Haunted Shows

[darkshadow0001]

I watch a lot of "haunted shows" on TV, most notably Discovery Channel's "A Haunting" and Travel Channel's "Most Haunted" and wonder, is there a lot of truth to these shows or is a lot of it BS? I'm a firm believer in ghosts and the paranormal, and demons and such.

These shows are entertaining, nonetheless, but sometimes I wonder if a lot of it is put-on just to get viewers. On another website, I can't find it now but if I do I'll put the link up, a someone said in a forum about an episode that featured a demon who called himself Seth, and said he had never lived (through a Ouija Board). Now this person (on the Internet forum), said this is BS because he couldn't find any reference to a demon Seth except for the Biblical Seth and an Egyptian God named Seth. I was thinking, maybe if this demon is for real that it's name was never documented. That deosn't mean that the story is false or fabricated. I don't know, I would like to believe a lot of this is real, I've even attempted to investigate supposedly haunted places myself but never really came accross anything, but I'm a bit scared to go by myself at night so I usually go with a friend if anything.

With Most Haunted it is hard to believe with all the places they've visited is actually haunted... I realize a lot of what they attempt to do is find out if it is or not. The show has been on for years... how many more castles and places can they actually investigate still?

 

[Nathan_Heller]

These shows would be more appealing to me if the people would learn to use the equipment and lose the psychics.

 

[Spot's Meow]

I'll preface this by saying that I am not sure if such things exist. It's a possibility, I just don't know.

Most Haunted - Complete and utter crap. There is nothing authentic about this show and that stupid red-eyed lady drives me crazy. Hate it.

Ghost Hunters - Much better and more entertaining. They never really find much (which is usually their point anyway) but at least the show attempts to be professional on some level. I doubt the authenticity of some of their findings, but it's likely the sort of thing you could never prove either way. And they say as much on the show, so that's good.

A Haunting - This show I watch because there is truly nothing good on TV at 1 and 2 PM. So while I don't love it, I end up watching it anyway sometimes (like today, for instance). One of today's episodes had some teenagers in a graveyard describing their experiences (by the way it was nice to have the setting not inside of a house for once) and I just don't know how real it all is. This show is basically people telling their personal stories, and there's no way to prove or disprove that. Do I think the show hires actors to tell these stories (not the reenactments)? No, I think that they get these stories from people who genuinely believe something happened to them. You can tell, especially with the younger people they interview, that they really were affected by the experiences they had. Does that mean these things actually happened? I just don't know.

 

[darkshadow0001]

I'll preface this by saying that I am not sure if such things exist. It's a possibility, I just don't know.

Most Haunted - Complete and utter crap. There is nothing authentic about this show and that stupid red-eyed lady drives me crazy. Hate it.

Ghost Hunters - Much better and more entertaining. They never really find much (which is usually their point anyway) but at least the show attempts to be professional on some level. I doubt the authenticity of some of their findings, but it's likely the sort of thing you could never prove either way. And they say as much on the show, so that's good.

A Haunting - This show I watch because there is truly nothing good on TV at 1 and 2 PM. So while I don't love it, I end up watching it anyway sometimes (like today, for instance). One of today's episodes had some teenagers in a graveyard describing their experiences (by the way it was nice to have the setting not inside of a house for once) and I just don't know how real it all is. This show is basically people telling their personal stories, and there's no way to prove or disprove that. Do I think the show hires actors to tell these stories (not the reenactments)? No, I think that they get these stories from people who genuinely believe something happened to them. You can tell, especially with the younger people they interview, that they really were affected by the experiences they had. Does that mean these things actually happened? I just don't know.

^^ I saw that one, too. The cemetery is real, I did a search on it and came acrossed it in a number of websites. As far as it being haunted, I'm not sure either. I think there has to be something out there- there can't be life and then, nothing. There are a few "haunted" cemeteries near my area and I've checked out a few of them, but never really came across anything.

As far as Most Haunted, I agree I think a lot of it is crap. There can't be that many famous places in the UK or any of those countries that are haunted. It doesn't make sense. I think Most Haunted in away is like Ghost Hunters-- I think their purpose is to find out if the place is haunted or not. However, i've never seen Ghost Hunters, and I think a lot of the people on Most Haunted are unprofessional. Especially when one of the women get scared-- I mean come on... I might get startled or freaked out, but I dunno if I'd scream like that if I just heard a noise or something...

 

[Jax]

With Most Haunted it is hard to believe with all the places they've visited is actually haunted... I realize a lot of what they attempt to do is find out if it is or not. The show has been on for years... how many more castles and places can they actually investigate still?

Its all fake B/S

 

[Spot's Meow]

As far as Most Haunted, I agree I think a lot of it is crap. There can't be that many famous places in the UK or any of those countries that are haunted. It doesn't make sense. I think Most Haunted in away is like Ghost Hunters-- I think their purpose is to find out if the place is haunted or not. However, i've never seen Ghost Hunters, and I think a lot of the people on Most Haunted are unprofessional. Especially when one of the women get scared-- I mean come on... I might get startled or freaked out, but I dunno if I'd scream like that if I just heard a noise or something...

Well the nice thing about Ghost Hunters is they say that they go to these places with the purpose of debunking the ghost stories surrounding them (though the team does believe in ghosts and if they find something interesting they present it to the owner of the house/building). For instance, someone said they could hear weird voices in this one room, and they discovered it was actually because there was a pipe from the ceiling leading down to the alley below that was allowing the voices of people walking by to travel into the room. So it is nice that they take a somewhat scientific sort of approach to things. Sometimes the younger members of the team get a little freaked out, but that really doesn't happen that often (though they do like showing it over and over in the commercials for the show for some reason).

 

[darkshadow0001]

As far as Most Haunted, I agree I think a lot of it is crap. There can't be that many famous places in the UK or any of those countries that are haunted. It doesn't make sense. I think Most Haunted in away is like Ghost Hunters-- I think their purpose is to find out if the place is haunted or not. However, i've never seen Ghost Hunters, and I think a lot of the people on Most Haunted are unprofessional. Especially when one of the women get scared-- I mean come on... I might get startled or freaked out, but I dunno if I'd scream like that if I just heard a noise or something...

Well the nice thing about Ghost Hunters is they say that they go to these places with the purpose of debunking the ghost stories surrounding them (though the team does believe in ghosts and if they find something interesting they present it to the owner of the house/building). For instance, someone said they could hear weird voices in this one room, and they discovered it was actually because there was a pipe from the ceiling leading down to the alley below that was allowing the voices of people walking by to travel into the room. So it is nice that they take a somewhat scientific sort of approach to things. Sometimes the younger members of the team get a little freaked out, but that really doesn't happen that often (though they do like showing it over and over in the commercials for the show for some reason).

What channel is this show on?

I dunno if you ever watched Most Haunted, but at the end of the show they try and do the same thing, about proving if what they saw or heard is real or not.

What made me skeptical about Most Haunted was during one of their "live" shows, they claimed they were after the spirit of Jack the Ripper, and during the whole scenario they never once mentioned Jack the Ripper until the end of the episode, which I believe was two nights.

 

[broberfett]

I believe the shows are fake even if ghosts are real. They are heavily dramatised.

 

[Unicron]

^ Agreed. These shows tend to be built more on an entertainment factor, because that makes the money.

 

[broberfett]

How long can they jump at their own shadow and find nothing? The A Haunting series is at least watchable for me. They seem to all be repeats though. MonsterQuest is running out of ideas too.

 

[Brian]

As far as Most Haunted, I agree I think a lot of it is crap. There can't be that many famous places in the UK or any of those countries that are haunted. It doesn't make sense. I think Most Haunted in away is like Ghost Hunters-- I think their purpose is to find out if the place is haunted or not. However, i've never seen Ghost Hunters, and I think a lot of the people on Most Haunted are unprofessional. Especially when one of the women get scared-- I mean come on... I might get startled or freaked out, but I dunno if I'd scream like that if I just heard a noise or something...

Well the nice thing about Ghost Hunters is they say that they go to these places with the purpose of debunking the ghost stories surrounding them (though the team does believe in ghosts and if they find something interesting they present it to the owner of the house/building). For instance, someone said they could hear weird voices in this one room, and they discovered it was actually because there was a pipe from the ceiling leading down to the alley below that was allowing the voices of people walking by to travel into the room. So it is nice that they take a somewhat scientific sort of approach to things. Sometimes the younger members of the team get a little freaked out, but that really doesn't happen that often (though they do like showing it over and over in the commercials for the show for some reason).

What channel is this show on?

Ghost Hunters is on the Sci-Fi Channel.

What ticks me off is that the shots of the younger people freaking out are usually over spiders or bats, or just pranking on each other. Then they show the freaked out reaction in the promos as if something paranormal really happened.

Or they will suddenly stop and say, "Did you hear that?" And my response to my television is usually, "I might have, if it weren't for the music and sound effects you lay over every damned scene!"

Love the show, though.

When they caught that old man's voice in the attic of that former church turned funeral parlor turned museum? "Leave me alone!" I got chills.

 

[Spot's Meow]

The experience I remember best was when they were in an old lighthouse and had the camera pointed up the stairs, and they caught a figure blocking out the light from the window. It could have been faked, but what if it wasn't? That would be so creepy.

ETA: Oh, another show I forgot to mention was Paranormal State (on A&E I believe). That show is awful! It often tries to incorporate a religious element to the experiences, which in itself isn't that bad, but they portray it in such a cheesy and outlandish way. They also have a really annoying narrator whose voice is made to sound like he's talking into a tape recorder. Really? Do we need all the drama? Some other people here have more details about how the show is fake.

 

[Brian]

^ Yeah, the St. Augustine lighthouse, that was a good one.

Thinking back, there have been several really good finds. They are few and far between, but when they happen, they're great:

- That hotel that Stephen King based "The Shining" on, where the camera caught Jason's closet door opening and closing, and the drinking glass on his night stand shattered. Wow.

- Some B&B where they set the camera to catch a chair move from where the housekeeper puts it, reported to be a frequent occurrence. The chair didn't move, but the camera caught a picture standing on the table next to it turn toward the chair.

- The one where they put their flashlight on the floor and urged a spirit to turn it on, and it turned on.

 

[darkshadow0001]

The experience I remember best was when they were in an old lighthouse and had the camera pointed up the stairs, and they caught a figure blocking out the light from the window. It could have been faked, but what if it wasn't? That would be so creepy.

ETA: Oh, another show I forgot to mention was Paranormal State (on A&E I believe). That show is awful! It often tries to incorporate a religious element to the experiences, which in itself isn't that bad, but they portray it in such a cheesy and outlandish way. They also have a really annoying narrator whose voice is made to sound like he's talking into a tape recorder. Really? Do we need all the drama? Some other people here have more details about how the show is fake.

I only watch Paranormal State out of sheer boredom. I don't think they're as good, either. They even tried to say the Mothman was present during the 9/11 attacks.

Most Haunted had somewhat of en episode like the lighthouse your describing, they thought they caught a glimpse of a ghost outside of a building they were in. It was faint, but you could make out a figure of a face. It's stuff like this that keeps me interested

 

[broberfett]

The experience I remember best was when they were in an old lighthouse and had the camera pointed up the stairs, and they caught a figure blocking out the light from the window. It could have been faked, but what if it wasn't? That would be so creepy.

ETA: Oh, another show I forgot to mention was Paranormal State (on A&E I believe). That show is awful! It often tries to incorporate a religious element to the experiences, which in itself isn't that bad, but they portray it in such a cheesy and outlandish way. They also have a really annoying narrator whose voice is made to sound like he's talking into a tape recorder. Really? Do we need all the drama? Some other people here have more details about how the show is fake.

I only watch Paranormal State out of sheer boredom. I don't think they're as good, either. They even tried to say the Mothman was present during the 9/11 attacks.

Most Haunted had somewhat of en episode like the lighthouse your describing, they thought they caught a glimpse of a ghost outside of a building they were in. It was faint, but you could make out a figure of a face. It's stuff like this that keeps me interested

I find Paranormal State somewhat entertaining, but there was that whole incident with the poor distressed home owner that just didn't know what to do who happened to be the blonde lady from Ghost Hunters International who was supposedly a seasoned investigator.

 

[Ryan]

These shows would be more appealing to me if the people would learn to use the equipment and lose the psychics.

But equipment doesn't prove anything either. You could go to practically any location and find cold spots and random noises.

What scientific basis is there to running around with a thermal camera anyway? Someone apparently decided any patch of cold air is a "ghost" and it stuck.

 

[broberfett]

These shows would be more appealing to me if the people would learn to use the equipment and lose the psychics.

But equipment doesn't prove anything either. You could go to practically any location and find cold spots and random noises.

What scientific basis is there to running around with a thermal camera anyway? Someone apparently decided any patch of cold air is a "ghost" and it stuck.

I've encountered cold spots in a house I lived in and if they think it is just cold air, then they don't know what they are talking about. The air is also charged. Your hair will stand on end in the exposed area, like just the part of your arm in the spot. It isn't just cold air.

I really doubt the Ghosthunters. They didn't even seem to know anything about a real haunting until they had this guy named John Zaffis on the show. After he was on they described some things that I had experienced that I believe Zaffis described to them, but I don't think the Ghosthunters actually experienced those things themselves. I listened to Zaffis on a radio program repeatedly and he knew about shit I had encountered first hand.

 

[Pingfah]

I've encountered cold spots in a house I lived in and if they think it is just cold air, then they don't know what they are talking about. The air is also charged. Your hair will stand on end in the exposed area, like just the part of your arm in the spot. It isn't just cold air.

So you are saying that cold air doesn't make your hair stand on end, and therefore it must be supernatural? Well I'm convinced, somebody call New Scientist

I take it you've never had goosebumps then?

 

[Unicron]

But equipment doesn't prove anything either. You could go to practically any location and find cold spots and random noises.

Perhaps not presently, but we can disprove things that would easily have passed for a real haunting say, 50 years ago or less. If ghosts are a real form of entity, and if they do exist in some realm beyond this one, then I think it would be foolish to assume our technology would be fully reliable in capturing evidence of them.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

There's a pretty good reason why these shows never find anything. Ghosts make for good stories, but not much beyond that, I'm afraid.