Ghost shows. Everyone has seen them at least once.
I am an avid paranormal investigator, and have dedicated countless hours to my own research on the subject, as well as countless field work hours. I am by no means a skeptic.
But these shows rub me the wrong way. I don't agree with their methods, nor do I really believe their findings. And my reasonings are simple.
For one, no matter what show you watch, no matter what is going on, you never ever EVER see what they claimed to have happened on camera. Like, a door slamming shut. They never seem to catch it.
Two, Every single time something 'happens', they all react the exact same way. EXTREME OVER DRAMATIC reactions to something simple and, quite honestly, not that scary. Like a glass moving two millimeters. I have been touched before. In the middle of my back. A soft shove. And I didn't freak out the same way these FULL GROWN MEN did. And I'm a freaking 4'11 GIRL. Their reactions are so over dramatized that it's obvious they are acting. Any theater student would be able to catch this over dramatization.
Three. The EVP and evidence they DO catch is easily debunked as fake just by first glance half the time. Some even claim to hear the voices as they happen, and unless they are a median or something similar, or have a device that amplified sound around them, this should be close to impossible. Yet they claim to hear EVERY EVP period. Nomatter what. Laughs. Get outs. Everything. This just isnt possible. The range of sound an EVP is caught at falls WAY below the physical capabilities of the human hearing. Yes, there are exceptions. But these people take that exception and make it happen every time. Or claim it does.
Four, half of their show is easily detected as scripted. We're talking about Hollywood here people. We've seen Hollywood make things look so real that we doubt its falsity.
Now, I have no doubts that some of the things these people have experienced is real. I've had my own unbelievable tales and encounters, so I've got no standing to claim everything they have encountered is false. But I do believe that a lot of it is overly dramatized to be something more then what they really encountered. Some of these shows have more credibility then others.
My advice to anyone looking to start in on the paranormal scene... Take everything you see on tv on these shows with a grain of salt. Meaning don't believe everything you see. Go out on your OWN expeditions.
No single show, person, device, or method is EVER going to prove to the world that ghosts, spirits, demons, and the paranormal are real. That goal was fabricated by these shows, and it's not what the whole experience is about. These investigations are for your OWN questions and seeking of answers.
Some people argue that these people are there to rid houses of spirits and help homeowners sleep easier. This is a load of crap. In no way, shape, or form, is any living being ever going to have an effect big enough to push something as powerful as someone's lingering tormented SOUL to the other side. This is putting entirely too much faith into humans in general. We just do not possess the means of accomplishing this. We have means of urging them, but if you look at any '

ossession' story you hear, they all have one key element. The use of a stronger entity then one's own self as an anchor to help shove the spirit out. If any of those stories have any validity, which is one area of the paranormal I tend to highly doubt, then that should say something about humans and their powers over something like a spirit.
Take the time and go out to your own local cemetery with a recorder. Walk around and record for an hour. At night. Review your tapes. See what you get. Something as simple as that is more then enough to gather evidence to come up with your own assumptions.
Get out there and experiment! That's the fun of it! Just take the proper safty procautions: Don't taunt any spirit (You don't know if it's spirit or demon), Don't do anything to disrespect a spirit (graffiti on gravestones, touching gravestones, walking over graves carelessly, etc. etc.), and never go alone.
Above all, have fun. And be prepared to deal with whatever you stir up should it decide it likes you LOL ~<3
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...I do way too many of these "this is how I see things" journals. o-o