Paranormal Pondering...

For as long as I can remember, I've always had an interest in the paranormal. Just fascinated by it. If I hear that a place is 'haunted' and I have means to go to that location, I'm there. It doesn't scare me, it intrigues me. The unknown...the unexplainable...the 'supernatural'.

I've always loved horror movies. Well...I'm going to amend that...I've always loved 'scarey' movies. Do I watch my share of cheesey and bloody films (Freddy Kruger, Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, and the like)? Yes, but I prefer the scare factor provided by the things you can't see. The bump in the night...the thud or moan from some unknown source...the object that floats across the room, seemingly unassisted. It's the things you CAN'T see that scare me. Cold spots, raps on a solid surface by an invisible...hand (?), an errant breeze when there are no windows or heating/air conditioning grates in sight. All things that are out of the norm and can't be explained by science...those thrill me to no end. The existence of some 'other-world'. I know I sound like Mr. Spock, but...FASCINATING!



When paranormal television started to take hold here in the past few years, I was on board. It has been stuck under the umbrella of "Reality" television, but...how should I put this...I've found it exceedingly disappointing and nothing 'reality' about it. I think the first show I can recollect that touched on the supernatural being (possibly) seated in fact was the show "In Search Of...", narrated by Leonard Nimoy. (Hah, I made a reference to Mr. Spock earlier...unintentional mini-theme there.) I'm sure other shows have featured the subject, but that's the first show that I can name that sprung to mind. "Sightings", a show that aired on the Sci-Fi Channel for awhile also featured paranormal activities on more than one occassion. (I can think of a number of hauntings that were first aired on that show. I mean, as far as I know that was the first time...it was the first time I learned of them.) These days, there is a virtual plethora of paranormal based shows on TV. Most of them...well...they suck. Too much talking and screaming. Horrible background sound effects and music. It totally ruins the experience for me. I got pulled into 'Most Haunted', a british produced show on the Travel Channel. They have some really good people on their crew, and some pretty good psychics (I won't go into whether or not I think they're really on the up and up) as they seem to at least try to take what they're doing seriously. Meaning they ask their questions and shut up for the rest of us so we can actually hear whatever they might hear in response. I, upon occassion, have actually heard what they say they heard (i.e. a ghostly knock or something to that effect) because they weren't yammering. Well, I must say that was never the case when the female host of the show was present...someone could break wind and she'd scream. She would also talk non-stop. I remember one episode one of the guys on set finally told her to knock it off or go outside. Think I actually applauded when I heard that. Another show I got sucked into was "The World's Scariest Places" hosted by Linda Blair (hehehe). A group of family members were taken to a purportedly haunted location somewhere on the planet and sent in alone to do an 'investigation'. They'd strap on vests outfitted with a light and a camera (trained on their face), and get taken to various locations within the haunted structure. They were given ghost hunting equipment (digital voice recorders, thermal cameras, etc.) to use in their investigations. Know it sounds silly, but I would have gone on that show. Trouble always was that I had no idea which of my family members would have consented to participate. MTV had a show on for awhile called 'FEAR'. Now...I hate to say it, but I saw some pretty freaky stuff on that show. Group of teenagers were taken to a safe room at whatever haunted place they were going to be spending the night in. Alone. The only outside company they had were some cameras that had been set-up in the places they were told to investigate during the night. Like I said, I did see some weird stuff on that show. Maybe it was explainable, but in the context of the show and the reaction of the person directly experiencing the event in that moment...pretty creepy. (On a side note, Andy Dick did a take off on FEAR on his MTV show from several years back. Hysterically funny! I was chatting with him once and told him how funny I thought it was...he seemed relieved. Said he didn't know if people would "get" what he was trying to do. Bummer they canceled his show...was one of the few truly funny shows I saw on the network. That and "The Super Adventure Team"...hmmm...things are starting to go in another direction...going to get back to the subject at hand.)



The shows of today are almost exact replicas of one another. The one on the Sci-Fi channel featuring the paranormal investigators 'T.A.P.S.' is alright. I do appreciate that they really try to debunk something before they give it the 'paranormal' stamp. However, they don't really shut-up either. Just like all the other shows, they have annoying/cheesy sound effects and music that sounds like something you'd hear in a haunted house sponsored by the Shriners. I guess I'll end my rant about paranormal television shows here by saying that I hope that someone eventually puts something on that is a straight investigative show without even a hint of 'Hollywood's' influence. Yeah...right...

I was surfing around on the net earlier looking for pictures of actual ghosts. Well, pictures of supposed ghosts. Some looked like they might possibly be legitimate, but others? Give me a break! In no way do they look realistic. Even the least astute observer wouldn't believe that they were true paranormal apparitions. I also happened across some videos. Most didn't really show anything that even remotely resembled an unexplainable phenomenon. Viewed a video that I totally didn't catch at the time it aired. It's from a Larry King episode from not too long after Michael Jackson's death. It was live footage inside Neverland. At one point the camera shows a fireplace in what is described as his bedroom at the rear of the frame, and a shadow moves across the screen. It does definitely look to be person shaped, but could be explained a number of ways. Anyway, fans world wide are convinced that that is M.J.'s ghost. Whatever. Maybe he and Elvis can get a place together. Oh...what the heck. Here's the video footage from YouTube...



One last thing I'm going to post is a Gif of what is said to be an actual apparition dressed in period clothing. It's said to be camera footage from Hampton Court in London. Here is some text about the piece that I copied from an online site that featured the footage:

"Closed circuit security cameras at Hampton Court Palace in London, England caught this ghost video of a ghostly figure in period dress. Stunned employees at Henry the VIII's palace do not know where it came from or who or what it is. Security personnel checked the closed circuit TV footage to find out who kept leaving one of the palace's fire doors open.
They were shocked to find on video a ghost on the footage. The palace was built in 1525."

And here is the footage:




What do you think? Real, or Memorex? I'll just say that there are a myriad of reasons that I don't think it's legit...

Have I personally had experiences that I can't explain? Yes. Do I hope to have more? Yes. I've always been one to suspend any belief or disbelief in something until it's proven to me one way or the other. Makes life more interesting, dontcha think?