As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Click for details.
When is the best time to go ghost hunting?
WHAT OTHERS SAY
“Historically, the most active for ghost phenomena are between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.,” says Tom Ogden in The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Ghosts and Hauntings. But, he notes that spirit behavior can happen at any time.
In The Paranormal Investigators Handbook, editors Hope & Townsend recommend ghost vigils at night. This is not because ghosts are necessarily more active then, but because it’s easier to observe unusual phenomena at night. You’ll have fewer distractions.
Witch Patricia Telesco observes in Ghosts, Spirits and Hauntings, “Ghosts are more readily seen and contacted at midnight (the time in between day and night), and on the anniversary of their death.”
When I go ghost hunting
I’ve encountered ghosts during the daytime as well as after dark. I prefer the hours around dusk through early evening, but in some cases – such as my investigation of The Myrtles Plantation – activity increased dramatically after 8:30 p.m. And after 10 p.m., it got pretty wild.
Solar interference decreases after sunset. Just as distant radio stations are easier to pick up at night, it seems like ghosts can create more dramatic effects with less energy after the sun goes down.
I also believe the popular idea that “between” times are great for ghost research. Perhaps a door opens between the worlds when conditions are slightly unstable.
The “between” times include:
-
- Dusk and dawn.
- The Equinoxes and the Solstices, when the seasons change.
- Since Halloween (Samhain) is the traditional end of the agricultural year, more hauntings occur on that night.
- I’ve had good luck at the opposite end of the agricultural calendar, at the last day of April.
Also, I receive increased reports at the end of December and start of January, when the calendar changes.
Some people believe that it’s easiest to contact the other side while the clock is chiming midnight. That’s another “between” time.
(I have tested planetary hours, and – so far – results are inconclusive. So, I’m not using them. If planetary hours work for you, let me know by leaving a comment, below.)
Your best times for ghost hunting
Planning an investigation? Find out the times of day when others have success at that location.
- I’ve heard few stories from normal morning hours, or even early afternoon. (See my article, Ghost Hunting in the Daytime.)
- Generally, manifestations are reported after 3 p.m., and most seem to be after dark. (But, is that because people are looking for ghosts then? If the same thing happened during the day, would they explain it as “a trick of the light”?)
Keep a diary of your encounters with ghosts. Look for patterns of hauntings that you witness. If so, it may be a characteristic of the ghosts in your area. Or, you may have heightened sensitivity to the paranormal during certain times. (Compare this pattern with planetary hours – mentioned above – and your biorhythms, too. Every factor, no matter how unlikely, must be considered.)
There will always be exceptions. Ghost hunting is still trial-and-error for most of us. No one can claim that one hour is always better than another for general ghost research.
Learn as you go
Keep testing. Compare results with others, even after you’ve found a consistent pattern. It may help you fine-tune your conclusions.
Share what you learn. Yours could be a breakthrough discovery that will help all ghost researchers.
Here’s my 2017 video about this topic:
When to Go Ghost Hunting
When is the best time to go ghost hunting? If you’d like to encounter a real ghost, some times may be better than others.In this short video, Fiona Broome sh…
When to go ghost hunting? Hmm.
Samantha and I now have a 5 person team. Our team is now called “R Young Ghost Hunting Team” (RYGHT) Our team is young and all teen members but myself. I’m the only adult so far.
Anyway. My team asked me a question I couldn’t honestly answer. “Do ghosts and spirits more active in colder weather or warmer?
We do most of our ghost hunting outdoors. We had two private residences we investigated, but that’s another story. Most of our hunts contain haunted roads, forests, and of course cemeteries. It get’s mighty cold outside at night.
My theory is that ghosts don’t have any concept of time or temperature. I didn’t tell my team this.
Could I be right on this theory?
Rich.
cold weather does not effect spirit activity at all. the only thing it effects is us the living we can get cold or hot. spirits have no conception to these elements. all i have to say is we have had great success in cooler and colder weather. just dress warm and you will enjoy a great out door colder weather ghost hunt. warm weather and humidity play a good role in ghost hunting. cold weather is just as good sound travels faster and crisper to the evp recorders. warmer weather slows down sound activity.
Well, cold weather tends to be dryer and that means static electricity which spirits could use as a source of energy to manifest. Just an idea.
That’s a great question, Rich! I had to think about it for awhile, and then I realized that I’ve heard a lot of complaints from ghosts (“too noisy” or “leave me alone”, etc.) but I’ve never heard one complain about the weather or time of day.
I have noticed that, when the weather is bad (cold, rainy, or whatever), ghosts seem less likely to manifest. However, I’m not sure if that’s more about how receptive I am. When my teeth are chattering from the cold, I’m halfway hoping that it’ll be an unproductive visit from the start, so that I can go home quickly.
I think your theory is correct.
In my opinion, temperature isn’t a significant factors in ghost hunting.
Time (hour or an anniversary date) can make a difference, but that’s more about the ghosts’ experiences in life.
I don’t think that time, in itself, makes any difference. While we seem to observe more ghost manifestations after dark, I’ve always thought that’s because — in the darkness — we have fewer visual distractions and are more likely to notice subtle evidence of something paranormal.
i find that when me and my team investigate a ghost hunt the colder weather proves more active. it has a lot to do with the planet shift changes to the seasonal 45 degree angle. at this time emf ( electrical magnetic fields ) are at its strongest . spirits are nothing but energy so the magnetic change in the seasons greatly help out for a spirit to take advantage of this seasonal change.
ghosts can make themselves present any time of the day or night. no matter what the temperature is also. we have to try to establish a routine when the activity is at its highest. this is done by repeated individual visits. i some times prefer to ghost hunt by myself at times. when there is to many people sometimes the spirits feel overcrowded and will not respond to anything. the only downfall to ghost hunting alone is you have no one with you to validate your findings. so take your voice recorders and cameras also write down all the events that has occured.