EMF Detectors as Paranormal Tools
written by: Michael Pierce

Paranormal Investigators have an ever-growing arsenal of new tools and technology to utilize to help bring out the belief in paranormal activity. Our list of advanced tools include high end digital cameras, digital video cameras with night vision capabilities, digital audio recorders, infrared digital thermometers, motion detectors, crank powered flashlights, negative ion detector and EMF detectors. Through the past years there has been much discussion and welcoming to the EMF detector as a valuable tool in researching the paranormal.  Known by numerous names (EMF detector, EMF Meter, “Ghost Meter”, TriField meter) all of these names describe the Electromagnetic Field meter.

An EMF meter is a scientific instrument, which measures electromagnetic radiation.  Most models strictly detect changing magnetic fields, though some can measure fluctuations in magnetic, electric and radio/microwave levels. So with such features, how does this result with the EMF meter being a valuable tool to paranormal research?

Some investigators speculate that irregular readings in these energy fields are a sign of a ghost/anomalous phenomenon. EMF meters provide a fantastic starting point in any investigation by allowing us to eliminate things that we cannot see such as natural electromagnetic fields within a home or surrounding areas. These tools certainly help our basis when going in to disprove or detail an apparent haunting, as there are numerous negative effects of natural EMF that surrounds us everyday.

Many people can ask why would you be taking EMF meters on an investigation when there is no solid scientific verification that they identify ghosts.  I will say straight out that an EMF meter is not going to prove a ghost or a haunting, but it is a tool that can help us understand any ordinary or anomalous activity throughout an investigation.

An anomalous reading on an EMF meter is only anomalous because someone says it is, and because of that, before any investigator uses their EMF meter in an investigation, they should practice with it around their house and around their neighborhood. EMF meters are sensitive to power sources and will register things such as TVs, radios, microwave ovens, power lines, etc.  The meter may even register your camera if they are too close together. The most important thing is to be aware of your surroundings before thinking that you have detected paranormal activity. Once you’re capable of ruling out natural causes of EMF, you can then begin looking into the irregular spikes in activity.

After regular causes of EMF have been justified and ruled out, you can begin looking for a reading that changes or fluctuates for no liable reason, and background readings that drop by no explainable cause. Keep documentation of when and where such irregular activity occurred.  It is always important to try and correlate the irregular EMF readings with another phenomena such as an inconsistent photograph, a cold spot, or even an abnormal sensation/feeling experienced in a location.