Just ghost seekers, not ghost-busters

[Elizabeth I]

Just for fun - I have no comment.

Man Seeks Ghost: On spectral safari with the Ghost Seekers of Texas

http://www.sacurrent.com

Although an "alternative" publication, the San Antonio Current is usually not particularly woo, so I don't know what's up here.

 

[Goshawk]

What's up here is that people enjoy scaring themselves with ghost stories, and apparently Brian Villalobos, for all his protestations of journalistic skepticism, is no different. The orb is clearly a reflection from the woman's camera; the voices are clearly generated by human beings who know the ins and outs of the acoustics in the theater (a space constructed for acoustics) and who enjoy playing tricks on the groups of ghost hunters who apparently turn up with great regularity.

I thought it was cute the way the ghostly perfume turned out to be the air freshener, on a timer.

A newspaper doesn't have to be "woo" in order to run a soft puff piece/human interest story. My local paper ran a not-terribly-skeptical piece on a local dowser a while back, but that didn't make them "woo".

 

[CLD]

This kind of thing is disturbing however: ghost hunters as the new "rock stars" of popular culture. I see it more and more.

 

[sat556]

... ghost hunters as the new "rock stars" of popular culture.

Really? Damn, I must have missed that memo
Maybe I just don't try hard enough.

 

[Garrette]

Really? Damn, I must have missed that memo
Maybe I just don't try hard enough.

You'd better try harder soon. Your avatar is getting closer.

 

[sat556]

Your avatar is getting closer.

 

[Dr B]

I find a lot of the popularist nonsense on ghost-hunting (for want of a better term) deeply frustrating . You get a bunch of people (usually with boring mundane day jobs) claiming to be 'experts' who interpret every glitch on an EMF meter as being 'paranormal' etc etc....They see their hobby as making themselves feel important. I have never seen these people go to a place and claim they found nothing!

The thing is, the ghost or haunt-type experience is worthy of serious scientific study. This would include laboratory as well as field-based studies. However, this type of nonsense clearly does not qualify as 'research' and is actually having a detrimental effect on serious researchers even contemplating getting involved (I have spooken to a few). People do report strange experiences and we need to develop viable brain-based and psychological models for them. I see no need for parapsychological interpretations of these experiences.

I think strange experiences are in the mind / brain of the beholder.