I am constantly asked about one subject in particular that strongly divides opinion: Paranormal TV shows. You know the scene; a team of intrepid middle aged ‘celebrity’ ghost investigators all dressed in black & looking like a road crew for Green Day, prance around alleged haunted locations in the dark. They are usually filmed in black & white night vision with either a digital recorder or some other gadget in their hand while asking any alleged ghosts who haunt the place silly questions or ask for signs. Then the buggers scream or run away at the sound of a bump, creak or a supposed spirit ‘EVP’ response on their digital recorders. I also notice during most of these shows the presenters yell “Holy f**k” constantly. I absolutely believe this comes from a highly negative influence & mocks the divine.
For those who aren’t familiar with the term, EVP (Electrical Voice Phenomenon) isn’t a new phenomenon. A guy called Attilla von Slazay was attempting it way back in 1941 & even before that some believe Thomas Edison may have had a go at recording voices of the dead too. I’ve used these recorders many times over the last couple of decades & can say with absolute certainty that most of the so called voices you hear on the playback recordings on these TV shows are simple static noise, some words are unintentional whispering by those present & others are obviously faked for ‘entertainment’ purposes. It’s all about the jump scares & the fear.
This reminds me of a guy I met once who got the job as the ‘guest psychic’ on one of these shows many years ago. He turned up on the day to the filming location; he was already told where he was going (although they made out he knew nothing in advance). Before filming began he was taken a tour through the dilapidated halls of the crumbling old spooky looking building. During the tour he turned to the producer & said “I can’t sense any spirits here at all. It’s really not haunted sorry.” The producer put an arm around his shoulder & whispered in his ear “We’ve spent nearly three grand hiring this place & setting this up mate…It’s f****ng haunted okay!”
I’d advise you watch all of these shows with an extremely skeptical mind because they are all created for entertainment folks! If they don’t deliver those chills & scares in each episode then there will be no show. Simple as that. The production company’s money is invested in the season & it has to be recouped through audience figures & advertisers. Although the guest ‘stars’ of these shows are rarely paid well & with the very occasional exception many guests end up giving their time for expenses only. I know of one particular ‘celebrity psychic’ who still pops up on these shows regularly who works for free to keep himself in the public eye & his ego boosted! Get a grip my friend!
Many years ago I was considered a couple of times & asked to chat about appearing in a few of these type of shows. But I must say the thought of giving three weeks of my life up filming in exchange for a nightly meal & budget hotel room wasn’t very appealing! I admit I did once film a dodgy TV pilot thing in some woods near London… investigating with a dog! (Don’t ask!) Thankfully the recording disappeared in the mists of time but I can tell you the dog’s performance was much better than mine…And he was better fed on the day!
You may have noticed that many of these TV investigations take place in old abandoned hospitals or asylums. During the introduction, the host will usually share some horrific stories of past patients suffering terribly & telling us that the tortured souls remain stuck at the location, unable to move on. Some celebrity psychic may add some drama to the story while hamming it up for the camera too. Then they bring on some tour guide who will regale the team with their scary & terrible tales about the place. I am stating here that this is all bull***t… all of it & I can say with 100% certainty the spirits of those people DO NOT remain 'stuck' at the site of places like this. Stories like this may make the particular episode more terrifying to some but it is (a) disrespectful & (b) not bloody true. In my youth I spent far too many nights investigating these type of places alone in the dark & I want to put the mind of any living relatives of those who may have lived within these institutions at ease. Now, I’m not saying these places aren’t haunted but I am saying unequivocally (that’s a big word I came up with ha) that the inhabitants of the past are not wandering the corridors in eternal damnation or pain. I've met families devastated because a loved one had been a resident at such places & the thought of the eternal suffering left a terrible toll on them.
Don’t get me wrong, I have seen genuine paranormal activity many times in old hospitals & asylums etc & even experienced one paranormal event in an old hospital that changed me forever. But thankfully it is all a very rare occurrence & our own imagination can be our worst enemy. And with all the paranormal programs recorded over the last two decades I’m sure there has been the rare moment when genuine activity has been captured during their filming but it seems to be with every episode moments before a commercial break.
So, feel free to turn off the lights & continue to enjoy your favorite paranormal entertainment shows but remember that almost everything we gaze at on that screen is not real & paranormal shows are no exception.