Ghost hunting has become a television sensation, with the help of an unexpected accessory: the portable weather meter.
Years ago, weather stations were static installations, but today all the necessary instrumentation can be packed into an electronic device no larger than a smartphone, providing a handy scientific device for meteorologists. and for spirit seekers.
Paranormal investigators associate cold spots or sudden drops in temperature with the presence of ghosts, and have long used wind chimes to detect drafts supposedly generated by spirits. Modern ghost hunters use devices like the Kestrel 3500NV handheldwhich measures temperature, pressure, relative humidity and wind speed. There’s even a backlight for night use.
Tea Krulos, author of a book called Monster Hunters, includes a portable weather meter as standard equipment for paranormal investigators. Unlike dowsing wands or other traditional tools, these sensors provide objective numerical evidence of what is happening in a supposedly haunted location, rather than a vague, subjective sensation.
Cynics may say that carrying a scientific device allows the researcher to give his claims a sheen of scientific credibility, while his audience may be inclined to regard the device in their hands as a spectrum detector rather than a simple weather meter.