Best Time for Paranormal Activity (Not What You Expect)

The scariest movies always show the ghost emerging from the cover of darkness and shadow. However, this does not mean that ghosts only come out at night. The supernatural exists around us at all times, and often it is our perception and receptivity that dictates an encounter, not the clock. 

The best time for paranormal activity is when you are receptive and free from distractions. Although people often report paranormal experiences at night, ghostly visitations may happen at any time of the day. It is usually safer to seek supernatural communication during daylight, as there is less chance for accidents and the best chance for great footage and photos. 

Ghosts and the paranormal are not bound by our waking hours, nor are they limited to nighttime interactions despite what the horror genre may teach us. If you wish to investigate a ghostly presence, here are some tips for finding the best time to encounter paranormal activity. 

Most Common Time for Paranormal Events to Occur

True in ghost stories, as in life, it seems that supernatural visitations occur under cover of darkness. You sit up in your bed, the hairs standing up on the back of your neck, and you are sure you’re not alone. The night is atmospheric, with muted corners and shadows within shadows, and it seems the perfect time for a ghostly encounter.

However, the incredible evidence of paranormal investigations shows that ghost activity may occur at any time of the day. The frequency of nighttime manifestations may occur because people are less inclined to note attempts at ghostly communications during the day.

The divide between waking and sleep is muted somewhat in the early hours, making us more open to the paranormal existence around us. Often we find ourselves alone in the early hours with a sleeping partner in our bed at most. It stands to reason that the spirit world has our full and undivided attention, without our mobile phones or televisions to distract us.

However, the nature of supernatural interactions is not bound by a limited time, and ghosts frequently can and will make their presence known during daylight hours if we are aware and open to their presence. Your ghost hunting adventure need not follow the limited time of the night hours. The key issue for successful communication seen to rest on receptivity, not on the time of your investigations. 

Those who communicate from beyond our ‘reality are not limited by our perception of time, existing as they are in a state of timelessness. The frequency of nighttime visitation is due to our receptivity, which draws communication rather than the time of night.

When we prepare for sleep, we ‘let go’ of our busy preoccupations and enter a more open physic state, explaining the frequency of paranormal sightings in nighttime ghost adventures.

Is Ghost Hunting During the Day Safer?

Yes, ghost hunting is safer during daylight hours for several reasons. Trips and falls are common risks on a paranormal site during the witching hour, exacerbated by electronic equipment and cables. Often investigations occur on unfamiliar territory, and the home, building, or grounds may offer hazards under cover of night. The last thing you want is to seek urgent medical care when you are on the field.

Often paranormal visitations draw available energy, including flashlights and headlamps, leaving investigators ‘in the dark’ in more ways than one. In the heightened emotions of ghost adventures, one may easily trip or fall when your attention is on the manifestation, especially if your encounter is not with a friendly ghost.

Often day investigations make for more convincing footage and still shots despite what the scary movies may show. The grainy texture of many night footage of ghost adventures creates grainy footage open to interpretation or dismissal by skeptics. Some of the clearest and engaging footage on record is evidence from daylight ghost adventures.

The nature of night may be atmospheric, but it is not always great for clarity. The combination of shadows and electric light, the occlusion of corners, and the potential for false highlights from dust motes may often distract from real manifestations. Although you may hope for a friendly ghost, you may encounter a more violent spiritual presence while ghost hunting; daylight offers protection prom potential thrown hazards should the situation arise. 

However, if the site of your ghost adventure is a busy one, you may need to opt for a period of time when the site is free from distractions. In this case, be sure to conduct an independent investigation of the site of your ghost adventures during the day and take note of any potential hazards such as low beams, sudden drops, and uneven footing. 

What is the Witching Hour?

The notorious ‘witching hour’ of the horror genre is associated with supernatural activity, although historically, sightings and manifestations may occur at any time of the day. Some historians had linked the witching hour as far back as 1535 when the Catholic Church prohibited activities between 3-4 am due to the prevailing fears of witchcraft at the time.

The witching hour or ‘Devil’s hour’ is associated with the heightened paranormal activity between 3-4 am because western Christian traditions associated this time with a mocking inversion of the time that Jesus died, supposedly at 3 am in the morning.

Moviemakers used this tradition to great effect the Conjuring franchise, focusing on malevolent activity occurring at 3 am. Oren Peli also uses night footage to eerie effect in the Paranormal Activity, and who could ever forget the creepy night scenes in Poltergeist?  

There is some debate over the exact witching hour, with some believing it to be between 12 and 1, but generally, the hours between 2-4 am are frequently the time for supernatural visitations.

Beyond Christian superstitions, it makes sense that nighttime would make one more likely to be receptive to supernatural events. The world is quiet, and there are few distractions to divert your attention from paranormal communication.

Do Ghosts only Appear at Night?

No, ghosts are not bound by our time any more than the laws of material matter bind them. Spirit can and will make their presence felt at any time of the day during a ghost adventure. The reason why paranormal encounters often happen under the cloak of darkness has more to do with your receptivity than the time of night.

When the world around us is asleep at night, we can not always explain those smaller sounds and movements as natural phenomena. Our sense becomes heightened, and our awareness of other realms becomes heightened too. The barrage of stimuli of our day no longer creates an impenetrable barrier to the evidence of our deeper senses and results in a sharp increase in paranormal sightings. 

Literature and horror movies abound with the experiences of those who encounter paranormal events during nighttime hours. However, it seems the atmosphere of night ghost hunting enhances the visual appeal and ties in with our deep-seated western superstitions of the paranormal and their association with the witching hours. Incredible evidence suggests that daylight also holds paranormal possibilities. 

Remember!

The supernatural exist all around us, both part of our waking and sleeping world and beyond our perceived reality. If we are open and receptive, our communication with the supernatural is not limited to those witching hours typical in our horror films and literature. Be safe, and always conduct your ghost hunting adventure with respect and an open mind, and you might find yourself with your very own paranormal activity to relate to the world.