Modern, scientific, paranormal investigation techniques often require tools and equipment which can cost a lot of money.  You may have seen some of these in use on your favorite television programs.  Even without the high end scientific recording devices, we still go through gobs and gobs of batteries and spend much of our own money on cameras and digital audio recorders, not to mention the time we spend reviewing the evidence we gather nor the transportation costs involved in getting to and from the locations we investigate.

What we need:

• Digital Video Recorder – This is a device usually used in security services to monitor several cameras at once.  It is a box where cameras plug in and which records the video digitally, on a hard drive for later analysis.  We need one of these with a monitor.  Estimated cost: $700 plus shipping for an 8-camera system with night vision and 60 foot cables.  We would prefer longer extension cables ($41+S&H for 4 60ft cables) to add to this system.  It does not include a monitor.
• Van or box truck to serve as mobile communications hub. (Must include a quiet AC power generator or AC power inverter.)
• Head-mounted IR cameras for each investigator with portable recorders. (We prefer 5 investigators per case.)
• Portable backup hard drives to store case evidence.
• Laptop computers for evidence review.
• Professional, Three-Axis EMF meters
• Data logging environmental sensors
• Flashlights
• Handheld 2-way Radios
• Batteries for all portable equipment.

Of course, some of these items are not feasible without help.

We are therefore, considering corporate sponsorship.  This would require that we give something back to our sponsors.  Here is what we are willing to offor our potential corporate sponsors:

• Banner Advertising on The Arcanorum website. (We have several options here. )
• Product Reviews (We will only give our professional opinion, so be careful if this is what you want.)
• Ad Placement on our van (when we get one – see above)
• Embedded ads in our videos (referring to branded products by name, wearing corporate logo shirts & hats, product logos visible in video, etc.)
• Direct voice-over ads in videos (“This video/investigation is sponsored by…”)
• Official product endorsements (We can supply video footage of our people making endorsements.)

In order to keep our investigative results from bias, we will not:

• Endorse or use any product we cannot actually recommend, no matter how much you pay us.
• Accept advertisements which might reflect negatively on our professionalism.
• Accept payment to skew or change the results of any investigation, report, or experiment.

We will consider all other requests, including syndication for books, movies, television, periodicals, etc.

If you would like to sponsor us, please use the contact form here and let us know what you would like and what you are offering.  We would be happy to accept product samples (even on loan in the case of expensive things like thermal imaging systems).  Cash is always an option.

Edit: We also welcome private and anonymous sponsorships.

The flip side of not charging for investigations, is that we do not pay to investigate.  Those investigations which charge money are not investigations, but commercial tours.  If you want to pay to meet investigators, tour allegedly haunted locations, hobnob with famous people, etc. go for it.  That sort of event can be a lot of fun and we can point you in the right direction for them.  As professional researchers, we do not see the scientific benefit in these outings.

It simply makes more sense for investigators to charge money to report on alleged paranormal activity than it does for us to pay to do so.  We provide a service.  We hope the result has some value.  Paying to do this service makes no sense.  Paying to be entertained makes sense.  We are here to study, not to be entertained.

It makes sense for an allegedly haunted location, especially a famous one, to hold tours.  We do wish a clearer distinction would be made though, between entertainment and scientific investigation.

Entity Sensor is a basic 3-axis Electromagnetic Field meter for the Android phones.  What makes it unique in Android EMF apps is the ability to “Zero” the scale so you can see any changes more easily.  It’s pretty nifty, but for what it is, I can’t see paying the $4.99 price.  I did like the concept though, so I emailed the developer basically saying that if he made it significantly more useful than the other apps out there, I’d be happy to pay more for it.  I suggested adding a data logging function and he agreed, saying that such a bonus was in the works for a Pro version.  We emailed back and forth a couple times and he has taken my suggestions to heart and implemented them into this first version of Entity Sensor Pro.

For the Pro version, the data logger makes all the difference.  When you begin to record data, the app saves a CVS file to the SD card for later analysis.  What’s more, is that there is a voice note function where you can notate your readings… or for ghost investigations, you can conduct an EVP session.  The CSV file notes the beginning and end of each sound file it records, thus giving you the ability to correlate the EMF readings with any audio evidence.

This is brilliant.  No more trying to position a camera to watch the EMF meter.  Even better, you get BOTH the visual indicator of the light bar AND the solid recording of the exact miligauss or mictoTesla readings in 3-axis format.  The CSV file records the readings and the start and stop times of your audio recordings.

I’ve only had a few minutes so far to test it but it works quite well so far.  The EMF meter is VERY sensitive to any changes.  Really.  On an investigation, put your phone on a flat surface and zero it out before recording anything.  You probably don’t want to be moving it around while recording either.  It’s THAT sensitive.

I’ll be testing it out more soon and posting the results and a more thorough set of usage instructions soon.  Bookmark http://www.arcanorum.org and stay tuned for more info!

But times have changed and there’s a new toy in town!

Enter: The Smart Phone.

If you already have an iPhone3G or an Android based phone, you already have an EMF meter.

If you’re using an Apple iPhone, check out the Paranormal State branded EMF meter from Moderati. (Warning though – many are saying it’s fake.) There is another one for $0.99 and another one that is free.

If you have an Android, you can download the Free EMF Meter or Krugism’s $4.99 Entity Sensor/EMF Detector.  (Scott at Krugism.com is well known for his excellent support and customer relations.) The Android platform has built-in 3-axis EMF sensors.  There are numerous (free and paid) apps you can use to see the result, including a nifty Tricorder app for you Star Trek fans.There are even some that graph all three axes and save all your sensor data to a spreadsheet on your microSD card.

So there you have it, folks.  Cheap EMF.  Even available in Walmart’s cell phone department included free with your Android or Apple smart phone.

Personally, I own an Android and currently use the Free EMF Meter.  I’m keeping a close eye on Krugism’s Entity Sensor though, as I’ve put in some feature requests and as soon as his app has enough to make it significantly better than the free one, I’ll be throwing some cash his way.

As always, The Arcanorum is happy to test and review any gadgets and gizmos you want to send us.  We will give an honest and informative review.  If possible, all we ask for is to keep the gadget if we like it and/or at least get a link back to the Arcanorum.org site.  Each review is negotiated seperately, so it never hurts to contact us.

Not only do we have new forums in place, but you can now request articles for us to write.  All you have to do is register for an account here and then submit your request on the “Ask Us!” page.

That’s it.

Now YOU can tell us what you want to hear about!

What are you waiting for? Get asking and we’ll get to researching for you!

I’ve known Brian for many years and been friends with him since I was in high school. When he contacted me to see if I was interested in working with him on this project the answer was “Yes!”. I have been interested in the paranormal for as long as I can remember. I run a website dedicated to the study of psychic phenomena and metaphysical experiences and I have a good deal of experience on the “psychic” end of things. The scientific side of the investigation isn’t something I know as much about, but I absolutely believe that anything that I can “feel” can be backed up by science one way or another. Or that’s the hope.

Science and metaphysics have a stormy relationship at best. They have long been at odds with people on the metaphysics end of things fighting over whether their experiences are valid and the scientific community solidly arguing against the possibility of many of the experiences that the other side have had. It is my personal belief that, in time, science will be able to prove the experiences of those that are more on the mystical side of things. There is scientific proof of haunting, we just have yet to find it yet. Both sides need to meet in the middle and acknowledge that there are many times where experiences are simply flights of fantasy, but there are also many times where things re quite real and we simply do not have the tools to yet prove it.

Such thinking has gotten me yelled at by both sides of the coin, but I stand very firmly on that belief. Both sides have merit. Which is why I am so interested in the Arcanorum, since it marries both sides of the argument in a manner that I can agree with entirely. Besides, who doesn’t want to be a ghostbuster?

But you may not have noticed some other news that you may like:

• New Forums! That’s right.  The Arcanorum web site is going interactive!  After over a decade online, we’re finally opening up to try and form more of a community with you, our visitors.  So please, feel free to sign up, log in, and jump into the fray!
• New Investigation Team! As of Tuesday evening, October 27, 2010, The Arcanorum finally began work to put together a formal investigation team.  With experienced people around the neighborhood of Nashua, NH, we finally got off our collective duffs and did something.  Expect more people from the team posting here and a lively discussion over in the Forums.I have tried to put the team together out of a broad mix of people.  We have our skeptics, religious experts (multiple religions), sensitives, scientists, and more! In the coming days and weeks, we’ll be introducing some of them… or some of them may be introducing themselves.
• New Case Database! For the use of our team, I have installed a reporting database.  Now we will be able to track cases from start to finish and publish some really snazzy reports both for the public as well as for our clients.
• New Procedures! At our meeting we discussed some new investigation procedures.  One of these will be something COMPLETELY NEW to the Paranormal Community.  Stay tuned and find out!
• Funding! We’re going to put the “fun” back into funding by offering you special incentives to help us do what we do.  Investigations and gear can get quite costly, and we’d like to be able to afford the good equipment.  At the same time, we do not want to charge money for people genuinely looking for help understanding weird things around them.  So… We’ve decided to try out a few incentives to get those of you who enjoy reading about this sort of thing in on the action.  More details as we have them.

So sign up, log in, and join in the fun!

The Arcanorum is diverse.  It is extensive.  Most don’t even know they are members.

But I’d love for that to change.

I envision The Arcanorum as a society, a group which draws upon the hopes and dreams of many to form a comprehensive group of experts with differing opinions and abilities, wo be a vast resource for investigation into the realms where main stream science fears to tread.

Can we PLEASE put this topic to rest now?