Professional Ghost Hunting Equipment – A Comprehensive List (2022)

Interested in going ghost hunting? Don’t go unarmed and unready.

Here’s a comprehensive list of some of the basic ghost hunting equipment and gear that professional ghost hunters use on their paranormal investigations.

You probably don’t need all of this equipment, and you definitely don’t need to go out and buy it all at once. So I noted which gadgets are must-haves and which ones you can skip and purchase later on. You can start slowly with what you need and can afford, then build up your inventory.

Choose the piece of equipment you want to use first and learn how to use it properly. Then you can head out into your paranormal investigations with confidence.

 

1. Digital Camera

This is a must-have. A digital camera is a piece of ghost hunting equipment pretty much all beginner ghost hunters start with because it’s easy to use and captures evidence very well. You can zoom in and change image settings like color and contrast. Plus, most digital cameras can detect the best settings for the conditions.

This is a no-brainer. You don’t need to purchase the most expensive digital camera. Buy what you can afford. Just make sure to purchase one with as high a resolution as you can afford.

Make sure you clean the lens every 15 minutes and remove the strap. Doing so will reduce the number of false orbs and ghost vortexes.

If you’re ready to go ghost hunting and capture some evidence of the paranormal, I have listed some of the best digital cameras available on Amazon below.

Best Digital Cameras Under $500

> Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II

> Olympus Tough TG-5

> Canon PowerShot SX60 HS

Best Digital Cameras Under $1,000

> Canon EOS Rebel T7i

> Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III

> Sony a6400

Best Digital Cameras Overall

> Nikon D850

> Sony a7 III

> Fujifilm X-H1

 

2. Night vision Camcorder

A night vision video camera is great to have as well, either to carry on you to shoot POV videos or set up on a tripod. However, we do not consider this a must-have because of 2 reasons: (1) video cameras can be quite expensive and (2) most digital cameras these days already have full spectrum video-capturing capabilities built-in.

But if you do have the budget to purchase a video camera, make sure you purchase a full spectrum version with night vision so that it can record videos in minimal light.

You can actually find some ghost hunting specific video cameras on Amazon for under $300. I have listed some of the best night vision camcorders for ghost hunting in the article below: 

https://www.thirdeyeparanormalsociety.com/best-night-vision-camcorders.

 

3. Digital Audio Recorder

This is another must-have. Some ghosts never actually manifest themselves visually so you need a good digital recorder to record electronic voice phenomena (EVP).

You need a quality digital audio recorder because it can pick up sounds that your ears can’t hear. Plus, you can then run the recordings through your computer and analyze for different sounds and EVP.

If you’re ready to record some of your own EVPs, I have listed the best digital audio recorders available on Amazon here: https://www.thirdeyeparanormalsociety.com/best-evp-recorders/.

If you want the highest quality, we recommend the Olympus WS-852. And if you’re on a budget, you can grab the Olympus VN-7200, which is great for beginners,  for less than $30.

 

4. Spirit Box (or Ghost Box)

We used to think that a Spirit Box was completely unnecessary and almost left it off our list of professional ghost hunting gear. However, we changed our minds. Although not a must-have, we believe that advanced ghost hunters may actually benefit from using a Spirit Box.

Spirit Boxes (or Ghost Boxes) scan radio frequencies, creating a din of white noise. Users can then simply listen for voices, or yell questions out loud and listen for an answer.

There are numerous Spirit Boxes out in the market right now, but we recommend the P-SB7 Spirit Box, also referred to as the SB7. If you’re interested in learning more about the SB7, you can check out our SB7 Spirit Box Review.

 

5. Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Meter

Another must-have! Ghosts are known to emit electromagnetic radiation or disturb electromagnetic fields (EMF) in an area.

Again, there are numerous EMF meters out in the market. However, the MEL meter is a notch above the rest. MEL meters have thermometers built into them, so you can hit two birds with one stone here.

If you find the MEL meter too expensive, then a Ghost Meter or K2 meter will do.

For advanced ghost hunters, we also recommend using a tri-field EMF meter, such as the TriField EMF Meter Model TF2. Tri-field EMF meters filter out manmade EMF changes (alternating current). So if your tri-field meter goes off, you have a stronger reason to believe that something paranormal is manifesting.

 

6. Thermal Imaging Device or Scanner

Paranormal investigators use thermal imaging devices and scanners to find “cold spots” on the theory that the presence of ghosts causes a noticeable drop in the ambient room or air temperature.

Thermal imaging devices actually work really well. And we really like them. However, we don’t believe they are absolutely necessary, especially for beginners, because they can be quite expensive. If you have an EMF meter with a built-in thermometer, such as the MEL meter, you could just use that instead.

If you aren’t worried about the cost, we recommend using the FLIR TG165 Spot Thermal Camera or the Seek Thermal Imaging Camera.

When using a thermal imaging device, always remember to take and record baseline temperature readings throughout the area you are investigating, and then see if you are detecting any abnormal drops or anomalies. This will prevent a lot of false positives.

 

7. Motion Detectors or REM Pods

This one is a toss-up. It’s up to you whether you want to use motion detectors or not. Our problem with motion detectors is that we get so many false positives that we get alerted way too often. However, if you still want to try them out, I suggest you start off by purchasing a few units.

We suggest using REM Pods. REM Pods are basically remote MEL Meters. They monitor both EMF and temperature fluctuations. When it detects something breaking its EMF field or significant fluctuations in temperature, it sets off a loud alert. When you hear this loud alert, that’s the signal to run back and investigate that area.

 

8. Radiation Detector or Geiger Counter

We consider radiation detectors, also known as Geiger counters,  optional because of 2 reasons: (1) They’re expensive, and (2) EMF meters already detect radiation, but not the full range.

However, after using a few Geiger counters on ghost hunts, we’ve seen them catch things when our MEL meters didn’t detect anything. So it could be worth having at least one Geiger counter on the team.

We recommend getting the RADEX ONE Geiger Counter.

 

9. Other Things You May Need When Ghost Hunting

Dowsing Rods

Dowsing rods are quite controversial. They’re not considered useful by pretty much all paranormal research groups, including ours (Third Eye Paranormal Society).

However, some groups have members that do use them on a regular basis. And those who do use them say that their movement can help detect the presence of ghosts.

If you want to try them out, it won’t hurt because they’re really cheap on Amazon.

Extra Batteries

Bring a lot of them. If there’s really a ghost hanging around, you don’t want any of your equipment running on low batteries.

Remember to take note of what battery sizes you need (usually AA or AAA type batteries) and be sure to bring along extra alkalines that are fresh.

If you have other equipment, like your camera, that use rechargeable batteries, make sure they are fully charged before the ghost hunt. You may even want to consider bringing extra fully charged batteries for them as well.

Flashlight

Do not forget to bring a flashlight. A lot of ghost hunting happens in the dark. This is a must-have.

I recommend using a high-powered headlamp, such as the Cobiz 6000 Lumen LED Work Headlight, or the more affordable Foxelli 165 Lumen Headlamp. This ensures that you can keep both hands free.

For your backup, you’ll want to get a small but powerful LED flashlight. These GearLight LED Tactical Flashlights are small enough to fit in your pocket. Plus, LEDs last a very long time, so you don’t have to worry about the bulbs going out.

Safe Storage

For safe transport and storage, the gold standard in hard cases is Pelican. Offered in a multitude of sizes and customizations such as padded dividers, foam, linings, etc, you’ll definitely find a case to fit all your ghost hunting gear. Made of a super-light polymer to reduce weight without sacrificing strength, they are waterproof, dustproof, crushproof, and designed for travel.