TV Shows about the Paranormal

When the semester began and our theme of the paranormal was announced, I set my DVR to record anything it could find using the keyword “paranormal.” It has a recorded many tv shows, and between grading essays and dealing with the power outage (thank you Hurricane Ike), I simply hadn’t had time to watch any of them.

So, this week I have taken time to sort through them and get the highlights. I am going to share with you some of what I saw/learned. I am leaving out the definitely fictitious shows, such as Ghost Whisperer and The Dead Zone. Here, I am focusing on the ones that claim truth or truth seeking.

Crossing Over with John Edward
This show revolves around a proclaimed medium who “reads” a live studio audience. According to John Edward, “each reading that happens is a reunion.” He begins the show by introducing himself with “I talk to the dead.” He goes over instructions for understanding his readings, and then he says that the point of talking to the dead is “to validate that life and love are eternal.” He certainly seems to believe in what he does (or he is a fabulous actor) because he gets very, very emotional during the readings. Here is John Edward on Fox News talking about his ability http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KkA-CDgtgM. The show’s website is http://www.wetv.com/john-edward/index.html.

MonsterQuest
This show is not my favorite. My husband watches new episodes because he is fascinated by cryptozoology, especially about Bigfoot. It comes on History Channel. The website for the show is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qA9kNDbbfc. It comes on so often that my DVR picked up many episodes, including “Sasquatch Attack,” “Lions in the Backyard,” “Swamp Beast,” “Gigantic Killer Fish.” The website is fairly neat in that it has a description of some of the more exotic animals it has documented at http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=59468&display_order=3&mini_id=56117.
New episodes come on Wednesdays at 9pm. Episodes are available on iTunes.


Ghost Hunters
I like the Ghost Hunters. Their website is http://www.scifi.com/ghosthunters/. The show is a reality tv show / documentary that began in 2004 and revolves around Grant Wilson and Jason Hawes who, at least in the beginning, were simply ghost hunters as a hobby and held day jobs as Roto-Rooter plumbers. They founded The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS), which has its own website at http://the-atlantic-paranormal-society.com/. You can also listen to them radio streaming on Saturdays from 7-10 at http://beyondrealityradio.com/. Grant is a fairly easy believer, and Jason is skeptic. He sees his role as a ghost hunter as one of trying to debunk hauntings. He explains, "After subjecting phenomena to recording, measurement, and experimentation, we may realize that our initial observations were in error, or we may see more evidence to support our hypothesis. But the point is to try to debunk it first" (Ghost Hunting 13). That is one of the cool things about these particular ghost hunters—that they invent neat tools and new uses for tools to try to measure paranormal activity. For instance, they use digital thermometers, electromagnetic field scanners, cameras with night vision, digital cameras, recorders, computers, ion generators, and noise generators. Another reason I like them is that they’ve been to my home town to record at least two episodes about Waverly Hills Sanatorium. You can see clips on YouTube, like this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qA9kNDbbfc.

Ghost Hunters International
If you want more ghost hunters, visit them at http://www.scifi.com/ghi/. I have not seen this one yet, but my husband recommends it. Their website says, “Like their U.S. counterpart, TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society), Ghost Hunters International is a squad of real-life ghost-hunting experts — ordinary people who investigate and attempt to debunk claims of otherworldly activity. Comprising veteran TAPS investigators Robb Demarest, Andy Andrews, Brian Harnois and Donna LaCroix, along with Barry FitzGerald (memorable from the Ghost Hunters' legendary investigations in Ireland) and newcomer Shannon Sylvia, the Ghost Hunters International crew is primed to uncover some of the most startling paranormal evidence yet.” Episodes are available on iTunes.

Destination Truth
Joshua Gates hosts this show as a paranormal investigator who travels the world. He begins the show by saying, “I’m not sure what’s out there waiting for me, but I know what I’m looking for—the truth.” He mainly investigates claims of extraordinary animal sightings, cryptozoology, but every once in a while he does something different. I watched an episode on ghost hunting, though, where he and his team went to Pemba Island (off the coast of Africa) which is supposedly haunted by the ghost(s) of tortured slaves. They investigated the claims, traveled to the reported spots, recorded video, then took the video back to the States to a specialist to analyze the tape. Located at http://www.scifi.com/destinationtruth/, the show’s website has full episodes available. Check it out.


Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal
Medium Chip Coffey and Dr. Lisa Miller (psychologist) help children and their families cope with their paranormal abilities. I’ve seen two episodes and both focused on children who saw/talked to the dead. I haven’t seen other psychic abilities explored yet. There have been six episodes so far, I think. It’s fairly new. The website is available at http://www.aetv.com/psychic-kids/.

Ghostly Encounters
This show came from the Biography Channel. The episode didn’t have a title. It began with a voice over saying, “Ghostly goings-on occur when the living venture onto pathways frequented by the deceased.” Basically, this show was a series of people talking to the camera about encounters with ghosts. These testimonies are broken up by a host, somebody Chow?, who explained what the person was experiencing. However, the host doesn’t appear to ever meet, talk to, or interact with the people talking to the camera. There are also reenactments that seem very low budget. The website for the show is http://www.biography.com/paranormal-zone/paranormal-zone-GE.jsp.

Psychic Investigators
This is also a Biography Channel show. The website is http://www.biography.com/paranormal-zone/paranormal-zone-PI.jsp. This show has three investigators. There are each given the same details of a case and sent to the scene of the crime. They interpret the evidence and try to solve the crime. Then, at the end of the show, the investigators get together and “solve” the crime. I’m neutral about this one. Watch for yourself; it comes on regularly Saturdays at 11.


Paranormal State
This show is a “rip off” Ghost Hunters. It focuses on Ryan Buell and the Penn State Paranormal Society. It is 30 minutes long. The website gives this description of the show, “Delve deep into the strange and the mysterious with Paranormal Research Society founder Ryan Buell and his team of investigators as they attempt to unravel inexplicable paranormal phenomena including sixth-sense experiences, ghost sightings, demonic disturbances, and brushes with the darkest areas of the unknown. Founded by Buell in 2001, the PRS works on cases across the country and is one of the most recognized paranormal societies in the nation.” I watched an episode called “Devil in Syracuse.” I had trouble following it because evidently Ryan has been battling a this demon that is following him around. They had an exorcism. I don’t know if it worked. There are several episodes on their website at http://www.aetv.com/paranormal-state/.

A Haunting (Discovery Channel)
This is a regularly broadcast show that purports to be a documentary. Again, my DVR picked up several episodes, including “Legend Trippers,” “Where Evil Lurks,” “Stalked by Evil,” and “Spirits of the Dead.” I watched a few minutes of an episode called “The Calling.” The show begins with a text screen that reads “The events depicted in this program are based on eye witness accounts. Some names have been changed to protect the identity of those involved.” This particular episode focused on a “family secret.” Rebecca can see / communicate with her dead “pop pop,” the grandfather who died when she was only six months old. That communication tells her of future events, so she is not only a medium but a psychic too. I watched an episode called “Ghost Hunter” about Stacy Jones, a former copy turned paranormal investigator or self-proclaimed “demonologist” who “battles the dark side” to save her son. In this episode, the reenactment was of Jones taking her son on an investigation of shadow people and then the son being haunted / possessed by something from that graveyard investigation. Eventually, they have to have an exorcism to save him. My opinion of this series is that it is full of cheesy reenactments with commentary interspersed between segments from the “real life” subjects of the particular episodes. The show’s website is http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/haunting/haunting.html. There are also many clips from the show available on YouTube. Here is one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpElR_6v7Zs.

Haunted History
This show is from the Biography Channel. The particular episode I caught featured haunted places in Texas, focusing mostly on The Alamo. Much of the show was devoted to giving a history of the Alamo and listing the incidences of paranormal activity or ghost sighting. Again, like other shows from the channel talked about here, the show appeared very low budget. The documentary style was not very interesting, but the history was. Website available at http://www.biography.com/paranormal-zone/paranormal-zone-HH.jsp. This show comes on regularly, Saturdays at 8 pm.