Tuesday, April 5, 2011

A ghost hunting epidemic.

I'm not sure what provoked this current plethora of ghost reality shows, but they are entertaining to say the least. Some of them are more entertainment than investigation. After reading some of the fan site comments I think it's a matter of taste. Much the same as liking Brussel Sprout, you either do or you don't. One thing they all seem to have in common is trying to use the latest high tech gadget to gather evidence. I hope that in reading this one remembers that this is just my opinion and your mileage may vary. I will provide viewing information so that you can judge for yourself.

Let's begin with Paranormal State  http://www.aetv.com/paranormal-state/  which airs on A&E. I have watched this show several times. It failed to grab my interest. The main issue I had was the first few episodes I watched they seemed to dwell on people being haunted by demons. The trailers even suggested that the team itself was being threatened by a demon that was following team leader Ryan Buell. Setting the drama for "will the demon get Ryan in the next episode?" type of feel. Every investigation I saw the "client" was haunted. They seemed to go in with the presumption that they would and did find a ghost or demon. Not much in the way of debunking, I hope they get better. The new season starts Dec.15

A newcomer to the game is Ghost Lab http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/ghost-lab/ghost-lab.html on the Discovery Channel Tuesdays at 10 pm PT/ET. Two brothers from Texas with a mobile high tech lab they tow around the country doing investigations. The cast is likable and  they view things with a skeptical eye not likely to say some place is haunted without evidence. I've enjoyed this show even if it does seem a little commercialized. The show is narrated by Discovery Channel uber-narrator Mike Rowe, whose voice is instantly identifiable and lends an air of credibility like a endorsement from an old friend. It's well produced and still in it's early stages time will tell if it has the chops to stay.

Also new to the TV air waves it Extreme Paranormal http://www.aetv.com/extreme-paranormal/ also on A&E. The team has a regular radio gig where they host a talk show about the paranormal. On their days off they investigate "haunted" places. Their methods are not your typical wait and see what happens investigations. No, they try to recreate events that lead to the death of the person haunting the location. They will also perform rituals to evoke, provoke or summon spirits. It's an interesting show and will suck you in. If for no other reason than to see what these guys will do next. Since starting this blog, this has gone to the other side and been cancelled

Of course there is the venerable Ghost Hunter and Ghost Hunters International or GHI  as they like to refer to it. Grant and Jason are like old friends and have gotten more likely to call a place "haunted". In the early days Jason had to just about see a full body apparition before he would use the "H" word. But they still do their best to debunk the hauntings. Ghost Hunters and GHI air on SYFY  and www.syfy.com/ghosthunters

Last but not least is  Ghost Adventures is a weekly American paranormal television series that premiered on October 17, 2008 on the Travel Channel. Currently produced by MY-Tupelo Entertainment (a merger of MY Entertainment and Tupelo-Honey Productions), the program follows and stars ghost hunters Zak Bagans, Nick Groff, and Aaron Goodwin, as they investigate locations that are reported to be haunted. Hosted and narrated by Bagans, the show initially airs new episodes on Fridays at 9 p.m. Eastern Time on the Travel Channel. The tagline of the series is: "Can you handle the lockdown?"
Self-considered "raw" and "extreme," the program originally began as an independent documentary television film, which was filmed by the crew in 2004 and produced by 4Reel Productions in 2006. The Sci-Fi Channel first presented 4Reel's Ghost Adventures on July 25, 2007. The documentary centers on the trio's investigation of alleged paranormal activity in and around Virginia City, Nevada, which the crew returned to on the third season of the series, and in Goldfield, Nevada in which the crew returned to in order to finish their lockdown at the Goldfield Hotel. www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Ghost_Adventures


So check them out and don't worry about that sound down the hall, it's probably just the wind.