Fright night

Photojournalist Peter Dench takes a 'ghost hunting' camera out on a chilling walk into the bowels of London's haunted alleyways

- Peter Dench

‘I ’ve seen an increase in people bringing along cameras and recording devices of all kinds,’ says Richard Jones, paranormal author, qualified blue badge guide and host of the The Alleyways and Shadows Ghost Walk. Most of the 53 people booked on this evening’s walk have opted to bring bottles of wine, beer and cans of vodka and gin rather than ghost cameras.

The previous week on eBay I’d seen a ‘Full Spectrum Camera Infrared IR Camera Night Vision Camera for Ghost Hunting’ and clicked ‘Buy Now.’ Six days later opening the package I reeled back as it released a musty odour. Even more ghastly, the instruction manual came on a CD-Rom. I typed the originating address into Google Street View and discovered a suburban purgatory of clipped lawns and one-storey dwellings.

I fondled the silver Panasonic Lumix DMC-F3 from the packet and slid the power switch on. A full-spectrum camera conversion is a modification where the camera’s internal IR cut filter is removed and replaced with a clear filter, making the camera sensitive to ultraviolet visible, and IR light, giving the image a pinkish hue. I checked what else the eBay seller had sold. A copy of Adventures In Sex Magick: Control Your Life With The Power of Lust and Magickal Cashbook: Attract Money Fast With Ancient Secrets And Modern Wealth Magick (both by Damon Brand); and The Master Works of Chaos Magick: Practical Techniques For Directing Your Reality by Adam Blackthorne. I reached out to confirm the modifications made.