What Is A Ghost?

Maybe they are right, who knows. I don't personally subscibe those theories though. It would interesting to see what experiments could be done to try and prove them.

ah the EMF - well they do what they are supposed to do - detect mains plug sockets. thats it. nothing more. You need a far better, far more sensitive sensor to detect complex waves. I agree with ian - the readings are fine, but if you see anything wierd then write it down. Sometimes the instrument readings are a distraction as there is NO equipment to detect ghosts (or UFO's for that matter) and they can be a distraction. Same as photographs - I am sick of orbs! get a grip and a few witnesses - multiple witness UFO sightings have a longer shelf life than photo's etc...

I think the main question is what type of phenomena EM fields can induce. From what I've read on the matter, they can certainly induce the lower-level reports such as shadowy movements or sensations of fear, but writers such as Albert Budden have made an unsubstantiated leap in ascribing the sighting of full apparitions to EMF.

There is still a lot of work to be done on EM fields and I think it needs some more good research in the field at locations where people are reporting having these experiences, as well in laboratories recreating these fields if possible.

Ever since the progressive disappearance of traditional film cameras I have noticed a steady reduction of the good ghost photographs.
Traditional film is quite sensitive to a number of agents: for example beta and gamma radiations have been shown to be able to impress photographic film (for example take a look at the first Chernobyl pictures, taken from rescue helicopters).
If I remember correctly there have been just a few studies on the matter, mainly in the field of analytical chemistry, but as I said the recent development of digital methods has cut interest in the matter.

There are some good articles about EMFs and hallucinations on the ASSAP website.

The "ghosts use emfs to materialise" argument is simply false and has never been made in the scientific literature.

Highly complex, weak, EMFs can interefere with neural processes - but only in susceptible brains.

These fields can induce sensory hallucination (via mild seizure) and can also induce delusional beliefs about sensory events (i.e., a bang / rap - being a ghost).

It is the temporal complexity and not the field strength per-se that is important (though obviously some strength is required)

If ghosts do emmit EMF, does this stimulate the light sensitive particals in camera film? This may be why when people take a picture they see nothing unusual, but when the film is developed, they see something out of the ordinary.
EM waves can be refracted (like light) but i don't know whether this is the same for EMF. If it is, then people that see ghosts may be veiwing them through a different medium such as a thin veil of water vapour. This would cause the EMF to slow down (if it is possible) and turn it into a visible source.
This may be the same with digital cameras, as they use a prism to split light into red, green and blue. All of this may be complete rubbish, but its a neat idea.

The type of EM field detected by EMF meters are the electric and / or magnetic field components produced by mains electricity (as well as those of a similar extremely low frequency). These have no effect whatever on film or digital cameras.

EMF meters can only tell you the aggregate reading over a spread of frequencies that they are sensitive to. As such, they are no real use for detecting the kinds of fields that produce hallucinations.

The idea that ghosts emit EM fields does not appear to be supported by any empirical evidence. Has anyone actually got a reading while watching an apparition? Even once? I really doubt it! I think it is mostly a prop used by the TV ghost hunting fraternity and their imitators to appear scientific.

So do you consider the hand held EMF meters to be useless in terms of investigating hauntings?

I wouldn't say useless, but they have their limits.

When I use them it is just for basic initial surveys of the location being investigated.

But if you are not then going to go ahead and do a more detailed survey with more specialised eqipment and actually do research into EMF's at that location, then I am not sure how useful they would be to any given group.