• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

Are TV Ghost Shows Genuine?

Yes, very entertaining. But there is a serious aspect to it all.

Is it a bit like ufos ?

many, possibly most, don't believe they exist. And the more the media mock them the less likely people are to really question the reality of them.

But what if just one case was proved beyond all doubt to be real ? What then ?

Same goes for ghosts. Make them look foolish and the proles won't bother much about them.

The question has always been 'is there an afterlife ?'. All religions are based upon it.

If any ghost or haunting can be proved to be actual fact, then there has to be some kind of 'other realm' where these 'things' reside. The ghost has to be somewhere.

Is that not the most important question that can be answered ?

int21
 
INT21 said:
Yes, very entertaining. But there is a serious aspect to it all.

Is it a bit like ufos ?

many, possibly most, don't believe they exist. And the more the media mock them the less likely people are to really question the reality of them.

But what if just one case was proved beyond all doubt to be real ? What then ?

Same goes for ghosts. Make them look foolish and the proles won't bother much about them.

The question has always been 'is there an afterlife ?'. All religions are based upon it.

If any ghost or haunting can be proved to be actual fact, then there has to be some kind of 'other realm' where these 'things' reside. The ghost has to be somewhere.

Is that not the most important question that can be answered ?

int21
Click to expand...

But now we all have cameras in our pockets and have had them for years there’s still no real proof of ghosts or ufos for that matter. We’ve ruled orbs out though.
 
Paranormal State is possibly not genuine.
------
So it seems that one of the clients for the “PRS” (Paranormal State) team has come up to expose the PRS team as hoaxers. I’ve written a few articles in the past about how horrible this show really is, and the damage that it inflicts onto the paranormal society.

Below is a long testimony from a former client of the PRS team. Kirby Robinson has brought it upon himself to expose the show and it’s staff. They meticulously wrote an open letter to announce their shenanigans. Read it and make your own decision. This is what we here at GhostTheory have been saying all along… Paranormal state is hoax. Every scene is cleverly edited, every evidence they put forth is questionable. How they manage to keep their ratings up is totally a mystery. With all this trickery and deception, WILL YOU STILL WATCH?

I leave you with Mr. Robinson’s letter:

More text at http://www.ghosttheory.com/2008/11/04/paranormal-state-caught-faking-entire-show
 
Yeah those ghost hunter shows are rubbish.

There’s also a whole genre of shows about “real life” cases, usually with bad reconstructions. Some of them can be quite watchable and occasionally you wonder if there might be something in there. But, the quality is rarely great...
 
Hmmm.

So, if ufo and the paranormal, ghost, ghoulies and things that go bump in the night, are all bunk....

Why are you all here ?

If the above items can be disregarded, then everything has to be in the mind of the 'beholder'....Doesn't it ?

INT21
 
INT21 said:
Hmmm.

So, if ufo and the paranormal, ghost, ghoulies and things that go bump in the night, are all bunk....

Why are you all here ?

If the above items can be disregarded, then everything has to be in the mind of the 'beholder'....Doesn't it ?

INT21
Click to expand...

The mind is a fascinating thing. It can conjure up all manner of nightmares and monsters. I find it interesting why it would do that to itself.
 
I was invloved with a Paranormal Investigation group and we made a pilot TV episode for Swedish TV. There certainly wasn't any pressure there to fake anything.

But I can imagine that the TV company wants entertainment which in this day and age means drama, cliffhangers and "extreme" reactions. And if the ghosts don't go bump on cue then something has to happen to keep it on the screen. I think they all probably start off with good intentions and then need to fake it to keep it interesting.
 
INT21 said:
Hmmm.

So, if ufo and the paranormal, ghost, ghoulies and things that go bump in the night, are all bunk....

Why are you all here ?

If the above items can be disregarded, then everything has to be in the mind of the 'beholder'....Doesn't it ?

INT21
Click to expand...

I want to believe.
 
INT21 said:
Hmmm.

So, if ufo and the paranormal, ghost, ghoulies and things that go bump in the night, are all bunk....

Why are you all here ?

If the above items can be disregarded, then everything has to be in the mind of the 'beholder'....Doesn't it ?

INT21
Click to expand...

I don't understand. Surely you are not saying that it's silly to be interested in this stuff because some shows about some aspects of the paranormal are crap. Are you? Loads of books about such topics are crap, to be sure, but that does not mean the subject is bunk. There happens to be another load of books about it that are really good, even excellent. Television, though, seldom does a good job with, well, anything that I'm aware of. There are some great situation comedies. There's Doc Martin. Some excellent documentaries on other topics. Mostly crap, though. We don't watch TV except for Netflix or DVDs or whatever. One time the cable guy was hooking up our internet connection and he said we could get cable TV for another $5 per month. We said no thanks.

TV shows about the paranormal don't have to be garbage, but that seems to be the only kind I have encountered.
 
INT21 said:
Hmmm.

So, if ufo and the paranormal, ghost, ghoulies and things that go bump in the night, are all bunk....

Why are you all here ?

If the above items can be disregarded, then everything has to be in the mind of the 'beholder'....Doesn't it ?

INT21
Click to expand...
This site is more about the paranormal than a site for paranormal fans. Most on this site are bit skeptical, but interested in the different subjects. Most of the subjects discussed on this site can neither be proven nor disproved.
 
I wish Arthur C. Clarke's documentaries had spawned modern imitators, they presented the facts and opinions without any fuss or flim-flam. Too often what you get now shows the huge influence of fictional horror cinema (or Ghostwatch).
 
Vardoger said:
This site is more about the paranormal than a site for paranormal fans. Most on this site are bit skeptical, but interested in the different subjects. Most of the subjects discussed on this site can neither be proven nor disproved.
Click to expand...

Oh, i think we can all agree Prometheus was crap.
 
I like to see the locations but the 'happenings' are pretty much faked in my opinion. Even if genuinely trying to capture something, I'm sure that the trickster would have something to say about that.

If someone approached the subject like Kit Pedler back in the 1970's it would gain more genuine interest instead of filming dust in the dark.
 
Whether the shows are faked or not, full credit to the teams for going into "haunted" locations in the first place, that takes more guts than I've got, for example one young lady investigator spent the night sleeping on the mortuary slab in an old insane asylum..:)
PS- and in the same show the camera caught a "lizard man" slithering across the floor in the background, check it-


PS- you might have to adjust your monitor brightness/contrast to see it, meanwhile here's a still in which I've outlined the thing, it crawls like a human at first then seems to drop onto its belly and slither away like a snake-

ghosty_zpsvsqzsfdk.jpg~original
 
Last edited:
Austin Pepper,

..I don't understand. Surely you are not saying that it's silly to be interested in this stuff because some shows about some aspects of the paranormal are crap...

Not at all. I am trying to drill down to the basic question. Do you think there is any truth in the subject ?

You see, if it was to be provable that indeed all paranormal experiences, ghosts, apparitions etc are 'all in the mind'. Then it kicks the legs out from all religions. They are based on belief. Not a shred of actual proof exists. People want to believe there is a God.

And should it be possible to prove there isn't (Which, it is not possible to do) then much darkness will descend upon the land.

Paranormal experiences are reported on a regular basis, not just as seen on tv.

As mentioned above, these shows need a following or they will close down. So adding bits here and there to something that is actually experienced keeps the interest going.
The problem is, it only needs one part of the show to be demonstrably 'made up' and the who thing become suspect.

Same goes for ufo.

If people experience some kind of paranormal experience either it is 'real' or it is a figment of their imagination.

There is no other choice.

And it comes down to trust. How does one know that someone who says something has happened is telling the truth ? Science requires repeatability. something not easily come by in the paranormal. It's bad enough in a field like Cold Fusion.

So, no, I am not saying this is all crap. Quite the opposite. But I would like to know what is causing it.

Having seen a couple of apparitions that looked very real to me, but could not possibly have been real as in my time and space, I would be the last person to deny the existence of strange happenings.

INT21
 
‘‘You see, if it was to be provable that indeed all paranormal experiences, ghosts, apparitions etc are 'all in the mind'.’’

Well we still haven’t reached a consensus on ‘the mind’. A recent radio4 programme explored how much the bacteria inside us influences decision making or a general mental state.
 
The great problem with ghost hunting shows is that the production companies behind them ares, first and foremost, paid to create an entertainment product. It's very much a remit of light entertainment first, factual second. You won't see them involving people from more respected bodies or societies working with them. You won't see true investigative research or journalism.

You will see a lot of Yvette Fielding jumping at her own shadow. :)

Those involved are instructed to be dramatic, are instructed to spook each other out. Because that's entertaining on camera. Likewise a bit of fakery to heighten the drama almost certainly does go on. Because 'We stayed overnight in this reputedly haunted place, but nothing happened' doesn't make for enthralling TV...

I would genuinely be in favour of a show which spent a month staking out one location. Researching a location, its history, its context. Exploring the most likely connections of the past to an actual haunting. Reconstructions of encounters. Detailed timelines of sightings. Extensive interviews with witnesses on their own observations and experiences. Cameras recording 24 hrs a day for a month.

But a) that would be a pretty expensive production, and b) Not as interesting to those who want instant gratification.
 
The bad: Paranormal State, Ghosts of Shepherdstown(too much scripting).
The better ones: Paranormal Lockdown, Ghost Hunter International(not afraid to say when a site is not haunted), Kindred Spirits(A low key show).
 
I like Ghost Hunters, they try to debunk things first. Mostly nothing really happens which makes it much more convincing for me.
 
By sheer happenstance I'm watching the new show "Help, my house is haunted" - genuinely don't know what to make of it. The reactions seem a little... well... overboard.
 
Austin Popper said:
TV shows about the paranormal don't have to be garbage, but that seems to be the only kind I have encountered
Click to expand...

I agree. They could do good stuff but as others have noted, TV producers copy the last thing that made money, tweak it a bit and throw it out there with little effort.

CuriousIdent said:
The great problem with ghost hunting shows is that the production companies behind them ares, first and foremost, paid to create an entertainment product. It's very much a remit of light entertainment first, factual second. You won't see them involving people from more respected bodies or societies working with them. You won't see true investigative research or journalism.

Those involved are instructed to be dramatic, are instructed to spook each other out. Because that's entertaining on camera. [...]
I would genuinely be in favour of a show which spent a month staking out one location. Researching a location, its history, its context. Exploring the most likely connections of the past to an actual haunting. Reconstructions of encounters. Detailed timelines of sightings. Extensive interviews with witnesses on their own observations and experiences. Cameras recording 24 hrs a day for a month.

But a) that would be a pretty expensive production, and b) Not as interesting to those who want instant gratification.
Click to expand...

Also agree entirely. Here's a story. I was approached by a US documentary producer who worked on Ghost Hunters. He wanted me for geological expertise in a location that they believe is influenced by ley lines or stone/water tape ideas. He wanted to film me talking about my opinions on a site I never visited, for which I have seen no evidence regarding anything unusual, and on a topic I think is pseudoscience. When I did 15 minutes of research, I found it had nothing geologically interesting associated with it (no limestone or quartz they like to mention as related to "recording emotions" for playback) and the previous investigations by the ghost hunter involved were the same ridiculous gadget-fetish nonsense that's been done to death. He told me it wouldn't be but he fed me BS about the premise and the place. I told him kindly to not make the trip to see me but I would offer to legitimately consult for him. I could not, under the ethics of my geology licensure, agree to his requests to speculate on this topic. Well, I never heard from him again. He wanted the legitimacy of a scientist but didn't want the best answers. This is how they roll.

Note that almost all of these paranormal investigators are amateurs. They have no training in science, investigation or research methods. They wouldn't even make decent detectives. I spent years researching the researchers. I wrote a book on it. Scientifical Americans: The Culture of Amateur Paranormal Researchers by Sharon A. Hill

The book does go into the influence of TV shows in promoting imitation of the people on TV and impetus to seek out their own experiences based on this model using tech (in the wrong way) and poor methodology that doesn't result in any reliable knowledge for the rest of us.
 
I’ve watched a few Paranormal Lockdowns and it seems it’s just the same show repeated.
They enter the property, point cameras at dingy corners, comment on how cold it’s getting, claim something touched one of them and go to sleep.
Then they get a couple of canny locals in who go along with the ‘Did you hear that?!’ routine.
The ghost box always asks for Katarina but you can’t hear other spooky interventions as the soundtrack is so full of crashing audio and dramatic beats, any sense of tension in waiting to hear bangs and thumps is lost.

And this is one of the ‘better’ ones.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top