Cold Spots: Hidden Moisture or Paranormal Entities?
Alternative Uses for Thermal Cameras
Editor’s Note: In honor of Halloween Week, we wanted to have a little fun – and offer you a way to potentially expand your thermal imaging services in a spooky new way. Enjoy!
R&R recently reached out to Brenda Ozog, founding member of Great Lakes Ghost Hunters of Michigan to have her shed some light on alternative uses for thermal imaging cameras. Restorers are accustomed to utilizing thermal technology for detecting water damage or insulation problems. But what if that cold draft that you feel in your house on a warm summer day is...something else?
Brenda Ozog, Great Lakes Ghost Hunters of Michigan
Website: https://www.glghmi.com/
Find them on Facebook!
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your job as a ghost hunter.
I am the lead investigator and one of the founders of Great Lakes Ghost Hunters of Michigan. I've been in the field about nine years. When we are called out to investigate the property, the first thing we do is see if the property has electrical issues (is the house grounded), where may be high electromagnetic fields, and we do research on the property. From the research we try to determine who the entity is.
2. What kind of tools do you use to detect spirits? How long have you specifically been using thermal imaging for this?
We use various meters and cameras. The best evidence is video and audio. As for the FLIR thermal imaging camera, I use it for the opposite it was meant for. I look for cold areas and tried to determine if the cold area has a "human" shape to it. It is believed when a spirit manifests, they make the environment very cold, allowing the FLIR to pick up the cold area.
3. How effective is thermal imaging for finding ghosts and spirits?
You have to make sure there is nothing else around that would take on the cold temperatures like pillars and cement.
4. Can you share a story about one of your most memorable investigations where a thermal imaging camera was used?
This last weekend, I used it in the basement of an old mental asylum and captured a figure standing in the hallway. I've used it in other investigations like Fort Winnebago in Wisconsin. I also took it to Prospect Place, which is a known Underground Railroad site and tried to find entities that may have been coming there for freedom from the fields. This investigation is on www.glghmi.com
5. For someone who owns a thermal imaging camera, what should they know about using it for this purpose?
Make sure you try to see why it's showing up before you call it paranormal.
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