What does the future of paranormal programming look like?

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What does the future of paranormal programming look like?
June 2, 2009
Patricia Marin
Examiner.com

Yvette and the “Most Haunted” crew scream hysterically and run at the first sounds they hear. I always think that’s a strange way for paranormal investigators to respond. After all, they do what they do in order to FIND ghosts, not run from them. When they eventually get their courage back, they return to the site for a round of table-tipping and more screaming. And what about the Three Amigos from “Ghost Adventures,” also on Travel Channel? I guess they – or their producers – truly believe it’s necessary to shriek loudly, shut themselves up in coffins or whatever, use taunts and insults, and otherwise act in a totally unprofessional manner in order to have a paranormal TV show. Not to mention Ryan and Chip from “Paranormal State” who see demons everywhere and encourage people who clearly have mental problems to believe that all their problems will be resolved once the demon gets gone. Then there are the paranormal pioneers, Jason and Grant, the original “Ghost Hunters.” I remember the first couple of seasons when absolutely nothing happened on most of their episodes, but it was still fun to watch. Now, they’ve got almost as much activity in each episode as Yvette, although the infamous “collar pull” episode may have cost them some fans. Let’s not even get into “Ghost Hunters International” and the new “Ghost Hunters: The Next Generation” that I keep hearing about. Every paranormal TV show, even if they started out vowing to act with integrity and give us “the truth and nothing but the truth,” seems to have degenerated into basically a screamfest for kids with each one trying to outdo the others.

WHAT DO VIEWERS WANT?

But is that really what most viewers want? I don’t think so and that’s one of the reasons I’m producing “The R.I.P. Files” on Ghost Channel TV. I think people who are truly interested in paranormal programming will watch realistic investigations without expecting to find hard evidence in every episode. Sure, it’s fun to get scared every once in a while and I have no problem with editing for maximum suspense, but that’s beside the point. Real paranormal investigators understand that they’re more likely than not to come up empty-handed, no matter how many hours of video and audio they force themselves to review. Paranormal investigating is long, boring, tedious, and fraught with natural perils such as navigating in darkness, climbing rickety stairs, exploring crowded attics, maneuvering around unfamiliar basements, and simply finding the focus and stamina needed to perform a thorough investigation. I’ll go out on a limb here and say that it’s impossible to come up with hard evidence week after week and do it honestly. Sometimes personal experiences are all you’re going to have – and, quite frankly, most of the time you won’t even have them.

But what’s wrong with that? I think it’s fascinating to follow ordinary people as they investigate. To take part as an armchair investigator in “real life” paranormal investigations, check out the other shows on Ghost Channel TV, as well as “The R.I.P. Files”; there’s Hoosier Paranormal with their excellent production of “Up Close and Scary,” “The Ghost Girls” who emphasize the lighter side of paranormal investigating, “Gold Rush Ghosts” for investigations out West, and even “Get Spirited” for those who enjoy mediumship and spirit communications. Most of these shows are available free of charge. Of course, they also feature investigations, podcasts, and audio broadcasts from Team Nesbitt's "Ghosts of Gettysburg." Ghost Channel TV shows are normally viewed with QuickTime, which is a free plug-in that can be easily downloaded at this link: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/.
Another excellent series is presented on YouTube by Stephen and Ryan of “The P.I.T. Crew” on “MonsterVision TV.” Stephen and Ryan investigate somewhat different places and also offer new perspectives on well-known and supposedly haunted sites such as the “USS North Carolina.” Check out all their episodes here. They also claim to have captured some good video footage, such as the clip shown below. Plus, they welcome feedback, ideas, and constructive criticism from viewers, while realizing that you can’t please everyone. For example, they received a number of messages urging them to add music to their videos; then, once they did so, they got a message from another viewer telling them that the “spooky music” detracted from the professionalism of their investigation. You can’t win ‘em all, that’s for sure! And the truth is that we at R.I.P. and the other groups I’ve mentioned here aren’t trying to please everyone. Our goal is to offer our paranormal investigation experiences to interested viewers and to present our unique viewpoints and conclusions. Remember, we’re not perfect and we’ll make mistakes. When we do, we’ll acknowledge them and learn from them. We’re also all operating on shoestring budgets, so our productions won’t be as “slick” as the big guys and editing and other post production work often takes months rather than weeks. But we won’t fake it, either, so I think the wait is worth it.
WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT
At R.I.P., we believe there are a number of factors that set us apart from the usual paranormal show experience. For example:

* Our goal is neither to prove nor disprove claims of paranormal activity. We observe, record, and analyze the data. We look for logical explanations first, but personal experiences are also included in the Case File. We take all the factors of a particular investigation and put them together to form an overall profile of the location from our perspective (and we don’t claim that’s the ONLY perspective).
* We actually return to places that we say we’re going to return to in order to follow-up on questionable evidence or to try out new ideas that we’ve thought of since the episode was completed; for example, we’re returning to "Ballestone-Stansbury House" this Halloween. If previous claims are disproved, we’ll let you know.
* We haven’t screamed yet (except for one of the members of our film crew and she’ll never live that down!)
* When asked, we’re not afraid to talk about our own paranormal experiences.
* We can be entertaining and educational at the same time. We constantly strive to increase our scientific and practical knowledge. We have three members who have excellent scientific and/or technical knowledge, including a retired physicist with over 30 years experience in his field, so he keeps us straight on facts and terminology and we pass this information along to our viewers.
* We devise our own original experiments and experimental devices that you won’t see anywhere else. We analyze, track, and report on the results.
* To balance the “scientific” expertise of our group, we also have two members who have extensive backgrounds in metaphysics (one has studied nearly every aspect of metaphysics for almost 30 years). We’ll be including some of these teachings in future episodes in order to share our knowledge of practical techniques that can make a real difference in daily life. At the same time, both these members hold responsible professional positions and are careful to keep a “firewall” between their careers and their metaphysical interests.
* We have an excellent psychic medium who is also a great investigator with a background in the technical side of radio. On more than one occasion, Rene has been the one to offer a logical explanation for what we originally thought was a paranormal event.
* We offer different types of “clearings” when requested and we can also help spirits move on as necessary. We don’t merely tell people we think there’s something there, say “it’s probably not anything to be scared of,” and then walk out the door. If we find something, we’ll tailor our advice to the situation. And, should it prove necessary, we can provide referrals to additional experts.
* Dissenting voices are allowed. Unlike “Ghost Hunters,” we don’t all have to agree with Jason (or, in this case, me.) Dissenting opinions become part of the Case File.
* We’re not “ghost tourists.” We want to seek out fairly unusual locations that don’t receive a lot of publicity and help them tell their stories.

THE FUTURE OF PARANORMAL PROGRAMMING
I truly believe that these types of shows - whether on cable, network, or the Internet - represent the future of paranormal programming, assuming that it has a future. Since the airwaves have become so saturated with look-alike paranormal shows, I think that viewers would welcome something that’s not a clone of “Ghost Hunters” and all the others.
So, if you can’t get enough of the paranormal, watch some of the shows I’ve mentioned. We’d appreciate your feedback. I’d like to ask that people follow a few simple guidelines when they comment, though:

1. No name-calling or personal insults. Let’s not put people down for what they look like or how they dress (except for stupid hats. Stupid hats can be criticized.) Otherwise, constructive criticism is fine, but personal attacks are not.
2. In my opinion, current shows have too much emphasis on personalities. For example, many people seemed to think that Andy from “Ghost Hunters International” was awful and didn’t hesitate to express that opinion. Personally, I didn’t think he deserved all the criticism. He had his quirks, sure, but don’t we all? I thought he was a decent investigator, but a lot of the comments I’ve read were truly hateful. So, just as in #1 above, let’s leave personalities out of it for now.
3. Tell us specifically what you liked, what you didn’t like, and why. Let us know what you would do differently, both from the standpoint of the investigation itself AND the filming/editing aspects.
4. Ask questions. We may have assumed we’ve explained something adequately but, if you didn’t understand it, we’ll be happy to clarify.
5. Suggested explanations for anomalies are fine and can lead us down different paths than anything we had previously considered. We appreciate that you may have expertise that we lack in certain areas.
6. You’re welcome to point out anything that we’ve missed. We’ll note it for investigation at a later time or provide an explanation as to what we think it is and why it was not included as evidence.