Post by sandstone on Sept 15, 2008 4:23:20 GMT -11
Good reasons to treat ghosts (and the people they haunt) with respect.
I’m really troubled by the lack of respect shown towards ghosts on TV shows such as GH and Paranormal State these days. Fighting demons in the dark may be entertaining to watch on TV, but is such an approach really helpful to the people involved?
Poor ghosts! They get called demons, treated like the bad guys, and are constantly being aggravated in various attempts to provoke some sort of response. As a kid, I was often called a ‘problem child’ and I tended to live up to such expectations. Ghosts seem to do the same thing. Belief is a powerful thing. If a family is told that they have a really ‘bad’ ghost, especially by the ‘experts’ coming in to fix it, that belief won’t make living with the situation any easier. But it will make for good TV.
I guess if you don’t believe in ghosts, then who cares about how they are treated? But think for a minute about a family living with a haunting. They believe that something unexplainable is happening in their home. If it happened to you, would you want to be told you are dealing with demonic forces beyond anyone’s control? Or would you be looking for someone to reassure that you aren’t crazy and tell you that the situation may somehow be resolved?
Of course, not all ghosts haunt family homes. Let’s consider the case of the Merchant's House Museum, which was ‘investigated’ on GH. The people at the museum seem to have a great fondness for Gertrude, the museum’s resident ghost. They were not impressed by the fact that Jason and Grant’s behavior during filming demonstrated a complete lack of manners and respect towards Gertrude. This behavior was not only off-putting to the staff of the museum, but apparently to Gertrude as well (who never graced the show with her presence). The ensuing investigation wasn’t very successful, but at least a popular TV show got filmed! (Woo Hoo?)
I admit that such shows can be entertaining, but they not very good examples of how to investigate paranormal phenomenon. Why torment the ghost? Why not treat it like anyone else involved in the haunting? Not because the ghost is necessarily 'real', but because treating it with respect won’t hurt an investigation, and if anything, it might even produce some positive results in situations where people are looking for help. At the very least, being respectful may actually leave a positive impression of an investigative group on both the ghosts and the people they haunt!
I’m really troubled by the lack of respect shown towards ghosts on TV shows such as GH and Paranormal State these days. Fighting demons in the dark may be entertaining to watch on TV, but is such an approach really helpful to the people involved?
Poor ghosts! They get called demons, treated like the bad guys, and are constantly being aggravated in various attempts to provoke some sort of response. As a kid, I was often called a ‘problem child’ and I tended to live up to such expectations. Ghosts seem to do the same thing. Belief is a powerful thing. If a family is told that they have a really ‘bad’ ghost, especially by the ‘experts’ coming in to fix it, that belief won’t make living with the situation any easier. But it will make for good TV.
I guess if you don’t believe in ghosts, then who cares about how they are treated? But think for a minute about a family living with a haunting. They believe that something unexplainable is happening in their home. If it happened to you, would you want to be told you are dealing with demonic forces beyond anyone’s control? Or would you be looking for someone to reassure that you aren’t crazy and tell you that the situation may somehow be resolved?
Of course, not all ghosts haunt family homes. Let’s consider the case of the Merchant's House Museum, which was ‘investigated’ on GH. The people at the museum seem to have a great fondness for Gertrude, the museum’s resident ghost. They were not impressed by the fact that Jason and Grant’s behavior during filming demonstrated a complete lack of manners and respect towards Gertrude. This behavior was not only off-putting to the staff of the museum, but apparently to Gertrude as well (who never graced the show with her presence). The ensuing investigation wasn’t very successful, but at least a popular TV show got filmed! (Woo Hoo?)
I admit that such shows can be entertaining, but they not very good examples of how to investigate paranormal phenomenon. Why torment the ghost? Why not treat it like anyone else involved in the haunting? Not because the ghost is necessarily 'real', but because treating it with respect won’t hurt an investigation, and if anything, it might even produce some positive results in situations where people are looking for help. At the very least, being respectful may actually leave a positive impression of an investigative group on both the ghosts and the people they haunt!