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Ghost Hunters

One of the most popular oral traditions is ghost stories. Even if you are not an experiencer, you probably have heard a ghost story from relatives or friends. But no matter how direct or indirect the story relates to you, it always represents a very interesting topic of conversation among most people.

Throughout the years, groups have been formed in order to learn more information about this phenomenon. Nowadays, reality television has taken these groups to a whole new level by bringing fame to a lot of ordinary individuals.



I have watched a couple of episodes of shows like Ghost Hunters (which is the most popular here in the US) and a couple of times they catch something interesting. However, a lot of things about the show bother me. These are a few:

Lack of purpose:

What is the objective of the show or their mission as a group? I would say "pure entertainment" and nothing else. But for some reason, (and based on their comments) I have the impression that they think they are doing a community service by going to an specific location and telling the owner whether they think their property is haunted or not.

In my personal opinion (and as an experiencer myself), I don't see any service in this. First of all, because the actions taken to find a logical explanation to people's claims are nothing that we, using a little common sense, cannot do. On the other hand, if for some reason the people living in the property are experiencing paranormal activity and the GH team doesn't get to catch anything relevant on camera, that doesn't make the experience of the person in question less valid. If the opposite happens and they capture voice or images of paranormal nature, I would find it absolutely irrelevant to have someone else's confirmation. Again, I don't see the point.

Instrumentation:

EMF detectors and thermal imaging cameras are among some of the devices used by the GH team to detect paranormal activity. However, their knowledge seemed to be limited to what they have read and their own personal experiences, lacking relevant technical expertise.

I would love to see a scientist included in this group. Since the show is part of a big cable network, it seems to be something doable. I wonder why, after so many seasons of ghost chasing adventures, I have never seen such an important element included. I think their founders should be a little more humble and be aware of their limitations by including people that will bring more objectivity to their findings.

Theories:

Residual haunting and energy manifestations are some of the terminologies frequently employed in the ghost hunting field. According to these folks, residual haunting is a repeated playback of a traumatic, life-altering event that does not directly involve a spiritual entity.

When I heard that for the first time, I started laughing!

I am not against people who express their particular point of view on national television. But oftentimes I see the GH team refer to all of those things as facts. I remember only one time when one of the founders had the good judgment to include this sentence before mentioning his subjective concept: "there are a lot of theories out there ..."

There is absolutely no scientific foundation on their residual haunting concept and I really dislike when they start talking about energies when is very clear to everybody (or at least to my husband and I) that they have absolutely no idea of what they are talking about. So, not because they have heard about the "law of conservation of energy" that means that everything else fits the same idea.

Search for answers:

When I heard that a new ghost hunting show would be aired in the "entertain your brain" network, I was hopeful they would bring something new to the table. Soon enough I went back to disappointment mode when I realized they were all the same crap thing.

If the same methodology is followed over the years with no results or clear answers, what does that tell you? I think its time for innovation and new ideas. This is what I would like to see for a start:

- Improve the equipment instead of your SUVs.

- Get training on software, get always the best and make sure all resources are being used.

- Change the line of questioning during EVP sessions. Start asking more relevant questions.

- Include at least one scientist (Geologist, Physicist, Electronics and Electrical Engineers).

- Avoid speculation.

- Don't reach any stupid conclusion.


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