Reality television has left its mark on the media we consume, but not all the premises are all bad. What’s not to like about a show where people get cameras and equipment and go heading off to hunt the paranormal? Well some who are still skeptical of the television genre (though not the subject of ghosts themselves) are speaking out and saying Ghost Hunting Reality TV has been draining the field of its long-term practitioners’ secrets. And in an age where interest in the paranormal is at an all time high, it seems one of the biggest clashes of the future will be the difference between the corporate image of what ghost hunting is like on TV and what others out in the field say it’s like.
Call it what you will. Harrowing and real to some while just plain silly to others, shows involving investigators into the paranormal have been around for some time. And while some of the shows might seem tongue in cheek, others take the subject (and themselves) extremely seriously. But is it all smoke and mirrors to make an entertaining show? Or is there something more to it?
While some have said the ghost hunting show is on its way out, others are intensely defending them – hoping the genre will show new life and come back in a big way. But what can the genre do when it conclusively has shown us some of the best evidence ever seen in EVP form and video? Some critics are suggesting it’s the evidence itself that’s a little too good. The credibility of ghost hunting shows is on the line. So what could they do instead?
Before ghost hunting and alien hunting shows there was one primary way the paranormal could reach television airwaves and that was in the form of a documentary or a show that did reports on the paranormal. These shows started with shows like “In Search Of” and “Unsolved Mysteries” and moved on to more contemporary shows such as the current “Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura.” The shows were often criticized for relying on information that could not be confirmed, but they openly admitted that all the information could not be discovered due to the nature of the events themselves. Some adhered strictly to the information attempting to paint as accurate a picture as possible while others took the role of story tellers simply passing on the folklore in a format that could be easily consumed by the masses via television airwaves.
Perhaps the problem so many are having with ghost hunting shows today is the way they attempt to artificially build up the mystique. Evidence has arisen several times that seems too good to be true, such as EVP that just sounds like someone speaking in an echoing chamber or objects floating around as if suspended by strings. On an average ghost hunt this is virtually unheard of. In a few extreme cases things have flown across the room, and EVP while unpredictable rarely has anything even approaching what is often shown at the end of an average hunt.
But there is hope. Some ghost hunting shows are abandoning the sensationalism and glamour of their counterparts and instead focusing on the things that actually interest those interested in the paranormal. And that’s the history and eerie feelings already present in the field.