Technology | Ghost Hunting Folklo

The Ghost in the Machine: The Faulty Technology of Paranormal Investigation

Ghosts have moved beyond physical and spiritual realms and entered the digital sphere in the form of static, blurs, and glitches. While ghost hunting technologies can vary, especially among custom and repurposed mods, they share traits that have become ubiquitous with the ghost hunter experience: static, prone to glitches, visual and auditory abnormalities, and technological failure. Highly sensitive, prone to false positives, and easily manipulated, it is precisely because of their flaws that these technologies have become the perfect ghost hunting aids. The sensitivity combined with unpredictability leaves ample room for interpretation. The Ghost Hunter looks for patterns and anomalies in search of meaningful coincidence. Paranormal Investigators create highly detailed explanations of their methods, theories, technologies, and interpretations (Dicky 2016: Costello 2018).

The faulty technology of paranormal investigation adds another layer of theatrics to ghost hunting. The dramatic display of LED lights in a dark room and the garbled sounds relayed by an EVP create excitement, anticipation, and ambiguity. Through these technologies, paranormal investigation codifies a distinct visual and auditory style.

Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) is any “voice” captured by electronic recordings attributed to the paranormal. EVPs are considered to be among the most compelling “evidence” among paranormal communities. To see how investigators isolate and clean up an EVP, see the video below.

Often used by electricians, an Electromagnetic Field Detector (EMF) is used to locate excess electromagnetic radiation. Ghost Hunters look for an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) as an indication of supernatural presence. These terms are often used interchangeably. Any electronic device will put off an EMP. It features a needle-based display, an alarm sensor, and LED lights. An EMP can be a source of excitement and drama, alarm blaring and sensors flashing with colorful lights to indicate a change in the electromagnetic field and, for ghost hunters, an otherworldly presence. By asking a spirit to trigger the sensor alarm on the EMF, Ghost Hunters communicate with the ghost through "yes or no" questions.

The K2 model, popularized by ghost hunting television, operates on only one axis. It must be manually moved to get a reading and is unshielded. It can be set off by nearly any electronic device that puts off electromagnetic waves.

The grainy gray and green of a night vision camera is synonymous with ghost hunting shows of the 2000s and 2010s. A night vision camera allows investigators to limit use of light while on nighttime investigations and, like any recording device, may capture EVPs or other unexplained phenomena.

While more contemporary ghost hunting television may use higher quality black and white night vision and lighting, the poorer quality green effect is still used as a visual short-hand for a haunting in film and TV. Paranormal media and movies like Paranormal Investigation use these established visual cues and aesthetics to give the hauntings portrayed a sense of Otherness. The distortion of the familiar through night vision and the isolation of night give these videos and pictures a distinct and eerie sense of "ghostliness".

A Ghost Box is a radio intended to scan special frequencies for EVPs and to communicate with entities. The ghost box works by flitting between AM and FM channels, picking up bits of words and phrases. What words come though is controlled by the spirit. The video below demonstrates the harsh static noise of a ghost box, disrupted by an anomaly, and the interpretation of that anomaly within the context of the investigation.

Because a Ghost Box picks up random words as it flits between frequencies, some results are nonapplicable and hilariously absurd.

Through the use of EMFs, EVPs, night vision cameras, and folk methods like talc powder, mediums, and Ouija boards, investigators conduct their own investigation using what they have learned from the history, eyewitnesses, and legends.