Laser grid pens are by far, one of the cheapest ways to update your paranormal investigation kit. I use them on my Stories in the Cemetery Interactive Ghost Hunting Experiences with my guests in Charleston, SC. When researching why and how to use this inexpensive paranormal tool, I thought I should clarify a few things about this gadget.
Laser Grid Pens are part of a Paranormal Toolkit
First, this tool should be used in collaboration with a number of other tools in your toolkit. If you don’t have a toolkit, see my recommendations of the equipment I use and the upgrades planned on the Ghost Hunting Equipment page. The grid pen should never be used alone for a claimed haunting. Like other tools, this is not an “I have paranormal evidence from a grid pen only” type of tool. When used with video cameras, EMF detectors, EVP recorders, and other tools, you can then put clues together that a paranormal entity is present. Never claim you have a haunting because a laser was disrupted and you have nothing else to back it up.
What is a Laser Grid Pen?
Think of your cat’s favorite laser toy on steroids. The simplistic pen projects one laser into thousands of little “dots”, based on which tip you have on the pen, into a darkened area or room. Green is usually the color of choice on this device because it can easily be seen in the dark.
The basic use of this pen (which is how we use this device on my tours) is to hold as still as possible for the laser grid displayed not to move. Remember, that my tours are given on the streets of Charleston, SC as a walking tour. In other words, we are quickly investigating several locations and learning about the history of the location. Tripods are available when investigating one location or one room and with the camera setup, the investigator can leave the room and allow the camera to validate any movement.
Once the laser grid is in place, the purpose is that the investigator can then detect disturbances in the grid or an absence of light, thus detecting an entity nearby. To understand what I mean by this, I’m sharing GhostStop.com’s video for the basic use of a grid pen. Without visuals, describing what to look for is near impossible.
Streaks of light in the grid?
Glad you asked.
Ghost hunting television shows are usually our main source for finding what works in the field and the grid pen originated on Ghost Hunters International. Here’s a clip of the team at GHI showing true evidence to their client.
I want to point out that in the still image of the evidence that there seem to be streaks of light in the grid. Take a look at the video again to see what I mean.
This streak of light is caused by something translucent in the grid, thus distorting or bending the laser to seem extended. We’ve all read accounts of someone seeing a “spirit” or “ghost” and my personal belief is that the person claiming to witness this anomaly has the ability to see what others cannot, or has this ability because they were supposed to see the anomaly. In other words, the person claiming to see a spirit has been chosen to witness the supernatural event. But what about the rest of us? The skeptics? That’s where a laser grid pen comes into play.
What if you just don’t have the same ability as those that claim to witness something supernatural? The laser grid pen gives us the capability to manipulate the space we are investigating to witness what we cannot see with the naked or what we were not “chosen” to see.
I usually demonstrate a translucent anomaly with some type of smoke passing through the grid and how it creates “streaks” of light instead of a disturbance of the grid on a solid surface. This is great for locations that have a reported seen spirit on location such as the Pinckney Mansion site.
Types of Laser Grid Tools
There are some general issues with using the inexpensive laser grid pen. Through experience and research from other paranormal investigators, the pen is known to heat up and distort the displayed grid by either dimming or pulsing, thus burning through batteries rather quickly. For long investigations, say overnight, this is not an ideal tool to rely on for true evidence.
For the sake of my 90-minute walking tours, this is an excellent purchase. The pen does not contain an “on/off” switch. It has a manual button only, so unless you purchase the ring or tripod for a long investigation, expect to hold this button down while investigating. Again, perfectly legitimate when walking the streets of Charleston.
I would recommend using something with a fuller grid as well as an on/off toggle for long investigations for one location. The GS1 by Ghost Stop is a part of the upgrade plan I have for my personal toolkit. The grid displayed is red in color and has full lines (think of grid paper you used in high school).
I am curious to use both the green grid pen “dots” in conjunction with the GS1’s red lines for a more accurate reading. Granted, the video above suggests taking any video to a 3-D modeler to give you the full shape of your anomalies, but what if you could physically see more of your supernatural activity by using both grids together?
Paranormal Evidence with a Grid Pen
During my tours, my guests and I have caught quick glimmers from the pen, but not a full-on disturbance in the grid. These “glimmers” could not be debunked, nor did I capture anything on video. (Using video on my tours is completely up to the guests, otherwise, legalities of waivers and the like would be involved).
Here is a video I found on YouTube of an investigator experimenting with his grid pen. It should give you a bit more of an idea of what to look for when investigating your own locations. However, I am going to highly recommend you use this tool in collaboration with other tools. An anomaly with a grid pen does not justify any evidence. Remember, we are investigators, we need evidence from multiple tools simultaneously before a claim can be made.
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References Used to Inspire this Blog Post
Ghost Stop. “GhostStop Ghost Hunting Equipment Demo: Laser Grid Burst Pen.” n.d. 13 May 2020. <https://www.ghoststop.com/Laser-Grid-Scope-p/laser-greengrid.htm>.
—. “Laser Grid GS1 Ghost Detection System.” n.d. 13 May 2020. <https://www.ghoststop.com/Laser-Grid-GS1-p/laser-lasergrid-gs1.htm>.
Higgy Pop. “Detecting Ghosts with a Laser Grid.” 8 May 2017. Higgy Pop. https://www.higgypop.com/news/detecting-ghosts-with-lasers/. 13 May 2020.
MichaelDMaGee. “Laser Grid – Real Paranormal Activity Part 34.1.” 10 October 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX56XSJ6pcc.
Seeks Ghosts. “Pros and Cons of Laser Grids.” 23 April 2013. Seeks Ghosts Blog. https://seeksghosts.blogspot.com/2013/04/pros-and-cons-of-laser-grids.html. 13 May 2020.
