The Fall of Ghost Television, and the Rise of Internet Ghosts

theouijagirl:

I’ve long said that Ghost Adventures is the best ghost investigation show on television, and the best that I’ve ever seen. Its first few seasons were dedicated to getting factual, consistent, and clear evidence of the paranormal, with a dash of humor. You could really tell that Zak and his crew put a lot of time and effort into the show, to make it as real and raw as they could. I’ve always wanted a ghost show that didn’t have a huge television crew included, and Ghost Adventures was my dream come true. 

It’s been sad to watch the decline of this once great show. I’ve written before about the lies that the show creates in order to make good television, which I discovered after talking to people who work at one of the places they investigated. I always cringe at the irrefutable evidence they keep mentioning over and over again, especially by Zak, who keeps having overwhelming emotions and small possessions which just look like bad acting. Worst of all was their Zozo demon episode, where they heavily relied on Internet creepypasta stories and ignored basic common sense and logic about how spirits, demons, and Ouija boards work. All of this has slowly led into a downward spiral of what the show consists of now.

This current season (14) has not just been one of the worst Ghost Adventures seasons, but one of the worst ghost hunting seasons ever created. It’s clear that the places they’ve been to this season have not had a lot of activity and evidence, and have relied heavily on Zak’s acting and feelings. In one episode they didn’t have access to the building they were investigating because it was dilapidated, so instead of packing up and leaving like any investigation would, they decided to play the Ouija board in the only room deemed safe for them. I’ve said multiple times that if your paranormal expert relies on the Ouija board to contact spirits and get evidence, get as far away from them as possible. Ouija boards are toys that anyone can use; it is not meant for serious methods of spirit communication. They wound up having a typical Ouija board game and played it up like they were speaking with super dark, terrible demons that haunted the location. It was completely moronic, and the fact that it took up a quarter of the episode was appalling. Getting spirit information from a Ouija board is like getting financial advice from Monopoly.

Then there was S14E06, in which the crew went to help a family who seemed to be haunted by a demon. At no point in the show did anything demonic seem apparent, so instead of reassuring this family that they had a typical haunting and had nothing to worry about, they panicked the entire family and called in an exorcist. They should have all known better that what they were dealing with were just spirits, but that doesn’t make good television. It also just goes to show how low the show is going, in that they are resorting to investigating random peoples homes and not sites of historical interest. I mean, they’re on the Travel Channel, they’re supposed to be encouraging tourism, not making house calls. It’s clear at this point that they are more about sensationalism and scare tactics to keep the show going, instead of real evidence. I don’t know if it’s the Travel Channel pushing this, or the GAC themselves, but either way it’s ruining this show.

Ghost Adventures is now going down the path that a lot of other ghost shows have traveled down: Make Everything Spooky. Somebody has a haunting? It must be demons. Heard a funny noise? Replay it ten times and make it scarier each time. Witnessed something paranormal? Panic and scream and run for your life. Make. Everything. Spooky. I mean, people tune in to these shows to be scared, why not scare them? The problem with that is it perpetuates the idea that all paranormal things are terrifying and should be treated like it’s the end of the world. When those of us who actually deal with the paranormal know it couldn’t be farther from the truth. Ghosts are idiots that bump into things. Spirits are just regular people that are invisible, struggling to be seen and heard. Poltergeists do not mean that you are about to be dragged into Hell through a demon portal, but just basic spirit activity that can be dealt with easily. Nothing about it is scary, we’ve just been taught that it’s scary through religious extremism, Hollywood movies, and Make Everything Spooky ghost shows. Shows like these can cause actual anxiety and irrational fears for some people, all for the sake of ratings.

Thankfully, there’s a light at the end of this tunnel. Internet ghost investigation shows have been emerging lately, and they’re the best and most realistic look at hauntings I’ve ever seen. Not only are they not Making Everything Spooky, they are showing real evidence, or even a lack thereof. 

The first I want to show you is Queer Ghost Hunters, in which an all queer paranormal society goes out in the search for queer spirits and ghosts. Nothing like this has ever been done before, and it’s incredible. The episodes are funny and interesting, and you learn a lot about history as well. They do not have a lot of really technical equipment, and rely mostly on dowsing rods to communicate. Dowsing rods are a very old method of spirit communication that can provide yes and no answers from a spirit, but unlike the Ouija board, they are not very spooky or have a creepy history associated with them. I’ve never seen a paranormal show use dowsing rods, and I realize now that it’s because they aren’t Spooky. You really can’t scare people with two rods spinning around. Queer Ghost Hunters use these tools to talk casually to a spirit, and don’t try to make it terrifying or Spooky. In fact, they treat any potential spirit they contact with a lot of respect, even if a spirit is being angry or threatening toward them. As someone who identifies as queer, and someone who deals with spirits regularly, I cannot recommend this show enough. Please watch this show, and better yet, support them on Patreon if you can.

The other Internet ghost show I love is Buzzfeed’s Unsolved series, which has its own paranormal specials. This is as real as a ghost hunt can get. Most episodes capture little to no evidence, which is entirely realistic. They also don’t have any fancy equipment whatsoever, and rely on their eyes, ears, and cameras. The best part to me are the investigators themselves, Ryan and Shane. Ryan is a true believer (and at one point we see the footage of a paranormal incident that made him that way) and Shane doesn’t believe in ghosts whatsoever. I’ve always wanted a ghost show that involved a skeptic, and Shane is not only critically thinking about the causes of paranormal activity, but he’s also hilarious and has a healthy, optimistic, and funny approach to the concept of spirits. At one point they make contact with a spirit who can turn a flashlight on and off on command. While Ryan panics, Shane thinks it’s amazing and a little funny. His reaction is EXACTLY how one should react to a paranormal incident. It’s not something to run and scream from, but something really interesting and cool. This show is also, hands down, the funniest and most entertaining ghost show I’ve ever seen since Ghost Adventures’ very first episode at Bobby Mackey’s. 

Internet ghost shows are going to be the future of paranormal investigations, since they don’t rely on viewer ratings in the way TV shows do. These two shows present exactly what it’s like to be on a real ghost hunt, and how you should appropriately react to paranormal activity. Ghost Adventures could learn a thing or two from these shows, but I’m afraid it’s already too late. Every ghost hunting show on TV right now is following the Make Everything Spooky formula (including, sadly, Ghost Brothers, which has the potential to be an incredible show). There is now not one TV show I can recommend people to watch in order to understand the paranormal, but I can’t emphasize enough how perfect Queer Ghost Hunters and Buzzfeed Unsolved are. Go watch them instead, and please, let’s all agree that Ghost Adventures is dead, long gone, totally over, and so deceased that you can’t even talk to it through a Ouija board.

(I run a Ouija board advice blog. Feel free to send any questions you have about them my way, I’d be glad to answer. Also, if you want a post that goes more into detail about why these most recent episodes of Ghost Adventures are horrible, let me know. I edited them out because this post was already massive. And again, thanks for everyone’s patience while I deal with recovery from surgery due to a broken arm/elbow, and thank you for all the Get Well Soon wishes!)