Notebook and Pens - for taking notes and drawing

Extra Batteries - I cannot stress this enough. Batteries have a tendency to die at the most inopportune time

Flashlight Please use flashlights for safety, not as investigational tools!

CameraClick for more info

Audio Recorder

Video Camera

At least one other like-minded individual - You should never go alone, for backup documentation as well as safety reasons

For More Advanced Detection and Documentation

Compass -

Said to direct you towards spirits, and is supposed to spin when you enter the energy field of the spirit. I have not had much luck with a compass as a detection device, but historically it was a favorite.

Pendulums -

a pendulum is an object suspended from a string or a chain. Pendulums can be crystals, metal, or wood. Each user develops his or her own relationship with their pendulum. You will be able to determine, from the motion the pendulum makes, whether or not a spirit is present. For some people it spins, for some it swings back and forth, for others it moves in a circular pattern. I have had some dubious success with these. If you have worked with pendulums, and feel comfortable with them, use one.

Dowsing Rods -

Dowsing rods can be L-shaped and made of lightweight metal, or they can be a Y-shaped tree branch. The L-shaped metallic rods are what you use to detect ghosts. Dowsing has been around for ages. People dowse to find water, metal, dead bodies, and energy or ley lines. We have used them to locate spirit energy. The rods are held in the hands in front of the dowser. The rods will begin to swing and move toward a certain direction. While you are dowsing, you must concentrate on what it is you are hoping to find. When you locate the energy, the rods will cross. You can buy rods, or make them from coat hangers. I have had some success with this method. it takes a great deal of practice. I also know that not everyone is successful with dowsing. If this method works for you, use it! Y-rod dowsing - if you want to try the Y-rod, it should be made of a flexible tree branch. Hold the top of the Y (the handles) loosely. Begin walking and concentrating on what you want to find. The rod will tug you towards a direction. Follow it. When it reaches the source, the rod will bend downwards, or vibrate strongly. Again, this method does require a certain amount of practice and patience.

EMF Field Meters -

The theory is that the presence of a spirit can be detected because spirits disrupt the electromagnetic field. These are good because they give you recordable evidence that something unusual occurred. Always try to find a natural reason for the disruption before you assume it is a ghost. Take note of appliances, electrical outlets.

Night Vision Scopes, Thermal Imagers -

I have heard of fabulous results with these, but I have yet to see any myself. The most common scopes available are Gen I and Gen II scopes. Many are manufactured in Russia, or former Soviet countries. How do you spell shoddy product? "Made in Russia". What these scopes accomplish is better illumination of a dark area. Anything that you see through one of these scopes would also be visible to the naked eye, and most of the stuff investigators have claimed to see through these scopes are reflections in the lenses of the scope. A Gen III scope illuminates beyond the level of human sight, but costs at least 2500 dollars. This scope would be useful, but it very costly, especially for a beginner.

Thermal Scanners -

These are excellent devices for recording anomalies at investigations. They enable us to record the temperature of the infamous "cold spot". care must be taken in the use of these. The device sends out an infra red beam to record the temperature in a specific area. You must guard against recording something that you don't want to record, like the sky or a windowpane in winter. These devices are available from Raytech. No, I don't get anything from them for recommending them. I just know that's the best price you're going to get! You can also find them on E-bay. I got one from there, and it works great!

Motion Detectors -

These may be used for securing the perimeter of an area under investigation. I have also seen them used attached to video cameras left to record in an area. They can be used alone to detect motion in a room. Obviously, the detector would need to have an audible alarm in order for it to have any value as far as documentation. We use these motion detectors in our investigations: The GE Wireless MOTION DETECTOR .

K-2 Meters -

The K2 EMF meter is basically a standard EMF detector. Most EMF detectors use a needle that will move up and down when indicating electromagnetic energy. The K2 meter uses lights to indicate the energy instead of a needle, flashing and then finally staying light at the level found with the meter. When the K2 meter is on, you can ask a question from the spirits, asking them to respond with 'flash once for no, twice for yes', or a similar method. If you get a response when setting up this method and it works, then continue on with further questions that can be answered in a yes or no form. CAUTION - We only use the K2 that has been modified with a toggle switch for on/off. The original version that requires pressure depression has too much margin for human error.

The Truth

• The truth is that we simply don't know what ghosts are composed of or what enables them to appear at some times and not at others. Many researchers are working on the answer.
• I have often advanced the theory that we are attempting to evaluate these things with equipment that is designed to evaluate objects that exist in our 3 dimensions.
• If ghosts exist outside the third dimension, then it stands to reason that these tools will be ineffective at best for studying them! I liken this dilemma to attempting to render a three dimensional object on a two dimensional surface (paper). You just can't accurately represent it!
• Another truth is that there are some people out there that fake ghost photos,encounters, etc. Maybe they like the challenge of fooling people, maybe they want attention, or maybe they are mentally ill and out of touch with reality. These people do serious damage to our research!
• Those of us who are serious researchers would never fake any piece of evidence, because we know that these events do occur as we describe them. We know that ghosts exist. We know that they can be recorded on tape and film. If we "fake" evidence, that would be an admission that we believe that they cannot be documented.