Is Night Vision Good Ghost-Hunting Equipment? Testing an Infrared Camera During a Paranormal Investigation

Hey, spooky cats!

Today we're talking about one of the most common pieces of ghost-hunting equipment: night vision cameras.

Watch almost any paranormal investigation show and eventually everyone turns off the lights, the screen turns that familiar green, gray, or purple color, and suddenly we are ghost hunting.

But why?

Why do ghost hunters use night vision cameras?

Do ghosts only come out when we turn off the lights?

Can infrared cameras actually see something our eyes can't?

And most importantly, is night vision scientifically useful for paranormal investigation?

We recently converted one of our GoPros into a night vision camera and took it to the historic Wayside Inn for its first real test.

So let's talk about what night vision actually does—and what it definitely doesn't do.

What Is a Night Vision Camera Actually Seeing?

First, we need to clear up one really common misunderstanding.

Night vision and thermal imaging are not the same thing.

A thermal camera detects infrared radiation associated with temperature differences and converts those differences into an image. Night vision cameras generally rely on reflected light, often including near-infrared light that humans cannot see but the camera sensor can detect.

Near-infrared illumination is commonly used in surveillance cameras precisely because it allows cameras to create useful images when there isn't enough visible light for us to see normally.

So your night vision camera is not necessarily seeing heat.

It's seeing light.

It's just seeing a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that your eyes normally don't.

And right there is where night vision becomes interesting for paranormal investigation.

Why Do Ghost Hunters Investigate in the Dark?

This question has always bothered me a little.

Why do ghosts apparently require mood lighting?

If ghosts are real physical phenomena, there is no established scientific reason they should suddenly become more active because we turned the lamps off.

Yet ghost hunting and darkness have become almost inseparable.

Some of that is practical.

At night, historic locations may be quieter. There are fewer guests walking around, fewer cars outside, fewer employees working, and fewer environmental disturbances.

And admittedly, investigating in the dark is creepy.

That's great for television.

It doesn't necessarily make it better science.

Night vision does solve one legitimate problem, however:

It allows us to continue recording when we don't want visible lighting illuminating the room.

That makes night vision useful as documentation equipment even if darkness itself has absolutely nothing to do with ghosts.

Our Converted GoPro Night Vision Camera

For our experiment, we converted one of our GoPros for night vision.

We did the conversion ourselves, which meant we also had to manually focus it.

That created our first completely non-paranormal experiment:

Did we manage to focus the thing correctly?

Thankfully, it looked pretty good.

During our first test, we were inside our room at the Wayside Inn with almost all the visible lighting turned off.

I could barely see.

The camera could see practically the entire room.

And that is the first big advantage of night vision.

The camera can continue documenting things happening in an environment where I would otherwise have trouble seeing what was going on.

That doesn't make what it records paranormal.

But it means we have a record to examine afterward.

“What's That?”

It didn't take long before the night vision camera demonstrated one of its biggest problems.

While filming, I noticed something strange on the screen.

My immediate reaction was basically:

What's that?

Then I looked more carefully.

Probably a reflection.

And THAT is exactly how I think we should approach night vision footage.

Infrared light behaves like light.

It reflects.

Glass, mirrors, shiny furniture, metal, polished surfaces and even some materials that don't appear particularly reflective under visible light can behave differently when illuminated in near infrared. Night-vision systems still depend on reflected light, which means reflections and uneven illumination are part of the imaging process.

Seeing something unusual on an infrared camera does not mean the camera has detected something supernatural.

It means the camera detected light.

Now we have to figure out why.

Night Vision Can See Things We Can't See

This is probably the argument for night vision that interests paranormal investigators the most.

Near-infrared cameras can detect wavelengths outside normal human vision.

Therefore, technically, the camera can see things we can't.

But that statement comes with an enormous spooky asterisk.

The fact that our eyes couldn't see something doesn't mean the thing was paranormal.

The camera may simply be seeing ordinary infrared radiation reflected from an ordinary object.

It's similar to using a microscope.

A microscope reveals things your naked eye cannot see.

That doesn't mean everything under the microscope is a ghost.

The scientific question would be much more specific:

Can a paranormal phenomenon produce a detectable optical signal in near infrared?

As far as we currently know, that hasn't been demonstrated.

But it is something we can test.

How Night Vision Could Be Used Scientifically

This is where I think night vision becomes genuinely useful paranormal investigation equipment.

Instead of asking:

Can this camera see ghosts?

Ask:

Can this camera record something that another camera cannot?

Now we have an experiment.

Imagine putting two cameras beside each other.

Camera One records normal visible light.

Camera Two records near infrared.

Both cameras point toward exactly the same location and record continuously.

Something appears on the infrared camera.

Now we check the visible-light camera.

Was it there too?

If yes, then we're probably looking at an ordinary physical object, person, insect, reflection or environmental event.

If it appears only on the infrared camera, things become more interesting.

But we're still nowhere near “ghost.”

Now we have to determine whether the object reflects infrared differently than visible light.

Was there an insect close to the lens?

Was there dust?

Could something have reflected the infrared illuminator?

Could the camera have created an imaging artifact?

Could another infrared source have entered the room?

Could we recreate it?

This process is a lot less exciting than yelling “GHOST!” at the television.

But it's much more useful.

The Best Use for Night Vision: Continuous Documentation

Personally, I think this may be the biggest advantage of night vision.

During our investigation, we were doing EVP sessions, checking the compass, watching EMF readings, using Ghost Tube, taking Polaroids and wandering around a very old building while trying not to step on our own equipment.

At one point the cat ball went off.

Ghost?

Nope.

I stepped—or possibly sat—on it.

Mystery solved.

But that's exactly why cameras are important.

Humans are terrible at remembering every little thing happening around us.

Video gives us another witness.

If something moves, makes a noise or activates another device, we can go back and look.

Where was everyone?

Was someone walking past?

Did I bump something?

Was a flashlight being moved?

Did somebody step on the cat ball?

The night vision camera isn't detecting the paranormal.

It's helping us reconstruct what happened.

That is valuable.

Night Vision Works Especially Well With Other Equipment

One camera by itself gives us one piece of information.

Several instruments recording simultaneously become much more interesting.

During our Wayside Inn investigation, we were also monitoring:

• EMF
• A compass
• Carbon monoxide
• EVP recorders
• Ghost hunting apps
• Cat balls
• Polaroid cameras

Suppose the compass suddenly shifts.

That's mildly interesting.

Suppose the compass shifts and the night vision camera shows someone moving a piece of equipment beside it.

Mystery probably solved.

Suppose the compass shifts, an EMF meter spikes, and something passes through the night vision frame at exactly the same time.

Now we have an event worth investigating.

That still doesn't make it paranormal.

But multiple synchronized observations give us much more information than one flashing gadget sitting alone in the dark.

You Need a Stationary Camera

Walking around with night vision is great for exploring.

It is not necessarily the best way to collect evidence.

During our investigation, we were walking through hallways, looking at fireplaces, exploring rooms and passing the camera back and forth.

At one point I even apologized for the crappy filming.

That's fine for documenting an investigation.

For an actual experiment, however, I'd also want at least one night vision camera that doesn't move.

Put it on a tripod.

Aim it at the same location.

Leave it there.

Now if something changes, we have a consistent frame for comparison.

We know the camera didn't swing toward a light source.

We know someone's hand didn't pass near the lens.

We know the viewing angle didn't suddenly change.

A fixed camera eliminates a surprising number of variables.

Infrared Reflections Can Look Very Strange

Historic buildings are basically reflection factories.

The Wayside Inn had:

• Mirrors
• Glass
• Framed artwork
• Old clocks
• Windows
• Polished furniture
• Metal fixtures
• Fireplaces

We were practically begging infrared light to bounce around.

Infrared surveillance systems have to account for reflected illumination, and particles such as fog or water droplets can also scatter illumination back toward an optical camera.

So if something bright suddenly appears in night vision footage, the first question shouldn't be:

Who died here?

It should be:

What could be reflecting the infrared light?

Slightly less dramatic.

Much more productive.

Beware of Dust, Bugs and “Orbs”

Night vision also creates fantastic conditions for everybody's favorite paranormal celebrity:

The orb.

Dust particles, insects and moisture passing close to an illuminated camera can reflect light back toward the lens. Optical systems routinely deal with particle backscatter, and dust or lint on camera optics can also create imaging noise and artifacts.

When something tiny is extremely close to the camera, it can appear enormous because it's badly out of focus.

Suddenly your mosquito looks like a glowing translucent sphere drifting through the haunted ballroom.

Congratulations.

You have discovered the Ghost of Bugs Past.

This is another reason multiple camera angles matter.

A mysterious glowing object visible on one camera but absent from a second camera several feet away may have been extremely close to the first lens.

What About the Purple and Sepia Color Changes?

During our Wayside Inn test, we noticed the image occasionally shifted between a purple-looking image and something closer to sepia.

That looked strange.

But strange camera color is not paranormal evidence.

Near-infrared light doesn't interact with the camera's color filters in exactly the same way visible light does. NIR can contribute signal across the color channels, which is one reason cameras designed for normal daytime photography commonly use infrared-cut filters to maintain natural-looking colors.

When you modify a camera to respond differently to infrared, funky colors can happen.

Changes in lighting entering from windows or nearby lamps can also affect what the camera produces.

So before blaming the lady in white for changing my GoPro from purple to brown, I'd like to recreate the color shift.

Ghosts get blamed for enough things already.

Night Vision Is Not Thermal Imaging

This deserves repeating because I see these terms mixed together constantly.

Night vision sees reflected light.

Thermal imaging measures infrared radiation associated with temperature.

If a human walks through the room, both cameras may see the person—but for completely different reasons.

The night vision camera sees infrared light reflecting from the person's body and clothing.

The thermal camera sees differences in emitted infrared radiation related to temperature.

That means using both at the same time could potentially be useful.

If something human-shaped appears on night vision, what does thermal show?

What does the regular camera show?

Does another night vision camera see it?

Now we're investigating instead of simply reacting.

A Better Night Vision Ghost Experiment

If I wanted to specifically test night vision as ghost-hunting equipment, here's how I would do it.

I'd use three cameras:

Camera One: Normal visible-light camera

Camera Two: Infrared night vision camera

Camera Three: Thermal camera

Place them as close together as possible and point them toward the same area.

Then record continuously.

Before starting, I would photograph and document reflective surfaces, windows, mirrors, vents and electronic equipment.

I'd also record the locations of infrared illuminators.

Then conduct the investigation.

If an anomaly appears, compare all three recordings.

Did every camera see it?

Only infrared?

Only thermal?

Did it move through the room?

Could it be recreated?

Did an environmental sensor change simultaneously?

Did someone move?

Was there a bug?

Did a car drive past the window?

That's how night vision can move from spooky filming equipment into something approaching an actual controlled paranormal experiment.

So Is Night Vision Good Ghost-Hunting Equipment?

Yes.

Actually, I think it's one of the more useful pieces of paranormal investigation equipment.

But not because we know ghosts appear in infrared.

We don't.

There is currently no established scientific evidence showing that ghosts emit or reflect near-infrared light differently from ordinary objects.

Night vision is useful because it gives us another way to observe and document the environment.

It allows us to record in darkness.

It sees wavelengths our eyes cannot.

It can help determine where people were when something happened.

It gives us footage to compare with EMF readings, EVP recordings, thermal images and other environmental measurements.

And if we someday capture something genuinely strange, having several different types of cameras recording the same event could help us determine what it actually was.

That's far more useful to me than a device that simply flashes and announces there's a ghost nearby.

Our First Night Vision Test at the Wayside Inn

Did our newly converted GoPro capture the lady in white wandering down the staircase?

No.

Did Shakespeare climb out of one of the creepy paintings?

Also no.

Did the spooky mirror reveal a mysterious figure standing behind me?

Thankfully, no.

In fact, despite walking through some wonderfully creepy rooms in almost complete darkness, we didn't see anything I would call convincing paranormal activity.

And that's okay.

The camera worked.

We tested the focus.

We learned how it behaved around different lighting conditions.

We noticed reflections and color changes.

And we discovered some things I want to improve before the next investigation—especially the audio setup.

That's what equipment testing is supposed to accomplish.

Sometimes the most useful paranormal investigation ends with:

Nothing happened.

Because now we understand the equipment a little better.

And if something strange does happen next time, we'll have a better chance of figuring out whether we've captured a ghost…

…or an infrared mosquito with excellent timing.

Stay spooky, spooky cats!