stopped making!). For still photography, same as recommended above. And yes, 99.9% of 'orbs' are bunk!

Originally posted by GodForbid
reply to post by whaaa

 

Being a sceptic I'm gonna call fake on your video. The chair is obviously pulled by a string attached to the chair leg. Hidden by the placement of the table.

In order to pull a chair like that and not tilt it over (like you would if you pulled it with your hand) you have to bend down and pull it by the leg, why would a ghost do that?

Since when do Ghost have to abide by humans stupid brand of physics. They are supernatural entities and could give *** **** about whether you are a skeptic or not. Whats a sceptic btw?

The human body is often the best indicator of unseen energies. Always be aware of what your body and mind are doing. Temperature sensations, racing heartbeat, goosebumps, sudden thoughts and emotions...etc. These are all indications of another presence and a good time to be recording. Especially make note and let your team know of any abrupt changes in your mood...I'm sure they'd all want to know if you're having sudden thoughts and urges to do violent and depraved things.

If you are religious I'd suggest arming yourself in the protections of your faith. Confession, Eucharist, prayer and fasting is my personal "pre-game" ritual because you never know what might find you in the dark. Prayer is also beneficial to the dead, at least in the Christian faith. If you ask them: "Would you like me to pray for you?" don't be surprised if some even visit you in the night long after your ghost hunt seeking your prayers...of course you should respectfully oblige.

Originally posted by ingram1990
right well am going to conduct a ghost hunt with my camera at some point but need tips on how to get a ghost to appear or get some activity i know my house is haunted because ive seen things i cant explain like the volume on the tv today just went down by its self i have a video camera but not sure if its good enuff to catch much activity it has night mode but not vision but just any tips is quite welcome

Besides a video camera I would recommend a digital camera too ... just take random shots in different directions ... if possible take 2 of each (1 with flash on ... 1 with no flash) always brighten the flashless pics ... I have had some of my best catches this way.

I have experienced the paranormal all of my life and run a private paranormal investigation group called W.I.S.P.S (Woodwytch Investigations of Supernatural & Paranormal Source) in my experience results have nothing to do with expensive equipment ... my advise is 'keep it simple' !

Good Ghosthunting

Woody

yeah same man to many experiences to write about well i will eventually write bout them but heaps i have a couple of four mega pixel digital cameras and the video camera is also i digital hd camera 12 mega pixels and i use audacity on my computer sound recording software so am all set so just planning on when am going to do it it will be soon

Originally posted by whaaa

Originally posted by GodForbid
reply to post by whaaa

 

Being a sceptic I'm gonna call fake on your video. The chair is obviously pulled by a string attached to the chair leg. Hidden by the placement of the table.

In order to pull a chair like that and not tilt it over (like you would if you pulled it with your hand) you have to bend down and pull it by the leg, why would a ghost do that?

Since when do Ghost have to abide by humans stupid brand of physics. They are supernatural entities and could give *** **** about whether you are a skeptic or not. Whats a sceptic btw?

a SCEPTIC is exactly the same thing as a skeptic, the difference is I'm English, not American as therefore speak the English version of English, and not the American version, does that clear up your ignorance?

Being a SCEPTIC I will take the most rational explanation whenever possible, this does not mean that I discount everything, it only means I will look at it from a proven perspective.

How do you know it was a ghost in your video? Maybe it was superman on all fours using invisibility powers to move the chairs? That's just as rational as saying it's a ghost.

No, more likely the video was faked. I could replicate this very very easily. The fact that the chairs move to cracks in the shelving at the back (the best place to put your string) just makes it look very obvious to me, and I think people like you should be ashamed of circulating this garbage as it's faked videos like yours that stop people from obtaining real truth.

As a general rule, if I can replicate something easily myself it is most likely that is how it was done in the first place.

Originally posted by woodwytch
results have nothing to do with expensive equipment ...

I don't know abou thatt. Particularly with EVPs, I think high quality recording gear would make a big difference. I've heard lots of "EVPs" that were, to me anyway, nothing more than white noise. A clean, noise-free recording would eliminate a lot of that. A couple of high quality mics, a good pre-amp, and a good digital recorder would give you a recording that, when turned up, wouldn't sound like it was "raining snakes", so any actual EVP would stand out clearly and not be lost in the hiss, nor would ambient noise be misidentified as an EVP. If the recording needs to be going "sssssssssssssss" to be able to get EVPs from it, I think a lot of false positives would be found. Of course, quality recording gear ain't cheap, so most ghost hunters use crappy little recorders, either digital or analog, resulting in a high "noise floor", which causes them to hear things that aren't really there.

Just my 2 centavos...

Originally posted by subject x

Originally posted by woodwytch
results have nothing to do with expensive equipment ...

I don't know abou thatt. Particularly with EVPs, I think high quality recording gear would make a big difference. I've heard lots of "EVPs" that were, to me anyway, nothing more than white noise. A clean, noise-free recording would eliminate a lot of that. A couple of high quality mics, a good pre-amp, and a good digital recorder would give you a recording that, when turned up, wouldn't sound like it was "raining snakes", so any actual EVP would stand out clearly and not be lost in the hiss, nor would ambient noise be misidentified as an EVP. If the recording needs to be going "sssssssssssssss" to be able to get EVPs from it, I think a lot of false positives would be found. Of course, quality recording gear ain't cheap, so most ghost hunters use crappy little recorders, either digital or analog, resulting in a high "noise floor", which causes them to hear things that aren't really there.

Just my 2 centavos...

edit on 3-3-2011 by subject x because:

I see your point but as paranormal investigation gets more popular EVP's are becoming the new 'orbs' ... I have listened to some shockingly poor results that have been claimed as EVP's

Woody

Originally posted by woodwytch
I see your point but as paranormal investigation gets more popular EVP's are becoming the new 'orbs' ... I have listened to some shockingly poor results that have been claimed as EVP's

Woody

I'm so glad to "hear" you say that, Woody! I often hear the EVP claim on soundclips that, even to the layman, are obviously just noise, and to have all these "ghost hunters" defending them doesn't help anyone. Not to say I haven't heard a few that make me go hmmmm, but they're pretty few and far between.

These days, with recording tech getting more readily available to the public, ghost hunting should have a lot better gear in the field. A few hundred on a good mic or two, a decent pre-amp, and a laptop to record on isn't outside the realm of possibility for those who are serious about catching EVPs, and would go far in eliminating a lot of false positives. Not to mention that if an actual EVP was recorded, it would be a lot easier to discern what was being said when it wasn't drowning in hiss.