If you loved Casper as a child, if you watched Ghostbusters a hundred times, and if you are fascinated with professional ghost hunting programs that investigate alleged haunted houses, castles, and historical landmarks, consider a career in professional ghost hunting. Halloween provides the perfect start date for your new endeavor and a perfect time of the year to search for spirits. After all, what better time to test your skills at finding our invisible friends than on All Hallows Eve?

While your neighbors engage in the traditional Halloween practice of trick-or-treating and attending costumed Halloween parties, you could throw a Halloween Ghost Hunting Party instead. Imagine your guests' surprise as you drag them to all the local haunts. Who knows – you might even be able to televise your own program, put it on youtube, gather a following, and hunt ghosts for a living – what a treat!

But before you enlist your friends on your ghostly treasure hunt, make sure you have in your bag of tricks the list below that includes 13 absolute MUST-HAVES in conducting a Halloween ghost hunt (prices or price-ranges are included):

1. Before your first ghost hunt, purchase a notebook to record thoughts, lists, and ideas. In a brainstorming session with your group, map out your plans. You may be visiting the site for only a few hours, so you don't want to forget anything.

2. You'll also need writing implements, such as pens or pencils (for notebooks) and chalk or tape (X marks the spot). Pencil marks fade over time and ink smears when wet, so plan on bringing both. Cost for numbers one and two is less than $5.

(You might prefer to bring a fully-charged laptop, but keep in mind three things: you will be carrying a lot of equipment, energy depletes quickly in haunted abodes, and your cost just went up several hundred dollars. However, placing a web cam in a "hot zone" might reap some rewards.)

3. If you don't already have them and if you plan on separating from your group, you will need to invest in walkie-talkies or cell phones with speaker capabilities. While your quest is to connect with the spirit world, maintaining contact with humans is important. Walkie-talkies range from under $100 to over $200 and cell phones can range from free (if you agree to purchase a phone plan that includes a 2-year contract) to several hundred dollars depending on the features you want. Disposable and/or prepaid cell phones can cost as little as $10.

4. One valuable instrument to purchase is an LED motion sensor or alarm like those used outside of homes to detect movement. You can buy one for under $35 and set it up where you are likely to find activity.

5. You will also need night vision/thermal imaging equipment to enable you to see in the dark. A high definition long range infrared (IR) night vision camera will allow you to see through dark graveyards and haunted houses, or anywhere light is absent. The inexpensive ones can cost between $100 and $300.

6. Electromagnetic field (EMF) and radiation meters will help you detect energy. You can find many of them for under $100, but they can cost as much as $400 or more.

7. Digital thermometers will verify the chill of visitors you feel but cannot see. The gun-style infrared thermometer, sometimes referred to as an infrared pyrometer, checks the ambient temperature so professional ghost hunters can find a home's "HOT" spots (which are actually cold spots – because when the temperature drops significantly for no apparent reason, spirits may be near).

8. Flashlights are another absolute necessity. You can find inexpensive ones for under $20, but the higher end flashlights can cost as much as $240.

(Numbers 6, 7, & 8 can sometimes be purchased as a single unit for less than $150.)

9. Electronic voice phenomena (EVP) or digital voice recorders can be purchased for under $100. You'll want to review the recordings and enhance the sound after your ghost hunt to find any unusual and unrecognizable voices you may not have detected (or heard but could not deciper) while you were recording.

(New ghost hunters just getting their feet wet in the murky waters of ghost chasing sometimes rely on simple analog tape recorders, which they set up in rooms where activity is suspected. If you start with a tape recorder, but find you have a knack for finding ghosts, you may want to invest in more high-tech equipment later. It can cost thousands of dollars, so work your way up to the professional high-end ghost-hunting items.)

10. A digital video recorder (DVR) is an absolute necessity. What the eye cannot see, the recorder may find, and you can't be in every room at all times during the ghost hunt. You can find one for under $300, but you can also find recorders with built-in web servers, USB backups, and expansive hard drives for around $800.

11. You will absolutely need batteries – LOTS of them, including backup batteries, so those energy sucking entities can't completely drain you of electricity.

12. You will also need lots of cables to recharge those batteries, cameras, laptops, etc.

13. This last item won't cost you a thing, but having a receptive (open) mind is a prerequisite for engaging in any ghost hunting adventure. And don't forget to spiritually, mentally, and emotionally protect yourself from evil entities – once you invite them in, they may never want to leave.

Ready to begin? Don't know where to find the equipment? Check your local communications shop or any of the online ghost shops. I borrowed the photo above from Ghost-Mart. 

Happy Halloween! And happy hunting!