It's Ghost Night!

I have a new addiction. You know, I almost NEVER watch television. When I do, it’s the History Channel or Discovery Channel or CNN. I just don’t watch regular TV. Which means I am always out of the loop in the lunchroom discussions here at the office. I have no clue about American Idol or Dancing with the Stars, and apparently I’m really missing out on someone called Dr. McDreamy. I usually tune out of these conversations all together.

But over the past year, my curiosity has been piqued by discussions about this show called Ghost Hunters. Have you seen it? These two guys who are plumbers by day and ghost chasers by night have turned their adventures into a hit TV show. Very clever. So about a month or so ago I actually tuned in to watch, and I was hooked!

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of the paranormal, even though I’m not 100% sold on the existence of ghosts, whatever ghosts might be. I think the majority of stories we hear are either flat out hoaxes or cases of the mind playing tricks on us. I’ve had many of those myself. A fraction of incidents, however, do seem to defy explanation. Doesn’t mean they are hauntings, just things that can’t be explained. The word paranormal simply means “above the norm”. Kind of like UFO means unidentified flying object; doesn’t mean they are alien spaceships.

So, I am basically agnostic about the whole ghost thing. I’m an atheist about it, however, when it comes to TV shows. Anybody who gets paid by Hollywood to do what they do automatically lacks credibility in my book. And yet, I refuse to make plans on Wednesday nights because I can’t miss Ghost Hunters! It’s just so much fun.

Part of what makes this show work is that the two founders, Jason and Grant, seem to be really down to earth guys who do their best to “debunk” any experiences the group has before finally concluding whether or not something is paranormal. This is the 4th season, and in all that time, there have only been a handful of occurrences that they have actually said a place is being haunted. Which lends credibility to the evidence they do seem to find.

And yet, curiously, these intelligent, experienced, down-to-earth investigators very often overlook obvious explanations for “finds”. Hmmm. LOL.

My daughter and I watch this show together, which is one reason I make it a priority. It’s the one time all week she actually WANTS to be doing something with me! Something I don’t take for granted with a teenage daughter. It’s also a great exercise in developing critical thinking skills. Instead of allowing her to get caught up in the “WOW” effect this show so easily provides, I try to get her to analyze everything she’s seeing and hearing to look for another possible explanation.

Ghost Hunters: Look at that! It looks like a person with a large cape in the doorway!

Daughter: OMG!

Me: It’s a curtain.

Daughter: Why wouldn’t Jason and Grant know there was a curtain there?

Me: Because they’re paid to find ghosts, not curtains.

(And upon review, they never said it was a ghost. They said “it looks like a person…” Which is what they do a lot. Present the so-called evidence and leave it open-ended for the audience to decide.)

I’ve noticed, however, that I’ve stopped doing laundry on Wednesday nights. Neither one of us is inclined to go down to the basement to get clothes out of the dryer after an hour of ghost hunting. LOL!

Do you have any good ghost stories to share?