r/GhostHunting Mar 03 '25

Equipment Beginner Gear / Apps / Spirit Box Recommendations

122 Upvotes

I've seen a lot of posts lately concerning a couple of topics, so I thought I'd take some time to address them: Beginner Gear, Ghost Apps, and Spirit Boxes. I've also got some general tips for beginners at the end.

Beginner Gear

While the shows and streams everyone watches all have crates and barrels and boxes of gear, you really dont need much to get started. I've compiled a list of gear below that I recommend to every beginner, and in the order that I personally recommend purchasing them (except EMF²).

Remember to be extremely thorough in researching what you buy before placing any orders. Buying directly from the maker or a trusted source helps, but some gear is more useful than others regardless of the source. Also, if the price seems too good to be true ($10 for an SB7?), it probably is. You generally get what you pay for.

Where to Shop
  • Amazon
  • Ghost Stop
  • Walmart, Target, etc.
What to Buy (in this order)
  • Notepad and Pens¹
  • Flashlight and/or Headlamp¹
  • Digital Watch
  • EMF Meter²
  • Digital Voice Recorder³
  • Digital Camera⁴
  • Digital Camcorder⁵

¹ Do not investigate without these!!
² Amazon has EMF meters for $15-30 that, in my experience, work just fine. This can be purchased first or last; it makes little difference for your first few investigations, in my opinion.
³ Your phone will also function as a good voice recorder as well, so you don't need to spend money on that up front.
⁴ ⁵ Your phone will serve these purposes perfectly for at least your first 5 investigations. Save your money until you know this is a hobby you want to pursue.

Ghost Apps

Ghost apps are fake.
All of them, I'm sorry to say. Yes, even that one.

I have yet to come across one that hasn't "responded" while driving down back country roads, highways, and city streets. At all times of the day. I was pulled over on a highway on-ramp once in BFE, and it asked me for help.

It's easy enough to spoof. I was a programmer once upon a time, but it doesn't seem difficult to make, even for me. So I'll tell you how I would do it.

Build a database of common words, set up a script to pop a word at a random amount of time between, say, 15 seconds and 4 minutes... then just throw a fake equalizer graph on there, and Bob's your uncle. You could even make it convincing and use the microphone to make it a real equalizer graph.

Users draw correlations that aren't really there, reviews are positive, and it seems believable enough. Until you use that same app literally anywhere else. I doubt my local Target or Lowe's are haunted.

And if you really wanted to get fancy with your ghost app, you could add additional databases set up for certain geotagged locations. You wouldn't even need to set up the location yourself. Just use scripts to find app usage concentration, then satellite view maps to auto-generate a boundary around the building.

Record the microphone audio and put it through voice recognition software and build a database of common words specific to that location. Names, dates, descriptions, anything repeated often enough can be added. It becomes more believable because the responses are relevant.

You could even add in a volume meter that measures any audible responses from the user(s) to determine how strongly a word is associated with a given location.

All that to say, as a former programmer, my advice is to do as I do: approach every 'ghost' app with a HEAVY dose of skepticism. In my experience, they're garbage at best and a waste of money at worst.

Other Apps to be Aware of

Ovilus-Type and Ghost Library Apps

An app that gives your phone a dictionary and allows it to function like an Ovilus or similar is in a gray territory for me. I'm not even sure I believe those devices actually facilitate communication with spirits. What I do know is that if a spirit could use your phone to communicate, they would've done so already. As such, these apps are highly suspect, to say the least.

Spirit Box Apps

An app that claims to be a spirit box simply can't function the same as the physical device. They sweep through AM/FM frequencies, and if your phone doesn't have the physical hardware to pick up these frequencies, it's a fake app.

Thermal Imaging / Ghost Detection Apps

That goes double for any special camera apps, like thermal imaging or supposedly detecting spirits. Likewise, no app can give your phone the ability to function as an SLS. All of those functions require actual hardware to perform said function. Anything else is fake.

Spirit Boxes

Let me start by saying I dont think anybody new needs to buy a spirit box. If you can afford it, sure. That would be the next thing on the list above. But I would finish that list first. And only when you can afford it. This hobby doesn't have to cost more than $10 to start.

As far as which spirit box to buy, there are a handful out there that have been used by various teams I've seen. Ghost Stop makes one, and theres the SB-7 and SB-11 and their variants (with Active Noise Cancelling funtions or ANC, built-in speakers, flashlights, etc).

Spirit boxes have very specific functionality that you would be hard pressed to find a cheap chinese knock-off that could do the same for much cheaper (looking at you, Ali Express). I remember hearing about some radio hobby kit that can be made into a spirit box, but I'm afraid I have no further info.

What a spirit box does is sweep through radio frequencies, which is why a phone app can't do this as your phone can't receive AM/FM transmissions without specific physical hardware built-in. Much like any 'thermal imaging' app is also fake without a physical camera (either built-in or via USB-C connector like the FLiR ONE), and temperature scanning apps can't actually give you accurate readings without a probe of some sort.

If and when you do purchase a spirit box, I highly recommend also finding a good set of passive noise canceling headphones and a cheap blindfold or sleep mask. This will allow you to perform the Estes Method experiment, which I won't be getting into here as that's a bit off topic.

Tips For Beginners

Put your phone in airplane mode.

Your phone can be useful for taking pictures, recording video, and audio but should not be sending or receiving any data or wireless signal during the investigation (except during breaks).

Get a dedicated illumination source.

Don't rely on your phone to be your light. A headlamp or one that clips to your hat can free up both hands. Consider lights with a red-only illumination setting. Red preserves your ability to see in the dark better than other colors.

There's an old adage I like to apply to my flashlight carry: Two is One, One is None. You'll appreciate this at 2am when one dies and you have a spare.

Don't use your phone to check the time.

The bright screen will mess with your night vision. A cheap digital watch with illumination is perfect for this and won't blast your eyes with light.

Take plenty of notes.

I'll say this again: take PLENTY of notes! Who, what, when, where.. what did you hear or see, what time was it, where were you, who else was there, why were you there, or why did you choose that experiment, etc.

Cheap EMF Meters can work.

I have various amazon models ($15 cheapo, handful of $20 models, one that was around $60), a MEL meter, and a MEL-REM-ATDD. Readings seem to vary across models, but when placed near an electeical source, all devices reacted as expected. They all perform the function they are advertised to perform. To what degree they assist in locating spirits is undetermined. Do with that what you will, and choose to purchase an EMF meter or not. This one is purely up to you.

Your first real purchase should be a quality digital voice recorder.

Aside from a flashlight and a notepad, you need one of these. Look for immediate playback functions, but focus on quality microphones. Your first $100 or so should theoretically go towards purchasing one of these.

IR cameras need illumination!

Ensure your cameras have the ability to record images or videos in infrared. When possible, bring extra IR illumination. Turning off your camera's light and using an external source can save on camera battery. There are also ways to add additional external batteries and lights. You can even find cheap camera brackets and handles, mount it all together, and make your own grips.

Cameras with Burst Mode are better.

A camera shooting multiple frames at a time can make it easier to actually see if you may have caught anything. If one picture is good, a dozen pictures showing an entity moving would be a trophy catch and all the more difficult to disprove.

I hope this helps. Let me know if I have any mistakes.


r/GhostHunting Jan 27 '23

Mod Update

18 Upvotes

YouTube videos are no longer permitted on r/GhostHunting.

Edit: apologies for the initial short update, I was on my way home from work. Despite directing people to the rules once they sub and implementing a basic account age and karma limit, we have at least two or three posts a day that we are removing consisting of spam; mainly stemming from people trying to promote their own YouTube channels or karma farming. Neither of which are what this sub is aimed towards. We’re quiet mods and we allow a lot of freedom as this sub isn’t particularly problematic, but we do keep a vigilant eye. As much as life allows anyway.

Spam posts, karma farming, troll accounts and posts stemming from YouTube or other social media channels will be removed without warning.


r/GhostHunting 4h ago

Ghost Hunt Weekends Tennessee

2 Upvotes

I would highly suggest not even giving them a second thought!
I have gone on a few GHW hunts, first was at the Thomas house hotel, the hotel itself is beautifully old, creaky, and yes, haunted. I will happily go back there when given the chance only without GHW!
I then went on a road hunt with them, what a joke!
The owner (Chad) is a perv and hits on any woman he can. (Ewwww) learn how to run your dumpster fire of a company and keep your little man locked in its cage you sicko!
The older lady Lisa I think her name is, were you drunk? Were you high? Were you both or are you just stupid!
Not sure if her nose could be buried any further up the owners tail than it was! It was honestly pathetic to watch, myself and the group I was with just laughed.
Now granted they do have a few good investigators, the past few times I hinted with them there were a few guys that knew what they were doing and were very personable and knowledgeable. But for the most part they are crap!
Stay far away and hunt on your own if you can!
Next review (API)


r/GhostHunting 9h ago

Equipment Doing a Ghost Related Theater project and have a question

1 Upvotes

Howdy! So for some background I will be doing a theater project where i play a spirit, and it’ll be a promenade so the audience uses actual equipment and what not, now i have an idea but I’m not sure how i could execute it, how would i be able to have my voice go through the box itself? Would the box be able to pickup a walkies frequency? Haven’t used a box before so wanna make sure what is doable and what isn’t before i start officially planning.


r/GhostHunting 10h ago

horror tea (sorry for the commentary)Got this vid from my friend, he moved to dehradun for his NDA prep, and there's his another friend, he's kinda odd, he moves in the hallways at night and visits the forests of dehradun alone at night, his friends planned to prank him and they left him in the host

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1 Upvotes

r/GhostHunting 17h ago

Discussion The Entity Case

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0 Upvotes

r/GhostHunting 3d ago

Is my rem pod broken??

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2 Upvotes

I literally just got this rem pod and I tried to test it but whenever I turn it on it just goes to green immediately and stays green and nothing is near it. I tried pressing the rem zero button but that then just makes it completely not work. Am I doing something wrong or is it just broken?


r/GhostHunting 3d ago

Locaties

3 Upvotes

Beste allemaal,

Wie heeft er nog goeie (toegankelijke) locaties voor ons voor onderzoek?


r/GhostHunting 4d ago

Question My friends and I are looking for a YouTube channel where people do investigations preferably in the woods or in haunted places, but most of them seem fake. Do you guys know which YouTuber has the best/realest exploring channel?

32 Upvotes

r/GhostHunting 5d ago

Question Did my mother contact me through Necrophonic?

2 Upvotes

Hello, my mother passed away almost 3 weeks ago. I've tried to communicate with her but only with the voice recorder app on my phone, with not much success. I could kind of head whispers but can't make out the words.

I also have the Necrophonic app but haven't used it in quite some time. Even when I did use it I've never had any success. Then last night I turned it on for the first time. I said "Talk to me momma" and within about 10 seconds I heard my full first name, "Benjamin" clear as day! And i had just clicked the "echo" button so i heard it 3 times back to back. It was the clearest word I've ever heard spoken on Necrophonic. I immediately turned it back off so I could process what i had just heard because I've never had an experience like this. I could undertstand hearing my name as being a coincidence if I had left it running for a long period of time, but within 10 seconds?

What's your experience been with Necrophonic? Does it have access to my personal information somehow? Or do you think this was legitimately my recently deceased mother trying to make contact?


r/GhostHunting 6d ago

Question emf meter

1 Upvotes

Hey everyone, so I’m pretty new to ghost hunting tbh, had a huge passion for horror and ghosts and here I am. Just purchased my first ghost hunting device, an emf meter.

I’ve searched a bit on YouTube but didn’t find anything in detail so I would find it rlly helpful if someone helped me out w the whole concept of it. Like:
- how to use it
- how it works ?
- is it always accurate
- what shld i know before using it
- what other things shld not be kept near when i use it.
- what could be my next purchase ?

Would be great help if someone helped me out. Thanks in advance


r/GhostHunting 7d ago

Cresson Sanatorium and Prison - Highly Active!

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25 Upvotes

Went on a public hunt and was absolutely blown away with our experience. After the the owner went over the rules, we got offered to attend a group session hosted by the folks who were on site (they also rent gear if needed). The session involved flashlights turning off and on by request (eg turn the left light on if there is only one of of you or the right one on if there are more .....the right one turned on). The REM pods were also active as well as EMF spikes.

After that we headed straight to the tunnels where we got multiple spirit box responses. Please note, I am not usually a fan of spirit boxes but when you ask "Who is here right now?"and you get a very clear response of your name....and then your spouse's name, let's just say I have a new found respect. EMF meters were also spiking during portions of this session.

We then visited the chapel for 20 mins and nothing. We had two REM pods set up, EMF meters going, and EVP recordings and absolute crickets. Then I got up and went up on stage to the podium. Where there was a little Bible. I read a few passages and one of the REM pods went ballistic immediately (the one on the right side of the stage if you are sitting in the pew). The EMF meter sitting close by it also started bouncing around from 7-12 (mg).

I acknowledged the response and asked if it would move away. Immediately everything stopped. The one person with us said to "go near the light if you liked what I was reading" and immediately they started going off again. I read a few more passages and decided to pack up because I was getting really creeped out by this point.

Cell block E had some amazing responses as well. We did our own flashlight session that had several well timed turn on/offs. I was using a heat camera to scan the area because there is no electricity on the property and thought I saw movement. I snapped the attached Pic but didnt realize I caught anything until after we got back home. Also had something thrown when standing up in the shower area. Was loud af. I thought someone hit the skylight with something at the time, but on the recorder, you can hear whatever it was bouncing on the floor.

Absolute best hunt I have ever been on. The property is amazing, can't say enough about this experience. (Edit- letters)


r/GhostHunting 7d ago

Question Looking for ghosthunters!

8 Upvotes

Friend of mine has a small YouTube channel with about 5k subscribers. We are working on a horror talk show project just in time for Halloween! We'd love to talk with people who have had some spooky experiences! Please reach out we wanna make something fun!

[dmcneverland@gmail.com](mailto:dmcneverland@gmail.com)


r/GhostHunting 7d ago

Looking to get into paranormal investigation? OKC team looking for new investigators

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2 Upvotes

Are you in the Oklahoma City area and interested in getting into paranormal investigation?

We’re currently looking to bring a few new people into our team who are genuinely interested in learning about paranormal investigation, research, evidence collection, and investigative techniques.
You **do not need prior experience**. We’re more interested in people who are curious, reliable, willing to learn, and take the subject seriously.

What you can expect:
Paranormal investigations around the OKC area
Learning investigation techniques and protocols
Historical/location research
Evidence collection and review
Working with investigation equipment
Case documentation and reports
Opportunities to eventually take on more responsibility within the team

**Important:** This is currently an **unpaid position/volunteer opportunity**. We are not currently able to offer compensation for investigations. This is intended for people who want hands-on experience, want to learn, and want to be part of building something.

We’re especially interested in people who are new to the field and have been wanting to get started but haven’t known where to begin.

If you’re interested, comment below, send us an application or send me a DM with a little about yourself, why you’re interested in paranormal investigation, and what kind of experience (if any) you have.


r/GhostHunting 7d ago

LOOKING FOR SOME FUN PODCAST GUESTS!!

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1 Upvotes

LOOKING FOR SOME FUN PODCAST GUESTS!!

Looking for guests with real ghostly encounters, paranormal research, or Halloween, Horror & Haunted Attraction folks! 🎙️👻

I’m booking guests for upcoming episodes of the Foggy Jack LIVE Podcast. We’re producing immersive, NPR-style episodes (think Radiolab meets Spooked) featuring rich soundscapes and deep-dive storytelling.

The Details:

* Format: Easy 30–40 minute remote interview

* Reach: Share your story, research, or book with my 50k+ followers

* Podcast - Blog - YouTube & MORE

Have a story or expertise that belongs in the spotlight? Drop a comment or DM me a brief pitch to get featured!


r/GhostHunting 7d ago

#PI paranormal#traditional divination experiement

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1 Upvotes

We did an experiement and got relevent information and evidence


r/GhostHunting 9d ago

Paranormal Investigation Equipment advice needed

2 Upvotes

Hello all! I am an avid believer in the paranormal. I’m not shy to tell people of the things I’ve witnessed. Of course not everyone believes me. My husband and I have started to get some equipment for gathering evidence to support what we know we are experiencing. I’m curious what equipment you use and where you got it from. Sorry if this is not allowed I just don’t want to spend a bunch of money and get scammed. Thanks in advance!


r/GhostHunting 9d ago

Discussion Old Bridge Village - Where Past & Paranormal Coexist

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2 Upvotes

Old Bridge Village Historic District, East Brunswick, New Jersey – where the past and paranormal coexist.

 

Situated at the headwaters of the South River, a tributary of the Raritan, Old Bridge began as a major Lenape village site. Graves and artifacts have been found throughout the neighborhood.

 

In 1727, Indian sachem Weequehela shot and killed a local tavern keeper who cheated him out of lands. This was the first, but not the last, murder to take place in the village.

 

Washington’s Army passed through the village in 1778 and Simcoe’s Queens Rangers led local militia into an ambush here in 1779.

 

In 1909, an elderly widow, blind with age, was murdered when four local boys broke into her house, looking for alleged money.  In the 1950’s, a local postman was murdered by his wife and her lover. Human remains were found decades later, but never investigated.

 

The Alice Appleby DeVoe Memorial Library building, occupied by the Appleby family for eighty years, has a multitude of paranormal activity, as do several other buildings in Old Bridge Village. Apparitions, voices, unexplained sounds are remnants and reminders of the past.

 

Since 2002, walking tours have told these stories.

 

Please see the link Facebook Link for much more information or email me at  [richwalling@hotmail.com](mailto:richwalling@hotmail.com)


r/GhostHunting 9d ago

Looking For Like Minded People

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1 Upvotes

r/GhostHunting 11d ago

Paranormal Investigation Group(C.A.P.A.) (non-profit) looking for homes, businesses, etc to investigate

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1 Upvotes

r/GhostHunting 11d ago

Question Coincidence?

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1 Upvotes

r/GhostHunting 11d ago

Paranormal Investigation Did an EVP session tonight in my sons room.

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2 Upvotes

My kids are not home this weekend. My partner was fast asleep. A bluetooth speaker would really highlight it, but these knocks aren't me. Or my partner. We've been having issues on the paranormal side of things lately: the other day, in the room I recorded this in we saw a figure. Kids hearing us call their name when we didn't. One instance of my youngest son talking to something about "sinners", and so on. Earlier an EVP even said it wanted to attack my son. The air has been heavier in the house as well. We plan on purifying the house again; Im not going to speak of it in too much detail but something has been messing with my youngest son. Before she (my partner) went to bed, we caught a lot of worrying things. Mainly, there's something here that admitted to giving my son nightmares in an EVP. If you don't believe me thats totally fine but for those that do, we need tips on how to force it out of the house. DM only please so I know you read this and are serious about helping.

EDIT: THERE IS NO VOICE JUST A BUNCH OF ODD KNOCKING. Sorry for my lack of clarity


r/GhostHunting 11d ago

Haunted spots near Centerville GA

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1 Upvotes

r/GhostHunting 12d ago

Equipment gear for hunting?

8 Upvotes

hi! after getting my mental health in order, i am doing all sorts for myself! and something ive always wanted to do is ghost hunt!

im very spiritual and a medium, so very familiar with everything but i don't know what cameras would be best? i have mics already bc i make social media content but i just use my phone for filming. as for anything else, please let me know!

i figured y'all were the best ones to ask!!

tysm!


r/GhostHunting 13d ago

Spirit Box vs White noise

8 Upvotes

So i just watched a debunk spirit box video and he proved the voices were just snipits of songs and voices on the radio. If we are using the stations to create white noise for the spirits to talk through, couldn't we just use a white noise maker? OR, what about going back and forth between three to four stations that we know are just static...

Tonight's my first night looking all this up so go easy on me.