Would this make you believe?

One big question people debate about is the belief or disbelief of life after death. Do you believe in ghosts? Personally, I choose to believe. I believe there are unexplained phenomenon out there. I believe "those feelings" you get when your alone are true feelings of a presence. I know there's something or someone out there, no matter how much people have tried to persuade me otherwise. Now, just because I believe in these things, doesn't mean I'm not a skeptic. I've got my own gripes because lets face it, the world has its fair share of cons.

Recently I've watched some episodes of popular ghost hunting shows, and I've got to tell you, I think they are horrible. I'm really into paranormal documentaries and such, but I don't think these shows are very good at all. They always start out the same: The team goes to a so-called haunted building and someone who knows a lot about the place gives them a little spiel about the history and what paranormal activities that have been taking place. The team goes in, of course at night, and sets up night vision cameras, voice recorders, etc., and then turn off the lights. Ooooo spooky! Now the team splits off into usually groups of two; each couple goes off into a different area of the haunted building with little gadgets that help them "find" spirits.

They assume position and because each taping is edited for television viewing, I'm not sure how long they actually stay in each location -- let's assume they stay for at least a considerable amount of time. In the show, the next thing to happen is usually the camera man who's following the pair, will focus on the people rather than what's going on around them. I believe that is a mistake. These people are trying to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that ghosts exist, so what do they do? They have their trusty camera man film the people reactions to rustling in the dark corners, shadows they see, and noises that apparently the crew members "didn't" make. A toddler would be able to see through that! You shouldn't focus on the reaction of the people fools! You should focus on the room itself! So they get a grade of FAIL in that department!

My next gripe is this: During the ending moments of the show, it shows the team going over the endless amounts of videos and recordings that they've gathered from each room. It shows them sitting in a room, and every once in a while one of them will stop, take off their headphones, and say "Oh my gosh! Listen to this. This is the recording of Bob and Sally while they were in the torture chamber!" So, we the audience get really excited! Our adrenaline starts pumping only to find out, that what they've "found" is only going to be revealed as footage you saw earlier in the show, except this time it's totally different. And by totally different, I mean it's in a totally different angle. What. The. Heck?! That's not even close to making me believe anything and I'm a believer! The skeptics are going to tear that apart for sure!

At the very end of the show, they report back to the person who enlightened them at the beginning about the building. They tell the person what they saw, then re-showing the damming evidence from their recordings. Now, for some reason, the person -- who's personal stories with the hauntings in the building are far more shocking than what the teams actually found -- is actually amazed! Are you kidding me? If I had seen a lady in white walk across the room and walk into the wall, there is NO WAY I would be shocked if they had me listen to a recording they got out of a creaky stairway. No way, Jose! I'd be more likely to smack the recorder across the room and walk out. That'd be more miraculous than what those loons had actually "found."

Personally, I think documentaries are infinity times infinity better than the ghost hunting shows. And if anyone from Discovery Channel is reading this, I'd really like to see more ghost story shows. I'm willing to give you a dollar if you put a word in for me! But seriously, I believe I'm going to stop watching these shows for good, because each time I watch them, a little piece of me dies. I don't know why, but with every one I watched I kept thinking "This time will be different." Of course it wasn't. I knew it wouldn't be, but one can hope.

Until, next time, I hope you keep questioning things of this nature, but if you decide to do a ghost hunting show, PLEASE don't do it the way these people do it.

Peace.