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The main tools you need for ghost hunting are your eyes, your ears, an open mind and a lot of patience. You also need to build a team of people who think the same way as you.

Under no circumstances should you undertake a ghost hunt alone.

Paranormal events usually take place at the other end of the room to where your camera is pointing. or when you stop looking and take a break for refreshment.

There are many theories about paranormal phenomena, some say that everything can be explained by natural events, such as the contraction of floor timbers as a building cools down at night,faulty wiring and plumbing or simply over active imaginations.

Others keep an open mind and look at any event or occurrence and record everything independently, so that you can compare results. If two people experience the same event independently and compare reports afterwards it carries a lot more weight than merely corroborating what has been recorded by other investigator.

Once you have mastered the art of observation you can add to your toolkit. A torch and a notebook and pencil are the obvious first items to collect. Most people these days will have access to a digital camera, The beauty of digital is that you can keep shooting, taking hundreds of images instead on the couple of dozen that a film camera can manage. Digital will also show light anomalies that low light levels would fail to reveal on film.

Next item to add to the collection is an audio recorder. Using digital recorders is better than tape, as tape is prone to fail and requires more battery power.

When you get really hooked on ghost hunting it might be time to look at an EMF meter, a device that detects fluctuations in electromagnetic fields. It is believed that ghosts disrupt magnetic fields.

Another fun gadget which can reveal hidden temperature differences is a thermal imaging camera. They show differences in temperature by showing images in colours that correspond to the temperature of the object. Warm objects show red, cold objects show blue. It can be fascinating to see a blue footprint on the floor where nobody has walked! TIGs are an expensive item and do not usually form part of the average amateur hunter's kit bag.

Once the tool kit is finalised it is time to set out on a hunt. you will have a location in mind, approach the owner of the building or land and get permission to stay the night. Letting yourself into an unoccupied building and setting up for a vigil is not a good way to impress the owner, the police or the courts!

Do your homework. Research will show you where the best places for a hunt is. Gather your team together but don't tell them too much. If they all know to look out for a headless horseman it won't come as much of a surprise when one is seen.

If they don't know that this kind of being haunting the location, any reports that you do get of headless horsemen would carry far more weight.

On entering a site set up a 'base camp' this is where the drinks are made, the reports are collated and where tired ghost hunters can lie down for a rest. The base camp should be away from the area under investigation so that people taking a rest can switch off and relax. You may be there for several nights if you are doing a full investigation.

A lot of ghost hunting involves sitting around in cold, dark buildings with nothing happening. the hard part is staying alert so that you don't miss the paranormal event that can take place in an instant. It might be a noise, a cold spot, a shadow moving in a corner, a flash of light or a piece of furniture moving. It is all to easy to miss it because you are gazing in the wrong direction.

Learn more about this author, Jeff Dray.
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