General Definitions:

Haunting - A place in which people have experienced unexplainable phenomena. Generally, hauntings are thought to be due to a "ghostly" presence, but are typically caused by environmental factors such as magnetic variance, etc..

Anomaly - Something found with no explainable source. An unexplainable source of data.

Ghost Hunter - Someone who looks for & documents what they believe are "ghosts" in probable locations such as cemeteries, abandoned buildings, old churches, battle fields, old schools, etc.. They aren't interested in researching the field from a scientific standpoint, many are just interested in the adrenaline rush of possibly experiencing something paranormal. Please note that CIParanormal.com isn't a "ghost hunting" website, we are a scientific research group.

PSI Researcher - Someone who uses their own theories/ideas to test new research methods, protocols, and equipment. A true researcher is not biased to an old idea, but works to disprove or prove further the old idea, to expand the knowledge of the field. To be a truly unbiased researcher, control studies must be established, and sites can't be looked at as being inhabited by "ghosts" - you must approach purported hauntings simply as places where odd phenomena is being reported.

Kinetic Energy - Physical manipulation of objects & movement (such as moving objects etc.) by an "unseen force". This is a very interesting phenomena, and personally, I have had rocks thrown at me from empty hallways, and have witnessed equipment actually being struck and broken when no one was within 20 feet of it.

Visible & Photographic Anomalies

Orb - These will show up in photos as a ball of light, varying in size. Orbs of all kinds have been disproved to be dust directly in front of the camera lens - read more about dust orbs here.

Plasmoid - Plasmoids, also known as "Orbs in Motion", show up as a short streak of light, or as an orb with a tail, suggesting motion. Fast moving particles (such as rain drops, snow, blowing dust) directly in front of the camera lens are typically the cause of "plasmoids".

"Ectoplasm" & Misting - Usually shows up looking like smoke or fog in photos. These are caused many times by condensation, fog, and breath in cold air that gets caught in the camera flash, giving the appearance of a large mist.

Vortex - Long streaks across photos - commonly caused by hair strands, string, fiber, etc., in front of the camera lens.

Spook Lights - Spook lights tend to show up in the same place frequently as balls of light, float around for a few minutes before fading, and sometimes even explode into a mist of light before disappearing. This phenomena is scientifically referred to as "ball lightning".

Audio Recorded Anomalies

To hear some EVP and sound anomalies, click here

EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) - Probably one of the most compelling of paranormal phenomenon. When you record audio, and at playback you discover voices that could not be heard at the time of recording, and that have no explainable source. Some investigators ask questions to see if they can get responses, and others just prefer to record constantly, and see what they came up with later. The cause of this phenomena is unknown at this time, which makes it very interesting and intriguing to most people.

Sound Anomaly - Sounds that have no apparent explainable source.

Investigation Tools

To see pictures of some of our equipment, click here.
Click here to buy equipment online.

EMF Meters - EMF Meters measure electromagnetic fields - variance in EM fields have been tied to many types of haunt phenomena. To read more about AC EMF meters, click here. For a comparison chart of many common AC EMF meters, click here.

Temperature Monitors - Temperature are either infrared point and shoot style, or have a hand held probe. Cold and hot spots have been noted to associated with odd phenomena for centuries. These monitors can help you measure for these spots. These temperature differences could possibly be due to chemical reactions with your skin (like icy-hot), so you feel colder or hotter, but you aren't physically colder or hotter. I have felt areas where it feels at least 20 degrees colder, but have never actually measured a temperature difference.

Cameras and Audio Recorders - Obviously, to document sites and record for EVP you need a camera and an audio recorder. Digital cameras are used many times by investigators, because it inexpensive to take thousands of photos and you get instant results, unlike 35mm film, that is expensive to develop and you have to wait several days for it to develop. The main problem with digital is you have no negative, so it is harder to analyze a photographic anomaly.

Motion Detectors - Some investigators use motion detectors to monitor any unseen heat, movement or object movement. I haven't worked with these much, but have heard they work well.

Still have questions?

E-mail us at info@ciparanormal.com