For When That Haunted House is Just Too Big
Tuesday October 30, 2007 8:27 AM
If your Halloween parties are lacking a spooky element (drinking too much vodka can be spooky, but not in a good way) you might consider going on a ghost hunt instead. But before you pick up your flashlights and head into a big empty house, you should know that ghost hunting's come a long way lately. If you're going to get serious about ghost hunting, you'll need some equipment.
Of all the ghost-hunting equipment out there (infrared cameras, electromagnetic field meters, moisture meters), motion detectors are the least expensive and easiest to find. Available at any hardware store, motion detectors are a professional ghost-hunter's staple. If you've got a small group of people or a really big area to cover, you can set up motion detectors in empty rooms. When they detect movement, an alarm will sound and you and your fellow ghost hunters can run to see what set it off.
Infrared sensors scan a large area and detect areas of heat in front of them. These can be used to ferret out small animals (pun intended), which are sometimes the root cause of strange noises you may hear. They can also be used to determine if any of your fellow ghost hunters are interfering with your investigation. Beam-break sensors fire an invisible beam between two units, and an alarm goes off if the beam is broken. These sensors can be useful, but non-corporeal objects may not break the beam. Vibration sensors are just that — they set off an alarm if any vibration is detected, which works well if the poltergeist you're hunting is fond of throwing things.
As with any equipment, you should be careful when setting up motion detectors. If your ghost hunt will take place outside, be sure to place your detector away from trees — a windblown branch or falling leaf may set it off. Test your alarm first to ensure that it's loud enough for you to hear, but not loud enough to bother neighbors.
Ghost hunting can provide some scary fun, but safety is still important. Get permission before entering any house or property; you don't want to spend your Halloween getting arrested for trespassing. If you can't find a proper place for ghost hunting, you can still use motion detectors to frighten your inebriated party guests.
