Shadow People in Ghost Hunting
Shadow people are very common phenomena in the paranormal field. Known to be quite elusive these shadowy beings often appear out of the corner of your eye only to vanish when your attention is drawn to them. Shadow people can vary in form, but most commonly are said to take the shape of a tall man.
The main characteristic of a shadow person is the level of darkness they are composed of. They are so dark that you can actually see them well in a dark room. This complete absence of light can only lead us to speculate on what they are made up of. Theories that they are inter dimensional beings or even spirit guardians are quite popular among those who have experienced or researched them.
What’s the difference between a shadow person and a full bodied apparition?
This is a question that a lot of ghost hunters ask when first starting out. There are many theories surrounding the origin of shadow people. Whether or not you’re dealing with a human spirit is still up for debate.
A full bodied apparition is said to be the ghost of a previous inhabitant or an earth bound spirit tied to a location. Often times this is a result of a residual haunting where the spirit is not aware of the physical world and is almost said to be playing “on a loop”.
Shadow people tend to be more elusive as it is rare that one would be seen directly. This elusiveness leads many to wonder if there is intelligence behind their visits.
The best way to capture a shadow person during a paranormal investigation is through camera or video equipment. There have been many notable pieces of evidence on well known ghost hunting programs such as Ghost Adventures and Ghost Hunters for example. Often times due to their elusiveness however shadow people will just be categorized as a personal experience.
I just wanted to touch briefly on shadow people since it is a topic I’m asked about often. Even if a location is not known to be haunted people can experience these strange beings. Let us know if you’ve ever had a run in with these shadowy visitors.
The Importance of Video in Ghost Hunting
In today’s media heavy world video is among the most important evidence that a paranormal researcher can gather. There are generally several ways to collect video evidence while ghost hunting. Of course there is the more traditional camera method, which has been replaced predominantly with the digital cameras. Many ghost hunters still prefer older film cameras, but I have found that digital cameras work just as well and are becoming increasingly affordable. Not to mention the fact that you can literally store thousands of photos for future research.
Where things really start to get interesting is with motion video evidence. Much like the booming popularity of cameras and spirit photographs in the late 1800s, videos have also exploded in popularity due to sites such as YouTube, and really the Internet in general. I’m sure we have all noticed the increased popularity in ghost hunting, especially within the past five years. Besides the weekly shows such as Ghost Hunters, or Paranormal State there have also been a slew of documentaries that many cable networks have produced and air regularly.
Now it’s important to mention that there are several different methods of collecting video evidence many of which have only recently become affordable enough for amateur ghost hunters to use. The most widely available and ready to use of these is the IR cameras, cleverly disguised as a form of night vision on most brands. The interesting thing about video is the ability with our new technology to see different spectrum of light that until very recently we have not been able to see. One of these is the infrared spectrum which is all around us but we are unable to see with the naked eye. With modern technology we can record video in the infrared spectrum. Some paranormal researchers speculate that ghosts or spirits can be more readily seen in the IR spectrum.
A slightly more expensive luxury is using heat vision cameras to hunt for ghosts, this is based on the theory that spirits have a different heat signature than the environment and can be easily detected.These cameras pick up temperature fluctuations and displays them visually as different colors. You may have seen this method use frequently on the sci-fi channel television show Ghost Hunters where the two lead investigators have captured some of the most compelling evidence the show has offered.
This is the part that really makes sense to me if ghosts are said to be invisible, and we are unable to see them with our naked eye perhaps we are able to see them in a different spectrum of light that our eyes cannot see. This is a very exciting time in the paranormal research field where we are actually able to use this technology on a regular basis in our investigations where as before the technology was much too expensive for the average person.
Be sure to bookmark this site or subscribe to our RSS feed to catch the follow up where we go in to different ways to use video equipment during your ghost hunting investigation.
Ghost Hunting Locations – Paranormal Investigations and Haunted Locations
So you want to start ghost hunting but you’re still confused as to where to start looking. Perhaps you’ve read some books, watched television shows and documentaries. You’re ready to start your own investigation, but exactly where do you begin? The Ghost Hunting Parablog has got you covered with a few nice tips to get your feet wet in paranormal investigation.
It may not have occurred to you, but when finding your first location to investigate you don’t need to look any
further than your own house. Even if your house has never shown any signs of paranormal activity in the past this is an excellent opportunity to hone your ghost hunting skills. Once you have done a complete investigation, why not try asking other family members and friends to investigate their homes. When we see paranormal researchers like those in Ghost Hunters they make it look seamless the way they conduct their investigations, but this is the result of a lot of practice.
they make it look seamless the way they conduct their investigations, but this is the result of a lot of practice.You may find that investigating familiar locations on your own is a hassle, or maybe even a little spooky. Finding like minded individuals in your area that share your passion for ghost hunting is crucial in your continued success as a paranormal investigator. There’s an excellent online service called MeetUp that allows people to form offline groups, and use the site to manage meetings. This is an EXCELLENT place to find people in your area who are interested in the paranormal just like you. I was able to find a local paranormal group through this site and met other like minded individuals this way. Here’s a link that should get you started find other ghost hunters around you.
Once you have a few mock investigations under your belt you may want to consider doing some local research into known haunted locations in your area. There are several paranormal websites that catalog user submitted locations. One that helped me find a few good locations in my area is the shadowlands. Take note of locations in your area, you may have driven by them everyday and not even known there were reported hauntings.
Please be very aware that many places that have reported haunted activity in your area are private property. Contacting the owner or decision maker for the property to request permission to do an investigation is a must. I can not stress this enough so unless you want to spend the night in jail, and explain to a judge that you meant no harm and you were only looking for ghosts… cover your bases. Besides this is the absolute best way you will have access to people who can tell you about the history of the property, and also known activity for you to investigate.
To summarize
- Start small by investigating your own house and those of willing friends and family. Hone your skills and practice on your professionalism.
- Research haunted locations in your area via your favorite search engines.
- Find others in your area who are interested in ghost hunting, meet up and form a group to investigate local haunted sites.
- Establish a professional relationship with the owners of the property, this will ensure your reputation as a paranormal investigator is in the highest regards. Success in the ghost hunting field is not only measured by the evidence you bring in, but the networks and relationships you build along the way.
Now you have a newly formed paranormal investigation group, some haunted locations in your area with full permission to conduct your investigations. Happy Ghost Hunting!
Let us know what kind of tips you have for finding locations in your area, or share how you first started ghost hunting in the comments.
The Best Ghost Hunting Audio Software
In the paranormal investigation field audio evidence is among the most compelling presented. It is also a long and painstaking process that every ghost hunter must undertake. Fortunately technology in the past decade has made the finding of EVP’s much easier. With digital audio recorders becoming more affordable than their micro-cassette predecessors ghost hunters are able to store audio at a better quality more easily. One way we can deal with all this audio is using good audio software for your PC or MAC.
You don’t have to worry about spending a fortune on this since some of the best audio editing software is available free and open source. This means you are free to use, distribute, and even alter the software if you’re so technically inclined.
Here are some of the best programs available for analyzing EVP’s
| Audacity | Description |
|---|---|
 |
Audacity is a free audio editing and recording program that is available for Windows, Mac, and also Linux. When you load your file into audacity it creates a waveform that allows you to easily view the whole recording visually. I use this to target certain areas of the recording with visible spikes for potential EVP’s. There are also a bunch of built in tools that allow you to amplify,enhance, and clean up your recordings. This is an invaluable tool for ghost hunters looking to catch an EVP. |
| Available forWindows XP/Vista 32/64 bit
Mac OS X Linux 32/64 bit |
 Audacity Homepage Download Audacity |
| Wavosaur | Description |
|---|---|
 |
Wavosaur is another free audio editing and recording program that is available for only for Windows. Very similar in features to audacity his program allows you full control over viewing and editing your sound files. One feature ghost hunting groups will enjoy is the ability to skin the user interface, that means you can create a custom branded copy of wavosaur for use within your group. This can help add to the professionalism you display, and the reputation of your group. The built in plugins are not as robust as audacity, but it does add support for VST plugins as well as ASIO support. The best part of course is the price, it’s free! |
| Available forWindows XP/Vista | Wavosaur Homepage Download Wavosaur |
| Power Sound Editor | Description |
|---|---|
 |
Here is an audio editor that comes highly recommended. I have not personally used this program but the feature list and feedback make it seem like the ideal program for basic editing. This Free Sound Editor allows you to visually edit an audio file (Delete, Cut, Copy, Paste, Paste From File, Mix, Mix From File) and apply different effects (Amplify, Delay, Equalizer, Fade, Flanger, Invert, Normalize, Reverse, MultiTapDelay, Silence, Stretch, Vibrato, Echo, Chorus). |
| Available forWindows 98/ME/XP/Vista | Power Sound Editor Homepage Download Power Sound Editor |
Does anybody here believe in ghost? Hear EVP?
Question:Ghost EVP Recording
I was recording a video and my freind was supposed to pop out and he forgot. this was for a school project
project ideas?
Hawaiian Ghost tours?
Sprunk Factory in gta 4?
