Ghost Hunters

[VioletRose]

I'm pretty sure most of you already know about the show "Ghost Hunters" that started a few years ago on the Sci-Fi channel, and the half dozen similar reality shows that have popped up since. What I want to know is, do these investgations stand any chance of finding actual ghosts? So far, on nearly every episode, they figure out that what they were investigating was either totally ambiguous or easily explained by normal causes.

Every show goes basically the same way: They set up heat-sensitive cameras to catch "cold spots" and EMF detectors to catch unusual electromagnetic activity, and then break up into teams of two to wander around the location through the night. Typically they also do some basic EVP question-answer sessions.

I used to be a big fan of these shows, but the near-constant failure to find anything convincing got really old. Are the people on these shows doing something wrong? Do earthbounds and negative-energy spirits just not show up reliably on video cameras?

[Roberta Grimes]

Hello dear VioletRose! I have seen a few of those shows, and I agree - they seem to be ridiculous. I think they are based on a number of faulty premises:

1) Earthbounds cannot be treated as if they are real people. Many earthbounds are probably fragments of people who have had traumas (a phenomenon which is real, but still poorly understood). Or they are absent-minded folks left here by accident who are oblivious to the living and just continue to go about their single post-death day that can last for centuries. Either way, they may not even notice the living researchers - or if they notice them, they might well ignore them.

2) Earthbounds can't communicate in the same way that folks in the Summerland can communicate. A medium who is able to connect you with your beloved dead probably won't be able to connect you with an earthbound stranger. What is needed is both a completed post-death transition and then a tie of love, or communication through a medium is nearly impossible.

3) EVP cannot happen at random. Genuine EVP which are real communications nearly always involve a team of the completely transitioned dead who work over a long period of time with their chosen earthly collaborators to try to get it to work well. Communicating across dimensions by electronic means is very, very hard indeed! Earthbounds are spirits - they don't usually make audible sounds, even if there are more than one and they are able to communicate with one another. When ghost hunters try to catch the random sounds of earthbounds in a haunted place, if they pick up anything at all it is either just ambient sound or perhaps it is a sound made by some oblivious earthbound or spirit-fragment.

- I find it touching that these ghost hunters are so earnestly trying to help the earthbound dead! I wish that what they were doing could be successful, but since the ghost hunters seem to have so little understanding of the entities that they are working with, it is highly unlikely that they can succeed.

[Firebird]

Hey, I love Ghost Hunters! There's actually another show now (on the Travel channel, maybe?) where a team of numb-tongued former frat boys does similar stuff, except they're far less organized and methodical. The only reason I watch it is to see the hilarious levels of shrieking terror they work themselves into while wandering around in dark, abandoned buildings. I gotta wonder, though: is there actually anything for them to be afraid of? Ghosts, or earthbounds, or whatever, can't actually hurt anyone, right?

[Roberta Grimes]

This is a great question, Firebird! My grandchildren asked me about it just today - they had watched some ghost show and scared themselves, and they asked me if scary ghosts could hurt them. The answer that I gave them is NO. The afterlife evidence is consistent in this: the more malevolent or evil an entity is, the weaker it is. Goodness and spiritual advancement equal spiritual strength! People who are not addicts or ill or perhaps somewhat evil themselves have a very strong spiritual defense system that repels unsavory earthbounds. It is important, too, not to do what those fools are doing, and go into possibly haunted places and work themselves into a screaming terror, since human fear seems actually to feed and strengthen the negative entities that might be there. Just know for certain that nothing evil can harm you, perhaps see yourself as enveloped in spiritual light, and relax!

[ChuckAnderson]

Hi Everyone!

I'm not sure which of the shows in the ghost-"hunting" genre it is, (it might be the one with Zak I think), anyway, it seems that when they always go into a haunted area, they seem so confrontational at times, perhaps even rude.

That seems to be a pretty lousy way to go about trying to contact someone. I'd say that Eartbounds have feelings like us, so Zak's methods seem very inappropriate.

Chuck Anderson
University Place, Pierce County, WA

[VioletRose]

Okay, so if addicts and people with (mental?) illness are more vulnerable to attack, how about closed-minded people? For example, would a hard-core skeptic (for instance, Cromulent or OrichalcumEye) tend to have weaker spiritual defenses than a believer? Or would they be able to shrug off negative influences by simply denying their existence? Does belief even matter, from a spiritual standpoint?

[Annie]

This is a great question, Firebird! My grandchildren asked me about it just today - they had watched some ghost show and scared themselves, and they asked me if scary ghosts could hurt them. The answer that I gave them is NO. The afterlife evidence is consistent in this: the more malevolent or evil an entity is, the weaker it is. Goodness and spiritual advancement equal spiritual strength! People who are not addicts or ill or perhaps somewhat evil themselves have a very strong spiritual defense system that repels unsavory earthbounds. It is important, too, not to do what those fools are doing, and go into possibly haunted places and work themselves into a screaming terror, since human fear seems actually to feed and strengthen the negative entities that might be there. Just know for certain that nothing evil can harm you, perhaps see yourself as enveloped in spiritual light, and relax!

I wish this forum had been around when I was about 15 and there was this show on MTV called Fear, where a group of young adults would go into haunted places and perform dares over a period of two nights, and whoever made it to the end would get $5,000 (most people got too scared and went home). They did the creepiest things, once they went to a haunted prison and one guy had to spend hours locked in a cell. It was such a creepy show, I remember one episode where this girl's mouth started bleeding, here's the clip on Youtube if anyone wants to watch, I looked it up and got curious. I wonder what happened...maybe she got nervous and bit her lip but I thought it was pretty weird!

[vic smyth]

...Or would they be able to shrug off negative influences by simply denying their existence? Does belief even matter, from a spiritual standpoint?

Be careful what you believe in, it just might turn into reality for you. Thus sprach Zarathustra, "Good thoughts, good words, good deeds."

[Andrew]

Hi VioletRose! I would say that it doesn't really matter if you believe that the entity exists or not, if you are addicted to what it was addicted to, or give it any other reason to attach to you, it will. Most people who have this happen to them have know idea what is going on at all and, when asked, would likely deny being possessed or even believing in possession. I don't think anyone can just shrug it off, to be honest. Those less spiritual may be targeted more, but I cannot confirm that with any research or anything.

The best way to protect yourself is prevention. That being said, it is best not to practice habits such as drinking, smoking, using controlled substances, etc. They are not only harmful to your physical body, but they give deceased addicts a reason to attach to you - and that is never good. If you are involved in this type of habit, never do it in a place where other's do it (a bar, for example) because that is where you have a higher likelihood of getting possessed.

Like Roberta says above, it is best to pray and picture yourself engulfed in white light, if you think you are in any danger. Just realize that nothing can hurt you and that you are part of God.

[Carol and Mikey]

Mikey just wants you to know, VioletRose, that being a skeptic does not make you more vulnerable to negative entities. Love is your protection no matter what you believe. Loving energy always wins over negative energy!
Carol and Mikey "in Spirit"