Social Networks and the Paranormal

I used to bristle when someone would say "Everyone in the paranormal field wants to have a TV show!" Well, I didn't want a TV show so their premise had to be wrong.

Unfortunately, over time, I realized that people like me are a minority. Most of the people I have bumped into do want a television show and would give their eye teeth for it. That even goes for many of those professing to be above all that pop-culture nonsense. After all, fame (or what passes for it on basic cable) is intoxicating and it does open doors to "cool" sites. If your main purpose is stumbling around in dark creepy places that look stereotypically like "haunted houses" your passport is a TV show or some connection to one (that goes for the TAPS Family thing too).

What I have also found out is that if you truly are opposed to the pop-culture influences and reject the pseudo-science you become persona non grata. Daring to inject more than the superficial flirtation most "paranormal investigators" have with skepticism can make you a pariah.

Social Networking has become a great tool for the fledgling ghost hunter in search of basic cable fame as much as a full bodied apparition. MySpace is utterly infected with groups promoting their home made videos, their Internet radio talk shows, and their other gimmicks.

The group I formerly worked with was headed down that road for a long time until Paul eventually got a job with GHI. That pursuit of fame seems to have leveled out now from what I hear. However, it has become quite clear that someone like me who dares question the validity of pop-culture pursuits and snake oil gadgetry is not welcome among the fold of the amateur ghost hunters.

My profiles on MySpace and Facebook still list "paranormal investigation" in my interests. Almost weekly I get one or two friend requests from people who are amateur ghost hunters. A few bother to actually send me a note but most I never hear from except their weekly announcements for their Internet radio show or some local TV gig in their hometown or their webcast of their "LIVE INVESTIGATION!"

Let's be honest, these are all auditions for basic cable gigs. They are hoping like a garage band that some producer looking for the next big clone will see them and give them a shot at fame.

I kept trying to figure out how to let these folks nicely that I don't watch the professional amateurs on television so I certainly am not spending an evening watching rank amateurs on a webcast. I've consistently replied "no" to invitations for their web events. I've even sent them notes explaining my interest in studying the psychology of the paranormal (including studying them and their reactions and beliefs) when they request to be my "friend."

In fact, here's an exchange I had with a new "Facebook Friend" recently:

"Hey there Buck, how long have you been investigating the paranormal?"

My Response: "Long enough to be very, very jaded and to have switched my focus onto studying people who believe in the paranormal. I also spend a lot of time looking at the unusual trend by which "paranormal investigation" or "ghost hunting" has supplanted the old Spiritualist religions of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries and seems to be arising as rather unusual religion based on pseudo-science. Lately I've been considering the connections between Mesmerism as an historic pseudo-science movement and its connection to the rise of Spiritualism in the 19th Century and the connections between pop culture "ghost hunting" and New Age spiritualism of the 21st Century.

Anyway... I wrote my first thesis on paranormal phenomena when I was in high school dealing with the connection between abnormal psychology and the religious belief in demonology. So... that would be 26 or 27 years I suppose. ;)"

His Response: "My, my so you're quite an educated man!! ;) I've been interested in the Paranormal even as a young boy, but have only been doing investigations for the past two months. Interesting comment you made about the people that believe in the PN. I've noticed that quite a lot of "investigators" appear a bit dodgy & loony, a lot of spiritualists etc."

My Response: "Yes, it was that realization that caused me to begin to shift my focus. I realized that almost everything being done by amateur ghost hunters was designed to elicit some result rather than produce verifiable and repeatable data. As I watched the "clients" of groups respond to this process it became quite obvious in many cases the ghost hunter types were being treated with the kind of deference once shown to priests or ministers. I became fascinated by the whole process of religious belief melding with pseudo science and useless (let's be honest) gadgetry designed to let people interact with the "spirit world".

So, today I conduct my own research looking at cultural trends, pop-culture, and psychology. At some point I hope to be able to conduct some field experiments in the psychology of ghost hunting and how ghost hunters themselves become irrational in the face of their artificially created environments with darkened "haunted houses" and sensory deprivation. But, that is dependent on returning for another degree in psychology at this late stage of life. ;)

Good luck with your pursuits and keep your head about you."

Then this morning I received yet another request for another "paranormal investigator." I thought about sending yet another note explaining that I'm a) not an investigator in the sense they think and b) not a paranormal groupie. Instead, I pulled up the guy's profile and saw that he is doing some local TV thing in the middle of the night and has his sights set on having a show on SyFy. (Like they aren't already infected with enough ghost hunting .)

I decided to just hit "ignore." That was so satisfying that I decided that I would simply remove those people who are into "paranormal investigation" and whose only interaction with me is to ask me to watch their webcast or listen to their Internet radio show.

So, if you're a "paranormal investigator" and you want someone to watch your audition for basic cable, I'm not your guy. If you want someone to discuss the history of ghost hunting and how it intersects with spiritualism and historical pseudo-science movements then we'll chat. If you want someone to get all excited about your "Frank's Box" you will have your feelings hurt and end up pissed off. If, however, you'd like to discuss whether amateur paranormal investigators contribute to their own misinterpretation of events by manipulating their environment to evoke psychological responses within themselves, let's have a talk.

But please, don't ask me to watch you stumble around in the dark on a webcam. If I don't watch someone I count as a friend on national television I certainly won't be watching you broadcast from your local haunted high school.