If you’ve spent any time watching shows like Ghost Hunters, or been out on your own ghost hunting adventures, you’ve likely encountered the concept of “cold spots,” which are essentially dramatic drops of temperature that many believe are indicative of the presence of a ghost or spirit. In this post I want to talk about why cold spots are associated with the paranormal, and how you can measure them for yourself.

What Are Cold Spots?

Cold spots are localized dramatic drops in ambient temperature often observed during ghost hunts or paranormal investigations. Now, the primary distinction here, is that they are both dramatically lower temperature, and that they are localized to one spot. So if you’re out on a ghost hunt, and you’re walking through a house and feel a sudden cool draft of air, this is not a cold spot.

Usually, cold spots are found inside of buildings for a few reasons. First, they are the areas most often inhabited by spirits. Second, because when you’re outside there are so many variables based on weather that it is all but impossible to even determine if it’s actually a cold spot. This doesn’t mean that you can’t feel or observe a cold spot outside, it’s just much more common inside.

If you’ve watched the show Ghost Hunters, you know that besides a good EMF meter (check out my huge guide on this), and a solid flashlight, the most common tool they always have is a thermometer. This is primarily to detect cold spots.

Here is a video from Ghost Hunters where the T.A.P.S. team observes a cold spot to give you an example of what this looks like:

Ok, now that we’ve talked a little bit about what a cold spot is, let’s talk about what they really mean.

Do Cold Spots Mean There Is A Ghost Or Spirit Nearby?

The main reason that ghost hunters believe that cold spots mean the presence of a ghost, is the same reason they can be detected by an EMF meter, they are made of energy. So when a ghost manifests itself in one way or another, it must pull energy, or heat, from the air around it in order to do so, which can cause sudden and dramatic drops in temperature.

Some people believe that they are inherently more likely to observe cold spots, for the same reason that some people are more easily able to observe actually apparitions, that they are simply more sensitive, or more spiritually open to their existence.

Still others believe that spirits use cold spots to project messages, or simply the message that they are there. Although things like EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) from spirit boxes, flashlight sessions, and EMF meters are all ways that people detect paranormal presences, that does not mean the spirit in question might not use other tools to communicate.

Now, not everyone that has had a paranormal experience has noticed cold spots, in fact in my experience it is only a small percentage of the time that people witness cold spots, along with some other sign of a ghost or spirit.

Still other times a group of people have been on a ghost hunt, and while grouped together only some of the people felt a cold spot. This would seem to contradict the theory that the cold spot is created by the draw of energy when a spirit appears.

So this brings us to our next point, are there other possible explanations for these “cold spots?”

Other Reasons You Might Have Witnessed A Cold Spot

There are plenty of other possible reasons you might have experienced a cold spot, so let’s briefly talk about each one individually.

Draughts And Convection

Even if a home is relatively sealed off (doors and windows close), air is still moving all the time. This movement is caused by the different temperatures that various objects in the room are at, causing a constant fluctuation of hotter and cooler air as nature attempts to keep the temperatures equal. This is also the same reason that warm air rises, pushing cooler air down.

There have been instances where when a group of people enter a home, and mess up this stale air, it can cause more sudden fluctuations in this air, and could cause cooler air to be pushed down and cause what could feel like a cold spot. Although if we stick to our original definition of a cold spot being a very sudden shift in a very localized area, its a little hard to believe this could be caused be convection changes.

Humidity

This is even less likely, but it is possible that low humidity could cause someone to suddenly feel quite cold. If you are in a room with almost no humidity, your body will evaporate moisture at a much higher rate, and this can make your skin wet and clammy making you feel colder than you normally would.

In Your Mind

Some people also dismiss cold spots by saying that they are simply due to the power of suggestion. Since before just about anybody sets out on a ghost hunt, they do research and find posts just like this one, that tell them of the sings of a ghost. With those signs in mind, they set out on their hunt. Since they already have preconceived notions of what would constitute a paranormal experience, psychologists would argue that their own bias will be more easily confirmed.

So if these individuals see one sign of a ghost, say a spike from their EMF meter, then they are more likely to observe other signs, like a cold spot.

Ok, now that we’ve talked about some ways that a cold spot could be misconstrued as a ghost, let’s talk about how we can measure cold spots.

How To Measure Cold Spots On A Ghost Hunt

Since a cold spot actually constitutes a dramatic drop in temperature, it really can be measured by a quality thermometer. You can check out my guide on picking the best thermometer for ghost hunting, or you can take a look at my top recommendation here. The bottom line is you don’t want a normal thermometer. You need a thermometer that uses infrared technology to measure surface temperatures at a distance so that you can quickly scan a room and detect cold spots

If you watched the video I embedded above, you saw the TAPS team from ghost hunters using an infrared thermometer just like this one to detect cold spots during an investigation.

Something to remember when you’re using an infrared thermometer though, is that the color of a surface under certain circumstances can actually give you a false reading, this is due to something called emissivity. Emissivity is defined as: “the ratio of the energy radiated from a material’s surface to that radiated from a blackbody (a perfect emitter) at the same temperature and wavelength and under the same viewing conditions.” So although black is the ideal color to reflect a proper temperature, other colors can sometimes give false readings (although you will not encounter this often.”

For more on how to use a thermometer on a ghost hunt, check out my guide on the best thermometers.

Final Thoughts On Cold Spots And Paranormal Activity

From the dozens and dozens of testimonials i’ve read, and from the videos i’ve seen, and from my own experiences, I personally believe that cold spots absolutely can mean the presence of a ghost, spirit, or paranormal event. I believe there is plausibility to the theories about why these appear, and it makes sense that they would.

This doesn’t mean that everyone will believe the same thing, I think that is for each of us to decide.

I hope you enjoyed my post “Can cold spots be the sign of a ghost or spirit,” if you did, please consider sharing!