There are countless sightings of apparitions, ghostly figures and generally unexplained phenomenon over the centuries. Ghost hunting, in particular, is a practice carried out by many people who believe the presence of ghosts is very real indeed, and these paranormal investigators often use various kinds of equipment to help them locate mysterious activity.
One of the most modern inventions now commonly used in ghost hunting is the thermal camera – a device that displays an environment as a thermal image by using infrared radiation. Since the human eyes cannot see infrared, it’s widely believed by many paranormal investigators that using the thermal camera can help spot apparitions when the human eyes wouldn’t be able to see them.
Question is: do they actually work?
Ghosts: Fact or Fiction?
If you’re a believer in ghostly presences, you’re likely to be convinced that thermal technology is a great addition to the ghost hunting profession. If you’re a sceptic, you’re probably scoffing at the idea and think people are wasting their time using thermal cameras to find ghosts.
There’s no particular way to tell whether the believers or sceptics are the correct group at the moment. Thermal technology used in ghost hunting has flagged up a few strange anomalies over the years (including a famous image of a man appearing on a locker during the programme TAPS), but there’s no concrete evidence to prove that these strange occurrences were in fact ghosts.
On the other hand: how do you explain these strange occurrences by conventional matters? There’s seemingly no way to explain certain things that happen during paranormal investigations, but – in the case of thermal cameras – there may be some explanation to some, but not all, of the things a thermal camera picks up.
Heat Emissions and Ghost Hunting
As thermal cameras work exclusively with infrared radiation, they see the world as a great collection of temperatures. Colder items are shown as darkened, while objects that are hotter are shown in various colours ranging from red to bright white depending on how hot they are.
Every object that outputs heat has an emissivity level – which basically means that particular object’s ability to output radiation. This is picked up by the thermal cameras, and is shown on the thermal camera’s display as a thermal image.
When applied to ghost hunting, many believe that this can be applied to seeing ghosts because they allegedly output a form of energy that can be left behind as a temperature signature. While this isn’t proven either way, many times using a thermal camera flags up what is known as a ‘false positive’, which is essentially seeing a thermal reading that may either be inaccurate, or left behind by something else like the presence of a human, or the heat output of machinery in the room. Even electrical wires have some emissivity, so there are lots of factors that can affect what a thermal image sees, particularly in the dark.
On the other hand, certain things shown on thermal cameras cannot be explained. There may be nothing in the room that’s outputting heat at that time (particularly since many ghosts seemingly inhabit derelict/uninhabited buildings) and the thermal camera may still get a reading. While these may still be a false positive due to the camera not working correctly, there’s a lot of instances that have been reported that have no particular heat influences. The famous locker scene from TAPS, in particular, seems to clearly showcase the presence of a humanoid figure against a locker.
Thermal Reflection
Many thermal imaging courses outline during the basic stages of using a thermal imaging camera that is important to also consider another factor that may change a camera’s readings: reflections.
Since a thermographer essentially stands directly in front of the area they are testing, their reflection, and the reflection of other things in the room can change the reading of a thermal camera. Such examples include reflections bouncing off shiny metal components, showing up on the thermal camera as hotspots when really they’re just the reflection of something else.
This means that some of the instances of paranormal activity detected using thermal imaging can be explained by thermal reflection and – again – may be nothing more than a false positive.
Why Do Ghosts Register As Thermal Readings?
It is widely believed by paranormal investigators that ghostly beings are composed entirely of energy. This energy is said to absorb heat from the environment around the ghost, which ultimately ends up creating what is believed to be a ghostly shaped thermal cold spot where the ghost has absorbed the temperature from the environment around it.
While this usually results in an image that shows coldness, many investigators also say that, depending on the amount of energy absorbed, the ghost can also appear as a much hotter thermal reading. If you believe them, this may be the reason why ghostly inhabited areas are often felt to be so cold – the ghost’s energy is apparently drawing the heat away from the environment, and that’s exactly why these presences appear as a reading on a thermal imaging camera.
TV Ghost Hunters
Since in the modern world we’re spoilt for choice with incredible special effects and easy-to-use video editing tools, it’s not hard to see why many are sceptical of the legitimacy of ghost hunting TV programmes.
These kinds of programmes have been traditionally accused of over-dramatising areas by the use of sound, celebrities over-reacting to the darkened environments they’re placed in and screaming at every change of light and even using fake mediums to pretend they’re conversing with the dead.
Outside of the world of television, ghost hunters who legitimately do this as a hobby or a career exist and these are the people who firmly believe that technology such as thermal imaging cameras can be used to enhance their abilities to detect paranormal activity.
The TV shows about ghost hunting generally play on the conventions established in horror films but presented in documentary form, playing on our base fears through use of sounds, purposefully darkened environments and the team pointing out absolutely anything that moves.
Do Thermal Cameras Detect Ghosts?
Honestly, there’s no way of proving it either way. There are those who believe firmly in ghosts who are likely to be convinced by the benefits of this technology, but there are also those who aren’t ever going to be convinced in the presence of spirits, no matter how much evidence is presented.
Written by Barry Atkins at www.tester.co.uk
