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Ghost Hunters Cameras: Why They Don’t Point at Spirits
Hello friends! Continuing my daily blog in anticipation of the all new episode of Kindred Spirits on Friday night at 9/8c on Travel Channel. This week we head deep into the Sterling Hill Mine in New Jersey, which if you’ve followed me for some time, you know I’m terrified of being underground. We don’t get to delve too deep into my claustrophobia issues on the episode, but it’s quite apparent by my body language and facial expressions that I am VERY uncomfortable, ha! Also, doesn’t help that the place is wicked haunted to boot and there were crazy sounds happening around us constantly.
Aaaaanyway, moving right along to today’s commonly asked question about the show…
“Why don’t the camera operators point at the ghosts instead of you? Why don’t you wear head/body cams so we can see what you see?”
There are many reasons for this, so let’s dive in.
First of all, it is the camera operators job to focus on us. They are making a show about us and our investigation process. It is imperative that they capture as much of us and what we’re doing as possible because we never know how the investigation is going to end, so every bit of what we say and do could play in to what needs to be edited to tell the “story” for you as viewers. If they miss a key moment – a facial expression, a bit of dialogue, an action we make – they can’t get that back. So their instruction is to stay on us AT ALL TIMES. Even then, if we see something obvious, they will try to sweep in that direction to see if they can pick anything up, or at the very least, give you an idea of the surroundings we’re in so you know what we’re looking at.
Secondly, their cameras are just not like ours. Their cameras are much more involved and require a few seconds to set up a shot. They can’t just point it in any direction and pick up everything. Some lenses are designed for close up range, some are more tilt shift, some are designed for wide angle, so when they change the shot, they need a few seconds to adjust their lighting settings and focus. (Sorry my crew friends, I know it’s SO much more involved than that, I’m trying, ha!) Even then, if we are seeing something at the end of a long dark hallway, if there’s no lighting, their cameras will just pick up darkness. Even with IR cameras from Ghost Hunters days, they require IR light, if there isn’t any, you don’t pick up a thing.
Yes, our DVR cameras are capable of reaching larger spaces, and we blanket every location with as many of them as we can. But the quality is just not there in a camera like that to shoot a show with. Not to mention, even those require large amounts of IR light to capture a space.
The same goes for body/head cameras. We’ve tried them on many occasions, and the reality is, the footage is unwatchable. Without someone monitoring lighting and positioning, you get a bouncy shot that would make you, as viewers, completely seasick.
All of this means that we all do our best. We all have our jobs. Adam and I reposition our cameras through out our multi day investigations and put a lot of thought and planning in to where we decide to put them. The crew works their butt off making sure they can keep up with our craziness. Sometimes we get a wild anomaly on camera and sometimes our cameras are pointed right at it and it still doesn’t pick up.
It’s all the nature of the beast when investigating the paranormal. It’s highly unpredictable, sometimes frustrating, but mostly, utterly fascinating to me.
Thanks for continuing along as viewers and readers and we’ll see you on Friday night in the mine! *gulp*
~ a
PS. Shout out to our phenomenal crew at Paper Route Productions who have become like family to us over the years. You all do an amazing job and we love you!
Spirit and “Ouija” Boards
As many of you know, I have a tremendous interest in spiritualism and how the whole field of paranormal investigation began here in the US. A very important part of that history was mediumship.
Mediums used many tools during the hey day of spiritualism – from tarot cards and spirit trumpets – to spirit boards.
Yes, spirit boards.
Ouija is a brand name, not the name of the board. The name ouija is trademarked by Hasbro. Spirit boards were introduced as a parlor game in 1890. It wasn’t until their use by mediums during WW1 that they were seen as being associated with the occult – and it wasn’t until a spirit board made an appearance in the Exorcist that it was associated with demonic possession.
I own many spirit boards. Personally, I have never had a run in of the paranormal nature using one. It is my opinion that if you are going to use ANY TOOL to communicate with the other side, you should be ready for any repercussions. Be it a K2 meter, a digital voice recorder, a camera, a dowsing rod, a pendulum – what ever you fancy.
That being said, the entire reason I’m writing this, is because one of the designs on t-shirts I sell is that of a spirit board. I am fascinated with their history, and I think many of them are beautiful. They are a large part of what we do and I recognize and appreciate that – hence the design. I feel like every time I post related to it, I get a few, (not many), overly zealous ouija board haters.
FYI, the few times I’ve met people who actually dealt with demonic possession – not one had toyed with a ouija board. In almost all the cases, they had a moment of weakness in their life and a “demon” took advantage, or they were investigating a place they had no business being in. Most of the people I’ve met who have experienced activity after using a spirit board, experienced typical haunt type activity from a entity who had learned to communicate and wanted more – as seen many times using many other methods of investigation.
I have a collection of vintage spirit boards of my own – as well as old spirit photos, tarot cards, etc. None of these things have brought any harm to me or my family. I know – some of you will say, “YET.” – But, I could get in a car accident driving to the post office tomorrow. I can’t dictate my entire life on very slim chances of danger, because they’re everywhere. Truthfully, I feel my space heater or a lit candle pose a greater threat to my safety at home than my collection of occult artifacts.
So, there you have it. My feelings on the Ouija. Expect to be referred to this if you ever question my merchandise designs. 😉