History Main / ElectromagneticGhosts

* ''Film/WhiteNoise'' is about "electromagnetic voice phenomena", where voices from beyond appear on audio and video recordings.

[[folder:Web Videos]]
* Jay Are's backpack in ''WebVideo/TheAdventuresOfTheLeagueOfSTEAM'' is supposedly a device for picking up [=EVP=]s.
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* ''Film/WhiteNoise'' is about "electromagnetic voice phenomena", where voices from beyond appear on audio and video recordings.
* In ''Film/TheSixthSense'', Bruce Willis's character discovers the ghosts actually exist when he can hear them on a tape recorder.

* The 2010 movie ''Film/GhostFromTheMachine'' (''Phasma Ex Machina'') has the protagonist build a device that creates an intense electromagnetic field in order to bring ghosts closer to the land of the Living, in an attempt to resurrect his dead parents. However, it also brings back his neighbor's dead wife, and [[spoiler:the psychotic murderer[=/=]suicide who used to own his house...]]
* In ''Film/Poltergeist1982'', the ghost researchers use this sort of equipment to monitor the ghostly activities in the house. After one supernatural occurrence, one of them even notes "It's electrical - you can smell the charge."
* Samara Morgan in the 2002 adaptation of ''Literature/TheRing'' imprints images on a blank videotape (cursing it in the process) and can manipulate televisions when someone's week is up, up to and including emerging from the screen. Before her death, she had similar abilities to psychically imprint images on electromagnetic film. In fact, unlike the original Japanese version which includes weird stuff like communicating with germs, ''all'' Samara's powers seem to be magnetism-based. Tampering with videos and surveillance cameras, levitating metal objects, even causing fatal seizures are things that can be done with sufficiently precise EM waves.
* ''Film/TheFrighteners'': When the ghosts haunt a house, light flickers and objects move by themselves.
* In ''Film/ScarecrowSlayer'', the presence of the Scarecrow causes mobile phones to fill with static and stop functioning.
* The ghost in ''Film/LemonTreePassage'' interferes with electronics; causing Sam's car radio to start blaring, switch channels, turn off, etc.
* In ''Film/{{Savaged}}'', Zoe's presence at the mine causes the lights to flicker and various pieces of machinery to malfunction.
* In ''Film/TheGravedancers'', the presence of the ghosts in the mansion causes the lights to surge and dim wildly.

* ''Film/ComePlay'': Larry's presence tends to short-circuit all the lights in the area, [[spoiler:since he needs power to sustain his presence in this world]].
* ''Film/{{Eternal}}'': When Wildcat drives on to the ground of Elizabeth's mansion, the radio in her car suddenly cuts out.
* ''Film/DontListen'': When the ghost[[spoiler:of the witch who was executed 300 years ago]] begins haunting, electronic devices tend to get screwy, like the child psychologist's radio flickering before [[spoiler:the ghost possesses her and kills her]]. There's also Eric hearing his by-then-dead son's voice calling for help in a recorded message he sent to his wife.

* Creator/TimPowers is fond of this trope.
** In his trilogy that consists of ''Literature/LastCall'', ''Literature/ExpirationDate'', and ''Literature/EarthquakeWeather'', ghosts can cause interference with compasses, call people up on phones and appear on TV talk shows (at least, on the version being watched by the person they're haunting) to gain important information.
** In ''Literature/AlternateRoutes'', ghosts can make their voices heard on radios and their faces appear in the static on an untuned analog TV set (although since the story is set after the switch to digital TV signals, the only character who ''has'' an analog TV set is a ghost peddler who keeps an old one around specifically for communicating with ghosts with).
* In Richard Matheson's ''Literature/HellHouse'', the haunting is ''literally'' electromagnetic, as ghosts are essentially an energy field which survives the death of the body. [[spoiler:As a consequence, they can be destroyed by a good, hard degaussing unless they are protected in some fashion.]]
* The ghost from ''[[Literature/RepairmanJack The Haunted Air]]'' makes a clock radio's LED display run in reverse, and causes a television to show programming from TheEighties twenty years later, even when it's unplugged and had its internal components removed.
* In the Latin-American horror novel ''Literature/GhostRadio'', the protagonist Joaquin runs a radio station where people can call in and describe [[GhostStory ghost stories]] on the air. [[spoiler: His dead friend Gabriel gets to him mid-broadcast through one of these calls, and messes with him in general by [[EvilPhone hijacking phone lines]], making televisions [[TheTelevisionTalksBack show him strange imagery]], and eventually causes him to visually hallucinate what Joaquin's callers are describing, all out of spite for how Joaquin survived multiple near-fatal accidents that Gabriel did not. Gabriel comments at one point that radio is a major conduit for spirits to reach the human world.]]

* ''Series/GhostsUS'': Thorfinn was killed by a lightning strike, so he can make the lights flicker.
* Robin the caveman, the above's [[Series/GhostsUK UK counterpart]], can do the same thing although it hasn't been explained why. It does require conscious effort on his part, however, rather than his presence alone.
* In ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', [[https://supernatural.fandom.com/wiki/Electromagnetic_Interference ghosts and other supernatural beings can cause electromagnetic interference by flickering lights and making them explode]].
** When not causing interference, normally invisible ghosts show up on camcorder screens and the EMF detectors used by ghost hunters.
* Averted in ''Film/TheStoneTape'' despite the wide array of electronic equipment used to study the ghost. Eventually the scientists realize what they hear and feel is the brain's reaction to whatever is [[LivingMemory imprinted into the walls]]; this is why some people are more sensitive to paranormal phenomena than others.
* In ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' serial ''[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS3E7E8TheEternityTrap The Eternity Trap]]'', this is exploited to detect the presence of ghosts more scientifically, and prove the house really is haunted. Although - as Sarah Jane is quick to point out - [[DoingInTheWizard they aren't technically ghosts.]] (Or at least, that's how it seems until [[RealAfterAll the final moments of the episode]]...)
* Of a sort in ''Series/GhostWars'' in that the ghosts in question are warded off by electricity of any sort.

* Exaggerated (or drawn to the logical conclusion) in ''TabletopGame/BladesInTheDark'': ''all'' ghosts are electromagnetic phenomena, by the virtue of ectoplasm (or rather "''electro''plasm") always carrying electric charge in this setting, which its residents have learned to exploit in order to launch an industrial revolution.

* In response to a supernatural event in ''[[VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon F.E.A.R.]]'', the lights go wild (most of the time they just flicker, but in some instances, they overload and shatter or just mysteriously break), your radio crackles and "unknown origin" is shown as the source of the transmission. Alma also appears on monitors occasionally, like a visual equivalent of an EVP. [[spoiler: Her contractions cause an EMP like effect in ''F.E.A.R. 3''.]]
* While most supernaturalness in ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'' and ''VideoGame/DeadSpace2'' is [[spoiler: inside Isaacs head]] ''something'' is interfering with RIG transmissions.
* Many of the powers in ''VideoGame/GhostMaster'' are electrical in nature such as [[https://ghostmaster.fandom.com/wiki/Blow_Fuse Blow Fuse,]] [[https://ghostmaster.fandom.com/wiki/Blackout Blackout,]] [[https://ghostmaster.fandom.com/wiki/Wild_%26_Crazy Wild & Crazy,]] and [[https://ghostmaster.fandom.com/wiki/Strange_Behaviour Strange Behaviour.]] Technology is also one the 'fetters' or places ghosts [[HauntedTechnology can be anchored]].
* The ghosts of dead miners in ''VideoGame/KentuckyRouteZero'' appear as flickering images through the sparking of the electrical rail, but only if the lights are off.
* ''Franchise/SilentHill''
** A staple of the series is a pocket radio that, while seemingly dead, blasts out static in the presence of monsters. At certain points in certain games, it can pick up mysterious broadcasts.
** In ''VideoGame/SilentHillShatteredMemories'', you can only see ghosts by looking at them with Harry's cell phone camera, and "echo memories" -- [[LivingMemory lingering traces of emotionally-charged events]] -- cause the phone to give off weird static and feedback.
* In ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara 3'', [[TheWoobie Oichi]] has a similar "static effect" sometimes when she speaks, in a reference to this phenomenon.
* Taping [=EVPs=] and scanning for electromagnetic signs of ghosts is a crucial part of ''VideoGame/TheLostCrown: A Ghost-Hunting Adventure''.
* Played in all 3 ''VideoGame/DarkFall'' games. In the first one, sometimes ghosts talk to you through the [[EvilPhone reception phone]], Polly and Nigel's surveillance system occasionally flickers into showing dark splotches, or how various rooms appeared in the past. And distorted audio files on their computer can be edited to reveal voices. The second, ''Lights Out'' has an old World War 2 radio that's been rumored to be haunted, and tuning it to a certain frequency and using ghost-hunting goggles reveals an evil voice talking to you. A haunted TV appears in ''VideoGame/DarkFall: Lost Souls'', displaying cryptic images that provide clues to [[spoiler: the code for the ring mechanism]].

* All ghosts in the ''VideoGame/TheBlackwellSeries'', including Joey, can interfere with radio-based devices simply by getting close to them. This is crucial to solving several puzzles throughout the games. Also Rosa notes that she had to install cable just so she could watch TV with Joey around.
* The "ghosts" from ''VideoGame/{{Oxenfree}}'' speak through heavily distorted radio messages, and their control over time causes {{ominous visual glitch}}es. Tuning the radio finds new broadcasts from them and forces them out of possessed characters. It's played with, as they're not ''technically'' ghosts (and they themselves mock the term) but [[spoiler: the crew of nuclear submarine that was transported to another dimension after its destruction]].
* Detecting electromagnetic disturbances ghosts generate around them with an EMF meter is a significant part of investigations in ''VideoGame/ConradStevensonsParanormalPI'', and strange EMF readings can be used to 'track' ghosts. Manifested entities will also sap battery power from your equipment if you try to walk through them.
* While White Face from ''VideoGame/{{Imscared}}'' is never stated whether to be a ghost or not, it does have the appearance and behavior of one. And it does interfere with technology; [[spoiler:your computer]].

* The EMF reader in ''VideoGame/{{Phasmophobia}}'' is used to detect ghost activity. Higher levels mean a stronger presence and more activity, and only the most aggressive ghost types can trigger a level 5 reading. All types of ghost can make lights flicker and turn radios and [=TVs=] off and on, and they will always make your flashlight flicker when they're about to hunt. In addition, certain types of ghost can respond to your questions on the Spirit Box, an FM radio device that can pick up ghost speech. Raiju in particular interact very dangerously with any electronics in the area: They'll react every time, be it the lights in the room or your own equipment (which makes them easier to track), but the Raiju will react as well, moving faster and being much more eager to hunt you down.
* Signibble from ''VideoGame/YokaiWatch'' is a mischievous Mysterious Tribe Yokai who likes to mess with cell phone reception and change the channels on TV sets.

* ''WebAnimation/TheCyanideAndHappinessShow'' had one scene in "Now That's What I Call Spooky" where wrestler ghosts can only be shown infrared thermal camera screens and are invisible to night vision cameras.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''Podcast/TheMagnusArchives'':
** It is implied that this is why the "bizarre" statements (i.e. all the ones the audience hears) come out distorted when the archivist tries to record them on a computer, so he has to use an old tape recorder. Some of those making statements seem to have come across similar distortion.
** In the episode "Growing Dark" it is hinted that something supernatural is causing the lights to stop working in the narrator's girlfriend's flat. They replace the bulbs, check the fittings and call in an electrician but can find nothing apparently wrong. Then [[spoiler:subverted when it turns out not to be supernatural, merely bizarre - someone (presumably his girlfriend's strange flatmate) keeps unscrewing all the bulbs just enough to break the connections]].
* Franchise/{{The Slender Man|Mythos}} is often shown to muck up electronic equipment, causing static, audio and visual distortion, missing frames, added frames, and general horror. A video camera is also a way to see him when he is otherwise invisible. In ''WebVideo/MarbleHornets'', trying to film him tends to make it worse.

* ''Webcomic/LoadingArtist'' is about [https://loadingartist.com/comic/going-going-ghost/ a ghost talking about how he was friends with an Egyptian ghost, but unfortunately, it wasn't long before his presence causes the television set to start flickering and sprouting out static].

* The ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' episode "Beyond This Earthly Realm" has Finn getting stuck in the SpiritWorld, where it seems he can't interact with anything in the physical plane and no one can even see him but Ice King, who has "wizard eyes", then gets stuck there itself. It turns out they ''can'' effect things subtly, which Finn discovers when he moves around near a television and sees the static start to change.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "Graveyard Shift", Squidward tells [=SpongeBob=] the story of the Hash Slinging Slasher to scare him. He tells him that there are three signs heralding the arrival of the Slasher, and the first one is the lights turning on and off. Later, the lights at the Krusty Krab do start to turning on and off, which Squidward at first dismisses as cheap wiring, but then the other two signs occur, and a mysterious figure approaches the door. Fortunately, it's just the night fry cook Krabs had just hired, but that didn't explain the lights. Then they see the real culprit: Film/{{Nosferatu}}.

* ''VideoGame/SilentHill''

* In Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Literature/JohnnyAndTheDead'', the Dead are able to manipulate, damage, or generally mess around with radios, telephones, televisions, arcade games, jukeboxes, computer networks, satellites, and radio telescopes. Justified because one of them was an electronics genius in life, while another is Albert Einstein's distant cousin.

* Many of the powers in ''VideoGame/GhostMaster'' are electrical in nature such as [[https://ghostmaster.fandom.com/wiki/Blow_Fuse Blow Fuse]], [[https://ghostmaster.fandom.com/wiki/Blackout Blackout]], [[https://ghostmaster.fandom.com/wiki/Wild_%26_Crazy Wild & Crazy]] and [[https://ghostmaster.fandom.com/wiki/Strange_Behaviour Strange Behaviour]]. Technology is also one the 'fetters' or places ghosts [[HauntedTechnology can be anchored]].

* ''VideoGame/SilentHill1'' had a radio which gave off static in the presence of monsters.
** In ''VideoGame/SilentHillShatteredMemories'', you can only see ghosts by looking at them with Harry's cell phone camera, and "echo memories" (which are sort of... lingering traces of emotionally-charged events?) cause the phone to give off weird static/feedback.

* In ''Film/{{Poltergeist|1982}}'', the ghost researchers use this sort of equipment to monitor the ghostly activities in the house. After one supernatural occurrence, one of them even notes "It's electrical - you can smell the charge."
* Samara Morgan in ''Film/TheRing'' imprints images on a blank videotape (cursing it in the process) and can manipulate televisions when someone's week is up, up to and including emerging from the screen. Before her death, she had similar abilities to psychically imprint images on electromagnetic film.
** In fact, unlike the original Japanese version which includes weird stuff like communicating with germs, ''all'' Samara's powers seem to be magnetism-based. Tampering with videos and surveillance cameras, levitating metal objects, even causing fatal seizures are things that can be done with sufficiently precise EM waves.

* ''Webcomic/LoadingArtist'' is about [https://loadingartist.com/comic/going-going-ghost/ a ghost talking about how he was friends with an Egyptian ghost, but unforunately, it wasn't long before his presence causes the television set to start flickering and sprouting out static].

* The EMF reader in ''VideoGame/{{Phasmophobia}}'' is used to detect ghost activity. Higher levels mean a stronger presence and more activity, and only the most aggressive ghost types can trigger a level 5 reading. All types of ghost can make lights flicker and turn radios and [=TVs=] off and on, and they will always make your flashlight flicker when they're about to hunt. In addition, certain types of ghost can respond to your questions on the Spirit Box, an FM radio device that can pick up ghost speech.

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* In ''Anime/DigimonGhostGame'', Digimon act as digital {{youkai}}, [[DemonicPossession possessing technology]] and causing paranormal events that the heroes have to deal with.
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Please note that this often happens in worlds that do not have magic as such but still have ghosts.

->''From the night of Brad's stage dive. All of a sudden, I'm getting electromagnetic readings up the wazoo. For some reason, it's a legit haunting now.''

[[folder: Advertising]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* The eponymous, half-ghost main character of ''Webcomic/{{Erma}}'' and her mother both do [[https://tapas.io/episode/261879 this]].
* ''Webcomic/{{Hejibits}}'' has [[http://www.hejibits.com/comics/spectral-signal/ this]] example.
* ''Webcomic/LoadingArtist'' is about [https://loadingartist.com/comic/going-going-ghost/ a ghost talking about how he was friends with an Egyptian ghost, but unforunately, it wasn't long before his presence causes the television set to start flickering and sprouting out static].
[[/folder]]

** In ''Alternate Routes'', ghosts can make their voices heard on radios and their faces appear in the static on an untuned analog TV set (although since the story is set after the switch to digital TV signals, the only character who ''has'' an analog TV set is a ghost peddler who keeps an old one around specifically for communicating with ghosts with).

-->-'''Dean Winchester''', ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''

When they're not tormenting humans or scaring pets, ghosts are interfering with technology, appearing on video screens, making radios and [=TVs=] crackle and playing with the lights. Alongside [[GhostlyChill cold spots]], EM interference is one of the "recognized" signs of a haunting. One variation, known as EVP (electronic voice phenomena), specifically involves anomalous voices or other sounds on electronic audio recordings. Ghosts also appear on camcorder screens, night vision cameras, and of course, infrared cameras.

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* In the ''Manga/CardCaptorSakura'' fic ''Fanfic/ShadowOfTheDragon'', Tomoyo uses a tape recorder to communicate with the ghost of [[OriginalCharacter Reiko Ichimai]].
[[/folder]]

* ''Film/HouseOnHauntedHill1999'' (remake): Ghosts show up on a camcorder screen just before murdering a contestant.

* In ''Film/{{Poltergeist}}'' (1982), the ghost researchers use this sort of equipment to monitor the ghostly activities in the house. After one supernatural occurrence, one of them even notes "It's electrical - you can smell the charge."