One of the side effects of paranormal television is the influx of super cool new investigation gadgets. I admit it - while I don't watch a lot of paranormal television, I do occasionally. When there's a shiny, cool new gadget on a show I happen to be watching, I can hear the angels singing. I love gadgets because they are pretty darn cool.

Which is why many of our clients are surprised when I walk into their home or business with a pen and a piece of paper. 

It's not that I don't have a lot of paranormal gadgets. I do. In our house, we have something called the Big Box o' Paranormal Fun, and it's loaded with the latest, greatest, and coolest gadgets I can afford. I even use them on investigations and write rhapsodically about them (check out Paranormal Underground's upcoming Gear Guide, in which I list 20 killer gadgets, for example). Typically I whip those babies out mid-investigation and go to town, recording, measuring and having a lot of technological fun. However, I can and do investigate without them.

When we teach kids about paranormal investigation at Kids' Ghost Camp, we show them a plethora of shiny technology. Their little eyes light up as we demonstrate cool lasers, boxes that light up, gadgets that can record ghost voices, and more. Then we ask them this: What do you think is the most important piece of paranormal equipment.

Spoiler alert for those who attend our ghost camp below.

Kids, it's a trap. The answer is that none of those super cool gadgets are our best tool in investigating the paranormal. 

Instead, our best paranormal tool is one we always have with us: ourselves. Sure we're not new, bright and shiny. Sure, we don't light up, and we only occasionally make cool or funny sounds, but human beings are the most reliable, best tool I know for paranormal investigation.

I often interview old school investigators on my radio show, and many seem bewildered by this current obsession with paranormal technology. After all, all they needed were their five senses, their noggins, and a pen and pad, and they did just fine, thank you very much.

I'm kind of a cross between the old school hippies and these modern youngsters. I rely on my senses (including my sixth sense) and my noggin, but I like to pull out an instrument every now and then to possibly confirm what my senses are telling me. However, I'm also pretty bad at technology, so that could be part of it. Fortunately, I'm part of a great team that runs the gamut. Some are technical gurus who can make instruments sing. Others like a little assistance from divination tools like dowsing rods or pendulums. Others rely solely on their senses. Others are, like me, hybrids that like to use multiple approaches depending on the situation.

The bottom line - when we come to your home or business we'll bring the tech, so you'll get to see cool gadgets. We may even let you play with them. At the same time, we'll also rely on more old fashioned methods of determining what's going on in your home, such as seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting (we usually have cookies) - and even using common sense. By taking a comprehensive approach we can leave no stone unturned in the quest to get you answers.

Enjoy Karen's blogging? Check out her latest book, Dancing with the Afterlife.