SpectraBoxSpirit box vs ghost box
"Spirit box" and "ghost box" are two names for essentially the same thing: a device that scans rapidly through sound fragments so that listeners can hear words in the output. The difference is mostly branding and habit, not technology. Related names include Frank's Box, radio sweep and, for a related but different tool, the EMF meter.
Short answer
If someone says "ghost box" in a forum, a video or a store listing, they almost always mean the same kind of device that others call a "spirit box". Both refer to a scanning radio or sound generator whose output is a choppy stream of noise and speech fragments. People choose one name or the other based on taste, community and marketing.
Common names and what they usually mean
| Name | What people usually mean |
|---|---|
| Spirit box | A scanning device, hardware or app, used to listen for words in a sweep of sound. |
| Ghost box | The same thing. Often used in product names and videos. |
| Frank's Box | A name for the same style of device, derived from a hobbyist, Frank Sumption, who is often credited with the design that popularized it. |
| Radio sweep | A description of the technique: sweeping through radio stations. |
| EVP recorder | A recorder used to capture audio for later review. Not a live scanner. |
| EMF meter | A meter that shows changes in a magnetic field. It does not produce speech. |
You may see slight variations in how fans use the terms. Some say a "ghost box" strictly means a modified radio, and a "spirit box" is any device used for the purpose. Others say the opposite. There is no standards body, so the names flex.
Spirit box versus EVP recording
This is the distinction that actually matters. A spirit box produces sound in real time, and you listen as you go. EVP recording is the practice of capturing audio and reviewing it afterward. Many investigators use both, running a spirit box session while a recorder captures the room. Read How EVP recording works for the recording side.
Spirit box versus EMF meter
An EMF meter responds to changes in magnetic fields. On a phone, an EMF readout comes from the magnetometer, the same sensor that powers the compass. It is a common companion to a spirit box, because both are used in ghost-hunting sessions, but they measure different things. The meter shows nothing about speech, and the spirit box measures nothing about magnetism. We explain the phone version in What is an EMF meter on a phone?
Hardware versus app
A hardware ghost box is typically a radio receiver, sometimes modified, that scans the AM or FM band. It can be fun, but it also picks up real broadcasts, which is why a hardware box may suddenly produce a clear sentence of a news announcer. Many skeptics point to this when explaining the results.
A phone app can do the job differently. Some apps stream audio from a server, which means the output is not generated on your phone at all. Others generate everything locally. SpectraBox falls into the second group: its noise sweep is generated live and its words are played from short clips stored in the app, with no radio and no network. That is why it works in airplane mode, and it is also why the output cannot be a real transmission from anywhere.
Which term should you search for?
If you are looking for an app, searching either term will return overlapping results. "Spirit box app" is slightly more common in app store listings, and "ghost box" appears in more video titles. Add "EVP" if you want tools that also record or review audio, and "EMF" if you want a meter. Our checklist for choosing a spirit box app shows what to look at beyond the name.
Why the confusion exists
The hobby grew up in online forums, television shows and product listings, and each community coined its own shorthand. A seller might call a modified radio a "ghost box" because it sounds more dramatic on a product page, while a team that has used the same device for years may call it a "spirit box" out of habit. Neither is a technical category. If you are reading a review or a tutorial, look at what the device does, not what it is called. Does it scan radio stations? Does it play stored clips? Does it generate noise? Those details tell you far more than the label.
It is also worth noticing that some apps use the word "radio" in their descriptions even though the phone has no radio receiver for AM or FM at all. A phone cannot scan the broadcast band the way a hardware box does, so an app that says it does is either streaming an internet radio feed or playing generated audio. Knowing this helps you ask the right question of any app: where does the sound actually come from?
A note on honesty
Whichever name you use, the same caution applies. These devices produce ambiguous sound, and people hear words in ambiguous sound. That is a real and interesting feature of hearing, and it is the reason the experience works as entertainment. It is not a reason to claim contact with the dead. SpectraBox is for entertainment only and labels its exports accordingly.
Where to go from here
If you are new, start with What is a spirit box?, then try a short session using the steps in How to run an EVP session. SpectraBox is free to download on iPhone and Android, so you can try the idea in a minute and decide whether the upgrade is worth it.