Ghost hunting: Where the orbs are
Ghost orbs are the most popular evidence of hauntings. The question is, how can you capture them in photos?
We often say, “go with your gut feeling.”
But, when you’re new to ghost hunting or ghost photography, that may not be enough. You may still be learning what a reliable “gut feeling” feels like.
Here’s our advice: Look for other anomalies.
Where you have one anomaly, you often find others, including ghost orbs.
HIGH EMF LEVELS
We’ve had the best luck using a hiking compass to detect areas with EMF levels that are higher than expected.
(See our article, Use a Compass to Measure EMF.)
Take photos in a 20 foot radius of where you find high EMF levels outdoors. Indoors, take photos within five feet of the high readings.
PHYSICAL REACTIONS
If the hair goes up on the back of your neck, or you get a sudden, unexplained chill down your back, start taking pictures.
Some people feel sick at their stomachs when EMF levels are high, or when they’re around
ghosts. This is another tip that a ghost may be nearby. Get your camera out, and take at least four photos immediately.
Of course, your camera or cellphone may react to hauntings. If either of them aren’t working well, take photos right away.
Note: Always have a backup camera. The more basic, the better. If you have problems with your single-lens reflex camera, use a point-and-shoot budget camera as your backup.
If you prefer a fancy digital camera, your backup camera will probably be an older or very inexpensive digital camera with fewer bells and whistles, and lower pixel count.
If your cell phone doesn’t work at the haunted location, don’t panic. Usually, if you step about ten feet away from where the haunting is, the phone will be fine again. It’s not a “dead zone” (no pun intended) but suggests interference–perhaps electrical–from the ghosts.
STRANGE NOISES
No two ghost investigators react the same way to ghosts. Some people hear them audibly, or sense that feeling you get when you know that the phone is about to ring.
Alan, one of Hollow Hill’s most reliable researchers, describes it this way: He says that it’s as if someone is whispering off to one side of him, and if he turns his head, he may be able to understand what they’re saying. The words are rarely distinguishable, but it’s his way of detecting nearby ghosts.
On another investigation, and new researcher was terrified because she heard muffled voices in the woods across the street from us. It did no good to point out that, in the darkness, we’d hear people stumbling over fallen branches. She was still convinced that we were in danger. The “voices” were that loud to her, but no one else could hear them.
If you hear “odd” noises or sounds that no one else hears, this may be your internal radar sensing ghosts.
UNEXPLAINED ODORS
We’re not sure why, but since 2002, we’ve encountered more ghostly odors than usual. These often manifest as cigar smoke or perfume.
For years, unexplained odors and fragrances were rare at most hauntings, and reserved for dramatic sites such as the Hollywood (actually Hollywoodland) sign’s suicide ghosts.
But, on recent ghost hunts, we’ve detected increased levels of quirky aromas. If you sense an odd fragrance such as cigar smoke and either very cheap or very expensive perfume, take a few photos just in case.
LEARN FROM YOUR EXPERIENCES
In time, you’ll get a sense of where the orbs are. That’s what we mean when we say “a gut feeling.”
Follow that, and you’ll have progressively better results at each ghost investigation.
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