Using Spirit Boxes for Ghost Hunting

Spirit boxes scour AM/FM frequencies, searching for snippets of spectral voices. Get the scoop on their drawbacks and how to use them after the jump.

Using Spirit Boxes Show Notes

How They Work

Spirit boxes are handheld radios that have been altered for ghost hunting. It lets them sweep through different frequencies, looking for voices. There’s a theory that ghosts use radio waves to speak to the living. We don’t know why that is.

Spirit Box Gallery

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What To Expect

You never know what you’ll get while using these radios, besides a lot of static. In some cases, you hear the same voice speaking over many frequencies. This is called a disembodied voice—a good thing! In most cases, you’ll hear bits of voices from whatever plays on the stations. You have to patch those snippets together for a response.

How To Use

There are 2 ways to use them on your ghost hunts:

EVP Sessions

For EVP sessions, you simply turn on the spirit box, set your sweep range, and let it move forward or backward. As you ask your questions, the spirit will ‘pick’ out words or speak to you as the radio moves through the frequencies. All sound bits (or disembodied voices) should directly answer your questions.

You still want to have an audio recorder or video recorder on the tape the session. Very few spirit boxes can record their outputs and your questions. 

Engagement Sessions

You can also use them as part of an engagement session. This is how Ghostly Activities gets better evidence. Just turn on the spirit box and set it to a channel without a radio signal. For some unknown reason, white noise or static helps a spirit manifest or move objects. If you can, use video to capture the session.

Drawbacks

Spirit boxes aren’t very accurate. You get random answers to your questions. You could also hear an audio matrix, which can fool the best of us. The static is also a problem: It will drown out your questions while recording.

Common Models

• P-SB7 (used in podcast, and commonly appears on ghost hunting shows)
• P-SB11 (a dual-sweep device with temperature sensor and red light for shadow detection)
• SBox Ghost Box (which can record the session)