Haunted Cemeteries Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Ghosts and Haunted Places

What is a Banshee? A Ghost, a Faerie or Something Else?

What is a banshee, and should you be afraid if you hear or see one? Here’s what you need to know, and whether to worry about this legendary spirit.

Banshees are unique in paranormal research.

When someone mentions a ghost, most of us think of cemeteries, haunted houses, and transparent figures draped in sheets.

Likewise, the word “faerie” is usually linked with cute little figures with wings, and merry mischief… like Tinkerbell.

However, mention a Banshee, and people squirm.

That spirit, like a ghost, can represent someone who lived in the past, but that is not her actual role.

She can appear transparent, usually the size of a living person. Nevertheless, like her fae counterparts, she is associated with a more magical Otherworld.

She reminds us that the Otherworld is a vast place, inhabited by many kinds of beings, including faeries and ghosts.

The Banshee – in Irish, the Bean Sidhe (pronounced “bann-SHEE”) – means “spirit woman” or sometimes a spirit (perhaps a faerie) dressed in white. She is usually described as a single being, although there are many of them.

Your Irish Family’s Banshee

According to legend, one Banshee guards each Milesian Irish family. These are the families descended from the “Sons of Mil” who emigrated to Ireland long ago. Often, those families’ surnames start with O’ or Mac, and sometimes Fitz. Remember, many of those prefixes have been dropped, particularly by American families.

In other words, if your ancestors lived in Ireland for a couple of generations, your family — and perhaps your household — probably has its own Banshee.

There is a Banshee for each branch of these families, and the family Banshee can follow the descendants to America, Australia, or wherever the Irish family travels or emigrates.

The Banshee protects the family as best she can, perhaps as a forerunner of the “Guardian Angel” in Christian traditions. However, we are most aware of her before a tragedy that she cannot prevent.

Traditionally, the Banshee appears shortly before a death in “her” family.

The Banshee is almost always female and appears filmy in a white, hooded gown. (The exception is in Donegal, Ireland, where she may wear a green robe, or in County Mayo where she usually wears black.)

However, if she is washing a shroud when you see her, she may merely signal a major life-changing event in your future. The way to determine this is to go home and burn a beeswax candle after seeing her. According to folklore, if it burns in the shape of a shroud, her appearance does foretell death.

The Banshee’s Wail

The night before the death, the Banshee wails piteously in frustration and rage. Her family will always hear her. Many others in the area will, too. For example, Sir Walter Scott referred to “the fatal banshi’s boding scream.”

One of the largest reports of this wailing was in 1938 when the Giants’ Grave in County Limerick, Ireland, was excavated and the bones were moved to a nearby castle.

The crying was heard throughout central Ireland. People said it sounded as if every Banshee in Ireland was keening.

That collective Banshee wail was unusual but not unique. When a group of Banshees are seen, they usually forecast the dramatic illness — and perhaps death — of a major religious or political figure.

In Irish mythological history, the Banshee tradition may be linked to the fierce Morrighan as the “Washer at the Ford,” a legend of Cuchulain. In that story, the Morrighan appeared as a young woman who prepared for an upcoming battle by washing the clothing — or perhaps the shrouds — of those who would fight and lose.

Does the Banshee Cause Death?

Despite her grim reputation, seeing or hearing a Banshee doesn’t cause death. Traditionally, the Banshee is a very kind woman. As poet and historian W. B. Yeats commented, “You will with the banshee chat, and will find her good at heart.”

Perhaps her appearance and wailing before a death are efforts to protect her family from death. or other tragedy that she foresees.

This is the clearest link to what are popularly called “ghosts.” In many stories, the spirit appears to warn the living about danger, illness, or death. Many gothic novels feature a ghost whose appearance forecasts death.

Likewise, in the Sherlock Holmes story, the Hound of the Baskervilles howled before a family death.

In real life, my maternal grandmother and her siblings were individually visited by the spectre of their mother, to warn them of her imminent death in a hospital many miles away, and to say goodbye.

This level of concern for the living is consistent with many ghosts, as well as the Banshee.

Whether the Banshee is a “ghost” or a “faerie” may never be resolved. However, the Banshee provides clear evidence that the lines separating ghosts, spirits, and faeries are vague at best.

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(Most of this article originally appeared as “Banshee – Ghost, faerie or something else” – in October 1999 at my Suite 101 site.)

Photo credit:
Menlo Castle, photographed by dave gilligan, Limerick, Ireland (Eire)

Use Dowsing Rods to Find Ghosts – How-to Tips

When you’re ghost hunting, dowsing rods can be very useful, especially at outdoor sites such as haunted cemeteries and battlefields. Many ghost hunters consider them essential ghost hunting equipment.

With simple, homemade dowsing rods, you can identify potentially “hot” (very active, haunted) areas.

You’re looking for the rods to swing to the right or left (pointing to a possibly haunted spot) or to cross (like an X) in front of you, suggesting you shouldn’t step forward.

Rods like these can also help you locate areas with false anomalies, by following energy lines the rods indicate. Those lines might be underground streams, water pipes, or buried electrical cables. (That’s especially true if the line is fairly straight and continues at least a dozen feet.)

If you don’t already own dowsing rods, you can find many different styles for around U.S. $20 at Amazon.com. I like the ones with rounded ends so, in the dark, you won’t accidentally jab someone. Here’s one reasonably priced set, similar to the ones I own: 99.9% Copper Dowsing Rods.

Or, you can make your dowsing rods at home. They’re fast and easy, and can even be free. All you’ll need are a couple of wire coat hangers and some tin snips (heavy wire cutters).

These rods can be a great addition to your ghost hunting gear. (I often bring a few extra sets to events, so other researchers can try using them… and keep them if they like.)

Or, you might consider using a homemade pendulum instead, or to confirm what the dowsing rods suggest.

Ghosts at Greycourt Castle Ruins, MA

Greycourt Castle (or Grey Court Castle) is haunted. VERY haunted.

Long ago, it was the estate home of Charles H. Tenney, his wife Fanny, and their son Daniel G. Tenney.

The castle-style mansion was built in the 1880s and used as a summer home by the Tenney family.

In the 1950s, it was sold and used as a drug rehabilitation facility in the mid-20th century, and largely destroyed by fires from 1974 through 1978. The 1978 fire was the result of arson.

As I explain in my book, Ghost Hunting in Haunted Cemeteries, we’re always looking for any of four characteristics of most hauntings:

Money
Power
Drama
Tragedy (sudden or extended)

If I see more than one of these elements, it’s a red flag that suggests the site is worth investigating.

In my earlier article, History of Tenney Gatehouse, I share details Greycourt Castle’s intriguing and tragic past.

From the land’s connections to a Colonial blockhouse, to the fire that destroyed Greycourt in the 1970s, the site’s history contains all four elements – money, power, drama, and tragedy – that make it a prime location for paranormal investigations.

My “gut feeling” is that many ghosts – perhaps many more than we’ve found, so far – continue to lurk around the Greycourt Castle ruins.

I’m also certain that the park-like areas of the Tenney grounds hold additional reasons for ghostly activity.

The nearby Searles site is certainly worth investigating, as well.

My October 2009 investigation

I did not spend time in the area where the monks’ graves were rumored to have been. (The graves were moved when the site stopped being used by the order.)

Earlier in the evening, I’d heard that some people had formed a circle to summon the energy or spirits from any remaining graves.

Unless you know what you’re doing, that can open doors best left closed. Even with the best of intentions, this can create unhealthy dynamics with the spirits.

So, I rushed past that area.

Walking up the path from the gatehouse to Greycourt, I immediately took a photo where I feel intense energy from… well, I think it’s the Gorrill brothers.

(For their story, see my article, Tenney ghosts – Gorrill brothers.)

As I continued to Greycourt Castle, I felt the familiar sense of entering an area with very different energy, as if it were a portal to another time.

The castle feels like something incomplete… in our world. However, I often feel that the stairs leading down from it show more than just a great view of Methuen (albeit blocked by trees).

I feel that it may offer something else, if you have patience, suspend disbelief, and use all of your senses to perceive what’s there.

For example, this is the second time I’ve smelled the vanilla-like aroma of tobacco around the stairway, too. (I describe it as a little like Swisher Sweet cigars.)

During this October 2009 investigation, several other people commented on that aroma as well, even before I mentioned it.

My photos from nearby showed some great lights but nothing paranormal.

One odd photo

tenney-treemist — I have no idea what this is.

One of my next pictures caught an odd, colorful mist. Someone else commented on her own misty photo, taken around the same time.

We both tried to replicate the mist by breathing near the cameras’ lenses as we took additional photos. However, we couldn’t duplicate the effect.

Though this still might be mist (it’s not cigarette smoke), it’s more likely an anomaly.

In the photo, that’s a tree on the right, surrounded by the mist. At the lower left, you can almost see the promontory where the stairs lead, and where I feel that the energy is different from “normal.”

Though city lights interfere with night photos, and there’s nothing obvious there to see… I still feel that’s a location for an in-depth investigation. But, because that could be something frightening, I’d only recommend it for very experienced ghost hunters.

(By “frightening,” I don’t mean that it’s necessarily dangerous. I think that it might be something very different from what we usually encounter at haunted sites like this. Perhaps “startling” might be a better word, but when something radically different happens at haunted places, beginners can interpret it as scary, frightening or dangerous.)

Eerie shadows

Next, I walked along the corridor. None of my photos showed anything unusual. castle-shadowarea However, I kept noticing moving shadows on the columns as I stood and took pictures. The shadows were very crisp and well-defined. It was as if someone was immediately behind me.

Every time I turned to look – at least four or five times – no one was there. Since there were only about four of us at that part of the ruins at the time, I don’t have any explanation for it.

I wasn’t afraid of the shadows, and I don’t think they indicate anything malicious… just odd.

More odd – probably not ghostly – photos

castle-ftn-orb Nearby, the area around the fountain seems very active, but with happier energy. Generally, I connect this with the “flower child” energy that may have resonated with earlier, Spiritualist activities at the site.

Or, it may relate to the ritual energy in a nearby wooded area.

Though the woods feel somber and even creepy to me, the energy around the fountain seems joyous. I wasn’t at all surprised to see an orb in the photo at right. I was amazed that I didn’t have more anomalies in the pictures I took there.

searles-orb On the walk back from the ruins, I was – as usual – intrigued by the Searles’ property and stone buildings. That location also contains very powerful, paranormal energy. That’s the only way I can describe it; it doesn’t feel like anything that’s from this world.

However, my “gut feeling” is that it’s not just the ghost of Mr. Searles. I’d fully expect cryptozoology reports there, because – in addition to something vaguely ghostly – there’s… well, something else.

A second photo included some lines that I’m still studying.

oddlines — Insects? Falling leaves? Pretty but probably not paranormal.

Everything else – full depth of field – is in focus. If the camera moved enough to create those lines, other objects should be blurrier.

Of course, it helps that the area by that stone wall feels unsettling. It’s the kind of site where we often see apparitions.

Yes, this is probably a perfectly normal photo, and it may be falling leaves.

The earlier orb pictures may show insects as well. I’m displaying them because they’re interesting, not necessarily paranormal.

IMPORTANT NOTE

When we look at odd things in photos from haunted places, we’re not suggesting that an orb or blurry shape is an actual ghost. (We’re not sure what anomalies are.)

Instead, we’re asking, “Why does this photograph show insects, dust, or lights in this photo… but they’re not in other photos taken at the same time or place?”

In my opinion, Tenney Gatehouse and Greycourt Castle ruins are worth investigating. And probably investigating them several times before drawing any conclusions.

Summary

For a first-time or casual ghost hunter, Tenney Gatehouse is the ideal place for an investigation.

For an experienced investigator, I think the rest of the Tenney property offers more intriguing energy and anomalies that haven’t been reported yet.

Tenney Gatehouse is maintained by the Methuen Historical Society, 37 Pleasant Street, Methuen, MA. The gatehouse and grounds are open to the public. Please check with the Methuen Historical Society for hours and additional information.

My related report: Tenney Gatehouse ghosts (October 2009)

The 5 Most Haunted Places in Austin, Texas

5 most haunted places in Austin, Texas Austin, Texas is a wonderfully haunted city. Its ghosts are more colorful than most, with the kinds of histories you’d expect from a “Wild West” city.

From former corrupt sheriffs to colorful madams, and from cursed bricks to the ghost of a US President, Austin may have more ghosts per square foot than any city in America.

Many of Austin’s ghosts linger because they want to, not because they’re stuck in our earthly plane.

These are the five places that I’d visit with just a brief time to investigate Austin’s ghosts.

1. The Driskill Hotel

You have to stay somewhere when you’re in Austin, so why not stay at the city’s most elegant, haunted hotel?

In my book, The Ghosts of Austin, Texas, I devote an entire chapter to the Driskill’s great ghosts.

The lobby has at least two ghosts. One is a little girl who follows a bouncing ball (that manifests as an orb) on the staircase near the front desk.

Almost directly across the lobby from that staircase, a small room was once the hotel’s vault. It’s haunted by the cheerful ghost of a Depression-era hotel manager. When the banks closed during one financial crisis, the Driskill’s manager opened the vault and handed out cash to patrons. He trusted them to return the money when they could, and every one of them did. His ghost lingers through hard times and good, occasionally greeting guests in slightly outdated formal wear.

Be sure to visit the Maximilian Room, for some of America’s most haunted mirrors. (For their tragic history, see pages 18 & 19 in my book about Austin’s ghosts.)

Note: I’m not sure if that mirror is still in the Maximilian Room, and if it’s still haunted. Here’s what you need to know about haunted mirrors:

Upstairs, in addition to famous ghosts such as LBJ, you may catch a glimpse of the phantom hotel security guard. He’s always on the job, striding quickly through the halls. He’s making sure that everyone is safe and sound in this magnificent hotel.

2. Buffalo Billiards [Closed]

Location: 201 East Sixth Street, Austin, TX (Buffalo Billiards may have closed, but that address may still be haunted.)

Buffalo Billiards was less than a block away from the Driskill Hotel. In 1861, as the Missouri Hotel, it was Austin’s first “boarding house” and a popular place for a cowboy to find a date… for an hour or so.

When I investigated the area, the former brothel was one of Austin’s most popular night spots. At the time, I said: “Stop in for a drink and some food, and you’ll see tourists, locals, and scantily-clothed ghosts among the crowd.”

Now, it’s closed, per this article: Buffalo Billiards, A Longtime Downtown Austin Bar, Closed Permanently.

3. The Spaghetti Warehouse [Closed]

Location: 117 West Fourth Street, Austin, TX (Per Yelp, it’s now closed.)

When you’re ready for a good, filling meal, Austin’s Spaghetti Warehouse is the place to eat… and encounter ghosts.

Ask your waiter about the latest ghost sightings at the Spaghetti Warehouse. Most of the staff seem to have first-person stories to share.

In addition to quirky poltergeist activity, ask about the ghost who appears as a man – or just legs – around the restaurant’s vault.

An alternative, still open for business (2023): Stroll up the street to the upscale gay men’s bar, Oilcan Harry’s. (In fact, it’s the oldest operating LGBTQ+ bar in Austin.)

There, look carefully for one of Austin’s most colorful ghosts, the late madam Blanche Dumont. She’ll be among the dancers.

4. Texas Capitol Building

(Start at the Visitors’ Ctr: 112 E 11th Street, Austin, TX)

Day and night, you’ll see ghosts around the Capitol building. The most famous is probably Governor Edmund Jackson Davis (1827 – 1883) who is seen gazing from a first-floor window. On foggy and misty days – especially around mid-winter – and around dusk, he’s seen walking on the paved paths around the Capitol building. He’s tall and has a mustache, but people most often comment on his chilling stare. He often pauses when he sees someone, stares at them, and doesn’t move until they’ve passed him.

If you’re at the Capitol, be sure to walk past the Texas Governor’s Mansion. It has a dramatic history with multiple hauntings. I recommend early morning photos at the mansion grounds, as well.

5. Oakwood Cemetery and Oakwood Annex Cemetery

Location: Navasota St., Austin, TX

Oakwood Cemetery and its annex may be Austin’s most beautiful and haunted cemetery. There, you can visit the graves of many of Austin’s ghosts including Susannah Wilkerson Dickinson and Ben Thompson.

Most of Austin’s cemeteries close at dusk – and you should not visit that area alone at any time, but especially as nightfall approaches.

However, if you visit that neighborhood with friends, and the cemetery is closed, you can take photos through the openings in the fences around Oakwood.

(If you’ve been in the cemetery during the day, you’ll know exactly where to point your camera to capture eerie, phantom images.)

Austin features many more, chilling locations where you can encounter ghosts and other frightening entities.

Some of them – such as the nightly appearance of as many as a million bats, around one downtown Austin bridge – are entertaining.

Others, such as the ghost of Jack the Ripper and his victims, are best avoided unless you have nerves of steel.

Looking for More Ghosts in Austin…?

For more ghosts (and true ghost stories) around Austin, read my book, The Ghosts of Austin, Texas.

However, as of 2023, many of those haunted locations are now closed or are under different ownership.

IMPORTANT: Sites are often haunted because of what happened at those physical locations. Whether the site is now a corporate office building or a fast-food restaurant, it may still be haunted.

Here’s what I’d said about my 2008 book:

In its pages, I list over 130 ghosts and haunted places in and near Austin, Texas.

You’ll discover:

The Driskill Hotel’s many ghosts.
A detailed list of Austin’s most haunted cemeteries and some of their most infamous graves.
The eerie connection between Austin and Jack the Ripper.
Why the Shoal Creek Curse lingers over Austin and – possibly – surrounding communities.

And – if you live in Austin or you’ll be there for a few days – my book includes haunted sites around Austin, including Columbus, Texas.

(I describe Columbus’ strange history and many ghosts as something like a “theme park for ghost hunters.”)

The editing in this book is typical of when it was published – at the peak of the Ghost Hunters craze – but you won’t find a more complete (and personally researched) book about ghost hunting in Austin.

It’s the original guide to ghost hunting in Austin. If you’re serious about paranormal research it’s still the best way to find the physical locations of real ghosts when you’re in Texas’ capital city.

Find it at Amazon: The Ghosts of Austin, Texas, by Fiona Broome.

Haunted Cemeteries in Haverhill, MA

Haverhill Haunted Cemeteries Are you looking for haunted cemeteries in Haverhill, Massachusetts?

Several Haverhill cemeteries are very haunted. They’re great for ghost research.

Even better, they’re on a line that predicts where ghosts will be reported. (See my article, Find Haunted Places in Haverhill.)

I’ve investigated several Haverhill cemeteries, multiple times.

My most memorable investigations were during dramatic tour of three Haverhill sites, thanks to the Essex Ghost Project.

Here are my notes from that eerie and fascinating tour:

Walnut Cemetery, Haverhill, MA

Located at: Kenoza Street, Haverhill, MA

Walnut Cemetery is large and has some very harsh, ghostly energy, especially around the Victorian-era graves. I was immediately drawn to the large, crypt-style embankment, where bodies were once stored during the winter, until the ground was soft enough in the spring to dig their graves.

Check it for EVP, and the usual EMF spikes, of course.

Next on that tour, psychic Gavin Cromwell was drawn to an area with a large tree… and an odd marker of cement and stone, left resting against the tree. In that area, Gavin perceived the spirit of a woman in black. She was pointing towards the area where the flagpole is. She’s connected with something maritime, perhaps a sea captain.

Then, I was drawn to a hilly area with some of the oldest graves in the cemetery. Some of the best photos of the night were taken in that area. So, be sure to use the flash on your camera or phone when you’re taking pictures… and take lots of them in that part of the cemetery.

A local historian and paranormal researcher – who asked to be unnamed due to his day job – accompanied us in this cemetery. He directed us to another set of graves, bearing the surname Ela.

We attempted to record EVP, but Gavin & I felt that male energy (either living or ghostly) was suppressing efforts by some spirits to communicate. We came up with the word “sin” in connection with this.

Several investigators – including me – saw the little angel figure move, and both Gavin and I felt that at least one child (perhaps disabled, who died young) is not with his or her mother, Effie Ela.

In general, that cemetery is too large to visit after dark without a preliminary visit to see where the “hot spots” are. Also, the energy is generally muted at first. You’ll need patience – and at least an hour – to get the most from your investigation.

However, once the activity starts surging, it’s worth the wait.

Pentucket Burial Ground

Location: off Groveland St., Haverhill

This burial ground includes a memorial to victims of a Native raid, and the grave of a Salem “Witch Trials” judge.

In general, it’s a chilling cemetery, even on a sultry summer night.

And yes, I mean “chilling” in more ways than one.

When we stood in a circle, holding hands, and asked Judge Saltonstall to make his presence known, the blast of icy air was astonishing.

Gavin felt certain that the judge won’t “cross over” because he’s sure that his destination will be Hell. However, the judge was asking us to save Mary or help Mary… perhaps his wife or daughter. (We didn’t think that Mary was still there.)

Nearby, a few graves set apart from the others – often indicating that they died “in sin” – are worth further research.

Before leaving, we searched for the grave of Polly Winters.

Gavin had felt the presence of Polly Winters during a Haverhill investigation in 2008, and – even before we saw the grave – he was certain that she was in this cemetery.

When Gavin said it, his voice was different. He didn’t have his usual introspective manner; it was like he was reporting the name on cue, not sensing it.

It’s still something that troubles me. In retrospect, the Polly Winters “psychic connection” didn’t seem authentic. I’m not sure where that came from, or why.

Haunted Hilldale Cemetery

Location: Hilldale Ave., Haverhill

Hilldale cemetery, Haverhill, MA - with orbs — Hilldale grave with two orbs. (The white at right is an insect.)

This cemetery is a gem for research, with apparitions and very clear spectral energy. (That may sound dramatic, but the site is definitely unusual.)

However, until the cemetery has been cleaned up and some holes filled in, it’s not wise to go there… especially after dark when it is closed and patrolled. (You will be arrested if you go there at night. We were there with permission.)

In a circle there, I felt the presence of a spirit saying, “Sheridan, James.” I wasn’t sure if it was actually James Sheridan, saying his name as if reporting for duty.

Later, an Essex County Ghost Project historian told me that someone named James Sheridan is buried in that cemetery.

(Note: I rarely perceive names, and certainly not given and surnames in combination. So, this had to be very intense energy for me to discern the full name with such certainty.)

Also, researcher Chris G. and I both saw an odd, squat figure – too large to be an animal – that vanished, as well as an apparition of a man, crawling along the far edge of the hill.

These Haverhill sites are definitely eerie, and likely to be haunted. If you’re looking for ghosts, start at any of them and see what happens.

I think you’ll be impressed.

humorous ghost divider

Related news stories

Big-name ghost hunters descend on Merrimack Valley (Eagle Tribune, 26 Mar 2009)

“Well-known paranormal investigator Fiona Broome will join the tour of Haverhill graveyards that date back centuries, as well as the walk of the Tenney property in Methuen…”

Haunted in Haverhill (Haverhill Life, October 2017) – Includes details of a Hilldale Cemetery investigation, and a list of other, nearby haunts.

Ghost Orb Sightings – An Overview

Orb sightings occur every day.

Most “ghost orbs” appear in photographs or videos in haunted places. So few people see them floating in mid-air, some researcher speculate that they can only be seen by gifted, psychic people.

What are orbs?

“Orbs” usually refer to the round, usually translucent, round or ball-shaped images that we sometimes see in photographs.

They’re usually white, but sometimes appear in pastel colors. Rarely, they manifest as deep, rich and intense colors.

If you look at them closely, a few orbs seem to have faces in them. Some orbs seem to be made up of tiny facets. Most orbs appear as milky circles or spheres.

People often call them “ghost orbs,” since they seem to indicate paranormal energy.

However, many orbs in photos can be explained naturally. You can see the pollen in the middle, or the insect. The shape is usually irregular.

It may take you awhile to be able to tell the difference between an orb formed by moisture, a reflection, an insect, etc., but — once you can tell the difference — you’re not likely to confuse them again.

Don’t accept the easy dismissal of all orbs as dust, moisture, etc. See the photos in my 2013 article, What Is “Paranormal”?, if you think moisture or reflections always produce orbs.

I recommend trying to create fake orbs with your camera, before deciding what’s real and what isn’t. You may be surprised.

Unexplained orbs… they’re the orb sightings that really interest ghost hunters and paranormal researchers.

Orb sightings and the spirit world

Many people speculate about orb sightings. Some explanations include:

Ghosts.
Angels.
Demons.
An energy field indicating a portal opening or closing. (This is still my favorite explanation.)
A friendly spirit, manifesting to say hello.
A glimpse of “the light” that people describe in near-death experiences.

How to see orbs

The best way to see orbs is to take lots of photos in haunted locations, or places where people have seen (or photographed) orbs in the past.

These may include:

Cemeteries
Battlegrounds
Theatres (or buildings that used to have stage performances)
Older hotels
Living history museums
Historic homes (especially pre-1890 and open to the public)

Take dozens of photos, if you can. Study them closely for orbs. Adjust the contrast or lightness of the photo, so you don’t miss anything.

Tips for orb photography

Day or night, use your camera’s flash. It is possible to photograph ghost orbs during the daytime (see the orb on my book cover for The Ghosts of Austin, Texas) , but a flash seems to improve results.
Always take two or three photos in a row, as quickly as possible and without changing position. See if the same orb or orbs are in all photos; if so, there may be a normal explanation.
Save all of your photos until you exactly what to look for: Different colors, sizes, levels of contrast.

Tips for orb sightings

If you’re one of the fortunate few who see orbs floating in mid-air, here are tips to help you see more of them.

Practice your orb-spotting skills. With a friend or two, visit known haunted locations.
Most people spot orbs around dusk or immediately after it.
When you see an orb, have friends take photos of the orb. If possible, also get photos of you with the orb to see if the locations are similar in most photos.
Measure the temperature and EMF levels around the orb, if you have the tools to do so.

Orb sightings are a controversial topic in ghost hunting. However, if you’re fascinated by ghost orbs or find comfort in them, every orb sighting can be very important.