What is it about spooky things that we humans love so much? Is it the fact that most of us get chilled to the bone when there is something inexplicable about what is happening around us? Take ghost hunting, for example. Why are these so popular? Let's try to find some answers.
Ghost hunting has existed in our world since centuries. It is not wrong to assume that ghost hunting might have occurred even in the most ancient civilizations of the world. During human evolution, at every stage the species has tried to rationalize what goes on around them.
They put a rational finger on fires, lightning, rains, seed germination, and almost everything that intrigued them at the start, but there was one thing that they could never rationalize. And that was the presence (or absence?) of ghosts.
Whatever the case, the legend of ghosts still prevails with ghost pictures. Haunted houses, poltergeist infested rooms, ghastly apparitions in the most unlikely places, pictures of normal people with inexplicable orbs hovering atop them are increasing everyday.
People do love it. It is strange―they get spooked out of their wits, scream up till permanently devastating their vocal cords, get all goosebumps, break into cold sweats and even faint―but they get a kick with the very idea that there might be a ghost aroun, they could investigate. The various movies and reality television shows are not helping matters.
So, is ghost hunting good or bad?
Actually, that should not be the question. The right question to ask is―is ghost hunting rational or irrational? Is it an exercise devoid of all reason, or is there a shred of realism embedded somewhere within?
Well, if you find someone who can answer that authoritatively, you must be real scared. Because the person who knows the answer to this question may not be human at all! Quite a paradoxical situation, isn't it?
Seriously speaking, ghost hunting has been going on since so many centuries that it is impossible to believe there's no truth in it whatsoever. Most importantly, ghosts belong to the realm of the unknown―the spooky unknown, actually.
People are highly skeptical to even deny that there's no truth in it. Because they just cannot be sure what lies on the other side. While some people believe in ghosts because they really believe in them, there is a long list of people who believe in ghosts just out of respect or out of fear of the unknown.
What is ghost hunting actually? Quite simply put, ghost hunting is an expedition to capture ghosts in some way or the other. Most people would be quite content to have a picture that indicates there's something ghastly about it, while some people would want something more.
They might like to actually get an experience that they have encountered a ghost. They might get into reckless adventure to achieve this, as our dear Hollywood B-grade horror flicks so wonderfully show.
It is interesting to know what these experiences that ghost hunters are looking for are. Of course, the pictures with something spooky about them rule the roost, but then there are many other signs and indications that have been made infamous by all kinds of media dealing in horror.
These are the things that could qualify as presence of a ghost.
An unknown and unexplained chilling of the environment.
A strange noise, probably of a high pitch. Popular ghost sounds include babies wailing, people whispering tones, usually indecipherable.
A very offensive smell without any perceivable source, usually a putrid smell of rotting flesh.
Lights that come on and go off, vessels clanging with each other for no rhyme or reason, devices like computer screens and televisions coming on and off inexplicably, things flying across the room (these are all indications of poltergeist activity).
A sudden feeling of being touched or pushed.
A feeling that people are moving out of the corner of the eyes, or someone suddenly retreating in the shadows when one enters a room.
Doors creaking, chandeliers swaying, windows opening suddenly and cold drafts coming in, etc.
Sudden discharging of batteries, because ghosts lap up energies from those batteries if they can get them.
One could go on and on about this, but you get the picture. Anything that happens without any justifiable reason qualifies as a presence of a ghost, or a haunting, as some people would like to put it.
Since the time ghost hunting has existed (that's since ever, actually), people have used various devices to pin down these unexplained entities. In olden days, people would use more of supernatural devices, probably even have an exorcist or an 'agent that can make contact with the other side' in their ghost hunting party.
In those times, ghost hunting would take form of séances, where ghosts were actually invoked using various supernatural tactics.
Today, ghost hunters use equipments like: 1. tape recorders (many EVP recordings are present on audio cassettes) 2. infrared thermometers (to detect if an area is cooler than others)
3. digital cameras (as per ghost hunters, reel cameras show apparitions better; there are people who say that these figures show up if you develop prints in dark)
4. EMF detectors (ghosts are said to produce electric discharges wherever they are).
And what do these ghost hunters do when they actually meet with a ghost? Well, let's not get into that. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!